Naturally, I check how warm the 3DS is. Only slightly warm, and it's a hot day. I turned it back on, and everything seems fine. I continue playing from my last save point when the thought hits me: what if this happens while I'm saving? Will my save get deleted? *Oh my gosh, I have my entire (incomplete) living national dex on this card*.
So I turned the 3DS off and turned to Google. Turns out it's a problem people have had before, and seems to have something to do with either ribbons or a wireless connector of sorts (I can't remember the exact names) being damaged/not connected properly. Unfortunately, 1) these posts are from years ago, 2) the problems didn't seem to get solved, and 3) I have all the confidence with electronic fiddling as a fish does with walking. Which leads me to problem 4) one of the links I followed to a Nintendo support page claims that Nintendo doesn't support the original 3DS anymore. I have an original 3DS. But other pages just... don't say anything on the subject at all. I can't find anything solid on it.
Since then, I transferred my living dex to my PokeBank to keep it safe should something happen while Ultra Sun is saving. That went just fine, thankfully. Then I found out that in order to access my PokeBank from another 3DS/2DS, I'd need to do a system transfer. Which requires both systems to be working for up to 40 minutes. Either that, or I'd need to send it to Nintendo (unless I'm reading all this wrong?) to do it for me. The same company who I'm not sure supports the 3DS anymore, so might not do it anyway.
I'm going to be honest, I'm a bit out of my depth here. I can handle software problems just fine, but as soon as it gets to hardware, it's like trying to find pictures in dry paint. Most of the actually somewhat helpful stuff I learned came from this subreddit, so may I ask you guys a few things?
- Have any of you had this problem before? Did you solve it?
- How do you recommend going about solving the problem?
- Do you think it would be safer to get a new 3DS/2DS and transfer my data over? I'd be sad to do so, but I've got 5.5 years out of my 3DS. I've been half-expecting to have to replace it within a few years anyway. I'm only surprised this is the first problem I've had with it, given what I've heard about the LR buttons breaking.
- Is it safer for me to keep my Dex, Shinies, old teams, etc. on PokeBank, or should I transfer them back to the game and just not play until I've found a solution?
- Would Nintendo fix the 3DS for me, or is it not supported anymore?
- (Any other advice you think I should have but I haven't thought to ask for would be welcome as well.)
A few notes:
- Original 3DS
- I've had the 3DS since November or December in 2013 (so I'm just going to presume any warranty is useless)
- My Pokemon games are all physical copies
- The 3DS clock isn't resetting, which apparently (if it were doing that) would be a sign that the problem is battery-related.
- The 3DS was fully charged when I started playing. The battery icon on the home screen is still full when I turn it on.
- Damage to the system: About 1.5 months ago, the circle-pad's cover came off for the second time so I had to borrow my kid brother's Gorilla Glue to stick it back on again. Unfortunately, before I could do anything, he decided to glue it on himself. He had trembling hands and wasn't even remotely careful, and essentially waved the glue over the entire lower-half of the 3DS before heading for the circle-pad. Some glue dropped next to the circle pad and a went a bit under it. My mother and I managed to wipe it out (can't remember what with) and the circle-pad has been working fine since, if a little bit less smooth on the side where the glue went. I've always been worried that some of the glue made its way inside, although I have no idea what it would do or what's under there.
- Damage to the system: While my mother was wiping off some of the last of the glue, it fell off her lap onto the rug on the floor. It was fully open at the time. I'd say that was about a 40cm drop.
- I'm not sure if the occasional maybe-flicker I've seen on my 3DS started before or after these two incidents. The flickering is pretty subtle, and I wasn't even sure I really saw it until the 3DS turned itself off.
submitted by /u/RottenHocusPocus
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