Hacking The original R4 DS

[martravi]

This question is about the one and only original R4 DS from 2007-2008 which box is labelled with the URL http://www.r4ds.com/ . It is not about any of the later Flashcards from other manufacturers under the same "R4" brand which are labelled with different URLs.

I recently acquired one of the original R4 cards used-complete-in-box, more as a collectible than for practical usage. However, the cartridge casing is black rather than white, and the chinese text on the box is missing, which is different from how the R4 packaging is/was presented on the official website. The URL on the box however is the original one, and the cartridge itself has no URL printed on it, just like the original.

Also, the official website states in an FAQ, which was last updated in mid-2007:

Q: What colors are available from the R4 Adapter?
A: We are currently manufacturing White cart for first batch stock, we might consider other colors soon.

So, did I get a later batch of the R4, which uses a black casing and does not have the chinese text on the box, or is it a 1:1 clone that is able to run with the original firmware?

Again, this is less about practical usage and more for collecting reasons. I just want to know what I got.

 

[SoraJr]

I see no one replied, so hopefully I can. I personally have never seen a white casing for R4 cards that were real. They were probably gonna shipped them out, but stopped. There really isn't any information on that, from what I can see. If you wanna collect the newer ones like me here's a SITE that I used. I have a little collection too, lol

 

[SylverReZ]

Q: What colors are available from the R4 Adapter?
A: We are currently manufacturing White cart for first batch stock, we might consider other colors soon.

The original R4 cards would look something like this. The one on the left is the first revision with a spring loaded slot, these were reported to have faulty microSD slots that would break after many uses. The one on the right is the second revision (quoted "R4 V2"), that opted for a non spring-loaded slot, as well as changing the colour of the shell from white to black.

So, did I get a later batch of the R4, which uses a black casing and does not have the chinese text on the box, or is it a 1:1 clone that is able to run with the original firmware?

If it doesn't have any other branding on the cart's label like SD(HC) or capacity size stickers, then it should be legitimate; the same goes for the box. This is what a legitimate R4 cart PCB should look like.

Fake ones would either have a different solder mask or use a different firmware entirely.

 

[Apache Thunder]

I have recently acquired a genuine revision 1 R4...Might even be a revision 1.5 of sorts. It's using black shell instead of white and the chip markings show it as a ATF01 723# instead of 0733 or 0712. Uses the revision 1 MicroSD slot and revision 1 shell shape with fully molded pin separators.

If you find one of these, these are also the real deal.

 

[SylverReZ]

I have recently acquired a genuine revision 1 R4...Might even be a revision 1.5 of sorts. It's using black shell instead of white and the chip markings show it as a ATF01 723# instead of 0733 or 0712. Uses the revision 1 MicroSD slot and revision 1 shell shape with fully molded pin separators.

If you find one of these, these are also the real deal.

Yours is fairly uncommon, one of the V1 boards in a black shell. Later cards have 'CARD-7A' on the contacts which means that its a V2 board.