3DS:Why not to remove custom firmware/es

Eliminar el custom firmware (CFW) de una 3DS no es recomendado en la mayoría de los casos.

La versión corta

• Probablemente no sea por eso que tú juego no funciona.
• Probablemente no sea por eso que parte de tu consola no funciona.
• No va a dañar permanentemente tu consola. Lo peor que podría suceder es que Luma3DS necesite una actualización (es el archivo boot.firm en tu tarjeta SD).
• No va a borrar todos tus archivos de guardado; de hecho, provee herramientas para hacer copias de seguridad para hacerlos mas seguros que lo que el firmware stock puede.
• No va a causar que te baneen por su propia cuenta. No hagas trampa en juegos online.
• Si vas a vender la consola, puede ser una buena idea eliminarlo, pero deberías revisar primero.
• Si la vas a enviar a Nintendo para que la reparen, puede que también sea una buena idea.

Arreglar un juego dañado

Casi todos los casos donde un juego no funciona no es solo por culpa del CFW. Comúnmente los casos se deben por un archivo del juego corrupto o un archivo de guardado corrupto. Eliminar el CFW hará que sea más difícil diagnosticar los problemas con un juego. Lo que Luma3DS hace es exponer más detalles sobre por qué un juego no funciona, permitiendo que personas mas experimentadas puedan resolverlo, mientras que el firmware stock solo mostraría una pantalla genérica diciendo "Un error ha ocurrido".

Otro caso posible es debido a un plugin o mod que está desactualizado o que es para la versión errónea del juego. En este caso, eliminar el plugin o mod solucionaría el problema.

There are a few edge cases where games can break due to CFW settings. In particular, a few games crash on New 3DS if 804MHz and L2 cache are enabled. Usually these can be worked around by temporarily disabling the setting that is breaking the game.

Fixing broken system applications

Sometimes a built-in part of the firmware might stop working for some reason. Assuming the system was not updated to a point where Luma3DS is currently not compatible, keeping CFW would mean you can fix the corruption, usually with a CTRTransfer. Removing CFW will probably keep the system in a broken state with no way to fix it without ntrboot.

Concerns about bricks

CFW has become exceptionally safe to use on the 3DS over the years, both during and after setup. It is nearly impossible to brick on accident. GodMode9, the most common tool for interacting with the 3DS NAND, requires unlocking writing with a button combination when you are about to do something that could cause damage. The button combination requires deliberate inputs and is impossible to do by accident. (add something about corruption checks)

If Nintendo ever releases a new system update, there is a chance that Luma3DS will be incompatible with it. This is generally not regarded as a brick as it only breaks Luma3DS trying to boot into the firmware, it does not break running other tools such as GodMode9. Usually a new release is made in about a day and can be fixed by replacing boot.firm on the SD card.

The last update to break Luma3DS was 11.14.0-46, released 17 November 2020. The last one before that was 11.8.0-41, released 30 July 2018.

Concerns about data loss

Like mentioned in the past section, CFW has very few risks associated with it, either when setting it up or using it. If you don't delete random files or titles using GodMode9, FBI, or similar tools, you are not likely to lose things such as game saves on the SD card.

CFW provides access to tools to make your own backups of your games, their saves, and the system's internal storage (aka NAND). These allow for better backups than what Nintendo normally allows. For example if your console is ever lost or broken, everything can be manually migrated to a replacement console. SD card data can be migrated if you have movable.sed from the original console, which is inside essential.exefs made during setup. NAND data (e.g. Friend List, Mii Maker, StreetPass Mii Plaza) can be transferred from a NAND backup.

Concerns about bans

Nintendo most likely doesn't focus on 3DS security anymore. Thousands of people use custom firmware on their consoles without issue. The time where a ban is most likely is when cheats are used in public online rooms.

Nintendo has shut down online play and services for the 3DS on the 8th of April, 2024. There is be nothing to be banned from anymore.

In the past, there was one well-documented ban wave: when Pokémon Sun and Moon leaked online, some people downloaded it and used its online services before release. Bans were given to those who had done so.

Selling console

This is often considered the only real case to remove custom firmware. A buyer may not be willing to accept any kind of homebrew, or the platform may remove listings for modified consoles. Notably, eBay does this if a mention of homebrew is on the listing.

Sometimes a workaround to prevent removal may be to not mention it, but include telltale signs of custom firmware in pictures (e.g. the "Sys" string in System Settings). You may not be willing to risk it however, so removing may be the best option. In this case, you should be careful to not leave remnants that can cause problems on stock, including modified system titles. In particular, make sure the following components work when the console is booted with stock firmware:

• Nintendo 3DS Camera app
• Health & Safety Information app
• DS Download Play
• DS Internet Settings
• DS Profile Settings (launching and attempting to enter in a name)

Sending console in for repairs

Nintendo might not like receiving a console with boot9strap on it, so removing custom firmware temporarily would be a good idea. In this case you should make backups of the NAND in the event that Nintendo sends back a new console instead of repairing your existing one.

Keep in mind that Nintendo is slowly discontinuing repairs for 3DS models. As of February 24, 2022, Nintendo no longer repairs the Old 3DS, Old 3DS XL, or New 3DS (non-XL).