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Repairing a FAULTY Nintendo 3DS Pokémon Game Card | RAW/UNEDITED VIDEO
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- Опубликовано: 24 фев 2022
- This video is a raw, unedited segment that I originally released 5/5/21.
Unbelievably, I happen to have a copy of Pokemon Omega Ruby that I purchased from eBay months ago without ever testing it. In light of all of the buzz surrounding the alleged failure of Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, I wanted to analyze, to the best of my ability the most plausible explanation for these reports.
My copy of Omega Ruby wasn't working. I cleaned the cartridge and tested it thoroughly between 3 different 3DS systems to no avail.
I carefully broke the cartridge down to reveal the EXTRA-ROM memory in TSOP form. By my estimation, the most plausible explanation is the solder becoming fatigued on these delicate, surface mounted components after several insertion cycles. This can result in "opens" being created across the address and data bus lines, resulting in a loss of connection between the 3DS hardware and the cartridge itself.
I re-flowed the TSOP memory module, and as the video shows, the cart is back to complete operational working order, with SAVE data intact.
This is of course anecdotal and just a theory. I can't definitely speak for all of the 3DS Pokemon cartridges that are in a state of failure. However, the problem in my case was quantifiable and proven.
This problem is something that I documented (and how to fix it too!) in a Game Boy cartridge repair video that I did years ago.
#3DS #Solder #Modding
If this is happening with 3DS games then it probably is also an issue with DS games, unless the latter is using a less dense package. I agree that there is a lot of nonsense out there. You have to do the repair. You can't say what is wrong with something by guessing.
Yes. You're 100% right.
@@Voultar I have a feeling that this is what is wrong with my copy of smash bros because I have problems with it freezing mid game and not getting past the title screen. Imma look into it myself and tell ya what happens
@@JohnSmith-laws same man. Mine says loading after booting up and just crashes. I bought a few more copies a few weeks ago for 7.99 so I don't mind opening this one up.
00:20
"This. Isnt. Booty"
No sir, it is not
Age of Empire DS was built like shit, I never investigated the source but I had a huge pile of these carts sitting on a shelf at some point.
a reflow and a good clean is how i usually end up accidentally fixing things when i have no clue of what the issue is
Its always a good thing to reflow. That's how I fixed my copy of Rampage for the GBC after it had stopped working over 16 years ago.
Same, I fixed my Pokemon Crystal after reflowing the first chip. It's a really easy fix and it doesn't hurt to try it first before any other diagnosing goes into it.
Did this for a couple DS and 3DS games, along with my copy of Poke'mon Blue. Still working to this day. I did it because I was thinking... "What would Lord Voultar do?". No lie, man. you've inspired me to do a ton of fixing and upgrades for myself. PS3's, PS2's, Gameboys, 3DS's.....Done a few fiends mods as well, which to this day have had no issues, thanks to these vids. I appreciate you brother!
Got an RGB mod chip coming from you for my N64 as of this morning. Thanks for all you do, Man!!!
How do I do it?
Expect to do this more commonly with the 3DS given the solder for many games lacks lead, so is more brittle (likely the issue here is microfractures you'd need an even stronger zoom lense and focus to find). Thank God for flux, seriously, that stuff just makes this so much easier.
Also, I didn't know it was easy to put DS carts back together. I have to figure a way of opening them so I can close them again. They're quite fragile. Good to know though. Do you recommend a really fine plastic prying tool?
This sort of thing is why selling games whose shells are literally glued together should've never been allowed.
A heat gun should sort that out
not only can the thin pcb flex and fatigue the joints over time BUT the high tin solder used by most manufacturers since the early 80s is actually prone to crystallizing which means the internal structure of the metal solder changes and slowly becomes more brittle over time
Note: A couple of Months after the physical vesions of Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, they were regarded by many people as being a defective batch due to their rushed soldering. It was noted that you could re-solder the connections but that it was very difficult of a task due to how small the pins are. Thank You for making this look easy/showing how it can be fixed.
Note: The only other defective batch I know of is Persona Q. There is nothing physically wrong with the Cartridges but there is a bug that results in the game crashing on the Final Boss every time. At the time, Atlus would offer a code for the digital version which works perfectly (if you agreed to show them photographic proof that you destroyed the game cardtridge) but due to it being a much older title (about 8+ years), they do not offer such a thing anymore. (also like, where can you buy a new copy of Persona Q from a retailer these days?)
If I got a persona Q I’d there no way to fix it?
For me, it was my pokemon Y cartridge 😭
Thankfully, my Alpha Sapphire seems to still be okay but my pokemon Y had this issue 3 months after getting the game. I was absolutely heartbroken because I had my second shiny ever on that game (shiny Scrafty that was lv 100) and the only solution people gave me was to exchange my game for a new one. Luckily pokemon bank came out and it would still turn on sometimes, but now it's completely toast (likely cause it has the same issue and after years it finally gave up).
This gives me hope that I can maybe find someone who can fix it and preserve my game file if I ever want to look back on it! Sure, the pokemon are saved, but it would be nice to have access to everything else on my old game too 😅
damnnn i have THE SAME PROBLEM with my pokemon Y. my game keeps crashing when i try to reset and on boot it says its currupted, dang i didnt want to open it @@3amhellbeast
thank you so so much for this. Each day more I think most if not all hardware must be repaired, saved, repurposed etc instead of throwing it to trash. I am even offering to fix stuff for free where I live because I truly absolutely hate to see hardware hitting the bid.
If you could fix my cart I’d be forever in your debt
@@AShinyPiplupTTV I would love to try
Id super appreciate it
genius work as always. sometimes the simplest fixes are the best ones!
It’s just solder work. Let’s not go crazy lol
I have a copy of Omega Ruby that failed as well. The game would start up and then quickly error out before you could play it. It's a legit cart, I'd played it for a while, but when I went back to it it was dead like that. It's the ONLY official cart I've had that's failed like that, very strange.
I've had the same thing happen with my pokemon Y cartridge
I'm not able to do any of those repairs on my now, still recognized, but un-launchable AS cartridge. However, I'm not sure, but while going through the "additional game datas" stored on the 3ds, I saw ORSA data, possibly save files, as it wasn't in the update section. I still have hope I can recover my pokemon someday...
I was able to recover my pokemon via Pokemon Bank off my copy of X even though X fails to boot. Might want to see if Bank can touch the save file still.
This happened to my Pokemon Leafgreen when I was 12. 13 years later I took it to a repair shop and they did this exact procedure to fix it. I raced home and dumped my childhood save.
Makes me somewhat happy that I never really took out my 3ds games constantly and usually played through them entirely before playing something else.
Bingo! Thanks for this, the internet had me believing some ORAS cartridges were made with a defective batch of flash chips.
Now that I think back, a couple decades ago back before I really knew what I was doing with electronics, my cousin had a Pokemon Yellow cartridge that would boot but all the trainer and Pokemon sprites were glitchy garbage Missingno-looking things. I opened the cartridge (I had a miniature hex nut driver that happened to work with Nintendo gamebit screws with some minor pressure) and found that the game would work properly if I pressed down on the mask ROM chip. At the time I assumed it was something wrong inside the chip but now I realize it was probably this. Anyway I knew pressing on it made it work, so I set a small wad of paper on top of it and closed the cartridge so the lid pressed on the paper which pressed on the chip. I'm not sure how long it went on working but he never said it was messed up again.
Nintendo employee: Boss, Boss! Someone's figured out our technique of making sure that games from previous systems eventually stop working! If this keeps up, they'll keep playing their old games and won't buy new ones!
Nintendo Boss: Execute Order 66!
Nintendo employee: Yes sir, 3 RUclips copyright strikes and a DMCA notice coming right up!
I was having a very bad day for reasons I'd rather not discuss. And I couldn't stop laughing at this comment. Thanks so much. You made my day
There definitely seems to be some statistical irregularity with this particular title, its counterpart Alpha Sapphire, and the US release of Persona Q, which came out within days of OR/AS. It's possible that that irregularity is in the form of a bad batch of solder instead of a bad batch of flash ROMs, so I'm not discounting the work presented in this video - it's definitely an interesting thing to consider, though it might be tough to test at any sufficient scale given the fact that most laypeople will not attempt a reflow of their own cartridges.
But it's also possible that this is anecdotal (especially since the majority of defective OR/AS cartridges reported are the PEGI release, not the ESRB release as shown in this video). There's also the fact that some people with defective cartridges and the capacity to dump 3DS games have dumped their faulty cartridge and found a relatively small number of discrepancies from a verified good dump - which, to me, points to data retention failure in the flash chip more than solder problems, which would presumably lead to a much greater number of discrepancies or a complete inability to read the ROM at all.
Hopefully both avenues will be explored, as this certainly is promising, and I frankly prefer this soldering issue to be the problem since it's fixable. But I'd also hate to see this spread as a 'debunking' of the reported problems when much more investigation is still required.
Thanks for the video!
Absolutely nobody under any circumstances has presented the information in this video in a manner that "debunks" the reports circulating of certain 3DS titles failing. I've said repeatedly and unequivocally that this is all incredibly anecdotal and can't possibly be asserted as an across the board fact or "fix".
@@Voultar Yeah I agree you did not remotely present it as that, and I am not accusing you of doing so. I'm speaking generally because these things all have a way of telephone-ing quickly and getting out of hand (like the initial story of "50% of copies have failed" as you mentioned on your Twiter feed).
@@Voultar I find it HIGHLY unlikely that Flash chips are failing this quickly. These carts aren't even 10 years old, and I have EEPROMs made with MUCH worse technology from the 1990s that still work fine like motherboard BIOSes.
Dumps are mostly made from inserting a cartridge to a hacked console, wouldn't those discrepancies be made from failing to read due to faulty soldering? Either booting a game or dumping it, it's still the console reading a cartridge.
@@Voultar I have 6 Italian (European version) ORAS game, 2 are not recognized, 3 with crash ingame. All 5 has been reflowed and only the 2 not working now are working fine. 3 with problems still have the problem. Tonight I will dump all the games to do a hex comparison. Almost all of them have been barely used. Only a Ruby has been hard used with >300 hours ingame (now is crashing ingame).
Dude I was just working on a solder project and got frustrated and walked away. Then ya boi Voultar over here uploads a new video reminding me why I took up the hobby.
Damn. This is crazy. Nice save, Voultar!
I was telling people about that when the whole craze happened. I had reflowed some Persona Q and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby's... there is a defect in fab though as these carts will fail more than others. Though it's really not the case of DOA where chips will die out even if you don't use them. People said I was crazy that it was everywhere. PS5's redesign was also everywhere for running hotter, when it fact it wasn't. Viewcounts > Reason.
So other 3ds pokemon games like pokemon sun and moon etc. have not this problem?
@@thatboi567 To my knowledge only Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire and Persona Q were built like that.
@@thatboi567 My Y cart has issue. Could be wear heard a weird click before/during insertion though it went in fine, moved the save to sd fine but it shows up, not booting though. Has a playthrough or less so no massive wear. Likely getting a solder to try this out sometime.
@@dianaalyssa8726 I have the exact same issue with my y cart. I can still transfer pokemon in and out of pokebank though the 3DS just won't read it
@@thatboi567 nope. I have X i have Alpha sapphire then Sun and Ultra moon. The only one that doesn't work is my Alpha sapphire. The others all work just fine so it mainly is an issue with those particular cartridges as the other games have had 0 issues at all
Good work!
I managed to get open my Pokémon Y game. I’m 100% sure I have the same issue as you did. I’m not as elegant, but I managed to get it open using a small flat head screw driver and my finger nail with some damage to the case, but I’m happy with my work. It’s minimal damage and the plastic casing definitely can still be used only minor issues. Now the soldering thing I have zero experience with so I’ll need to ask around and see if someone can help me with that part lol.
dude my pokemon Y game doesn’t work either and idk anything about soldering :( i bought it used from gamestop and the game never read
@zombae I had the same scenario just happen to me. I guess its time to learn how to solder
Voultar is starting to youtube more. Hell yeah, keep pumping the videos out!
Thanks as always for the wonderful video: it's always a pleasure to see you pop up in my notifications!
I tried it, and it didn't fix mine. So I tried it again, and it still didn't fix it. Then I put it under a hot air rework station and fully removed the memory chip, cleaned all traces of the crappy lead free solder off the pads, and resoldered it again with lead solder. It STILL didn't work. At the same time, I repeatedly ran the cartridge though the 3ds corrupted cartridge fixer tool that skawo posted over on GBAtemp. It fixed other cartridges, but not this one.
So... yeah. My copy of omega ruby is done for.
I'm going through the exact same. I feel you. May your copy rest eternally in peace..
@@Chop109 Hey on the bright side, I was able to save the pokemon off the cartridge.
I wonder if this is the issue I have with my copy of Pokémon Diamond. I've owned it since 2008 and a few years ago, the game wont read in any of my DS or 3DS systems. I still held on to it, hoping to figure out what the issue could be.
I guess there's only way to find out. Check the cartridges and reflow the said joints
Before doing that, clean it really thoroughly, using alcohol and some cotton, maybe it's just junk in the pins
Hi Voultar, in the particular case of this cartridge; when you say it "wasn't booting", in what ways specifically was the system reacting to this cart? I have a copy of Pokemon Y that the system recognizes as Pokemon Y, it loads the icon (bottom screen cart icon), but then it fails to load the banner (top screen). It does also show me the update notice to download the game's v1.5 update but upon trying to launch the game, I get the "This Game Card could not be read." message. Same exact problem on two 3DS systems, my original launch unit, and also on my main system, a New 3DS XL Samus Edition. Note: I was able to successfully recover the save file off of the cartridge. Also, a dump of the cartridge resulted in a corrupt dump that doesn't match known hashes. It did however fully dump the 2GB.
It still could be some address lines that aren't properly connected. What are the differences in the dump? If it's only some bytes, then the rom could be corrupted.
I have a copy of Alpha Sapphire that has this same problem. I got it off of eBay used with the intention of reflowing it and it still isn’t working. Save is fine but the rom dumps but is corrupted.
@@ponjadito23 I'm waiting on a replacement copy to compare against. But really, if one of the data lines was disconnected, I'm pretty sure the icon would not load, it wouldn't be recognized as Pokemon Y and also that the save would not be accessible either. Based on the description in the video, this cart simply didn't do anything at all in a 3DS, and now works after reflowing the chip.
@@driverdis3488 I believe that the ROM is indeed corrupt somehow. The icon is loading, but not the banner. I'm going to compare the differences in the bytes once my replacement arrives. Luckily, the save was recoverable without destroying the cart shell and doing a reflow I don't have the tools for.
@@IcySon55 I would assume it is the rom as well since the data lines are working enough to dump the save partition of the flash just fine and only the rom partition is bad. Mine has a working banner and starts the intro then errors out sometimes right at reaching the save menu. The save itself is fine as it works when injected into another cart.
I found out a while ago that my Fire Emblem Awakening was stuck in bootloop. I looked it up and the reason I was given was due to the chip going out. This absolutely sent me into depresso mode since I lost all of my save data on a game I played so much of. After watching this though, I realize there still may be a chance at salvaging it all. Gods, I hope so.
5 months later, any update?
@@daimao5184 Doubt it.
@@ItsIdaho if that's the case, oh well
@@daimao5184 I'll attempt it with my Alpha Sapphire card tomorrow.
@@ItsIdahodid it work, dude?
Nice to see this video go public. Haven't used my Omega Ruby in a while, but even then it was freshly bought from Target and used for a few seconds.
This is why its worth it to hack your 3DS. It is not hard to do at all, and you get to backup your games and your save files. But relieved to know there is a fix anyways. Thanks for the video.
I know this is an old video but I do need help. My alpha sapphire copy will boot and show up on my 3DS XL Home Screen but when I click it it always says “ This Card could not be read” one time about two years ago, I had played it in, it booted up but then immediately shut back down. I really want my Pokémon in my party and daycare because I had some good Pokémon up there and I transferred some of what I had from Pokémon X to Alpha Sapphire and now I regret it. I honestly need help. I wanna play this game again🥺
I had the same issue on a cart I just got on Ebay.
I had something similar happen to me with an Arcade Card Duo, games that needed it would boot but then they would be missing sprites or backgrounds. It was a relatively expensive acquisition so I was bummed. I opened it up, saw nothing out of the ordinary and just figured I might as well take a shot at reflowing all of the solder joints. After that, I slot it back into the PC Engine Duo and voilà, it worked.
How hard/destructive was opening up the Arcade Card Duo to do the repair? Did you happen to take pics of the board out of curiosity ?
@@saruhankarademir9806 IIRC I think I did take pictures. If you're careful it's not destructive at all. The backside is a metallic sheet that's adhered on to the plastic housing. Mine was already opening up a bit, I used a pick from the ifixit kit to go around the perimeter. Then I glued it back on with some spray adhesive. Looks good as new.
@@hadesmcc that’s really good to know. Mine has been fine (for the most part) and I keep it in my pc engine most of the time, but I suspect I’ll be doing this sooner than later.
Which type spray adhesive did you use?
I just successfully tried this on a dead Pokemon Diamond DS cart. Thank you for the demonstration and clear explanation.
Great video. I love seeing repairs of games and systems left for dead. Great save!
Mine doesn't go past the Start Screen. Then on another 3DS it just freezes after entering the save file on Alpha Sapphire. I'll definitely try this out.
Hello voultar i am having the same issue with my alpha sapphire game. However i truly dont trust myself to fix it. Pokemon that have been with me for ages are stuck in my pokemon main box that cannot be transferred out through pokemon bank. Could u please help me? Even if i have to pay or ship
I have a Persona Q cartridge that doesn't boot, it has the 3DS menu icon but when I play it, the error mesaage shows up.
I should try your technique, I spent 30 bucks on it, and turned out to be defective. Talk about rotten luck.
What was the original error? Does the game icon not even show up? I have super smash bros 3ds, the icon shows up but when i try to run the game it gives: This game card could not be read. Can this be fixed with reflowing it?
Did you fix it, I have the same problem with the same game, I have played the game in some years but idk what happend, it was in the box all the time
I know i might be late to the party but can someone please explain what liquid he used? Maybe also what is he doing, is he heating those parts ti make them connect? Like welding them?
The liquid is called flux. What he’s doing is soldering - specifically, it’s a technique known as “reflowing”. And yeah, it’s analogous to welding only it’s for electronics.
This is really good info to have and I hope it gets tested more on 3ds games that cant be recognized. Why is the video unlisted btw?
I'm having the same issue with my copy of OR that I bought when it came out. It relieves me to know that the save data will survive if I use this method. I now just need to find someone who knows how to do this.
call around retro video game stores in your area. I've been doing the same, found a place an hour away that does it lmao
i tried but my game is just really corrupted and unable to perform i guess i can only buy a new one but this time it will be pokemom moon not pokemon x hopefully they give me a good quality one this time i'll try to keep it in the container when i don't use it
anyone know if nintendo is doing anything abt this?
edit: Nintendo couldn't fix it due to not having the tools, but they gave me an e-shop code for the game and sent back my cartridge so i could transfer my save. i have nothing to lose so I'm gonna try this anyway.
That's great that Nintendo gave you an ecode. I contacted Altus about my Persona Q cartridge problem and they told me it was too old and told me to go pound salt.
@@djkraus68 oof. maybe contact nintendo? idk they might be able to do something, as their customer service is top-notch. I'm pretty sure I wasn't even charged for shipping.
@@d33p345 I contacted Sega who owns Atlus and does their tech support and they are not helpful. Nintendo support is great ... I had joycons replaced and returned in no time. I wonder if there will be similar problems in the future with Switch cartidges.
What happens if that black thing breaks half? Is there any way to repair or that contains all the game data?
At what point to you start to worry about overheating chips / components with the soldering iron? I worry about cooking things by accident a lot, so I was curious if you have a rule of thumb. Anyway, this is a great video clip.
It's fine as long as the soldering iron has grease for flow/keeping the area cool.
@@Majinhero oh, cool. Thanks!
i tried doing this on alpha sapphire but since it was my first time soldering, four middle pins were joined together in a blobby mess. it was fun though thank you for video. since its still not working i didnt really lose anything
I bought a game on ebay and it loads up the icon but it will never boot and when I choose the manual option on the home screen it reads "game cartridge was removed." was this the same issue as pokemon game?
Remember the importance of Right to Repair!
Same issue on a Y cart I purchased, legal, save transferred using their tool but now it won't boot. I think it was ejected from New 3DS too soon but had closed out of the game. Hoping it can be fixed if I fiddle with it.
Any update on this? Did it work?
Aveces el problema es el desgaste de las pistas qué hacen el contacto con el lector de la consola y únicamente con volver a limpiarlo con alcohol y pulir con una goma de lápiz es suficiente para eliminar el falso que hay cuando la consola trata de leer el juego.
Voultar, what a guy! Nice stuff man!
My Alpha Sapphire stopped working as well, no boot at all. I've never soldered however, do you think I could do this? I also couldn't understand the liquid you put on it. What was it?
Hot damn. My copy of X just failed. I might have to learn how to do this. Was able to transfer my pokemon via Pokemon Bank but the game itself won't boot.
My Wifes Omega Ruby shows but says "This Game Card Could Not Be Read" is this the same issue and possibly require the same fix not that I trust myself to do this anyway...
might be an issue with cartrige pins making bad contact. try cleaning them with isopropyl. also the console's cartrige slot (albiet carefully, you dont want to break it)
Sorry what is the liquid? English is my secondary language and I can't hear ehat you're saying.
There is Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon for very very chwap for sale that suddenly stopped working, shows up in menu but crashes, I'm contemplating getting it
Liquid is called "flux," it's important for cleaning your work so the bond isn't brittle. Basically if you don't use it, you could manage to solder correctly and still have it break again soon after.
The game that is broken for me is Alpha Spahire. Maybe it was a common issue?
OK so, my AlphaSapphire has had this problem for a few years now. I'd like to try fixing it soon, but I'd like to backup the save data on the card. I just modded my 3DS, and tried using Checkpoint, but it doesn't work because it doesn't see the game. Is there another application I can use instead?
Voultar introduces his tip and all is well. Great save 👏
Awesome video I'm glad you already may have a solution to this problem 😀
Is there a possibility that ill mess my game up if i have never done this before??
Yes. That's why it is better to practice first on throwaway game carts.
Just for my understanding: the flux helps to you not bridge all of those pins, right? I am a little worried that I will create a big mess and accidentally join all the pins together.
I've got a similar issue to this and I was greatful to stumble across this video! I have a pokemon white 2 copy for they life i can't get it to stay working. I havent tried any soldering on it but i have tried cleaning it. It only works when it IPA has been applied. This at least gave a hint on what to just need to learn soldering and need to figure out wich chip needs a reflow. I can now rest easy now that I know it can be saved.
So there is a potential fix. I was feeling nostalgic today, only to discover my copy of OmegaRuby had failed. Now I just need to figure out how to find someone capable of making the repairs.
I'll do it for free if anybody wants to stop by northeast Nevada, unfortunately I'm way too lazy to do shipping. Might be able to find someone on craigslist or eevblog forums
Loving the bite sized videos.
I checked the dump of my AS cartridge that stopped working, I found the dump to be almost perfect with only 10 differences against a good dump, so I doubt in my case that it's bad solder.
Or maybe the heat from the soldering iron somehow revive the flash cells ?
I have the same problem. What are the pbc codes on top of the contacts? The last digits are D01-10. And the batch code on the back side in black?
@@PrimoAngelo00 D01-10
ECLPX42001
@@indask8 I Have 42342
I have the same issue, reflowing doesn't do anything in this case
Batch codes:
ECLPX42125
DS C-2 D01-10
With a bad dump, I wonder if it is possible to correct those errors and flash to a replacement chip as long as the private header data is not corrupt as well.
I just popped in to say, Bob likes horses.
Does anyone know the type of no clean flux he uses? I know he's said it before, but I don't want to search through all the videos. I think it's a model of Kester.
most electronic fails are a broken connection/wire of some kind, over the decades the only thing that changed is the size of the wire.
Step one is always check the connections to the parts starting from power supply(by that I mean the wall, not the PSU of a device) inwards, to eventually the part and if its more complicated and has more parts, power supply into those parts, then into the main part, whoever wrote those articles is ignoring basic diagnostics o problems.
slapping anything with a "these things just break LOL" is a sign of a lazy asshole.
Good work on the repair, and showing people how to do it, and inspiring people to repair. you got my like n sub.
repaired many a gameboy cart with the ol reflow tek. sometimes traces get worn out from the cycling too
I have to say I tried the same after watching this video and I fixed my Pokemon Sapphire game reflowing the eeproms and the capacitors/resistors. Now it's working perfectly
How do I do this?
@@thecreaturehunter did you watch the video?
How did you fix it ? I have the same problem. My copy of alpha sapphire it is not read by my 3ds.
So I took apart a PAL Alpha Sapphire today, reflowed it... Sadly doesn't seem to have fixed anything, spent a few hours but no dice :/
At least it didn't cost me too much to buy but yeah, real bummer. I do believe that this one may have just reached the end of its flash lifespan sadly
What you can do (and what I did yesterday): hack your 3ds (tons of very good guides available), dump the savegame to an SD card, get a working copy of moon, load it onto that cartridge. Nothing illegal doing that, and the mons can even be transferred to bank as the savegame was not altered in any way
If the flash is dead you won't be able to dump the save, but as long as the game is recognized in the home screen you should be gucci
Yes, unfortunatelly bit rotting are killing them in mass, not loose pins. Loose pins are a very little %.
I bought Pokémon Omega Ruby on its release in 2014. I played the game for a bit but then, life circumstances forced me away from my 3DS for years. So the game sat in the console cartridge port all the way to 2021, and it barely saw any insertion cycling. Late 2021, I got to play with my 3DS again, and when I tried to play Omega Ruby, it gave out an error that force a console reset every time I tried to boot the game.
I highly doubt the issue with my copy is mechanical wear of the cartridge, might be wear on the console cartridge port, but then again it works fine with all my other games, including Alpha Sapphire I purchased at the same time as Omega Ruby.
I ended up buying a downloadable version to preserve my game befor the eshop shuts down.
This didn't happen to me with Pokémon Omega Ruby when I got it but my Pokémon Moon is a brand new copy and it's already broken without even being used. It's literally so annoying because I have gotten Pokémon Moon twice because the game wasn't in there and now I have a faulty copy with no reason to be broken. I wouldn't open up the cartidge but I was wondering where I could get a repair.
My Pokémon X has stopped being read by my 3DS and I have no idea what to do. I have tried cleaning it and the cartridge itself looks completely fine but I feel like there's some sort of internal problem. What would you say I do now as I am incredibly attached to this game and it has years of sentimental value and I am devastated at the thought of never being able to use those Pokémon again. I'd pay someone to do this but I don't know where someone would do this. If you reply to this, thank you so much. Regards, Sam.
I'm literally clueless on what to do with my game card. I'll pay for someone like you to fix it. I just really want my Pokémon X to work again 😭
@@Samuel-ih1eoHave you found any solution to this? Happened to my 1200+ hour Y version too
OH WOW YOU DID IT! if i have no experience with repairing games and i dont have access to these tools, how would i go about trying to fix my game? i can tell the save datas intact bc i can take pokemon out of my save via pkmn home.
Stumbled upon this today... Found my copies of HeartGold and Alpha Sapphire neither worked was able to clean the contacts on the HG so it read, cleaned up AS but it gives a "This Game Card could not be read" message. Sometimes it'll actually load in, play the 3DS intro and then go black and give me an error message that requires me to completely power down my 3DS. The save file is still intact (Pokemon bank can pull it). One thing I will note is despite my cleaning efforts with isopropyl 70% alcohol there's still a tiny dot near the board on the middle contact, I'm not sure if the issue is this tiny dot (what are the odds that there was virtually no gunk but one tiny dots worth ate through?!) Or possibly this flow issue.
I'm concerned because there's at least 1 Pokemon I really want to keep that is on my team (honestly there's a few others but one I really care about) and the party is the only group that can't be put into the bank...
I'm trying to figure out if trying this is worth it, my alternative is jailbreaking to backup the save (probably a wise decision regardless) to then inject onto a new cart or a digital version. I would need to get a soldering kit to do this though, I guess I'm trying to figure out if you or anyone else who found this video helpful ever had it where it was showing but just not booting (in this video you stated it wasn't showing before).
Did something work for you?
So is it no longer worth buying the 3DS Pokemon games or is it a much smaller issue than the internet is making it out to be?
I don't have a lot of soldering equipment, can some sort of conductive glue or epoxy work just as well?
Hi, may i ask what is the liquid thing that you used before soldering?
No-clean flux
My goodness I thought I was the only one with this problem but no ! Thank you for your video !
I still have one question, I am french and I didn't understand what kind of product you use to reflow the cartridge. Could you please write it down for me and perhaps explain where I can buy it ?
I hope you will see this message 🤞🏻 and thank you
looks like just a soldering iron, flux, and solder
@@burp2019 Thank you for your answer.
This is something you don't find that easily or that you can handle without previous knowings...
@@floflops30 they're extremely common in electronics work lol
Did this work for you? Got the same problem and am considering to try it
@@CritsVG Never tried, the procedure and products are not that clear
Would love to see a video of how you scope one of these little buggers. Curious to see what 'normal' is in the eyes of the genius Voutar!
This is fun and all but my oras game booted, but crashed like 3 min into the game every time
How do I do this myself?
what tools and stuff needed for this repairing? that liquid you're using, what's called again?
It's no clean flux
I literally just returned a copy of OR to a game shop because it would crash when saving. Wonder if they would let me buy it back for super cheap?
I maybe have the same problem on my Pokémon X, always shows up at menu but fails directly at boot?
Both my copies of "Pokemon Omega Ruby" and "Persona Q" have stopped being readable. I'm kind of a bumbler with tiny objects, so I'd rather ask someone else to fix them, but I don't know what kind of repair shop I should ask to do it. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
UPDATE: I took the cards to a representative of Asurion's "uBreakiFix" group, and they tried exactly what was done in the video, but the cards still don't work. Does anyone have another suggestion for what to do, or somewhere I can send them?
No, bit rotting are killing them in mass, not loose pins. Loose pins are a very little %.
I noticed a Super Smash Bros. 3DS copy would be stuck in a loading screen in any mode.
It's a crime our Champion does upload more to RUclips.
this is a shot in the dark but: is there any chance you’d fix my copy of Y for me? I don’t have any experience soldering and I don’t own one. I could pay for postage/the procedure. The game means a lot to me and I recently found out it doesn’t work anymore. Let me know.
@Voultar could you help me with mine? Mines a y copy that looks exactly the same! I think it has the same issue! I wouldn’t mind sending it to you to repair!
So ive tried the cleaning tricks in other videos and my Pokemon Y still doesnt boot
What do i gotta do since I dont have all these surgical tools and know how?
Are the 3DS carts like the DS ones in that after you open them, you can't just snap the cartridge close afterwards?
When you reflow do you put flux? If so what kind do you use
Could you tell me what tools I need to reflow my Pokémon black 2. I really want to play my game again
CAN ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE? I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!! So i have Pokémon omega ruby in my house and it worked a few years ago but now it doesn’t, I don’t have any of the stuff in the video and I don’t have any experience so I’m willing to send it to someone to fix it for me (I’m from Dubai and I would pay anything to get it fixed but under 800 dirhams) PLEASE SOMEONE RESPOND IM BEGGING YALL 😭
Ouu I wonder if I should reflow SoulSilver because the save is corrupted and it can't boot correctly
I have a Tales of Abyss cart that also completely stopped working, I should try this out
This could be the issue with my pokemon X copy, for the past 7 years I have been wondering why it just crashed one day while playing. And why it never booted afterwards.
Same thing happened to my Y version, have you tried this method on your game?
Reflow saving the day!
This is the same game i have the same problem with. i hope this helps when i try it. thank you for the video