Hacking FAQ: What CFW is best for me?

[The Catboy]

Updated Luma3DS section to include new information from 7.0 release.

 

[rikumax25!]

when is yeahCFW being added?

 

[The Catboy]

when is yeahCFW being added?

Soon™
Is that even a thing?

 

[rikumax25!]

Soon™
Is that even a thing?

nah, inside joke. Short story long, someone wanted to play cool with a Luma fork

 

[The Catboy]

nah, inside joke. Short story long, someone wanted to play cool with a Luma fork

I can never be safe these days. Last time I found out there was bullshit sounding fork that turned out legit.

 

[The Catboy]

I just found out I can give the option for other users to edit my thread. It also occurred to me that I should really future-proof my stickies. So I added @gnmmarechal to my thread!

 

[DavidinCT]

Thanks for the info...I am a total NooB when it comes to CFW on a 3DS

Ok, My 3DS that is on firmware 4.5 is a keepsake (that is in flawless shape, I might sell it at some point). So I ordered a red *NEW* 3DS XL(faster CPU and other options, no brainer) to try custom firmware on (well a used NEW 3DS XL for a little over $100).

Lumia seems like the best one or shall I say most used and easiest to setup from reading. I just want to get rid of my SKY3DS+ (hate hitting the button and waitin for it to switch games)and use the games on 3DS like they are in the menu like a downloaded games. Is there big issues with the *NEW* 3DS XL models that I NEED to know about ?

Is that all I need ?

 

[The Catboy]

Thanks for the info...I am a total NooB when it comes to CFW on a 3DS

Ok, My 3DS that is on firmware 4.5 is a keepsake (that is in flawless shape, I might sell it at some point). So I ordered a red *NEW* 3DS XL(faster CPU and other options, no brainer) to try custom firmware on (well a used NEW 3DS XL for a little over $100).

Lumia seems like the best one or shall I say most used and easiest to setup from reading. I just want to get rid of my SKY3DS+ (hate hitting the button and waitin for it to switch games)and use the games on 3DS like they are in the menu like a downloaded games. Is there big issues with the *NEW* 3DS XL models that I NEED to know about ?

Is that all I need ?

What you really need before getting the system is to study up on this guide and for the system to arrive with 11.3 or below. The guide I posted will get you setup with A9LH and a CFW with the basics.

 

[The Catboy]

As you may notice, I am very new. (What is CFW? :3)
Is it expected to work the same with ReiNAND?

I am bring your question here because this is a better suited thread for this question. As this thread is made to helping understand CFWs.
CFW is short for "Custom Firmware." For the 3DS, these "CFW" are basically used to patch features allowing for things like signature patches (for unsigned/pirated games,) region-free, the works. This thread lists all of those features and tries to keep it easy to understand.
Luma3DS functions like ReiNAND, expect it was made to be user-friendly and a more "all-in-one" package. So where ReiNAND requires you to configure your setup, Luma3DS has it all setup in one easy package.

The whole folder with all of those files is what I need to download, right?


What thread? Sorry for asking a lot hahahaha.

You only need the firmware.bin from the data folder.
And you can never ask too many questions! The more you ask, the more you will learn! We have tons of threads to ask questions in and tons of helpful members!

 

[Beyns]

I am bring your question here because this is a better suited thread for this question. As this thread is made to helping understand CFWs.
CFW is short for "Custom Firmware." For the 3DS, these "CFW" are basically used to patch features allowing for things like signature patches (for unsigned/pirated games,) region-free, the works. This thread lists all of those features and tries to keep it easy to understand.
Luma3DS functions like ReiNAND, expect it was made to be user-friendly and a more "all-in-one" package. So where ReiNAND requires you to configure your setup, Luma3DS has it all setup in one easy package.

You only need the firmware.bin from the data folder.
And you can never ask too many questions! The more you ask, the more you will learn! We have tons of threads to ask questions in and tons of helpful members!

Looks like downloading Luma3DS will be easier for me, but I would still like to retain ReiNAND.
For ReiNAND, what I need to download and put is the firmware.bin and the latest patch of ReiNAND. Where do I get the latest patch of ReiNAND?
For Luma 3DS, what do I need to download and how do I "install" it?

I'm so happy I can approach people like you guys, as I have been doing the same thing but for another interest/hobby. Hahahahahaa.

 

[The Catboy]

Looks like downloading Luma3DS will be easier for me, but I would still like to retain ReiNAND.
For ReiNAND, what I need to download and put is the firmware.bin and the latest patch of ReiNAND. Where do I get the latest patch of ReiNAND?
For Luma 3DS, what do I need to download and how do I "install" it?

I'm so happy I can approach people like you guys, as I have been doing the same thing but for another interest/hobby. Hahahahahaa.

Luma3DS is the best CFW for people just starting out. It was made to be easy for everyone.
ReiNAND isn't that hard to setup, but it does require a few steps. You just need to download the latest version here and the latest firmware.bin from the repo to replace the 11.3 firmware in 5.1. Once you've done that you just need to replace the "arm9loaderhax.bin" and "rei" folder on the root of the SD card with the "arm9loaderhax.bin" and "rei" folder from ReiNAND 5.1.
Now to setup Luma3DS, you just need to download the latest version of Luma3DS and place the "arm9loaderhax.bin" into the root of your SD card. That's really it, it's setup from there.
Now to load ReiNAND from Luma3DS. You just need to rename the "arm9loaderhax.bin" from reiNAND to anything, going with "ReiNAND.bin" and create 2 folders. One in the root of your SD card named "luma" and other in that folder named "payloads." So it will look something like

/luma/payloads/ReiNAND.bin

From there booting the system while holding "Start" will bring up a menu that you can select to launch ReiNAND or any other A9LH of your choosing.
BTW, another helpful thread is this one as well
http://gbatemp.net/threads/3ds-noob-paradise-ask-questions-here.359035/
I am about to head to bed, so I won't be replying for another couple of hourse.

 

[Beyns]

I

Luma3DS is the best CFW for people just starting out. It was made to be easy for everyone.
ReiNAND isn't that hard to setup, but it does require a few steps. You just need to download the latest version here and the latest firmware.bin from the repo to replace the 11.3 firmware in 5.1. Once you've done that you just need to replace the "arm9loaderhax.bin" and "rei" folder on the root of the SD card with the "arm9loaderhax.bin" and "rei" folder from ReiNAND 5.1.
Now to setup Luma3DS, you just need to download the latest version of Luma3DS and place the "arm9loaderhax.bin" into the root of your SD card. That's really it, it's setup from there.
Now to load ReiNAND from Luma3DS. You just need to rename the "arm9loaderhax.bin" from reiNAND to anything, going with "ReiNAND.bin" and create 2 folders. One in the root of your SD card named "luma" and other in that folder named "payloads." So it will look something like

/luma/payloads/ReiNAND.bin

From there booting the system while holding "Start" will bring up a menu that you can select to launch ReiNAND or any other A9LH of your choosing.
BTW, another helpful thread is this one as well
http://gbatemp.net/threads/3ds-noob-paradise-ask-questions-here.359035/
I am about to head to bed, so I won't be replying for another couple of hourse.

I also think that I have to postpone the set-up since I can't get it unless I do it while I'm reading it. I can't do it now since I don't have a SD Card Reader with me.
Thank you so much for helping! I'll be going back to you for further help!

 

[The Catboy]

I

I also think that I have to postpone the set-up since I can't get it unless I do it while I'm reading it. I can't do it now since I don't have a SD Card Reader with me.
Thank you so much for helping! I'll be going back to you for further help!

Yeah an SD card reader is rather important.
Right, don't be a stranger!

 

[Akshuls]

Thank you for this.. I updated my emunand to the latest firmware..(no idea what firmware it is..) after a 1 year hiatus and i was still using Rxtools now it wont boot.. Now to try to install Luma3DS some how.. Thank you!!

 

[thisisallowed]

I still don't see my fork here...

 

[The Catboy]

I still don't see my fork here...

I got high and forgot to add the subsection

 

[The Catboy]

Added 11.4 disclaimer to Puma and SALT

 

[thisisallowed]

I got high and forgot to add the subsection

Get low already

 

[The Catboy]

Get low already

Oh yeah! I was going to add that last night, then ended up going to work.
Right, I need to actually work on that at some point.
Edit: So I added it to the Luma3DS as section as a mention, because I really couldn't think of a way to add it. I was going to add an entire section to mention forks, but it seems most forks have gone quiet. So it's really hard to justify adding more sections, when only one fork seems active.

 

[thisisallowed]

Oh yeah! I was going to add that last night, then ended up going to work.
Right, I need to actually work on that at some point.
Edit: So I added it to the Luma3DS as section as a mention, because I really couldn't think of a way to add it. I was going to add an entire section to mention forks, but it seems most forks have gone quiet. So it's really hard to justify adding more sections, when only one fork seems active.

Fine than. Thanks. Also it has the factory firm protection patch and the SciresM cryptoserver, but those are minor.