3DS QR codes
The Nintendo 3DS family of handhel consoles includes a number of different models. These tend to come in flavours such as:
- 3DS - the original console with no-glasses 3D effect, folds in the middle like the other DS ("Dual Screen") consoles
- 2DS - removed the 3D feature (apparently causing harm to young children's eye development), and changed into non folding model
- New 3DS - faster CPU, now able to do SNES emulation and enhance certain games
- New 2DS - same faster CPU as the New 3DS, no 3D like the previous model 2DS, but now with a folding design like all other DS consoles
- XL/LL - various extra large models (larger screen, bigger form factor) across both the regular and "New" models.
All of these models include 802.11b/g 2.4GHz WiFi, and a camera.
All of these consoles can be software modified to use homebrew software, and in particular a piece of software called FBI written by Steveice10:
FBI enables the installation of the Nintendo 3DS CIA format packages. These packages can be put on an SD or MicroSD card (depending on 3DS model) to be installed locally. However using the native hardware's camera, a QR code can be scanned to pass the URL of a CIA file to the 3DS, and downloaded to its internal storage via WiFi.
You will need to have a console in the 3DS family modded for use with homebrew. RetroNAS can't do that for you, but there are good guides online:
You will also need to ensure you've installed the FBI package installer on your console once it can run homebrew:
Ensure your console is connected by WiFi to the same network that your RetroNAS device is on. In the 3DS home screen, navigate to "System Settings". Within the System Settings menu, click "Internet Settings", then "Connection Settings". From here, edit an existing connection if needed, or create a new one to connect to your access point. When the setting is complete and saved, all software on your 3DS/2DS, including homebrew, can use WiFi.
The following video shows how to install the tools on RetroNAS, launch the FBI installer on your console, scan the QR codes and copy packages to your console:
To install the RetroNAS component, run RetroNAS, navigate to "Install things" then "Nintendo 3DS QR code generator for FBI Homebrew".
This process will also install the HTTP server on RetroNAS (if you haven't done so already) and expose your entire RetroNAS share via read-only HTTP, which can be browsed by any standard HTTP 1.0 or better web browser.
The installer will create a directory called 3ds in the root of the RetroNAS path.
Below it will be two more folders:
-
3ds/cia- your CIA packages should be copied here (install Samba or Netatalk if you like to copy them from your computer) -
3ds/qr- your generated QR codes will be created here.
Take note of your RetroNAS IP address. You will need it later.
Copy your desired CIA files to the 3ds/cia folder of RetroNAS. You can use Samba, Netatalk, FTP or any other read/write protocol you like. Please take care with special characters. Spaces are OK, but strange unicode or punctuation characters sometimes don't work. Try to keep these simple and free from apostrophes, quotation marks, or other special characters.
Run RetroNAS, and navigate to "Tools", "Nintendo 3DS QR code generator for FBI homebrew". The script will show output of your CIA files being read, and a matching QR code PNG image file and HTML file generated for each one.
From any web browser (computer, phone, tablet, console - anything that can browse a website), put in the IP address of your RetroNAS device (prefix with "http://" if required).
Navigate to the 3ds folder, and then the qr folder below that. You should see a PNG file and a HTML file for each CIA file you copied over. You can click either of these. The HTML file simply puts a white background behind the PNG file (easier for the 3DS camera to see), and prints the game URL above so you can be sure it's the right file.
Turn on your 3DS, open the FBI app, navigate to "Remote Install", then "Scan QR code". Point your 3DS camera at the on screen QR code. FBI should recognise it, and print the URL in the top screen. The bottom screen will ask if it's OK to proceed. Tap "Yes" on the touch screen or press the A button.
The 3DS will download the CIA file to it's internal storage, and notify you that the install finished when done. The 3DS's internal WiFi is 802.11b/g, with a maximum theoretical connection speed of 54 Mbit/s (around 5 MB/s), however real world speeds will be somewhere around 600 KB/s for older 3DS models, and 1.5 MB/s for newer 3DS models due to their slow CPU speeds. For larger 3DS games that can clock in at over 3GB, you will need to be patient to download them completely.
When FBI confirms "Install finsihed", press the Home button to return to your home screen. Your console will tell you that a new item has been added to the home screen. Press OK and it will highlight an item that looks like a present. Press A or tap the touch screen to "unwrap" it. The game icon will appear in the bottom screen, and a 3D item in the top screen. Press A to run the software.
Once installed via this method, the software remains on the 3DS. You do not need to reinstall the title again. Simply run it from your home screen as normal each time.