Firmware flashing

Installing the SuperFW firmware on the internal flash will erase the original firmware. Create a backup if you want to be able to restore it later. You have been warned!

The process can be performed both on a GBA or a DS device. When using a GBA there’s a small risk that the flashing process fails or is interrupted causing the cart to brick. In that case, the cart might not boot anymore (you now have a nice paperweight). This can be easily recovered using a DS console and a Slot-1 flashcart.

You might use SuperFW without installing it. Just launch it from any other homebrew / menu / firmware of your choice and use it.

This approach is called chainloading and has several disadvantages: you might not be able to use exFAT and/or SDHC depending on the installed firmware. SuperFW supports old and new cards, low and high capacity, as well as modern filesystems like exFAT with proper Unicode support.

You can flash SuperFW using the original firmware and/or any other custom firmware like SCFW. As long as the firmware is capable of launching homebrew you can launch SuperFW and use it to flash itself.

You will need the following:

  • GBA or DS device
  • Supercard cart
  • An non-HC SD card (those older low capacity cards, SDHC cards are not supported by the original firmware!)
  • The firmware (check the download page)

The SD card must be formated using FAT16 or FAT32 (exFAT is not compatible with the original firmware). Extract the superfw.fw and place it in the SD card. Create a copy of this file and rename it to superfw.gba.

  • Boot the Supercard firmware and load the superfw.gba ROM. It will boot SuperFW.
  • (Optional) Backup your current firmware using the Tools menu. Select Flash backup and backup the .superfw/flash_backup-*.bin file to your PC.
  • Navigate (using the L/R shoulder buttons) to the Info menu (the rightmost one).
  • Press the key combo Down + B + Start, you will see the message Flashing is enabled at the bottom.
  • Navigate back to the File browser menu and locate the superfw.fw file. Press the A button to open it.
  • You will see a pop up menu, proceed to flash with the key combo L + R + Up.

It is very important that this process is not interrupted or the flash will be corrupted. It can take up to a couple of minutes to complete, you will see the info message updated on each flashing step (Checking, Erasing, Flashing, Verifying). Should the process fail, you might try again. Once flashed, shutdown and restart your device, it should boot SuperFW.

You can use a DS device to flash the firmware to the Supercard by using the Slot 2. This method is very safe and can unbrick any cart, since the flasher tool is loaded via Slot 1 (DS cart).

You will need the following:

  • DS device
  • Supercard cart
  • A Slot-1 cartridge (any cheap DS cart will do, like any R4 clone/derivative)
  • An SD card (any card that works on your Slot-1 cart, you don’t need an SD card for the Supercard for this operation)
  • The firmware (check the download page)
  • The DS flash tool (download the latest release)

Copy both the SuperFW firmware file superfw.fw and the DS flash tool superfw-flasher.nds to the SD card. Insert it in your Slot-1 cartridge. Load both carts in their respective slots and boot your DS in DS-mode.

  • Boot the superfw-flasher.nds flash tool using your Slot-1 cart.
  • (Optional) Backup your current/original firmware. Use the Dump flash option. Backup sc_flash_dump.bin to your PC.
  • Use the Write flash option and locate the SuperFW image superfw.fw. Select it using A button.
  • Press the key combo L + R + A to start flashing. Do not interrupt this process!

You might reboot into GBA mode to verifiy that the new firmware is now working.

We recommend making a backup before installing SuperFW so you can always go back.

Check the downgrade notes for guidance on downgrading/restoring.