The R4I Sdhc Dsi Version – Make Sure You’re Choosing The Right R4I Card For Your Nintendo Ds

The most talked about “issue” with the Nintendo R4 Card isn’t an issue that is caused by the R4 Card itself.  In fact, the most common issue, the Nintendo R4 Card not working in your NDS console, is always as a consequence of someone buying the wrong version of the R4 DS Card.  There are several version, and here I’ll be talking about the R4i SDHC DSi Version of the R4 cards.  The R4i SDHC DSi version was built specifically for the new Nintendo DSi.  It is nevertheless entirely backwards compatible with each of the prior versions of the Nintendo DS.

Much like there are unique versions of the Nintendo DS console, there are also unique and different versions of the Nintendo R4 Cards.  There’s a version for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite and most importantly, there is likewise a very specific version for the Nintendo DSi.  And it is here where the issues start and individuals experience problems with their Nintendo R4 Card.

You see, the problem is not in fact with the Nintendo DS R4 in any way, rather it is with the fact that in all likelihood, if your Nintendo DSi is not booting up to the main menu with the R4 Card inserted, or you’re not able to see the R4 icon on the menu itself, you have more than likely purchased the wrong version of the R4 DS Card.

At first there was just one version of the r4 ds card and only the original NDS console itself.  The first Nintendo DS R4 worked without any troubles in the very first revision of the NDS handheld system.  With the release of the Nintendo DS lite version of the NDS, there was really not much that was modified as far as the insides or hardware of the console was involved.  The changes were really just cosmetic changes.  The DS Lite was slimmer, smaller and lighter.  The insides, the firmware and everything else, remained unchanged and were identical to the original Nintendo DS itself.

That all changed however when the Nintendo DSi was released.  Not only did they remove the GBA card slot, so that playing your Gameboy Advance games was no longer possible on the DSi, they totally redesigned the menu system rendering homebrew gaming impossible.  With the hardware change came other changes and updates as well.  The firmware that “ran” the DSi changed too.  Along with the internal modifications on the Nintendo DSi, the R4 DS Card itself now had to evolve and change how it worked as well.  The original Nintendo R4 was no longer be capable of working with the new menu system on the Nintendo DSi.  The Nintendo R4 menu system was made for the original NDS after all.  

Shortly after the release of the DSi system, the company behind the R4 produced a new edition of their brilliant R4 Card in the form of the R4i SDHC DSi Version, developed exclusively as an answer to the new DSi system.  It is the updated and advanced version of the R4 DS.  The R4i SDHC DSi version was developed from the ground up, especially for use on the Nintendo DSi console.  The menu system was re-written and support was added for the newest 1.4 edition of the Nintendo DS firmware.  Without this update of the R4i SDHC Dsi card itself, it simply could not function in the new Nintendo DSi.

And this is where almost of the mix-up comes in to play, and the reports of an R4 Card not running in the new Nintendo DSi system.  Most people don’t recognise the difference, and unfortunately, most online retailers don’t seem to know either, as they certainly are not educating their customers to ensure that the right version of the R4 DS Card is purchased.  
Purchasing an R4 DS card, which was made to work on the NDS and NDS Lite will NOT work the same way, or at all, in the new Nintendo DSi.  Customers get them, set them up, plug them in, and then are let down by the fact that it does not work, assuming rightfully that their R4 Card is damaged or broken.  And nearly all of the time, the issue is quickly resolved once they receive a replacement card that is made to work in their specific version of the NDS console.  As I said earlier in this article, the R4i SDHC DSi version is more of a universal solution for your homebrew gaming and applications.  Choosing the R4i SDHC DSi version is really your safest choice.  The R4 SDHC version works not only on the new DSi systems, but is also 100% backwards compatible and will work in the original Nintendo DS and DS Lite systems as well.