Help! My 3DS Won’t Connect to Wi-Fi Networks
Nintendo 3DS not connecting to Wi-Fi? The usual reason is that your network uses settings the 3DS is too old to understand.
The Nintendo 3DS only joins 2.4 GHz networks using 802.11b/g, with WEP, WPA or WPA2 security. Many current routers broadcast 5 GHz, use newer Wi-Fi modes, or switch to WPA3, and the 3DS cannot see or join those. The fixes below cover that first. If you cannot change the router, a Windows PC running Connectify Hotspot, a free app that turns a PC into a Wi-Fi hotspot, can give the 3DS a simple WPA2 network to join. Download Connectify Hotspot free if you need that route.
Worth knowing before you start: Nintendo ended online play for most 3DS games in April 2024, and the 3DS eShop stopped selling games in March 2023. The 3DS can still connect for system updates and to redownload games you already bought.
Strict NAT, explained
Why your game console gets Strict NAT on a PC hotspot, and how Connectify Hotspot fixes it
Strict NAT is what breaks party chat, matchmaking and hosting. The usual cause is a console sitting behind two layers of address translation instead of one, and a PC hotspot in its default mode adds the second layer.
Your router already translates one public address into addresses for everything at home. When a PC shares a connection in the normal way, the PC translates a second time, and the console ends up two levels deep. Game services see a connection they cannot reach back into and report Strict NAT.
The free fix: gaming mode. In Connectify Hotspot 27, every edition, including the free Hotspot Lite, forwards the ports PlayStation Network, Xbox Live and Nintendo need through that second layer. Open Clients, select the console and set Gaming mode to its network (or leave Detect automatically), and keep Let apps open ports automatically (UPnP) on in Settings. Most games only need a Moderate NAT (Type 2 or B).
For hosting, Bridged mode removes the second layer. Devices on the hotspot get their addresses from the router instead of from the PC, so only one layer of translation remains and the console sits on the home network like anything plugged directly into the router.
FREE Gaming mode works in every edition, including Hotspot Lite. Bridged mode is a MAX feature.
Gaming mode and Bridged mode only fix the layer the PC adds. If the router itself sits behind another router, or the internet provider uses carrier-grade NAT (common on mobile data, 5G home internet and Starlink), a layer remains outside the house and the console can still report Strict NAT. Only one console of each kind gets gaming mode at a time.
Why Won’t My Nintendo 3DS Connect to Wi-Fi? Common Fixes
- Check the band and mode. If you can get into the router’s settings, make sure the 2.4 GHz band is on and allows 802.11b/g. If the router uses one name for both bands, try a separate name for 2.4 GHz.
- Check the security type. The 3DS cannot join WPA3-only networks. Set the router to WPA2 or WPA2/WPA3 mixed mode. Nintendo also notes that WPA2-PSK (TKIP) is not supported on the New Nintendo 3DS XL: use AES.
- Get closer to the router: the 3DS may not be getting enough signal.
- Re-enter the connection. Delete the saved connection on the 3DS and set it up again with the correct password.
- Restart the 3DS, especially after a system update.
On networks with a sign-in page or enterprise login (campus, office, many hotels), the 3DS cannot complete the login at all. Check whether the network’s rules allow a personal hotspot before using the method below there.
When You Cannot Change the Router: a PC Hotspot for the 3DS
Connectify Hotspot creates a WPA2-protected Wi-Fi network from your Windows PC, which the 3DS can join like any other. The hotspot uses the same band as the network your PC is connected to, so the PC needs to be on 2.4 GHz too:
- Download Connectify Hotspot and install it on your 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC.
- Connect the PC to a 2.4 GHz network, or by Ethernet with its Wi-Fi disconnected (some adapters also have a Preferred Band setting in Device Manager).
- Open Connectify Hotspot, choose Wi-Fi hotspot, pick the connection under Internet to share, set a password and click Start hotspot. The Wi-Fi channel row on the Hotspot screen should show 2.4 GHz.
- On the 3DS, go to System Settings → Internet Settings → Connection Settings, search for access points, pick the hotspot and enter the password.
Below is a video that illustrates how to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot with Connectify:
Whether the 3DS connects also depends on your PC’s Wi-Fi adapter supporting the older 802.11b/g modes, which most do. If the 3DS still cannot see the hotspot, check the Wi-Fi channel row first: a 5 GHz hotspot is invisible to the 3DS.
Got a newer Nintendo console with the same problem? The NAT type guide covers online play on Switch, PlayStation and Xbox, including the free gaming mode in Connectify Hotspot.
Free, PRO or MAX
Which version of Connectify Hotspot you need
Hotspot Lite, the free edition of Connectify Hotspot, covers the setup in this guide. It runs in timed sessions: when one ends, start it again with one click.
Recommended: MAX adds Wi-Fi repeater mode and Bridged mode, for extending your Wi-Fi or putting consoles and casting devices on your home network.
For 64-bit Windows 10 and 11