R4 Card Not Working After 3ds Update Issues

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Hello, I have taken my new R4 Just yesterday, I already put the update firmware (11.5) from the official site. The only thing is that it dose not work!! I want to know if i need the official site to release the update version (the 11.6) or if there are other method to make it work. Nintendo 3DS screen show: 'No card'. The R4 3DS card can't find the TF card. It may be caused by 3 reasons: 1. You forget to put MicroSD card into the R4 card; 2. The connection between R4 3DS and MicroSD card is not well; 3. The TF card is broken. Users can check the port of R4 card, and make it work well. You can also try another MicroSD.

This post is about all you need to know before buying a R4 3DS card for either the Nintendo 3DS or the DS consoles. All the information here are keeping updated, so even you want to pickup a R4 flashcard in 2019 or 2020, the article is a Big Help.
First of All, Don't regard R4 3DS as the flashcard play 3DS Games, it works for Nintendo 3DS, not for 3DS Games.

How many R4 3DS cards in the market?

There are a number of r4 3ds flashcards in the market, some are popular, some are not-known, some are hot sales, some are out-dated. Be aware of the not-known and out-dated r4 3ds cards by checking the following list.
  1. R4I GOLD 3DS PLUS
  2. R4I SDHC 3DS RTS
  3. R4I B9S 3DS
  4. R4I GOLD PRO 2019
  5. R4ISDHC DUAL CORE 2019
  6. R4ISDHC RTS LITE 2019
  7. R4I GOLD EU 3DS
Excludes the above list, all the other R4 cards are Not Recommended in 2019 and 2020. Only they still have working official sites and active firmwares.

R4 3DS-Can it play 3DS and NDS games?

It's the Biggest question of R4 3DS. Many of you think the R4 3DS can play Nintendo 3DS Games. No, it's totally Wrong. R4 3DS Never Play 3DS Games, it's the DS Game Flashcard and it's called R4 3DS, only because it can work on 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS, NEW 3DS XL and NEW 2DS XL consoles.
But on the other hand, R4 3DS can help you play Nintendo 3DS games in another way. The popular R4 3DS I mention above, they are all supporting NTRboot Method, which is a rather easy way to boot custom firmware on any 3DS, so users can download CIA format 3DS Games to the 3DS SD Card, then they can play 3DS Games as well.
So in a word, though R4 3DS can't play 3DS Games, it can be useful to play 3DS Games.

What's the R4 3DS firmware working for?

The Firmware (or Kernel as it is more commonly called) is the heart and soul of the R4 3DS. Without the firmware files, your r4 will not be recognized when you insert it into your DS, DSi or Nintendo 3DS system. You can think of it as the bootloader or menu system for your ds card.
In fact, one of the biggest reasons why many have issues using their cards when they first receive them is because they have not yet installed/copied over the firmware files to their micro SD Card. The R4 3DS firmware is what will install the menu, and allow you to load all of the games, applications and software you have on your r4.
The firmware is free to download and use. And it needs to be updated at the same time once a new 3DS update block the R4 card. I always strongly urge all of R4 card users to use the latest and newest firmware and to install the newest versions as they are released. This helps prevent any issues with console updates that may temporarily not recognize the R4 3DS, as the new firmware once again enables all of the features of R4 3DS.

What's the Timebomb for R4 cards?

So what is the Timebomb on the R4 card? A time bomb is part of a program designed to start or stop working after a certain date or a certain period of time. The term 'time bomb' does not refer to a program that stops working after a certain number of days from installation; in this case, the term 'trialware' is more appropriate.
  • What is it: A timebomb is a method to softbrick your cart after a certain date, it will stop working after that time.
  • Purpose of it : The point of the timebomb is so the cart makers can stop updating the kernel, forcing you to buy a new cart.
  • How to remove: You can avoid it by either putting ysmenu as your R4i card kernel or rolling back the clock on your 3ds. Another way to avoid it is to always update to the latest kernel
Solution A: Set the time back to get it to work again
You can just change the year back when it happens in 2019 but after that some games which require the actual date to play well (Animal Crossing, Brain Age, etc) can’t be played.
Solution B: Run YSmenu for R4 cards with Timebomb
YSMenu is an alternate kernel. It’s no longer updated by the original creator but game patches are still made for it by Retrogamefan. You can find his multi-cart update pack on Filetrip.net. Inside the download are multiple folders, this card requires the contents of the one named “R4i-SDHC”. Just extract the files to the root of your SD, and run ysmenu.nds to boot it.
You can boot directly into it, bypassing the date check and original kernel, with a patched r4.dat. But from users’ experience, YSmenu has trouble playing some games on “r4isdhc.COM” cards, notable gen 5 Pokemon. So it’s better to use the original kernel and just run YSmenu.nds for the odd game that doesn’t work. You also lose the RTS feature when using YSMenu.
R4 Card Not Working After 3ds Update Issues

Setup Guide for R4 3DS

R4 3DS cards all are using the same method to setup, in short, download, drag, insert and play. The only thing to notice is Format your SD Card with Fat32 or Exfat. Quite simple for the newbies and kids.
  1. Insert a Micro SD card into an SD card reader. Plug the SD card reader into your computer’s USB port. This usually comes bundled with the R4i gold pro/R4i dual core card when it is purchased. Format it on your PC with fast32 or exfat.
  2. Download the latest R4 3ds firmware from their each own websites. Go to “Start” and launch the “Computer” applet to copy all downloaded files to the main root of your Micro SD card.
  3. Download DS games from the Internat, you will have a file extension of “.nds,” and press “CTRL” and “A” to copy the files to your sd card root folder too.
  4. Disconnect the Micro SD card from the card reader and insert it into your R4 3DS flash card. Insert your flash card into the Nintendo DS/3DS’s top slot and turn the device on. You can now place the R4 card into the cartridge slot in your Nintendo DS/3DS and play the games you downloaded!

Emulators for R4 3DS Cards

R4 card is known for playing DS games and homebrews, that's to say, besides playing the NDS roms, R4 3DS also support you to play GB/GBC/SNES/NES/N64 and other classic retro games.
  • NeoDS: R4 3ds emulator for Neo Geo games.
  • DSCraft: R4 3ds emulator for Minecraft.
  • Lameboy: R4 3ds emulator for Gameboy Color.
  • GameYob: R4 3ds emulator for Gameboy and Gameboy Color.
  • NesDS: R4 3ds emulator for NES games.
  • ZXDS: R4 3ds emulator for ZX Spectrum.
  • Stella DS: R4 3ds emulator Atari 2600.
  • JenesisDS: R4 3ds emulator for Mega Drive/Sega Genesis games.
  • FrodoDS: R4 3ds emulator for Commodore 64/C64.
  • S8DS: R4 3ds emulator for Sega Game Gear.

Why Amazon, Ebay, Newegg and Aliexpress are not safe sites for R4 3DS purchase?

Flashcard is related to Piracy, it's not allowed to sold in Amazon, Ebay, Newegg, Aliexpress or any places like them. Even you can find some retailers in these sites and maybe they have cheaper price, please Keep In Mind, all these sellers will be Removed Sooner or Later by Amazon, Ebay, Newegg and Aliexpress.
R4 card not working after 3ds update issues free

R4 Card Not Working After 3ds Update Issues Windows 10

Then you Can't get any After-sale Service if your card with any problem after purchase. There are a number of R4 websites, just choose a trusted one to buy from, like the Anxchip.com, which offer 1 Year Guarantee for Flashcards they sell.

The best R4 3DS Card in 2019&2020

3ds

R4 Card Not Working After 3ds Update Issues Download

No matter go anywhere, Gbatemp forum or the Reddit, the most recommended R4 3DS is the R4i gold plus or R4i gold 3ds plus. This is the Best R4 3DS card I can introduce you in 2019 to 2020. It's upgraded from the first R4 3DS-R4i gold 3ds rts, be released in 2017 with a new design.
Pros

R4 Card Not Working After 3ds Update Issues Windows 10

+ Preflashed to be used with NTRBootHax.
+ As it has a switch to change modes it’s not necessary to flash it again to use it in DS mode.
+ Official support of WoodR4
+ This team is well known by supporting their DS flashcards.
+ No timebomb. Other flashcards stop working when a concrete date is passed, this flashcard is free of this problem.
+ Good compatibility.

R4 Card Not Working After 3ds Update Issues Ios

Review

R4 Card Not Working After 3ds Update Issues Today

I would recommend the R4 Gold Plus. I have tried a couple of other R4 cards in the past, and this is definitely the best IMHO ! It uses the Wood OS, which allows you to set up subdirectories for games, rather than a linear list, which can be cumbersome when you have a lot of games. If you want to play GB/GBC games, you can use lameboy.nds on the R4 card, which is totally excellent !