Hey guys, I recently got a loan of a R4i-SDHC 3DS from a friend of mine because his 3DS has broken, and I really wanted to play some of my favourites again (I used to have a DS myself, but the hinge on it broke :/). Anyway, I've tried over and over again and no matter what I cannot get my R4 card to work. My 3DS' current firmware is 7.2.0-17E, which is as far as I am aware the latest firmware. Still, I went onto R4i-SDHC.com and even though it says their latest firmwares work perfectly fine with 7.2.0-17, I've yet to be able to get the thing to work-- it just keeps telling me any time I've tried booting it that there's been an error and to refer to the Operations Manual. Is there something I'm doing wrong? As far as I know, I'm installing the firmware correctly. Is there an important distinction between cards that are branded RTS and those which aren't, of which mine is the later? Is it because my 3DS is a European model, or that's a 3DS XL? Thanks in advance, Axires. (edit: I just noticed that it's not the latest firmware, and thaT R4i-SDHC.com are claiming that people can still play roms on that firmware; making me even more frustrated!)
That's because that cart needs to be upgraded using an older console or one running older firmware version. You can't upgrade a cart on a console that blocks it, in this case your 3DS console running v.7.2.0 is blocking it from loading. Thus don't expect to upgrade it on that. It's like trying to get into a room while you don't even have the key to open the door. On a side note, you'll need to make sure it's a cart that has update for it to run on v.7.1.0 or higher. Current 3DS firmware version is v.8.0.0, but carts running v.7.1.0 should work fine on it. If no upgrade is available for it, there's no point trying. So check first, and back up the SD Micro before trying. Good luck.
Hey, thanks for the reply! When you say an older console, does that mean I'd be able to upgrade it on an old DS Lite? Because my cousin has one that I could get a loan off of and use that!
Thanks for the input guys! I'm still pretty new to all of this stuff, so if you can just bear with me a little bit longer I would really appreciate that. So far, I've come to understand that there's a difference between the kernel that's installed on the actually card, and the firmware that's on it? Because that would explain why I'm still having problems. Like I said, I downloaded the latest kernal from the site, but I was still having trouble because it wasn't upgraded. I got a loan of my cousin's DS Lite and I managed to actually get it working. The problem is that I can't find an upgrade anywhere that works with V7.2.0-17E. Like I said, the kernal is right there, but there's no links to a firmware upgrade or anything, and without that I won't be able to use the card. Is there something I'm not understanding? Thanks again, Axires
yes, there's a kernel (on the microsd card) and a firmware (inside the flashcart). The first affects compatibility with roms, and is updated by overwriting the files with newer ones. The second affects compatibility with console firmware versions, and is updated by running a special .nds file. Not all cards have firmware upgrades available, perhaps yours has been abandoned by the manufacturer and so does not have a suitable update?
As I've said, if the cart's official site doesn't have it then wait or let go. If there is, then use that NDSL you'd borrowed, if none then nothing you can do about that cart. Your 3DS firmware blocks all cart not yet upgraded to that version.
