Hardware Help! Bought a 2nd hand switch and I'm a little suspicious!

[cukiyoko]

Hi, so I bought a 2nd hand switch off ebay - it had a serial number XAW7000, and everything seemed legit.
It arrived, and I was immediately suspicious, as the box has the XAW7000 serial, but the switch itself has a serial XAW7001583 (ect). Not just the sticker, but also showing up in the software itself.

I checked the original listing, and sure enough the photo of the box shows a serial with XAW7000, and the switch itself shows the XAW7001 serial. I don't know how I missed it...

Now, according to https://ismyswitchpatched.com/ a switch with a XAW7001583 switch should still be patchable. OK, sounds good but I'm still suspicious.

I turned it on, and it's on firmware 10.1.0
The guy I bought it from has left himself logged in, and had left a game digitally available on the device, as well as two cartridge games (one which he sold alongside, one which wasn't)

I was able to open the game, and even to apply the software update via wifi.
I tried to log in to eshop to check if he is banned, but obviously it wants me to update the firmware and won't let me in without updating.

What should I do? I'm sure some of this can be answered if I try to patch it, but my jig hasn't arrived yet.

I want to find out
a) If it is banned
b) If it has been modded before
c) Anything else I should look at

I should add, the guy who sent it to me included his full name, address and phone on the parcel and like I said, didn't even wipe the switch before sending it and left himself logged in. He also left some screenshots in the album - which were all the kind that you take accidentally and were dated 2019. This doesn't seem like the kind of thing someone who scams people would do. However, if he HAD reset the switch after modding it, would those screenshots still be there?

So, can someone help me with the steps I should take to find out if I have been scammed somehow? Should I just wait until the jig arrives, or should I try and find out more?

I wouldn't be so worried if it wasn't for the different serial stickers...

 

[Shadow#1]

Hi, so I bought a 2nd hand switch off ebay - it had a serial number XAW7000, and everything seemed legit.
It arrived, and I was immediately suspicious, as the box has the XAW7000 serial, but the switch itself has a serial XAW001583 (ect). Not just the sticker, but also showing up in the software itself.

Now, according to https://ismyswitchpatched.com/ a switch with a XAW7001583 switch should still be patchable. OK, sounds good but I'm still suspicious.

I turned it on, and it's on firmware 10.1.0
The guy I bought it from has left himself logged in, and had left a game digitally available on the device, as well as two cartridge games (one which he sold alongside, one which wasn't)

I was able to open the game, and even to apply the software update via wifi.
I tried to log in to eshop to check if he is banned, but obviously it wants me to update the firmware and won't let me in without updating.

What should I do? I'm sure some of this can be answered if I try to patch it, but my jig hasn't arrived yet.

I want to find out
a) If it is banned
b) If it has been modded before
c) Anything else I should look at before I try to contact the guy for an explanation.

I should add, the guy who sent it to me included his full name, address and phone on the parcel and like I said, didn't even wipe the switch before sending it and left himself logged in. He also left some screenshots in the album - which were all the kind that you take accidentally and were dated 2019. This doesn't seem like the kind of thing someone who scams people would do. However, if he HAD reset the switch after modding it, would those screenshots still be there?

So, can someone help me with the steps I should take to find out if I have been scammed somehow? Should I just wait until the jig arrives, or should I try and find out more?

I wouldn't be so worried if it wasn't for the obvious serial sticker swap...

Update 12.0.2 is supposed

 

[cukiyoko]

Update 12.0.2 is supposed

Is that safe? I thought we were not supposed to update and just keep the firmware as low as possible...

 

[Shadow#1]

Is that safe? I thought we were not supposed to update and just keep the firmware as low as possible...

Yes it's safe

 

[Jayro]

There's absolutely NO NEED to keep on lower firmwares. Just update to the latest OFW, and then use Atmosphere when your jig gets here.

 

[Viri]

Latest firmware is fine, go download Atmosphere and enjoy your hacked Switch.

 

[cukiyoko]

OK, guys - thanks for the confirmation. I'll go update it now and fingers crossed, it's not banned and nothing fishy is going on.
Will report back once it's updated

 

[cukiyoko]

Ok, update time! Literally. I updated to 12.0.2 and was able to go into the eshop.

So, definitely not banned then? Or do I need to download youtube or something free to be 100% sure?

No problems browsing the games and was even able to go into the guys account and see all his details (geez, he should be glad I'M not a scammer, because it's still linked to his paypal account AND it's linked to a family switch online membership...)

Should I log into my (definitely not banned, never been used before) account to test? I don't want to download youtube or anything on his account because I'm sure he'll get an email alerting him...

So far so good, right? Until the jig arrives, there's no other way of testing if the console has been modded before, right?

 

[Shadow#1]

Ok, update time! Literally. I updated to 12.0.2 and was able to go into the eshop.

So, definitely not banned then? Or do I need to download youtube or something free to be 100% sure?

No problems browsing the games and was even able to go into the guys account and see all his details (geez, he should be glad I'M not a scammer, because it's still linked to his paypal account AND it's linked to a family switch online membership...)

Should I log into my (definitely not banned, never been used before) account to test? I don't want to download youtube or anything on his account because I'm sure he'll get an email alerting him...

So far so good, right? Until the jig arrives, there's no other way of testing if the console has been modded before, right?

Did a full format in settings system

 

[cukiyoko]

Did a full format in settings system

OK, I can do that - but that will wipe all his data right? I'm not worried about that, as it'll go when I mod the switch, but I feel like I should keep it logged in as him in case I have to return it (if I find out it's been modded/banned before)...

What would the purpose of the factory reset be in terms of bans/modding? Sorry if it's a noob thing to ask.

 

[Shadow#1]

OK, I can do that - but that will wipe all his data right? I'm not worried about that, as it'll go when I mod the switch, but I feel like I should keep it logged in as him in case I have to return it (if I find out it's been modded/banned before)...

What would the purpose of the factory reset be in terms of bans/modding? Sorry if it's a noob thing to ask.

U should start with a clean nand and its not banned

 

[Shrubber]

What would the purpose of the factory reset be in terms of bans/modding? Sorry if it's a noob thing to ask.

There's no way to reverse a ban and not through a factory reset. It's permanent.

 

[cukiyoko]

There's no way to reverse a ban and not through a factory reset. It's permanent.

Thanks, yes, I understand that, which is why I'm really keen to be 100% sure it isn't before I start to install cfw. I'm not sure if I need to download an app, or if just being able to access estore is enough to prove it's not banned.

Shadow#1 instructed me to do a factory reset, which I will to ensure a clean start for the cfw, but was wondering if I should do it now, or wait for the jig.

Will being able access rcm when my jig arrives tell me anything else before I wipe it?

Should I wait to wipe, in case this guy has modded it, then reset it and *potentially* flagged the switch for future bans, or does everything sound like it's good to go?

The whole different serials thing has got me doing things super cautiously!!

 

[gamesquest1]

the guy probably binned the original box and just figured hey I can include the box off my brothers/friends etc and sell it as boxed and get more money,

the format is just so its all fresh and doesn't have random accounts linked etc you can just keep it as is if you prefer, just most people would probably just want to start fresh with just their own stuff on it

 

[Basketto]

Thanks, yes, I understand that, which is why I'm really keen to be 100% sure it isn't before I start to install cfw. I'm not sure if I need to download an app, or if just being able to access estore is enough to prove it's not banned.

Shadow#1 instructed me to do a factory reset, which I will to ensure a clean start for the cfw, but was wondering if I should do it now, or wait for the jig.

Will being able access rcm when my jig arrives tell me anything else before I wipe it?

Should I wait to wipe, in case this guy has modded it, then reset it and *potentially* flagged the switch for future bans, or does everything sound like it's good to go?

The whole different serials thing has got me doing things super cautiously!!

Btw I wouldnt get too comfortable just yet. I know of people that have been sold an unbanned switch that were not tagged simply because the previous owner dirtied the nand & never went online. He could have simply just deleted his homebrew & sent it over. Meaning by going on the eshop you could trigger a ban without knowing. If the previous owner has things on their, you will probably want to factory reset anyway, but it wont prevent a ban if the nand isnt clean.
If you do want to proceed with homebrew and are trying to avoid a ban, i highly suggest creating an emummuc & using that. Apart from providing a solid barrier to getting the software bricked, by either keeping it offline or using 90dns/exosphere, you ensure that none of your nintendo frowned upon content is sent to any of their servers. Basically you will prevent a ban, unless your switch is tagged already.