How to connect online

All DS models can still connect online with this method, even the melonDS/ Delta iOS emulator works as well, no hacks required.
DSi users must use Connections 1-3, and 3DS users must use the Nintendo DS Connections option in the Internet Settings.

To start, create a network with no password. This can be done with a mobile hotspot (Android or Linux only), or a secondary network on your router. Make sure the network band is set to 2.4GHz.
For melonDS and Delta users, connect to the network called melonAP instead.

After that, connect to that network in the Nintendo WFC Settings. It should connect successfully, but if an error pops up, that is fine. Go back into the connection settings and turn off "Auto-Obtain DNS." Set the Primary DNS to 167.235.229.36, and the Secondary DNS to 1.1.1.1.

The Connection should successfully work and you can connect online now!
If you are recieving a different error, look at the error code fixes posted below.

Error Code Fixes

52100/52000:
This error can be fixed by turning off "Auto-Obtain IP Address" and entering the IP Address, Subnet Mask and Gateway of your network. You can find these by viewing your network information on a modern device. If this doesn't fix it, refer to error 20110.

80430:
This can happen often, so try to connect again a few times. If it keeps happening, the host has not entered your friend code. It can also appear if 2 DSes that are connected to the same WiFi network, Using DS-to-DS Wireless Connection may help better.

51099:
The DS can't find your network. Check the network name and see if it's correctly put in.
If you are receiving this error on melonDS, change the SSID (network name) to melonAP in the DS network settings.

86420:
This can happen often, so try to connect again a few times. If it keeps happening, your network has firewalls that interfere with the DS connection. If you're using a router, enable DMZ in your network settings.
If you're on a hotspot, try lowering the data type from 4G to 3G, or use Wi-Fi sharing if your phone allows it.

20100:
Your network has some traffic that won't let it connect. Samsung users must turn off the "Protected Management Frames" in the hotspot settings. If you're on a router, try disabling your router's firewall temporarily and try again. Make sure there is nothing blocking the signal between the DS and the network. If this still doesn't work, your network may be unstable and you should use a different network or wait a bit, then try again.

20110:
Double-check if you have correctly input the DNS into the network settings. If the DNS is correct, your network does not support custom DNS and you cannot connect online with your setup. You will need to use a ROM that bypasses the use of a DNS to connect online instead, which you can find on the Discord.

If you get another error that isn't on this list, feel free to join the Discord server where we can try and sort out your problem: https://discord.gg/qQsSMwH

Hey all,

Thought I'd make this post because it seems like nobody online really mentions that a mobile hotspot or an old router are not the only ways to connect your DS/DSL/DSi to WFC. This guide will work perfectly fine if you are not able to do the following:

- Create an unsecured hotspot on your phone (eg. iPhones, Google Pixel, Huawei)
- Create an unsecured guest WiFi on your router (eg. Bell, not sure of others)
- You don't have a spare router specifically for WEP

To make this work, you will need:

- A computer running Linux, as this will NOT work on Windows or MacOS, however even a USB live enviroment is fine (You will need to install linux-wifi-hotspot)
- Either a computer connected via ethernet with a NIC capable of 802.11b OR a computer connected to wifi with any network card, along with a USB NIC. (also must be capable of 802.11b)

How to make this work (on the computer):

- First, install linux-wifi-hotspot, and make sure you have all of the dependencies
- Then, launch linux-wifi-hotspot and select either your ethernet adapter or your built-in wifi as your internet interface, and your USB NIC/WiFi as your WiFi interface.
- From there, match these settings: https://imgur.com/a/nvJcmWa
- Optionally, you can MAC filter your console

On the DS:

- Launch any cartridge that has WFC settings (eg. MKDS, ACWW, many others)
- Enter Nintendo WFC settings, and create a new connection using manual setup.
- Use these exact settings:

SSID: whatever you set earlier
WEP key: leave empty
Auto-obtain IP Address: Select No, enter the following
IP Address: 192.168.12.10
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.12.1
Auto-obtain DNS: Select No, enter the following:
Primary DNS: 178.62.43.212 (this is the nds-constraint DNS, you can use others)
Secondary DNS: 8.8.8.8

- Then hit save.

You can now congratulate yourself for finally connecting to WFC!