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Troubleshooting (Post-Install)

This page offers troubleshooting advice for commonly encountered issues after custom firmware is installed. Ha nem tudod megoldani a problémád az oldal tanácsai alapján, csatlakozz a Nintendo Homebrew-hoz Discord-on és írd le a problémádat és azt is hogy mi az amit már próbáltál.

Boot issues

INFO

The steps detailed here generally assume that your console has a modern custom firmware setup (boot9strap + Luma3DS 8.0 or greater). If your console is running an older homebrew setup (for example, something based on arm9loaderhax or menuhax), you should update your setup before trying these instructions.

Power/notification light indicators

My console powers off when I try to turn it on, and/or the notification LED shows a color on boot

There is an issue with your boot.firm file. If you're running boot9strap 1.4, your 3DS notification LED may flash a certain color. This color is used to diagnose issues involving your boot.firm file on SD card or internal memory. On older versions of boot9strap, the blue light will power off almost immediately when trying to turn on the console.

If the notification LED flashes:

  • White: Your 3DS was not able to find boot.firm on your SD card or on internal memory.
  • Magenta: Your 3DS was not able to find boot.firm on your SD card. It was able to find boot.firm on internal memory, but the file is corrupted.
  • Red: Your 3DS was able to find boot.firm on both your SD card and on internal memory, but both files are corrupted.

You can get a new boot.firm file by downloading the latest release of Luma3DS, extracting it, and placing boot.firm on the root of your SD card. If your boot.firm file is consistently being detected as corrupted, you may want to check your SD card for errors (Windows, Linux, or macOS). Also, note that the 3DS tends to have issues with files extracted using WinRAR.

If you hear a "popping sound", potentially accompanied with the backlight turning on for a split second, there is a hardware issue with your console (such as a disconnected backlight cable). You may be able to get your console to boot by holding it at certain angles.

My console gets stuck on a black screen with blue power light staying on

The steps below can be attempted in any order, but are listed from least to most time-consuming.

  1. Power off your console, remove the SD card, re-insert it, then power on your console.
  2. Power off your console, eject the game cartridge if inserted, power on your console, then wait up to ten minutes. If your console boots within ten minutes, the issue has been fixed and is unlikely to reoccur
  3. Rename the Nintendo 3DS folder on your SD card to Nintendo 3DS_BACKUP, then attempt to boot. If your console successfully boots, there is some issue within your Nintendo 3DS folder. Try clearing HOME Menu extdata:
    • Navigate to /Nintendo 3DS/<ID0>/<ID1>/extdata/00000000/
    • Delete the corresponding folder for your 3DS region:
      • EUR Region: 00000098
      • JPN Region: 00000082
      • USA Region: 0000008f
      • CHN Region: 000000A1
      • KOR Region: 000000A9
      • TWN Region: 000000B1
  4. Try booting into recovery mode and updating your system:
    • Kapcsold ki a konzolod
    • Hold (Left Shoulder) + (Right Shoulder) + (D-Pad Up) + (A)
    • Kapcsold be a konzolod
    • If you were successful, the console will boot to an "update your system" screen
  5. Follow the CTRTransfer guide
  6. For further support, ask for help at Nintendo Homebrew on Discord

Error message on boot

"An error has occurred: Failed to apply 1 FIRM patch(es)" or "An exception has occurred -- Current process: pm"

Your Luma3DS version is outdated. Download the latest release of Luma3DS and place boot.firm on the root of your SD card, replacing any existing file. Make sure you are extracting the ZIP file with any tool other than WinRAR, as it is known to cause issues with 3DS-related files.

"Unable to mount CTRNAND or load the CTRNAND FIRM. Please use an external one."

There are a number of reasons as to why this could be happening. In any case, this error can usually be fixed by following the CTRTransfer guide.

"An error has occurred. Hold down the POWER button to turn off the power..."

ARM11 exception handlers are disabled, or custom firmware is not installed. Try enabling ARM11 exception handlers:

  • Kapcsold ki a konzolod
  • Hold (Select)
  • Power on your console, while still holding (Select)
  • If the "Disable ARM11 exception handlers" box is checked, uncheck it
HOME Menu is missing installed applications

This could be caused by various reasons, but most likely because your SD card is not being read by the system. You can check if your SD is being read by holding SELECT on boot and checking the yellow text on the bottom screen; if it says "Booted from CTRNAND via B9S", then your console is booting from the internal memory and not from the SD card. If this is the case, attempt the steps below, which are listed from easiest to hardest:

  1. Power off your console, remove the SD card, re-insert it, then power on your console
  2. Power off your console, remove the SD card, insert it on your computer, download the latest release of Luma3DS, extract boot.firm from the Luma3DS.zip and place it on the root of your SD card (replacing any existing file)
  3. Power off your console, remove the SD card, insert it on your computer and reformat your SD card according to your computer's operating system: Windows, macOS, Linux (this will wipe your SD card data)
  4. Test your SD card for errors by following the guide according to your computer's operating system: Windows, Linux, macOS. If your SD card is marked as faulty, then you will have to replace your SD card
  5. Your SD card slot may be broken. Join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for further assistance
Blue "BOOTROM ERROR" screen

Your console is likely hard-bricked. You will need to buy an ntrboot flashcart to reinstall boot9strap in order to attempt to fix your console. This may also indicate a hardware issue that cannot be fixed. In any case, join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for assistance.

  • It is also possible that someone has set a boot-time splash screen that just looks like a brick. Try leaving your console powered on, waiting on the blue screen, for five minutes.
Some other error

Please take a photo of the error and join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for assistance.

Software issues on consoles with custom firmware

DSi / DS functionality is broken or has been replaced with Flipnote Studio
  1. Download the latest release of TWLFix-CFW (the .3dsx file)
  2. Kapcsold ki a konzolod
  3. Hozz létre egy mappát 3ds néven az SD kártyád gyökerében, ha még nem létezik ilyen
  4. Copy TWLFix-CFW.3dsx to the /3ds/ folder on your SD card
  5. Tedd vissza az SD kártyád a konzoldba
  6. Open the Homebrew Launcher
  7. Launch TWLFix-CFW from the list of homebrew
  8. Press (A) to uninstall the broken TWL titles
  9. Press (Start) to reboot the console
  10. Frissítsd a konzolod következőképp: Lépj be a System Settings-be, majd az "Other settings"-be, ahol addig lépkedj jobbra, amíg a végére nem érsz. Itt válaszd a "System Update" opciót
    • The update will see that the essential TWL titles have been uninstalled, and will redownload and reinstall them
  11. Once the update is complete, tap "OK" to reboot the console
GBA Virtual Console and/or Safe Mode functionality is broken

Your console is running Luma3DS 6.6 or older, likely via arm9loaderhax. You should follow A9LH to B9S to update your console to a modern custom firmware environment.

Extended memory mode games (Pokemon Sun/Moon, Smash, etc.) don't work

This can occur after a CTRTransfer or region change on Old 3DS / 2DS. Follow the instructions here to fix this issue (skipping steps 3, 4, 5, and 6).

Exception screen when booting/loading an application

Look for your exception screen in this page. If you weren't able to find your error or the instructions didn't work, join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for further assistance.

Opening the HOME Menu settings crashes the console or loads the Homebrew Launcher

Your console likely still has menuhax67 installed. To uninstall menuhax67, download the latest release of menuhax67 (the menuhax .zip), then follow the "Uninstall menuhax67" section here.

Something else

Join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for assistance, and describe the issue that you see.

Other troubleshooting

Clear HOME Menu extdata
  1. Kapcsold ki a konzolod
  2. Helyezd az SD kártyád a számítógépbe
  3. Navigate to the /Nintendo 3DS/<ID0>/<ID1>/extdata/00000000/ folder on your SD card
  4. Delete the corresponding folder for your 3DS region:
    • EUR Region: 00000098
    • JPN Region: 00000082
    • USA Region: 0000008f
    • CHN Region: 000000A1
    • KOR Region: 000000A9
    • TWN Region: 000000B1
  5. Tedd vissza az SD kártyád a konzoldba
Clear HOME Menu theme data
  1. Kapcsold ki a konzolod
  2. Helyezd az SD kártyád a számítógépbe
  3. Navigate to the /Nintendo 3DS/<ID0>/<ID1>/extdata/00000000/ folder on your SD card
  4. Delete the corresponding folder for your 3DS region:
    • EUR Region: 000002ce
    • JPN Region: 000002cc
    • USA Region: 000002cd
    • KOR Region: 000002cf
  5. Tedd vissza az SD kártyád a konzoldba
Manually entering Homebrew Launcher

If you are missing the Homebrew Launcher application from your HOME Menu, you can follow these instructions to manually enter the Homebrew Launcher. (You will need boot.3dsx and boot.firm on the root of your SD card.)

  1. Indítsd el a Download Play alkalmazást ()
  2. Várj, amíg Nintendo 3DS és Nintendo DS gombokat nem látsz
  3. Nyomd le az (Bal Váll) + (D-Pad le) + (Select) gombokat egyszerre a Rosalina menü megnyitásához
  4. Válaszd ki a "Miscellaneous options"-t
  5. Válaszd a "Switch the hb. title to the current app." opciót
  6. Nyomd meg a (B) gombot a folytatáshoz
  7. Nyomd meg a (B) gombot, hogy visszakerülj a Rosalina főmenüjébe
  8. Nyomd meg a (B) gombot, hogy kilépj a Rosalina menüből
  9. Nyomd meg a (Home) gombot hogy felfüggeszd a Download Play-t
  10. Nyomd meg a "Close" gombot az alsó képernyőn a Download Play bezárásához
  11. Indítsd el újra a Download Play alkalmazást
  12. Ekkor a konzolodnak be kell töltenie a Homebrew Launcher-t
    • Ha a konzolod a betöltő splash képernyőn ragad, akkor hiányzik az boot.3dsx az SD kártyád gyökeréből
Turning off Parental Controls

You can disable the Parental Controls feature by going to System Settings -> Parental Controls and inserting the PIN, then pressing "Clear Settings", then "Delete" to remove it. However, if you do not know the PIN and therefore cannot access the console's settings, you will need to disable it. In order to do this, you need to obtain your console's master key (mkey):

  1. Go to this website
  2. Fill the following boxes with the information:
    • Device Type: Select "3DS" (the same applies if you are using a 2DS, New 3DS (XL/LL) or New 2DS (XL/LL))
    • System Date: The day and month your console's clock is set to
    • Inquiry Number: Can be obtained by pressing "Forgot PIN" then "I Forgot" in the Parental Controls screen
  3. After you have obtained your mkey, press OK on the screen you have obtained your Inquiry Number, then input the master key
  4. Press "Clear Settings", then "Delete" to remove all Parental Controls data

TIP

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