*rechecks this thread for the fifth time, this time remembering to click "Show ignored Content"*
Oh, yeah... This is the thread.
Aside from the facts that:
a) I don't particularly condone hacking current consoles (consoles no longer offered for sail are fair game though)
b) Future updates are bound to have desired improvements
c) The hacking elite have not given any "avoid updates" warning, indicating that they have no leads yet
d) The Switch has not actually been hacked in any useful manner yet
e) Any development of hacks would be focused on the most recent releases
To put it simply, we don't know yet. There has only been three updates of note: The Update to 2.01, the mandatory update at first startup, and the mandatory update first time you insert a MicroSDXC card. It may be possible, and maybe some features will be disabled until you update. The console literally came out last month.
And as for my deleted post, everything I said was technically feasible, just morally and legally questionable.
- Nintendo can choose to treat "Wifi Off" as a throttled mode where the Switch only uses the wifi to check for and download updates.
- The Switch can be programmed to reject the DNS servers set by your router and use a hardwired one or hardwired list, or fail over if certain criteria is met (bad certificates, eShop is accessible but NUS is not, etc)
- The Switch can be set to automatically connect to open hotspots (some Android phones have this feature, not sure if they still do) or Nintendo can partner with a Wifi Subscription program like Skype Wifi, so the Switch can automatically connect to a supported hotspot to download the update
- If Nintendo partnered with Blackberry they could've used QNX/BB10 as the basis for the Switch OS, which adds a whole another level of security. Or at bare minimum they can use BB10-esque encryption and code signing to resist hacking.
- Nintendo has had years to look at how their consoles are hacked. They could have found "tells" (odd files in the SD card, iOSs or whatever with incorrect metadata, unsigned code, etc) that they could program to trigger a lockdown mode for the Switch in which it won't run until it downloads a validated rom image to reflash itself with.
- Nintendo could choose to take a look at how viruses work. The Switch could connect to the server using secure tunnels like a Tor-knockoff, or maybe it can try to mask it's communications by hiding it behind something expected, like NTP calls (for small amounts of data like a version check) or even as additional data when accessing the eShop
There are all technically feasible, though Nintendo would have to hire outside talent to pull off a lot of it. There would be a public outcry if any of it was discovered, and Nintendo could face harsh legal repercussions in some cases. But all points are and were technically valid.
