HOW TO HACK YOUR 3DS

• Review the FAQ before posting about an issue.

• See the subreddit Wiki and the homebrew wiki for more information

11.17 UPDATE

• If you have NOT hacked your 3DS yet, DO NOT UPDATE to 11.17. Updating eliminates several easier exploit methods.

• If you have already updated to 11.17 and haven’t hacked your 3DS, see the guide linked at the top and it will explain what to do.

• Have you already hacked your 3DS and are worried about updating your software? Update Luma from the Universal Updater app first, then you can update your 3DS normally.

• Did you update your 3DS BEFORE updating Luma, and now recieving an error after the update? Update luma manually

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ How do I hack my 3DS? / Follow the guide here. DO NOT use a youtube video.

❓ Can I upgrade my SD Card? / Yes. Format the new card to Fat32 and copy the entire contents of your old card to the new one. Cards up to 256GB work fine. 128GB and bigger SD cards should be formatted with 64KB clusters or else GBA VC Injects may have display problems. REMEMBER TO BACK UP THE CONTENTS OF YOUR SD CARD REGULARLY.

❓ Can i play out of region games? / Yes. Hacking makes your 3DS/2DS be able to play any region.

❓ Can I update to the latest update? / Yes. Update Luma to the latest stable release and then update your system software.

❓ I found a .CIA - now what? / Put it on your SD card and install via FBI.

❓ Can I get banned for pirating games? / Unlikely. Don’t cheat while playing online.

❓ How can I install games if I don't have access to the SD card? / Use Boop (Use version 1.4.0 if the game you're sending is 1GB or larger) or FTPD. Boop is PC only while FTP can be done via PC or your phone. Boop guide and FTP Phone guide for Android and Apple. FTP is easy to use on PC just use a FTP app like Filezilla.

❓ Can I use the PokéTransporter & Pokébank? / Yes. You can also use PKSM on your 3DS or PKHEX on your PC for a free alternative. See this guide for more helpful Pokémon information.

❓ Can I pop in my SD card into a non hacked console and have my games playable? / No, it doesn't work like that. Even a hacked console can't use the same SD card you have in another system. Nintendo made the 3DS locked to a single system with the SD card. It only works on the one system it's tied to.

❓ Can I do a system transfer to another system and still have my CIA games? / Yes, but the other console needs to be hacked first. Hack the system you wish to system transfer to first. (Note: back up your saves with checkpoint before doing the transfer in case anything happens). Then do the system transfer. Once done, use Faketik to restore your CIA installed games.

❓ I have some .3ds files how do I convert them to .cia, or Install them to my device? / If you want to do a conversion on your 3DS use this guide. If you want to do it on your PC use this program. If you want to install them directly you can do so by using Godmode9.

❓ I have a 3DS game cartridge that I want to dump and install as a .cia how do I do it? / Guide here

❓ I want to backup or edit my GBA VC Inject save how do I get the save file? / How to Backup and how to Restore the save.

Useful Tools & Tips

• Run CIA files via the FBI app - Use the FBI app to scan QR codes and download games that way. Only works for 3DS games and VC’s, not NDS games. See r/3dsqrcodes

• GodMode9 lets you rip roms from a cart, rip saves, and much more. How to rip game cartridges via GodMode9.

• If you just want to play Pokémon games, see this guide.

• Turn any ROM into a CIA file via New Super Ultimate Injector 3DS, an application that allows you to inject Nes, Snes, GameBoy, GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance, Mega Drive, Game Gear and TurbiGrafx 16 ROMs in to the 3DS.

• Use FTPD for quick file transfers to the 3DS over wifi without the need of removing the SD card. Available in the Universal Updater app.

• Anemone theme manager - View and download custom themes

• Checkpoint - back up & restore your save file for 3DS and official VC games. Install cheats as well!

• Universal Updater - an app that allows you to install homebrew apps and files. Most of the apps on this list can be downloaded from the Universal Updater.

• Wumiibo - Amiibo Emulation. See the list of Amiibo supported games.

Useful Subreddits

• r/Citra - Any questions about Citra

• r/flashcarts - Questions about flashcarts (self-contained hardware devices with roms on a flashdrive)

• r/3dsqrcodes - QR Codes of 3DS software and VC’s

• r/3dspiracy

Migrate save files!

• GodMode 9 - Rip and restore saves guide here.Inject saves to VC’s.

• Copy your .sav file to roms/nds/saves/ and name it the same as the ROM but with the “.sav” extension instead of “.nds”. Same for GBA folder, etc.

• Checkpoint - Rip saves from 3DS cart

  1. put physical copy into 3DS

  2. open up checkpoint, select the cartridge version, back up the save and name it something obvious

  3. remove the cartridge

  4. select the digital version of the game you backed up and then pick the save you just made a back up of and click “restore save”.

Mods, I don’t think anything on here breaks the rules, but please comment or DM if you see anything and I will fix it.

^edit: ^formatting ^& ^clarification. ^v1.2