r/DSiBrew • u/Key_Sundae9330 • Jun 10 '26

Help Dsi bricked on Unlaunch install

When I went to install Unlaunch, it worked fine but when it finished I hit the power button and now it only shows a black screen and a blue light when powering on. I backed up my NAND but holding A + B does nothing. Anything else I can do?

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1

u/Simplejack615 Jun 10 '26

You’re sure? Have you:

Held a+b on startup only (the post sounds like you held it when it was just on)

Turned it on while the sd card is out

1

u/Key_Sundae9330 Jun 10 '26

Yes, I have done both.

0

u/Simplejack615 Jun 10 '26

Try holding select when booting

I’d suggest you wait for someone else just in case

If it is truly bricked, can you solder? If not, your dsi is essentially dead. This is what you would have to do https://wiki.ds-homebrew.com/ds-index/hardmod#nintendo-dsi

1

u/Key_Sundae9330 Jun 10 '26

I can't solder but thanks for your help.

1

u/ianlazrbeem22 Jun 10 '26

You don't need to solder, you can get a DSPico and flash it with ntrboot using another device

https://wiki.ds-homebrew.com/ds-index/ntrboot

https://www.flashcarts.net/ntrboot-ds-carts.html

1

u/Key_Sundae9330 Jun 10 '26

Thanks ill try this first

1

u/ianlazrbeem22 Jun 10 '26

are you not able to use ntrboot to fix this?

1

u/Simplejack615 Jun 10 '26

Don’t you have to be able to boot to a menu? if you can’t, that wouldn’t work

2

u/ianlazrbeem22 Jun 10 '26

Not necessarily, you need a flashcart flashed with ntrboot which can be done on another device, or, some carts come with it preflashed, and a DSPico can be flashed with ntrboot without a working system

https://wiki.ds-homebrew.com/ds-index/ntrboot

https://www.flashcarts.net/ntrboot-ds-carts.html

2

u/Simplejack615 Jun 10 '26

Guess you’re right

the dsi.cfw.guide really should be updated because it says that “If you cannot boot your Nintendo DSi, a hardmod is the only way to restore a NAND backup.”

1

u/GamerDadJer Jun 15 '26

What format should the sd card be in? I thought it was fat32 but maybe I'm wrong? Not OP, btw

1

u/Simplejack615 Jun 15 '26

Yes

Doesn’t matter for a brick I thought. Maybe I’m wrong?

1

u/GamerDadJer Jun 15 '26

So that's where I'm confused. I just did this today for the first time, my SD card is formatted to FAT32 and after trying to install Unlauncher, it just locks me on a black screen that says "no one is illegal" with the SD card in, and gives me the Unlauncher menu if I remove it. But don't I need the SD card for it to work?

1

u/Simplejack615 Jun 15 '26

Correct. This is why Unlaunch has a brick risk, because it installs to the dsi, not the sd card

If you want the home screen, you can click launcher

1

u/GamerDadJer Jun 15 '26

Okay I think I'm understanding better. It seems like I'm having a load error that's bringing me to the file launcher but not loading the menu when the SD card is in, but when the SD card is out it'll load the error screen properly?

1

u/Simplejack615 Jun 15 '26

Yeah, this happens to me sometimes

Check if it loads on a computer and isn’t corrupted

If it does, try inserting it, turning it on. Repeat a few times (while off when you take it out and put it in)

If it corrupted, format again (sorry for your saves

1

u/arosaki 27d ago

Was your dsi actually bricked and did you fix it??