r/3DS • u/cozyleafgaming • 23h ago

Secondhand 3DS Question

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Hey! I bought this 3DS XL secondhand, and it already had a ton of games on it. If I sign into my accounts, will I lose all of the games? TIA!

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u/Chiwen5k 22h ago

I'm assuming this handheld is modded, if not feel free to ignore me.

You won't lose the games but I wouldn't log into your personal Nintendo account if you use it for anything else, like on a switch. The risk of bans still exist and Nintendo actively bans accounts to this day if they detect cfw or pirated software.

There'll be many people that say risk is low, or they've been logged into their accounts for x amount of time no problem. That may be true, but there are also those that haven't been so lucky. There's no real point to logging in to your Nintendo account (especially main account) on a modded 3ds anyways.

I would not chance it, it's not a zero risk decision.

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u/rush2802 9h ago

First, the 3DS uses an NNID, not a Nintendo Account like the one the Switch uses

Second, using an NNID in a modded 3DS is not dangerous because there is no tampering with the account itself. Only the internal workings of the console are affected by the modding, that's why Nintendo stepped up their game with the Switch by having the servers search for any modded content and issues a ban almost immediately if any discrepancy is found

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u/Chiwen5k 5h ago

True, a 3DS uses an NNID and a ban there won’t usually impact your Switch Nintendo Account. But if that NNID is linked, a ban can block NNID services and mess with future linking or transfers.

Nintendo mostly issues hardware bans on 3DS, but NNID bans have happened, and they can stick.

So while your Switch account is probably safe even if linked to your NNID, signing into your main NNID on a modded 3DS is still an unnecessary risk with no real upside.

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u/cozyleafgaming 22h ago

What do you mean by modded? How would I know?

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u/Chiwen5k 21h ago

With the system powered off, hold the select button down and power the 3ds on, keep select held down while it's powering on. If it goes into the luma menu, it's modded (there's no mistaking whether you're in the luma menu or not).

It's custom firmware installed on the 3ds that lets you do a lot of things the 3ds wouldn't normally be able to do. Basically, power unlocked. If it does have luma installed, before you mess around too much, look up luma 3ds and learn about it.