The 3DS XL Shell Swapping guide will show you how to transfer the "guts" of your 3DS XL to a case of your choosing.

Due to regional software lockout and variations in system colors available in different global territories, it may be desirable to some 3DS XL owners to swap their system's shell for a color available in a region other than their own. While no aftermarket shells currently exist to make this an even remotely affordable option for most 3DS XL owners, it is a fairly simple process for those who own systems from multiple territories.

A Japanese White 3DS XL with North American Guts

This guide has been written to document the process of removing and replacing the 3DS XL's motherboard - effectively allowing 3DS XL owners to swap the colors of their systems' shells. In this guide, the motherboards from both a blue and black North American 3DS XL and a white Japanese 3DS LL will be swapped, resulting in two system colors not commercially available in their respective territories - a blue and black Japanese 3DS LL, and a white North American 3DS XL.

Disclaimer

For those intending to follow this guide, a quick word of caution: failure to follow these directions explicitly can result in irreparable damage to your system, and neither IGN nor this guide's author claim any responsibility for any such damage your system may incur if you choose to perform this procedure. It should also be noted that doing so will most certainly invalidate your system's warranty. Having said that, with a little care and a steady hand, it's not too difficult to get through this guide with your system no worse for the wear. For a list of common "oh my god I think I broke it!" situations that can result from this kind of do-it-yourself-edness, see the Troubleshooting section at the end of this guide.

Requirements

This procedure requires a small Phillip's-head screwdriver, a small flathead screwdriver, a pair of tweezers, and a lot of patience.

Disassembly

Battery Cover

The first thing you should do before disassembling your 3DS XL is remove any cartridge, stylus, or SD card from your system. Next, unscrew the two screws that secure the battery cover to the bottom of the system (highlighted below - note, the screws will not actually separate from the cover.):

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After unscrewing the battery cover, remove it in the following fashion:

Back Shell

Next, after removing the battery, you will need to remove the screw covers seen below. You can do this with a small flathead screwdriver. Place these aside and don't forget to put them back later!

After removing the screw covers, you will need to remove the seven screws highlighted below:

Once the screws have been removed, the back of the shell should simply lift off. Flip the back of the shell over using the cartridge slot as a pivot point, as seen below:

To completely remove the back of the shell, you will need to unplug the two connectors highlighted above. These connectors should lift off easily, and you can remove them with a finger:

Wireless Module

Next, remove the wireless module (labeled J27H023.01). Note the location of the connector in the second photo below, and remove the module by lifting with your fingers near the connector (so as not to risk bending the module.)

Take A Deep Breath...

The majority of the rest of this procedure involves manipulating some fairly delicate electronics and brittle plastic. If you've had your thrill and are ready to put your 3DS XL back together, go ahead and simply reverse all the steps outlined in the document thus far. If you're serious about swapping your system's color, read on, and be careful!

Circle Pad Module

The next step is to remove the Circle Pad Module. First, unscrew the screws highlighted in the picture below. Note, these screws are longer than the screws holding the back of the shell onto the system, so make sure to keep them separate from the rest of the screws you've removed so far. After you've done this, you will be unlocking the connector attached to the Circle Pad Module's flexible PCB by "flipping" it to the open position, as seen in the second and third pictures below:

Once you've unlocked the connector, simply pull the Circle Pad Module away from the motherboard and set it aside for now.

Screens, Microphone, Touch Panel, and Volume Slider

Next, you will remove the rest of the flexible PCBs connected to the motherboard. These are all attached in a similar fashion to the Circle Pad Module. Once unlocked, some PCBs may be difficult to remove from their connectors. As seen in the pictures below, using the barrel of your screwdriver as a lever makes removing them much easier.

Bottom Screen

The bottom screen is connected with two flex PCBs. For the thin one, unlock the connector by lifting on the edge that is farthest away from the flex PCB. For the fat one, unlock the connector by lifting on the edge that is closest to the flex PCB.

Once you've disconnected the PCBs, leave them where they are for now.

Microphone

Surprise...this part's easy! You can leave the microphone's flex PCB connected to the motherboard. Simply lift the microphone out of the upper case as shown below, using either your fingers, or a pair of tweezers:

Volume Slider

I think by now you probably understand how these connectors work...right? Unlock the Volume Slider, remove the module, and set it aside for now:

Touch Panel

Unlock and remove the flex PCB connecting the Touch Panel to the motherboard:

Top Screen Step 1

Removing the top screen from the motherboard isn't the most difficult part of this procedure (though connecting it again certainly is...but more on that later!), but due to the nature of 3DS XL's internal layout, it must be disconnected in a two-step process. The first step involves removing the two flex PCBs connected on the topside of the motherboard, as seen below:

Removing the Motherboard And Top Screen - Step 2

You're almost halfway done...are you excited?

To remove the motherboard, you must remove ten screws. They're easy to locate on the board as they're all circled in white, but they've been highlighted in the picture below as well. Once you've removed the screws and set them aside, remove the two black pieces in the bottom left and right corners of the shell (as seen below, not highlighted), then gently lift the motherboard and flip it over to reveal the final connector for the top screen, attached to the bottom of the board. Unlock it as shown below, then set the motherboard aside and get ready to do it all over again!



Now What? IMG_1031c.JPG

Congratulations! You've successfully removed the motherboard from your 3DS XL and you've got a scary mess of electronics and tiny screws scattered around your workspace/kitchen table/living room floor. Have you lost anything yet? No? Good. Don't do that!

If you were following this guide with the intention of swapping your system into a different shell, now might be a good time to take a break, because the next step is to do it all over again with your second system. Once you're done with your break, just scroll right on back to the top of this document and get started on your second system. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Reassembly

If you've gotten this far, it's because you've either removed the motherboard from two different 3DS XLs, or you've somehow gotten ahold of an aftermarket shell and are ready to be the first person in your city with a white/silver/blue/clear/whatever color 3DS XL. You're so cool! Now comes the fun part - putting it all back together!

First thing's first: take the motherboard of the system you are planning to play the most - in this case, it's the author's U.S. motherboard - and line it up with the shell you want to put it in - in this case, it's the shell of the author's white 3DS LL (note that for this guide, I've only taken apart one system, so these pictures show the reassembly of a black and blue system only.)

Top Screen

Do you remember earlier, when I said that reconnecting the top screen was the hardest part of this procedure? Well, I wasn't kidding. This part of the procedure is a harrowing, frustrating, scary thing to go through - especially because these flexible PCBs are so delicate...and you've only got so many hands...and gravity is constantly working against you. Basically, you've got to start by reconnecting the flex PCB that was previously connected to the bottom of the motherboard. The best way I've found to do it is to set the top of the shell on the surface of your workspace, hold the motherboard above it, and use a pair of tweezers to insert the flex PCB upward into the connector.

Don't be afraid to pull the PCB a little bit - it won't break if you're gentle with it. Once you've gotten the dark brown edges of the flexible PCB to line up perfectly with the connector (as seen in the second picture below), you can lock the connector and lay the motherboard down into the shell, making sure that the rest of the PCBs are visible above the motherboard as in the previous photos:

Once you've laid the motherboard back down, you will need to connect the rest of the PCBs for the top screen. For the fat one (seen stuck under the bottom-side fat one in the image above, though it needs to be on the top side of the board), you will again need to use tweezers to pull the PCB a little bit so it's long enough to insert into the connector.

Though this isn't as difficult as connecting the bottom-side PCB, it can still be a chore to line up the PCB with the connector. A good practice is to use the barrel of your screw driver to push the PCB into place from behind, as in the photo below:

Once the edges of the PCB are lined up perfectly with the connector, lock it and insert the smaller PCB into its connector, as shown below:

Bottom Screen, Microphone, Touch Panel, and Volume Slider

Once you've re-connected the top screen, you should focus on reconnecting the remaining flex PCBs that you disconnected. The key thing here is to make sure each PCB you attach is inserted all the way into its connector before you lock it, otherwise you may run into problems when it comes time to power your system back on.

Lining Up the Volume and Wireless Sliders

When reinserting the motherboard and Volume Slider Module, you will need to take extra care that the volume and wireless sliders are lined up properly, or they will not function. See pictures below for properly-aligned volume and wireless sliders, respectively:

Circle Pad Module

Once you've re-attached the flex PCB for the Circle Pad Module, you will need to re-attach the module to the board. Taking care not to lose the magnetic film that sits between the Circle Pad Module and the Circle Pad itself, insert the module into its slot as shown below. Once you've done so, use one hand to press down gently on the module, while screwing in the extra long screws you previously removed from the module:

Wireless Module

Now that you've re-attached all the previously disconnected PCBs, there are only a few simple steps left. First, re-attach the wireless module, taking care to align the connectors properly, as below:

Last Steps

Before you screw everything back together, it's a good idea to test your system in case you made any mistakes, which can happen pretty regularly when working with such small circuitry. Reconnect the back shell by plugging in the first two connectors you unplugged at the beginning of the procedure, as seen in the pictures below:

Next, pop the back shell back on, insert the battery, and, while holding the system together, turn the power on. If you did everything correctly, your system should power on in about 10-15 seconds, both screens should turn on, the touch panel should function, and all sliders should work properly. If that's the case....congratulations! You're almost done! Turn the system off again, remove the battery, and replace all the screws you removed earlier. Once you've screwed the motherboard and back shell back on, replaced the battery and re-attached the battery cover, it's time to turn your system back on, set the date again, and start showing your new baby off!

Speaking of showing things off, here are some obligatory shots of the author's white U.S. 3DS XL doing things its Japanese cousin could only dream of:

Troubleshooting

So you did everything exactly like I told you, turned your system back on and saw something like the picture above, or worse: your screens were black, or your touch panel didn't work, or...gasp!...your system would only power on for a few seconds! Don't worry - usually, these kinds of problems mean one thing and one thing only - you haven't re-connected everything properly.

If Your Touch Panel Doesn't Work

If your touch panel doesn't work, make sure you've connected the Touch Panel PCB properly. It's the one to the right of the cartridge slot on the top of the motherboard.

If Your Screens Are Discolored, Or Black



If your screens aren't behaving properly, it means you haven't connected the related PCBs properly.

If the bottom screen is the only one giving you problems, you're in luck, as you simply need to remove and reconnect the two PCBs near the headphone jack.

If the top screen is problematic, I have bad news for you: you're going to have to undo everything you just did, take the motherboard back out of the shell, and make sure those pesky top screen PCBs are connected properly. You know which PCBs I'm talking about, right? They're the ones that took you 20 minutes to get reconnected in the first place. D'oh. Good luck! You should be alright with a little patience.

If both screens are acting weird, or not showing anything, well, you've got to reconnect all of the PCBs attached to the screens. Have fun with that!

If Your System Won't Stay Powered On



If your system won't stay powered on, it simply means that you haven't reconnected everything you disconnected and the system is entering a failsafe mode to keep it from shorting out. Open the system up, make sure everything's connected, and try again - most likely, everything will be fine once you've done so.

If You've Tried Everything And Your System Still Doesn't Work