Nintendo has stopped producing its Nintendo 3DS handheld hardware for years, and the 3DS eShop for new downloading game purchases has been closed for months. Those realities, however, haven’t stopped the business from releasing a new firmware upgrade that appears to be aimed at impeding some of the most frequent techniques for installing homebrew software on the defunct system.
The unexpected release of 3DS firmware Ver. 11.17.0-50 on Monday night marks the console’s first official system update since last September and the fifth since the hardware was officially retired in 2020. The patch notes for the unexpected update include the now-standard (if vague) promise of “further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments [that] have been made to enhance the user experience.”
However, console hacking communities immediately discovered that installing the upgrade damaged several of the previously reported hacking methods for installing custom 3DS firmware.
According to users of the Nintendo Homebrew Discord, the latest firmware update does not appear to break custom firmware that was installed prior to any version 11.17 download. That implies that players who haven’t yet installed Nintendo’s firmware update can still personalize their device using any existing hacking method.
Things become a little more tricky for people who have updated to version 11.17, depending on the location and device model in question. A browser-based hacking method known as super-skaterhax is still available for New 3DS consoles from the European or Japanese regions. This approach will be “fixed” for US consoles “in the coming days,” according to the Nintendo Homebrew Discord.
However, if you have an “old” 3DS or 2DS model, your options become more limited. The only successful software-based hacking method for these consoles right now requires access to a DSiWare title that has been (or maybe) downloaded to the system. Other hacking methods, such as those that require access to specialized software, such as Cubic Ninja, are no longer supported by the new firmware, and it’s unknown when or if these methods will be upgraded.
Members of the community have already created a helpful interactive guide that walks users through which hacking methods will and will not work with the current firmware upgrade, as well as those that are expected to work in the near future.
The Nintendo Homebrew Discord, on the other hand, warns that “old” 3DS hardware is “not currently expected to have a free-software-only exploit” for downloading homebrew and suggests utilizing a pre-hacked flashcard to circumvent the system’s improved security.
In the long run, this new update appears to be little more than a speed block for 3DS owners who wish to enjoy homebrew software on their vintage portables (which, of course, includes the possibility of emulated and pirated software). Still, it’s a little disheartening to see Nintendo attempting to solve security gaps on a platform for which it has no active interest in developing or selling hardware or software.
After all, the last major homebrew-breaking Wii system upgrade was delivered in 2010, well before Nintendo ceased hardware production in 2013. This time, we have to question how long Nintendo will maintain the cat-and-mouse security war with individuals looking to hack a functionally dead platform.
