DSi is an improvement upon the DS Lite in every way, except for battery life. Despite having a faster CPU and more RAM, DSi uses an 840mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery which is of lower capacity than the 1000mAh battery used in DS Lite. Because DSi uses the same basic design as DS Lite and DS, it shares some of the same issues- like turning off randomly.
Why does your DSi turn off by itself? Issues are often caused by an old battery that is unable to maintain the required voltage/ current levels, or one that is improperly seated. If you see an orange light, it means there is an issue with the battery voltage or it isn’t making proper contact.
In addition to a faulty battery, the DSi might also shut itself off upon detecting cracked firmware/ homebrew software that fails to pass authentication. This is a self-protection measure present in several consoles, and you must jailbreak your DSi the correct way if you want to avoid auto shutdowns.
Why Does Your DSI Turn Off By Itself?
There are many potential reasons why a DSi would shut down by itself, even with a fully charged battery. But before we get into the more advanced stuff, you should remove the obvious culprit. Which is the battery, especially if your DSi is extremely old and hasn’t been used in a while.
Look for telltale signs of battery wear, like swelling or weird metallic smells. If you have a swollen battery, it’s time to get a replacement. Do not try to play or recharge a DS that has a swollen battery, it’s like holding a ticking time bomb in your hands.
If your battery isn’t swollen, it might just be low on charge. Power off the DS, then recharge it and turn it back on. If you see a blue light, all should be good.
But sometimes, you’ll get an orange light which indicates an issue with the battery voltage. Either it’s an old battery that has expired and is unable to maintain the minimum voltage, or you’ve seated it improperly.
Take the battery out, and use some 91% isopropyl alcohol to clean up the metal contacts. Remove any rust you see on the inside of the DSi’s battery housing. Reseat the battery, and close the cover.
Now, you should not be getting an orange light anymore. If you do, it’s time for a replacement battery. And while you’re at it, make sure your DSi is running authentic software- none of that cracked stuff.
Homebrew and cracked software won’t run on a DSi that isn’t jailbroken (maybe the last owner botched the jailbreak process). If your DSi is on cracked firmware, bring it back to the official firmware. Insert a genuine game cartridge.
If none of this works, it’s probably an issue inside the console. One of the more frequently encountered cases is a short in the ribbon cable used to transmit data from the DSi’s trigger buttons. If you recently dropped your DSi or bumped it against something hard, the triggers might have taken a jolt.
Turn on your DSi and rapidly spam press the trigger buttons for a minute or two. If that induces a shutdown, you might have to get the cables replaced because they’re shorted. A short in these cables will trigger the DSi’s auto-protection system that looks for unusual voltages and currents.
How Long Should A DSi Battery Last?
With the lowest brightness setting, and some light gaming you’ll get anywhere from 9 to 14 hours of runtime on your regular DSi. A DSi XL can last 13 to 17 hours under similar conditions. If you play more graphically demanding games at high brightness, battery life drops to just around 4 hours.
Turning on the camera and Wi-Fi will further reduce battery life, bringing it down to 3 hours (if you have max brightness). The leftmost LED on the DS display hinge gives you an idea of charge levels. Blue means ample charge, red means low, and blinking red warns of an imminent shutdown if you don’t charge your DSi.
Can I Play DSi While Charging?
You can, but the charging time will increase correspondingly as incoming power is being split between the DSi and its battery. Normally, a full charge from 0% should take no more than 4 hours. But while gaming, this can be extended by a couple of hours.
Which Is Better- DSi Or DS?
DSi is an improvement on the DS Lite, which itself is a slimmer and more modern version of the DS. So from a purely technical standpoint, DSi is superior to DS. After all, it has a faster CPU and more RAM.
The additional power allows DSi to play certain enhanced games. These will also run on a DS, but you can’t use the additional content that is unlocked only when the game detects a DSi. Plus, a DSi can connect with modern Wi-Fi access points because it uses WPA protection.
It also gets better wireless connection speeds with its 802.11b/g adapter (in comparison, DS has just 802.11b). DSi is backward compatible with all DS games, except for those that require the GBA slot. If you want to play GBA games, you’re better off getting a regular DS instead of the DSi.
Can A DSi And DS Play Together?
They can, with the help of Nintendo’s Download Play feature. Games that have the “single card” icon on their packaging can be used by both DS and DSi. By the way, the 3DS can also play with DS/ DSi in its backward compatibility mode.
Just insert the game cartridge into your DS or DSi, and host a lobby. Then, go into the system menu of the other console and search for Download Play hosts. Once you see the host, connect to it and your console will download all relevant content to its RAM for that play session.
What Is The Rarest DSi?
Nintendo is a huge proponent of limited edition consoles and special events. Some of the rarest Nintendo handhelds are owned by a few lucky folks who happened to be in the right place, at the right time. And today, these consoles sell for thousands of dollars despite being several decades old.
One of the rarest DSi models was exclusive to Japan and only handed out to McDonald’s employees. This DSi was bundled with special software that trained employees on cooking McDonald’s menu items of that time. Only 8000 of these rare DSi consoles were made in total, and you won’t find one for under a thousand dollars.
Conclusion
I hope this article helped you understand why your DSi turns off by itself. Normally, the fault lies with an undercharged or old battery. It could also be hacked firmware/ software on a DSi that went through a botched jailbreak process.
In some rare instances, people either drop their DSi face-first or hit it against something which causes the trigger buttons to jam up. Behind these trigger buttons are ribbon cables that can short, causing the console’s auto-shutdown feature to kick in.