XBOX 360 xk3y. Part 1 - Overview, features and equipment

Good day!

With this article I want to start a cycle dedicated to a device called xk3y. They will have a full description of this device, ranging from features and configuration to the launch of games with iso-images on the USB hard drive.
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Immediately apologize for the quality of some pictures. The photos are not mine, the device has set itself for a long time and again it is very lazy to disassemble the console :)

So what is xk3y?

XK3Y is an XBOX 360 DVD drive emulator that allows you to run ISO images of games from any external USB media (USB flash drive, hard disk). Xk3y is a set of several components, but basically it is a motherboard that is mounted between the console and its DVD drive (xk3y serves as a kind of “layer” between them that reads the passing information). This motherboard runs on Linux and is responsible for drive emulation, reading external drives and protecting against AP25 checks.

Features and features:

• Intuitive interface, no soldering required.
• Multilingualism
• Compatible with Fat and Slim consoles
• Supports most XBOX 360 and XBOX 1 games
• Supports most file systems, including NTFS, EXT2 / 3/4, and Mac OS X Extended
• USB 2.0 interface
• Stylish USB controller to run games and control x360key
• Powerful Linux system running with Micro SD card (included)
• Firmware fully updated from USB
• Recovery Mode - the ability to fully restore a damaged Micro SD card
• Does not require drive firmware or JTAG hack
• AP25 supported
• XGD3 supported
• Pass-through mode (You can use XBOX in “normal mode” bypassing xkey)
• Multi-Disk Game Support
• ISO Menu Interface
• DVD Menu Interface
• iPhone app (xk3y WiFi) *
• Web Control Interface (xk3y WiFi) *
• Creating images of games on a USB-drive (xk3y Gecko) **
• Extract drive key and create game profiles (xk3y Gecko) **

^{* Requires xk3y WiFi Dongle (sold separately)
** Requires xk3y Gecko (sold separately)}

Currently in development are the following features:

• Downloading games from NFS and Samba repositories *
• Full security on Xbox Live (you can assume that it has already been implemented, there has not been a single ban of the console with xk3y)
• Support for new DVD drives
• Save ISO image of licensed Xbox 360 games to USB hard drive *

^{* Additional option (sold separately)}

Overview of configuration:

The device comes in such nice boxes.

Inside it is another metal box with all the junk. The kit currently includes the following components (revision R7.2, also referred to as v1.1):

• "Motherboard" x360key - 1pc.
• MicroSD card - 1pc.
• SATA cable - 1pc.
• Molex power cable - 1pc.
• USB - Micro USB cable - 1pc.
• FFC / USB Dongle - 1pc.
• Short FFCable - 1pc.
• Long FFCable - 1pc.
• Protective packaging for the motherboard (cardboard) - 1pc.
• Serial number with code - 1pc.

I also received an old revision 1.0 with a remote control in the kit (in the photo - on the right), now the console is an optional component.
The serial number is needed for activation on the official website of the ability to download new firmware versions. If the activation code was not included, then you got a Chinese fake. They are now extremely rare, but even they are fully operational, and the firmware can be downloaded somewhere else.

There are also the following optional components, purchased separately and adding some convenient additional features:

1. Remote control - a remote control with 3 buttons that allows you to launch ISO images of games and display current status information on xk3y and the DVD drive tray.



2. Xk3y WiFi Dongle - USB-adapter that allows you to run ISO-images of games with a special Web-interface.



3. Xk3y Gecko - an adapter for creating ISO images of licensed Xbox 360 games on a USB hard drive. The adapter works on all LiteOn 16D4S drives and does not require third-party firmware.

In my opinion, the first two additional components are useless, since games can be launched directly from the Dashboard without getting up from the sofa. Although they may be someone and enjoy. The expediency of buying an Xk3y Gecko is also a big question, since you can also make images on a PC, and there is no sense in buying a device to remove the XBOX drive key, and it only supports one drive model. It is better then to fork out for Maximus Lizard , which removes keys from any drives on any computer.

Supported Drive Versions:

The device supports the following drive versions (drives from which the key can be removed):


Unsupported (for now) drives stand in production consoles later than August 2011. If you bought such a console, then there is a 99% chance that this type of hacking, like other types of hacking itself, is not available to you.

On this familiarity with the device can be considered complete. If the article is to the taste of the community, then the following will describe its installation and further work with it.

Useful links:

Manufacturers official website
Official sellers
Official xk3y support forum
Facebook Page

Where can one buy?

I bought my device on Dealextreme. It is not on the list recommended by the manufacturer by the seller, but the key came to me with the original original serial number.

In Russia, xkey is sold on Multimediacity , but something really painfully bites the price, and you have to pay for shipping. And with DX, as you know, free shipping (:

UPD: The second article.