iFixit - Answers With Device "Nintendo 3DS"

Nintendo 3DS: How do I remove a jammed game from my 3DS?

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 23:28:31 -0700

My little brother inserted a game backwards, and now I can’t pull it out. What do I do?

⟐ Answer deleted março 16, 2021 at 23:28 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: 3DS Won't Turn On

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 04:05:16 -0700

This is the first edition of the 3DS, flame red.

I was driving in a car playing my charged 3DS and then I closed it and set it down. When I came back to it, the screen was black, so I powered it off. It would not power on after I powered it off so I came home and plugged it in. I tried powering it on, and the blue light, the charging light, the 3D Slider light and the Wifi light were all on, but the screen was black. I tried unplugging it, taking out the battery, taking out the SD card and turning it on and off but none of those worked. I checked for water damage, by listening to see if there was a popping noise.

Finally after repeatedly pressing the power button, it went to the screen that comes up when you press the power button once (Not hold down) while the system is in use, where it prompts you to either power off or to return to home menu. From there, it was able to return to home menu, where it was stuck on the loading screen for home menu. (The one where it says Home Menu and has a white backround.) The sound plays when you press the home button, but it stays there forever, I've left it on that point forever and nothing changes. The result says the same whether I do it with or without the SD card. I can turn 3D mode on and have it work while on that screen and the power off screen.

I've been mostly careful with my device, dropped a few times, but I have a wrist strap that has prevented most falls. No water damage has ever happened. A X and Y buttons slightly cracked from excessive SSB4.

I am wondering if this is either something wrong with the 3DS software or if it is some kind of damage to the actual circuitry. Thanks in advance to all who help.

Edit I: 2 Minutes after posting this, I found something that seems to have worked.

I read on... 3ds xl powers on but won't boot

That if you hold (Not sure if it was D-Pad Up or Circle Pad Up so I did both) and it could solve it. So I tried this and it is currently system updating.

Edit II: An Error Occurs while Updating? Can someone help me with this?

Edit III: 3DS was updated to latest version, but now I am back where I started ;-;

⟐ Commented dezembro 25, 2019 at 4:05 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: 3DS home button not working

Sat, 24 Jun 2017 16:47:34 -0700

Everything else works on the console apart from home button. I have replaced the button twice to no avail. Am I missing something or is the motherboard at fault?

⟐ Answered junho 24, 2017 at 16:47 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Why is my 3ds's 3d not turning off?

Sat, 10 Jun 2017 13:17:36 -0700

my 3d will not turn off plz help

⟐ Answered junho 10, 2017 at 13:17 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Original 3ds, blue light turning on and then turning off

Tue, 30 May 2017 01:14:37 -0700

Hi there i have a 3ds CTR-003 model and yesterday i tried to turn it on but the blue led indicator flashes for 1 or 2 seconds and the console does not turn on it does not make a popping sound ether i have no clue what it might be .

i installed A9LH susceffuly and know its turning on but it keeps spasing out always going down i dont know what it might be any ideas

⟐ Commented maio 30, 2017 at 1:14 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: How to replace upper screen on Nintendo 3DSxl?

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 07:21:21 -0700

is the screen different from the nintendo 3DS, and is the procedure to replace it different. is the screen for the Dsi xl the same?

⟐ Answer accepted setembro 08, 2016 at 7:21 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: How Do I Fix My Parental Code Problems

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 19:53:11 -0700

Someone changed my parental codes on both my girls Nintendo 3ds and they also changed my question as well. How do I fix this? I need to fix it soon to keep my girls off the internet or searching things I don't want them looking for.

⟐ Answered janeiro 14, 2016 at 19:53 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Screen freezes after one touch

Sun, 23 Aug 2015 13:43:22 -0700

My sons 3ds charges, and the screens both come on. I am able to click on the sd folders....they register as empty. Then if I try and touch any other icon (settings, web, camera) the game freezes? Can anyone one give suggestions?

⟐ Answered agosto 23, 2015 at 13:43 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: How do you fix a broken hinge

Thu, 22 Jan 2015 13:42:04 -0700

going to fix ds's and sell them of again need to know how to fix this stuff

⟐ Commented janeiro 22, 2015 at 13:42 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Nintendo 3DS full housing replacement

Wed, 14 Jan 2015 00:03:53 -0700

I have recently bought a 2nd hand 3DS and it was full of scratches and marks on the outer casing, i have bought a full housing replacement kit and was wondering if you could make a tutorial on how to use it.

⟐ Answer edited janeiro 14, 2015 at 0:03 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Not functioning correctly after water damage

Sun, 05 Jan 2014 12:27:24 -0700

i accidently dropped my 3DS in water. the power was on while underwater. i immediatly took it out of the water and then it automatically turned off. when i dried it off and turned it back on the top screen was completly black. after about 2 hours i turned it back on and the top screen was back on but there are now many other problems such as: circle pad moving by itself forcing all movements to go to the left

notifications light is staying lit green

A and X button not always responding.

does anyone know what i should do?? PLEASSEE HEELLP!!!!

⟐ Answer deleted janeiro 05, 2014 at 12:27 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Why won't my game work?

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 06:03:20 -0700

I had recently gotten a 3DS XL since my last one broke. I got it and started to play it on April 3rd. I decide I would play on of my favorite games, Tomodachi Life, and for a few days it was going pretty good, until April 7th. I took out the card of Tomodachi Life to start playing Miitopia, and after a good 1 hour and 30 minutes I took it out and put in the Tomodachi card again. It still read, but when I tried to get into the game it brought up and error screen. I tried turning off and on again, and I even cleaned it with rubbing alcohol, but no matter what I did, it still brought up that error screen.

All my other games work, but not this one. Everything is clean and none of it looks broken or damaged. If I can’t do anything about it I may just buy a new one. But if anyone has any ideas on how to fix this, please tell me.

⟐ Commented abril 08, 2020 at 6:03 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Broken 3D Slider on 3DS

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 12:18:32 -0700

The 3DS slider is broken, when it's off all the way, the 3D is still on. Even turning it off in Parental Controls didn't work.

Nintendo 3DS: Is there any way to enable battery use on a 3ds demo-unit?

Sun, 03 May 2015 03:46:49 -0700

Hi there!

I recently got a Nintendo 3ds which can't run from battery alone.

While connected to a charger, everything is fine. It can play regular 3ds games, do software updates, etc, but as soon as the cable is unplugged, the system shuts down.

I disassembled the 3ds and checked the usual suspects:

The charge port was fine and showed conductivity at every connection
Both fuses F1 and F2 showed conductivity
There are no signs of water damage or physical damage on the motherboard
The battery packs seem to charge. The orange charging light switches off after a while and both packs read open-circuit voltages at 4,12V(Nintendo) and 4,09V(3rd party) after charging.

After further research, I think this might be a demonstration unit for use in stores and therefore shows this special behavior:

If connected to a charger, it automatically starts up. After pressing the power button and choosing 'power off', the system will shutdown completely and after second automatically starts up again.

If the charger is pulled out at any point, the system will power off immediately. Pressing the power button has no effect.

Since I don't own a retail 3ds, I couldn't check the mainboard for missing traces or parts.

I'm curious how this behavior is forced and if it's software or hardware controlled, so if anyone has an idea or fix regarding that, I would really appreciate that :-)

I took some photos of my mainboard, if that helps:

Bottom right (battery connector)
Top right (charge port connector)
Mainboard side A
Mainboard side B

Nintendo 3DS: Only powering on with charger

Sat, 27 Sep 2025 20:27:45 -0700

I’ve recently bought a 3DS. It can only work when the charger is plugged in. The charger can charge the battery (I’ve checked with a multimeter and a spare battery). When I unplug the charger the device shuts off. 3DS also automatically powers on when I plug the charger cable. I checked the power button but when the device is open it functions properly. I haven’t found any postings with similar issue. What can be the cause of this?

⟐ Answered setembro 27, 2025 at 20:27 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: My 3DS Won't turn on?

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 10:45:40 -0700

I recently bought a Nintendo 3ds and after a month of playing it, it just shut off. Every time i press the power button, the blue power light shines for three to five seconds and then shuts off with a loud powering off sound. The system never completely turns on.

⟐ Answered abril 20, 2015 at 10:45 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Are there any possibilitys of downloading adobe flash player on the de

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 18:18:08 -0700

When my laptopis in use, I want to watch things on youtube but it says *DOWNLOAD ADOBE FLASH PLAYER*. Is there any way?

⟐ Answered novembro 04, 2014 at 18:18 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: 3DS R4 not working?

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:43:35 -0700

Just got the new R4, have downloaded the right kernel and my 3DS is updated to the right system, but the R4 still won't load games?

when i load the r4 and there's more than one game on the list, the screen freezes and when there's only one game on the list it freezes when I click on the game

any ideas?

⟐ Commented agosto 21, 2025 at 15:43 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Pressed the power button, it turns on but then turns off. And the scre

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 08:08:27 -0700

When you press the power button it turns on but it turns off instantly and the screen does not turn on at all I don't think it's the battery

⟐ Commented junho 05, 2024 at 8:08 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: Turns off with popping sound when moving the 3D depth slider

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 04:55:33 -0700

Hey! I replaced the charge port on a 3DS today and now when I turn it on and move the 3D depth slider up a little there is a popping sound and it shuts off. Could this be something to do with one of the flexes inside? I checked them all and they seem ok with no damage. Has anyone seen this problem before?

⟐ Answered janeiro 14, 2016 at 4:55 GMT-7