Installing boot9strap (Hardmod)

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An excellent guide to getting a hardmod can be found here. If you are on a New 3DS, read this and this before hardmodding.

This is a currently working implementation of the “FIRM partitions known-plaintext” exploit detailed here.

To use the magnet links on this page, you will need a torrent client like Deluge

This will work on New 3DS, New 2DS, Old 3DS, and Old 2DS on all versions that you have a corresponding .firm for.

What you need

  • Your NAND image extracted using your hardmod
  • The latest release of boot9strap (standard boot9strap; not the devkit file, not the ntr file)
  • The latest version of hardmod-b9s-installer
    • Windows users can use the compiled .exe, while Mac and Linux users will need to have Python 3 installed to run the .py
  • The latest release of Luma3DS (the .7z file)
  • The Homebrew Starter Kit
  • The .firm corresponding to your device and version:
Version(s) Kernel Old 3DS or Old 2DS New 3DS or New 2DS
1.0.0 2.27-0 2.27-0_1.0_OLD.firm -
1.1.0 2.28-0 2.28-0_1.1_OLD.firm -
2.0.0 2.29-7 2.29-7_2.0_OLD.firm -
2.1.0 2.30-18 2.30-18_2.1_OLD.firm -
2.2.0 2.31-40 2.31-40_2.2_OLD.firm -
3.0.0 2.32-15 2.32-15_3.0_OLD.firm -
4.0.0 2.33-4 2.33-4_4.0_OLD.firm -
4.1.0 - 4.5.0 2.34-0 2.34-0_4.1_OLD.firm -
5.0.0 2.35-6 2.35-6_5.0_OLD.firm -
5.1.0 2.36-0 2.36-0_5.1_OLD.firm -
6.0.0 2.37-0 2.37-0_6.0_OLD.firm -
6.1.0 - 6.4.0 2.38-0 2.38-0_6.1_OLD.firm -
7.0.0 - 7.1.0 2.39-4 2.39-0_7.0_OLD.firm -
7.2.0 2.40-0 2.40-0_7.2_OLD.firm -
8.0.0 2.44-6 2.44-6_8.0_OLD.firm -
8.1.0 2.45-5 - 2.45-5_8.1_NEW.firm
9.0.0 - 9.2.0 2.46-0 2.46-0_9.0_OLD.firm 2.46-0_9.0_NEW.firm
9.3.0 - 9.4.0 2.48-3 2.48-3_9.3_OLD.firm 2.48-3_9.3_NEW.firm
9.5.0 2.49-0 2.49-0_9.5_OLD.firm 2.49-0_9.5_NEW.firm
9.6.0 - 9.9.0 2.50-1 2.50-1_9.6_OLD.firm 2.50-1_9.6_NEW.firm
10.0.0 2.50-7 2.50-7_10.0_OLD.firm 2.50-7_10.0_NEW.firm
10.2.0 - 10.3.0 2.50-9 2.50-9_10.2_OLD.firm 2.50-9_10.2_NEW.firm
10.4.0 - 10.7.0 2.50-11 2.50-11_10.4_OLD.firm 2.50-11_10.4_NEW.firm
11.0.0 2.51-0 2.51-0_11.0_OLD.firm 2.51-0_11.0_NEW.firm
11.1.0 2.51-2 2.51-2_11.1_OLD.firm 2.51-2_11.1_NEW.firm
11.2.0 2.52-0 2.52-0_11.2_OLD.firm 2.52-0_11.2_NEW.firm
11.3.0 2.53-0 2.53-0_11.3_OLD.firm 2.53-0_11.3_NEW.firm
11.4.0 - 11.5.0 2.54-0 2.54-0_11.4_OLD.firm 2.54-0_11.4_NEW.firm

Instructions

Section I - Prep Work
  1. Copy boot.firm from the Luma3DS .7z to the root of your SD card
  2. Copy the contents of starter.zip to the root of your SD card
  3. Copy the hardmod-b9s-installer folder from the hardmod-b9s-installer .zip to your computer
  4. Copy your downloaded .firm to the hardmod-b9s-installer folder on your computer
  5. Rename your downloaded .firm in the hardmod-b9s-installer folder on your computer to current.firm
  6. Copy boot9strap.firm and boot9strap.firm.sha from the boot9strap .zip to the hardmod-b9s-installer folder on your computer
  7. Copy your NAND dump (from your hardmod) to the hardmod-b9s-installer folder on your computer and name it NAND.bin
Section II - Installing boot9strap
  1. Run hardmod-b9s-installer
    • Windows Users: Run install-b9s.exe
    • Mac and Linux Users: Run install-b9s.py
  2. Flash your outputted NAND-patched.bin to your device with your hardmod
  3. Reboot your device
Section III - Configuring Luma3DS
  1. Your device should have booted into the Luma3DS configuration menu
  2. Use the (A) button and the D-Pad to turn on the following:
    • “Show NAND or user string in System Settings”
  3. Press (Start) to save and reboot
    • If you get an error, just continue the next page

Continue to Finalizing Setup