Troubleshooting (Soundhax)
This page offers troubleshooting advice for commonly encountered issues with the "Installing boot9strap (Soundhax)" page, which is used on system versions between 1.0.0 and 11.3.0. If you are unable to solve your issue with the advice on this page, please join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord and describe your issue, including what you have already tried.
Issues with Soundhax
Red/purple/pink and white screen after running Soundhax
If your console is on system version 9.4.0, 9.5.0, or 9.6.0, you may be encountering a bug with an old version of universal-otherapp. Download the latest version from here.
If your console is not on those firmwares, it likely indicates that you already have custom firmware. You should check for CFW.
"An error has occurred, forcing the software to close..." (white message box)
There is an issue with your otherapp.bin file (it is missing, misplaced, or corrupted). Download the latest release of universal-otherapp and place it on the root of your SD card.
If the above doesn't fix your issue, and you are using an Old 3DS / Old 3DS XL / Old 2DS, you may be encountering an issue involving cartridge updates. Take another look at the system version. If the last number is 4 or lower (e.g. 11.3.0-4U), replace the Soundhax file on the root of your SD card with the one from here.
If none of these fix your issue, join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for assistance.
"Could not play"
You have the wrong Soundhax file for your console, region and version. Double-check that you entered all the info correctly into the Soundhax website, redownload your Soundhax file, and replace it with the one on the root of your SD card.
If the above doesn't fix your issue, and you are using an Old 3DS / Old 3DS XL / Old 2DS, you may be encountering an issue involving cartridge updates. Take another look at the system version. If the last number is 3 or lower (e.g. 11.3.0-0U), replace the Soundhax file on the root of your SD card with the one from here.
If none of these fix your issue, join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for assistance.
Failed to mount the SD card!
Back up your data and reformat your SD card as FAT32 with the recommended tool depending on your operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux). MiniTool Partition Wizard and the HP formatting tool (HPUSBDisk) are known to cause issues with 3DS SD cards.
If this is unsuccessful, try using another SD card.
Issues with SafeB9SInstaller
Before opening SafeB9SInstaller
Failed to open SafeB9SInstaller.bin
The file SafeB9SInstaller.bin is missing or misplaced. Download the latest release of SafeB9SInstaller, extract it, and place SafeB9SInstaller.bin on the root of your SD card. Do not add the .bin extension if you do not already see it.
SigHaxed FIRM was not installed! Check lower screen for more info.
MicroSD Card - init failed
Your SD card is most likely acting weird. Try reformatting your SD card (Windows, macOS, Linux). If this doesn't work, try another SD card.
SigHaxed FIRM - File not found
You are missing boot9strap.firm and boot9strap.firm.sha from the boot9strap folder, or the boot9strap folder is misnamed. Download the latest release of boot9strap, and place boot9strap.firm and boot9strap.firm.sha in the boot9strap folder.
SigHaxed FIRM - invalid FIRM
There is an issue with your boot9strap.firm and boot9strap.firm.sha files. Re-download the latest release of boot9strap, and place boot9strap.firm and boot9strap.firm.sha in the boot9strap folder.
Secret Sector - File not found
You are missing secret_sector.bin from the boot9strap folder, or the boot9strap folder is misnamed. Download secret_sector.bin using a torrent client, and place it in the boot9strap folder.
Something else
Join Nintendo Homebrew on Discord for assistance, and describe the issue that you see.
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