What do you do after installing a HWFLY chip?

[toolazytosearchitmyself]

I have a Switch OLED and HWFLY 4.0 chip sitting at home. They've been sitting around for months and I've finally found someone who will install it for me. He says he will install the modchip but dealing with the software is up to me.

What do I do after installing it? Do I need to update the chip? What do I put on my micro SD card?

 

[SylverReZ]

I have a Switch OLED and HWFLY 4.0 chip sitting at home. They've been sitting around for months and I've finally found someone who will install it for me. He says he will install the modchip but dealing with the software is up to me.

What do I do after installing it? Do I need to update the chip? What do I put on my micro SD card?

This page shows you how under the 'Usage' section:
https://github.com/hwfly-nx/firmware

 

[linuxares]

This page shows you how under the 'Usage' section:
https://github.com/rashevskyv/hwfly-nx

https://github.com/hwfly-nx/firmware - why not link to the proper one?

 

[SylverReZ]

https://github.com/hwfly-nx/firmware - why not link to the proper one?

That was the first result I saw.

 

[marhalloweenvt]

For the SD card part, you can have a look at this little guide: https://rentry.org/SwitchHackingIsEasy

 

[impeeza]

the answer for title question: "What do you do after installing a HWFLY chip?" is: you pray what the chips works without problem.

What you ask, you need to follow one of the guides on hack a switch, and please, please, please DO NOT FOLLOW any YT video, no matter how new it is for sure is outdated and may be bogus.


The best one:

https://rentry.org/SwitchHackingIsEasy


another good guides

1. https://rentry.org/MigrateToAtmosphere1_0_0
2. https://rentry.org/ExosphereDNSMITM
3. Grab latest firmware from that Darthsternie Firmware website…
4. https://rentry.org/UpgradeDowngrade

 

[toolazytosearchitmyself]

So how do I know if the guy installed the HWFLY chip correctly? What screen should a stock chip display with no micro SD card inserted?

To my understanding, if the chip is correctly installed you should flash the latest version of Spacecraft NX then add Hekate to the micro SD card, make a NAND backup and go from there. Is this correct?

 

[cearp]

So how do I know if the guy installed the HWFLY chip correctly? What screen should a stock chip display with no micro SD card inserted?

I know you'll still want an answer, but if your installer is not testing and giving you proof that it works and was installed ok, find a different installer I guess

 

[randy_w]

So how do I know if the guy installed the HWFLY chip correctly? What screen should a stock chip display with no micro SD card inserted?

To my understanding, if the chip is correctly installed you should flash the latest version of Spacecraft NX then add Hekate to the micro SD card, make a NAND backup and go from there. Is this correct?

If it's working fine, you should see an error screen like this, stock firmware on the left, hwfly-nx firmware on the right:

You can flash the chip before installing, doesn't really matter. From my experience some consoles (especially those with toshiba emmc, some hynix emmc) work better with stock firmware, where others (especially those with samsung emmc) work better with hwfly-nx firmware and would instant boot every time. So you might need to test yourself to see which firmware works better for your console.

Also I'm not sure why the guy won't help you set up the software, it won't even take 5 minutes. Is this the first time he's doing an oled install? Ask for some pictures of his previous work, or just find another guy.

 

[toolazytosearchitmyself]

I know you'll still want an answer, but if your installer is not testing and giving you proof that it works and was installed ok, find a different installer I guess

He installed an SX Core for me once and showed me my Switch on the boot.dat screen. I can trust him.

EDIT: I reread my first post and realised I worded it inaccurately. I've known an installer for a while now.

 

[toolazytosearchitmyself]

I reread the listing for the HWFLY chips on Ali Express and it says that the 4.0 chips have a defect in them which can brick them when you flash the firmware. Is this the problem where you have to make sure the side labelled "up" on the USB ribbon is pointing upwards or is it something else?

 

[toolazytosearchitmyself]

Bump. So what exactly is the design flaw with the HWFLY chips?

 

[binkinator]

Bump. So what exactly is the design flaw with the HWFLY chips?

https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-flash-the-hwfly-clone-chips.606008/

They provided higher voltage to OLED machines than what was in spec. They would work for a while but eventually brick due to the higher voltage. 4.0 chips should be fine w/ newest firmware. Older chips could not be flashed, hence the concern.

 

[randy_w]

the 4.0 chips have a defect in them which can brick them when you flash the firmware

I think op's referring to this "bug" from hwfly's aliexpress page:

It means if you plug the usb ribbon cable the wrong way (upside down) it will fry the usb port on the modchip. However the chip should still glitch just fine. v4.1/v5 chips adds some protection circuit in case you plug the usb ribbon cable upside down.

However, other claims they make about v4 chip is wrong and misleading. V4 chip does work with Toshiba emmc, I just installed one last week. Doesn't have the fastest glitching time like samsung but it works. My seller on taobao also confirmed this. As for v1 support, I think you need to use their original firmware, not hwfly-nx firmware.

According to my seller on taobao, v4.1/v5 chips are made by another manufacturer and has more problems than v4. They don't even sell v4.1/v5 chips on taobao, just on aliexpress. So I'd suggest avoid these v4.1/v5 chips and stick wth v4.

(Btw I'm buying directly from taobao because it's cheaper and I can pick up other stuff like joycon sticks, shells and other accessories and combine shipping, much cheaper and faster than aliexpress)

 

[binkinator]

I think op's referring to this "bug" from hwfly's aliexpress page:

View attachment 341158

It means if you plug the usb ribbon cable the wrong way (upside down) it will fry the usb port on the modchip. However the chip should still glitch just fine. v4.1/v5 chips adds some protection circuit in case you plug the usb ribbon cable upside down.

However, other claims they make about v4 chip is wrong and misleading. V4 chip does work with Toshiba emmc, I just installed one last week. Doesn't have the fastest glitching time like samsung but it works. My seller on taobao also confirmed this. As for v1 support, I think you need to use their original firmware, not hwfly-nx firmware.

According to my seller on taobao, v4.1/v5 chips are made by another manufacturer and has more problems than v4. They don't even sell v4.1/v5 chips on taobao, just on aliexpress. So I'd suggest avoid these v4.1/v5 chips and stick wth v4.

(Btw I'm buying directly from taobao because it's cheaper and I can pick up other stuff like joycon sticks, shells and other accessories and combine shipping, much cheaper and faster than aliexpress)

Yeah. Sounds like some sellers have a lot of left over stock on hand. I expect to see prices drop dramatically as competition increases to get them off their shelves..

*I tried to sign up for taobao but ended up getting my cell phone flagged as suspicious so they won’t let me try anymore.

 

[randy_w]

Sounds like some sellers have a lot of left over stock on hand.

Don't think it's that simple. They don't even sell v4.1/v5 chips on taobao in china, only v4. Also those v5 chips on aliexpress use BGA fpga chip instead of QFN chip, so I'm not touching them for now.

*I tried to sign up for taobao but ended up getting my cell phone flagged as suspicious so they won’t let me try anymore.

Well I didn't mean to sign up for taobao directly, tried that before but got stuck with the sms verification. Just go with a proxy service like superbuy or parcelup:

Instead of paying $100 on aliexpress you only pay $70 here. Same for other accessories.

 

[toolazytosearchitmyself]

So if my HWFLY chip boots quickly on whatever firmware it's already on then should I flash it? I bought it earlier this year and don't know what firmware it's on or whether it produces too high of a voltage, only that it's 4.0.

 

[binkinator]

So if my HWFLY chip boots quickly on whatever firmware it's already on then should I flash it? I bought it earlier this year and don't know what firmware it's on or whether it produces too high of a voltage, only that it's 4.0.

You can flash it by inserting the included usb cable.

Here’s the repot to get you started:

https://github.com/hwfly-nx/firmware

This will take you to 0.7.1 at which point you’re all good.

 

[toolazytosearchitmyself]

You can flash it by inserting the included usb cable.

Here’s the repot to get you started:

https://github.com/hwfly-nx/firmware

This will take you to 0.7.1 at which point you’re all good.

I have a pretty good idea of how to do it. I flashed an SX Core once before. What I want to know is whether it's worth the effort.

 

[binkinator]

I have a pretty good idea of how to do it. I flashed an SX Core once before. What I want to know is whether it's worth the effort.

Takes like 15 seconds. I don’t see why not. 15 seconds to know exactly what firmware you’re on for the future and be assured you don’t have something dodgy installed? Worth it in my opinion. You might have a different opinion. All good either way.