Help a noob with if I need to update CFW to 18.0 or not

[TonyFerrol]

Hi all. Please bear with me.

I purchased a modded switch a few months back. You can have it on a normal account to play online and use the Nintendo store, and then I use the jig to dump the little program that switches it to Atmosphere and then I can obtain all the other stuff I have on the system. Managed to find my way around adding bits etc. Atmosphere was on 17.0.

Then of course a couple of months back the switch update to 18.0 came out and I was getting confused with what to do, so I did nothing until the proper fix came. Now i've found a video online which goes through what to do to update the CFW to 18.0. I explained my situation in the comments (as I don;t want to update the official firmware and then block the account or whatever) and he said just follow the video and you'll be fine. On another comment on the video however, someone else asked that if they didn't want to update the CFW and just update the official system to 18.0 could he do this, and the answer was yes. I asked him so if I just wanted to update the official system to play online and leave the CFW as is, wouldn't that then disrupt the custom firmware or ban the system, and he said no. if I have emummc it's seperate from sysmmc and i can update, play online and update the games no problem.

Now before I do it, is this correct? I didn't want to block up his comment feed with all my questions so thought coming here may be the bext option.

And how do I know if I have emummc on the system? I imagine I would, right, as the guy I bought it from said it wouldn't connect to nintendo's servers etc, but I want to make sure before I update. I am on the last dungeon on link to the past and the last fight in breath of the wild and don't want to restart them if I can just update the official firmware and have done with it. Thanks in advance.

 

[mlemm]

yup it's correct.
you have emummc if you have atmosphere, because atmosphere doesn't get installed on the system nand, it gets installed on the emummc which is on the microsd card, not on the system memory.

personally i would wait til you finish those two games just to quell any anxiety.

 

[4d1xlaan]

yup it's correct.
you have emummc if you have atmosphere, because atmosphere doesn't get installed on the system nand, it gets installed on the emummc which is on the microsd card, not on the system memory.

personally i would wait til you finish those two games just to quell any anxiety.

no. you have emummc if you have emummc.

the easy way to check if you don't know if you are running emummc is to check the system version in system settings. it will show E at the end if you are running on emummc, S if not.

 

[TonyFerrol]

yup it's correct.
you have emummc if you have atmosphere, because atmosphere doesn't get installed on the system nand, it gets installed on the emummc which is on the microsd card, not on the system memory.

personally i would wait til you finish those two games just to quell any anxiety.

Yes there is atmosphere on the switch, alongside tinfoil and a bunch of other stuff.

So essentially I am free to update the normal switch side of things to 18.0....or whatever the last update was that it keeps asking me to do, and the CFW that I use the jog to boot into will essentially remail the same? It won't restrict access etc as it's as you said, installed on the emummc on the sd card?

Post automatically merged: May 10, 2024

no. you have emummc if you have emummc.

the easy way to check if you don't know if you are running emummc is to check the system version in system settings. it will show E at the end if you are running on emummc, S if not.

Do I check that on the stock nintendo firmware or on the system settings after I have booted into custom firmware?

 

[Jayro]

Always update both the OFW and CFW to their respective latest versions to avoid as many issues as possible. Disregard all the eFuse preserving nay-sayers, as there's no real reason to hold anything back.

 

[TonyFerrol]

Always update both the OFW and CFW to their respective latest versions to avoid as many issues as possible. Disregard all the eFuse preserving nay-sayers, as there's no real reason to hold anything back.

Thanks for the reply. Is it best to update the OFW first and then follow the tutorial I found to update the CFW atmosphere/hekate/ etc, which will then mean the custom firmware is done too? Or does it not really matter?

I've just seen conflicting reports where people have updated the OFW, and then they cannot boot into the CFW....but then as above i've had people saying I can update the OFW and the CFW should still work as it's a seperate thing. Sorry for the questions, but I just like learning about this stuff and how it works...I guess it's the perils of buying a pre done system as in you haven't had to add the files and do the updates yourself....I guess if you had done that it would be second nature

Post automatically merged: May 10, 2024

no. you have emummc if you have emummc.

the easy way to check if you don't know if you are running emummc is to check the system version in system settings. it will show E at the end if you are running on emummc, S if not.

I checked the CFW and it ends with an E, but I cannot check the OFW as it is just saying ready for update.

 

[Blythe93]

I've just seen conflicting reports where people have updated the OFW, and then they cannot boot into the CFW....but then as above i've had people saying I can update the OFW and the CFW should still work as it's a seperate thing. Sorry for the questions, but I just like learning about this stuff and how it works...I guess it's the perils of buying a pre done system as in you haven't had to add the files and do the updates yourself....I guess if you had done that it would be second nature

Those same people are probably using their CFW on sysMMC and since updating OFW means updating sysMMC as well, CFW might break unless an update is not necessary. As far as I know, If you're running CFW on your emuMMC you shouldn't worry as long as you can send your Hekate and Atmosphere payloads.

Since you're probably new to the Switch hacking scene, I'd suggest that you go through these two guides: NH Switch guide and Rentry.org Switch guide. Getting familiar with the terms used will make using and updating your Switch a much easier task for you. Even if you've bought a pre-hacked system, it's advisable to learn how to keep it up-to-date.

I checked the CFW and it ends with an E, but I cannot check the OFW as it is just saying ready for update.

If needed, you can check your OFW by restarting your Switch and getting into maintenance mode. Here's how:

1. Make sure that your Internet connection is disabled if you're connected right now and remove any saved connections as well. You want to make sure that your console doesn't automatically connect to the Internet.
2. Turn off your console (when in home menu, hold the power button for a few seconds and select power off).
3. Hold volume + and volume - at the same time and, while holding them, press the power button. After a while your Switch will enter into the maintenance mode. At this point any pending updates and cache is cleared on your sysMMC, you don't need to press and/or select anything.
4. Press the power button once again. It'll shut down the console.
5. Turn on your console afterwards and, if everything went well, you'll be able to see your firmware version.

 

[mlemm]

oh shoot, I didn't even consider that if people want to play online and offline they can install CFW twice, once on systemnand for online and once on emummc for offline, that's the last thing I personally consider. I should be less subjective and remember things like that...
apologies for the mistake there, I'll double check in the future .

any other reason that people install cfw on sysnand ? any benefits?

 

[Lumpofcoal]

any other reason that people install cfw on sysnand ? any benefits?

I don't think there are any benefits to running cfw on sysnand. I do so simply because I do not pirate so there's nothing for me to hide just like the creator of the CFW also runs on sysnand and even goes online with it without issues. NInty is probably well aware that I have been running CFW on my switch for years by now but whatever (just singleplayer cheats and save file extractions) I'm doing doesn't seem to be egregious enough for them to ban me.

That's why if my friends ask me which they should run on, I always ask what's their intention for CFW in the first place.

 

[Trismesgistus]

Hi, total newbie here with a hacked switch I got from a friend who explained almost nothing about how it works. I'm about to read through the guides and get a feel for things, but I already messed up. I loaded SYSMMC and started Tinfoil, there was an update and it seemed ok. I backed out of Tinfoil and my OS had an update; it wouldn't let me start anything until I did so. Ok, fine. Now I get an error message that says "Unknown pkg1 version, HOS not supported". After doing a bit of reading I realize I made the mistake of running tinfoil while in SYSMMC, but is that what broke it? Is there a way to fix it if I don't have a backup? Thanks for any advice.

 

[TonyFerrol]

Those same people are probably using their CFW on sysMMC and since updating OFW means updating sysMMC as well, CFW might break unless an update is not necessary. As far as I know, If you're running CFW on your emuMMC you shouldn't worry as long as you can send your Hekate and Atmosphere payloads.

Since you're probably new to the Switch hacking scene, I'd suggest that you go through these two guides: NH Switch guide and Rentry.org Switch guide. Getting familiar with the terms used will make using and updating your Switch a much easier task for you. Even if you've bought a pre-hacked system, it's advisable to learn how to keep it up-to-date.


If needed, you can check your OFW by restarting your Switch and getting into maintenance mode. Here's how:

1. Make sure that your Internet connection is disabled if you're connected right now and remove any saved connections as well. You want to make sure that your console doesn't automatically connect to the Internet.
2. Turn off your console (when in home menu, hold the power button for a few seconds and select power off).
3. Hold volume + and volume - at the same time and, while holding them, press the power button. After a while your Switch will enter into the maintenance mode. At this point any pending updates and cache is cleared on your sysMMC, you don't need to press and/or select anything.
4. Press the power button once again. It'll shut down the console.
5. Turn on your console afterwards and, if everything went well, you'll be able to see your firmware version.

Hi there. I went to maintenance mode and I can now see the firmware version.....17.0.1, but it doesn't have a letter behind it....the only thing there is just a system update button above it

 

[Blythe93]

Hi there. I went to maintenance mode and I can now see the firmware version.....17.0.1, but it doesn't have a letter behind it....the only thing there is just a system update button above it

That's expected as you're currently in stock mode and CFW isn't running. Therefore, only firmware version is visible.

 

[TonyFerrol]

That's expected as you're currently in stock mode and CFW isn't running. Therefore, only firmware version is visible.

So I have no way of checking if the OFW is running from E or S versions?

 

[Blythe93]

So I have no way of checking if the OFW is running from E or S versions?

OFW is always running on internal NAND i.e. sysNAND or S, if you prefer.
CFW can be run on either sysNAND or emuNAND denoted with and S or E letter after AMS version, respectively.

 

[TonyFerrol]

OFW is always running on internal NAND i.e. sysNAND or S, if you prefer.
CFW can be run on either sysNAND or emuNAND denoted with and S or E letter after AMS version, respectively.

So there is every chance then that the CFW could be running on the sysNAND on my setup, and therefore if I update the OFW it may ban the console, or something to that effect?

 

[viper3344]

yup it's correct.
you have emummc if you have atmosphere, because atmosphere doesn't get installed on the system nand, it gets installed on the emummc which is on the microsd card, not on the system memory.

personally i would wait til you finish those two games just to quell any anxiety.

Yeah this is literally 100% INCORRECT. You can do an emunand but that is an option. I have 3 switches using atmo on the sysnand and 2 using an emunand to keep my older sisnands SXos compatible still.

 

[Blythe93]

So there is every chance then that the CFW could be running on the sysNAND on my setup, and therefore if I update the OFW it may ban the console, or something to that effect?

You're probably mixing a thing or two. ^^

You've bought a modded Switch that has a sysNAND running stock firmware and an emuNAND running custom firmware (i.e. Atmosphere). if you're able to play both your physical games and ones you've purchased from eShop on sysNAND and online features work without issue, you can access eShop, buy and download games, updates and DLC, I'd say that your console at the very least is still working properly and you shouldn't worry about getting banned if it's been working properly for a while (i.e. for a couple of months, maybe?).

In other words, updating your sysNAND i.e. OFW shouldn't get your console banned.

Here's a short guide on how to avoid getting banned. Just running a Atmosphere CFW on your sysNAND won't get your console banned. Doing things like installing pirated content, homebrew forwarders, cheating in online games will get your console banned.

 

[TonyFerrol]

You're probably mixing a thing or two. ^^

You've bought a modded Switch that has a sysNAND running stock firmware and an emuNAND running custom firmware (i.e. Atmosphere). if you're able to play both your physical games and ones you've purchased from eShop on sysNAND and online features work without issue, you can access eShop, buy and download games, updates and DLC, I'd say that your console at the very least is still working properly and you shouldn't worry about getting banned if it's been working properly for a while (i.e. for a couple of months, maybe?).

In other words, updating your sysNAND i.e. OFW shouldn't get your console banned.

Here's a short guide on how to avoid getting banned. Just running a Atmosphere CFW on your sysNAND won't get your console banned. Doing things like installing pirated content, homebrew forwarders, cheating in online games will get your console banned.

Yes it's quite ossible i'm getting a bit muddled.

I bought the system pre modded and I can log into my nintendo account, add funds, download games, play my stuff online as if it's just a vanilla switch. and yes it's been working fine. Can switch between that and the CFW with no issues....been playing adding stuff to the CFW side of things with DBI etc and all fine. It was just when the news came of the 18.0 OFW update and I saw on other switch modding pages not to update, don't do X.Y and Z until the atmosphere side has been sorted etc so I just held off. I've managed without the official side, but I have money on the account, 60+ our saves on certain games etc and just didn't want to lose that side of things. I want to kind of learn about teh updates, how it all works whatever with the goal of maybe buying a cheap switch to try and do myself, as I can manage with a Wii, that kind of thing.

SO you think it should be ok just to update the OFW side of things and it should be all fine?

 

[Blythe93]

I bought the system pre modded and I can log into my nintendo account, add funds, download games, play my stuff online as if it's just a vanilla switch. and yes it's been working fine. Can switch between that and the CFW with no issues....been playing adding stuff to the CFW side of things with DBI etc and all fine.

Based on that alone, I'd say that you can update your OFW safely enough. 17.0.0 was a bit problematic firmware as it changed the way saves were handled, which rendered some of the consoles reboot to black screen, even those that never had CFW on them. Since you're already on it, 18.0.0 and 18.0.1 shouldn't be problematic. At least, as far as I know.

According to the developer of the Atmosphere, in version 1.7.0 the basic support for firmware 18.0.0 (and by extension, 18.0.1) was added and everything should work from the user side of things. Not all the modules have been updated to the latest changes and they'll probably address them in one of the future releases.

It was just when the news came of the 18.0 OFW update and I saw on other switch modding pages not to update, don't do X.Y and Z until the atmosphere side has been sorted etc so I just held off.

One should never update their console's firmware unless the latest Hekate, Atmosphere and sigpatches are released for that firmware. This is even more important for the people that are using CFW on their sysNAND. emuNAND? Not so much. If you have an emuNAND setup, I believe that you can update OFW as long as Hekate is updated to support the latest firmware, but I can't say for sure. Someone else can further clarify (or rectify) on this.

SO you think it should be ok just to update the OFW side of things and it should be all fine?

If you haven't done anything mentioned but not limited to what's written here and you've been using your console's online features on OFW without issues so far (i.e. accessed eShop, bought and installed games, updates and DLC, played online games, etc.), I'd say that it should be fine. Nothing's 100% sure, but I'd say that I'm around 99% sure that it's fine to update.

 

[LightBeam]

I think you're getting lost so I'll try to be simple explaining what I personally do :

You seem to understand how to use Hekate, so that's nice.

You are right to be careful when people say they weren't able to boot on their CFW after updating their OFW. That's expected behavior, these people did not bypass efuses checks, that's a toggle on hekate when you boot the payload.

Fyi, some people feel like they really want to « keep » their fuses, honestly it doesn't matter, I just use this option because I feel like it's much more convenient and it's enabled by default on Hekate. Just boot on Hekate, tap Options on the top right and make sure that Auto NoGC is set to ON, and save options.
If you boot to your emummc through hekate, you shouldn't have any issue

I use that all the time, now sure I don't play a lot on my sysmmc, but most of the time it's up to date while I almost never update my emummc (unless I feel like I need it for more recent games). So most of the time both my nands aren't on the same update.

In any case, I don't think there's much to be worried about. You're not going to brick your console if you update your OFW through the official way. Even if you weren't able to boot on your CFW, there will be ways for you to gain back access and considering what people have told you above me, you should be fine.

If you really want to be safe and keep using fusee.bin to boot, then use hekate once just to update your emunand when you updated your ofw and when both your nands are on the same update, you will be able to boot just like you did before.



I feel like it's still pretty useful to know how to do in such cases. There are times where you might want to update your OFW because you would like to play whatever, but not your CFW because Atmosphere hasn't been updated yet, and this will allow you to do whatever you want. Obviously in your case today, you can just update both without issues.

Sorry the post is a bit long, but I tried being concise.

Almost forgot but just wanted to mention : obviously, use Daybreak to update your emunand if it's offline. Just thought it was worth mentioning just in case.