Well unexpectedly my launch 3DS has gone kaput on me tonight and has given me the black screen of death and is not booting up properly and freezes when I try to do a turn off and hit the home button.
Typically Nintendo products are incredibly resilient but it seems like my luck ran out on this unit after recently having screen problems. Hopefully a full cycle discharge which is the last thing I can do before sending it back to the Big N for repairs or a new unit.
[UPDATE 1: Friday, February 16, 2013] Well from what it looks like online, I’ll be sending in my 3DS in for repairs for an advanced BSOD even after doing a battery pull and removing game card and SD card and also a full battery drain as well. I’m still waiting on Nintendo’s customer support on if all my downloads and Ambassador status will either be still there or if it will be transferred to a new 3DS. I’m not so bummed out about the DLC game save files but all the StreetPass tags, puzzle pieces and SpotPass stuff I’ve got since Day 1 roughly two years ago when it was launched.
[UPDATE 2: Tuesday February 19, 2013 1:30 AM] I’ve tracked down a local shop via the Internet that should be cheaper than sending it back to Nintendo. I know my 3DS would get a one year refresh on the waranty (as did my Wii when I sent it in back in April 2007 after lending it to a friend *ahem*Alex*ahem*). Hopefully the $75 + tax repairs at the local shop is worth the money and time saved instead of the $85 + tax and shipping and handling I’d need to pay for to get it repaired at the Big N. I had sent an email to Nintendo’s customer support on Saturday morning but hadn’t gotten any response yet from them. I’ll do an update when I get around to repairing it on Thursday or Friday when I get back into town during my Reading Week. Crossing my fingers on a successful repair and no lost data!
[UPDATE 3: Tuesday February 19, 2013 2:50 PM] I’ve dropped off my 3DS off at a local shop ahead of schedule since I’m in town for my high school music band alumni hangout. I should be receiving a call to see what the problem is and the repair cost. If it’s going to be above $100, I’ll be sending it in to Nintendo. I’m hoping for something a little cheaper than Nintendo’s rate.
[UPDATE 4: Thursday, February 21, 2013] After the motherboard replacement at a local shop, it no longer works when unplugged and all my downloaded apps are gone and purchases do not show up in the 3DS eShop. I called into Nintendo for repairs and scheduled a repair at a third party licensed repair shop. After I was transferred to their customer support centre after setting up a repair, they confirmed that the Ambassador Status and games were showing up on their side and they will be doing an investigation on why it isn’t showing up, although if you’re reading this, you’d probably suspect the swapped motherboard too. Hopefully by the end of my Reading Week next week everything will be straightened out.
[UPDATE 5: Friday, February 22, 2013] Got an email from NoA about the account issue that I had earlier that I think is most likely caused by the motherboard swap done earlier this week. This item will be added on top of the power related issue that I’ve been having (Does not play at all when unplugged). So this means I’ll be heading off to NESA (Official Local repair shop) to drop off my 3DS for repairs. Hopefully I’ll get my system back within a few days and without any new issues.
[UPDATE 6: Tuesday, February 22, 2013] Well I finally got my 3DS back today after paying a hefty $85 + tax. Thankfully all my 3DS apps/games can be redownloaded from the 3DS eShop. Overall the service from Nintendo has been pretty good in delivering the goods, albeit a bit expensive if you are out of warranty. If you’d like to add me as a 3DS friend my 3DS FC is 1349-4997-1948 and leave your 3DS FC in the comments section for me to add you. So the moral of the story is send your major repairs in to the manufacturer or official licensed repair centre for less of a headache, assuming they are good.
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