Hacking Hardware HWfly-shaped Picofly boards start shipping in China

[antifocus]

They are not that easy to find in China either, and some sellers only sell them in bulk. It's easier to pay for the modding service from shops for $20~30 including the chip

 

[JVC2]

They are not that easy to find in China either, and some sellers only sell them in bulk. It's easier to pay for the modding service from shops for $20~30 including the chip

Cheapest I've seen it being offered is between $70 to $90 in the US, where are you seeing lower prices?

 

[Taquitos]

Really? I found a listing and contacted my agent about it and it seems the purchase went through, I'm waiting to receive the package now.
Maybe Nintendo tightened security again...

 

[antifocus]

Cheapest I've seen it being offered is between $70 to $90 in the US, where are you seeing lower prices?

Sorry I wasn't being clear, in China

 

[Taquitos]

Hello! The chip has arrived (to the warehouse) and the agent took some photos

I tried to get the option for the Switch Lite... hopefully it is correct?

Since the listing of this chip I got is still up and I got pictures of the item (proof it really exists) I will send people the link via DM later tonight of where I got it.

 

[voidz9]

Can confirm it use HWFLY flex cable. flashed with 2.67 fw from factory

I stand corrected. This came with 2.61 flashed. I just flashed to 2.67 using picofly toolbox with no problem.

However didnt manage to do drag and drop because the chip is not detected in my laptop (holding boot button and plug in the usb)

Post automatically merged: May 17, 2023

any difficulties installing or bugs?

It installs as you install a hwfly core/oled/lite one. For bugs, didnt notice any yet but glitching time is quite fast from hwfly

 

[SylverReZ]

I've started to notice these custom PicoFly boards being made as well.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005514725775.html

 

[Modzvilleusa]

I've started to notice these custom PicoFly boards being made as well.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005514725775.html

I have a couple of these ordered and I'm looking forward to playing with them.
I'm super interested in that little + and - up top. Should be usb passthrough for programming / debugging over the switches usb c port.

I also managed to get my hands on one of the lite versions of these chips.

 

[SylverReZ]

I have a couple of these ordered and I'm looking forward to playing with them.
I'm super interested in that little + and - up top. Should be usb passthrough for programming / debugging over the switches usb c port.

I also managed to get my hands on one of the lite versions of these chips.
View attachment 372037

Nice. Maybe an installation video at some point?

 

[Flaming_Autist]

Yes he's right. Chinese regulators don't trust foreign contents, they specifically enforced region-lock to all consoles to be released in China. All games must go through very strict review process before they are approved, and seldom do games survive that process, even BotW was failed. So we still play NS, we just don't buy it from the official agent(Tencent). Instead there are importers that sell the global version of NS, which of course skip all these regulation nonsense.

Post automatically merged: May 5, 2023

Got mine and successfully installed. Everything from flex cable to cut position on the aluminum shield is completely identical to HWfly.

I forgot to take a photo before installing the aluminum shield, but it looks very much the same as HWfly.

Photos are updated on #1.

god bureaucracies are such cancer. im glad you got sorted man. I basicly got ran out of china because of their backwards ass bureaucrats. stole my job, my ability to function then had the gall to tell me they werent kicking me out of china, that i made my own choice. bleh. such a beautiful country ruined

 

[Modzvilleusa]

Nice. Maybe an installation video at some point?

I'll consider it for sure.
I have so many videos I want to make but finding the time to do it has been challenging lately.

 

[Nephiel]

I'm super interested in that little + and - up top. Should be usb passthrough for programming / debugging over the switches usb c port.

I don't think it works like that - it's just the USB of the RP2040, to be soldered to its own USB connector once (for programming), and then removed before installation.

 

[Modzvilleusa]

I don't think it works like that - it's just the USB of the RP2040, to be soldered to its own USB connector once (for programming), and then removed before installation

It looks like a similar setup to the trinket m0 which has the ability to be reprogrammed over the switches usb down the line. It's just these two wires that handle that afaik. I don't see why the same couldn't be possible with the rp2040

 

[Taquitos]

Interesting, I think I got a chip that's supposed to work on either OLED oror

I have a couple of these ordered and I'm looking forward to playing with them.
I'm super interested in that little + and - up top. Should be usb passthrough for programming / debugging over the switches usb c port.

I also managed to get my hands on one of the lite versions of these chips.
View attachment 372037

The one I got works both for the OLED and Switch Lite but I will try to find one shaped like that since the installation of that one seems easier for a Lite. I might save the one I got for an OLED.

 

[H3xxCat]

The board in 1st image does not seem to have any soldering pads available

 

[Temptress Cerise]

Here are QC pics I got from my agent when I ordered from a vendor.

I think I’m just missing the usb connector for upgrading the firmware right?

I asked for the OLED version.

 

[EAGLE-1]

i get mines last week,cant update via pc,so what for the buttons then?? boot boton?,we install one then in brand new oled,console start fine,we test like 5 times and everything was fine,after 5 successul booting,the console is dead,only black screen,chip only have solid blue light,and the screen show 2 times pink screen and now is totally dead,no show anything than black screen,we try everything and cant fix it,this never happen with the old real hwfly!

 

[gh0stess]

Here are QC pics I got from my agent when I ordered from a vendor.

I think I’m just missing the usb connector for upgrading the firmware right?

I asked for the OLED version.

View attachment 372417View attachment 372419View attachment 372418

Has anyone installed this particular HWFLY RP2040 OLED kit? I ordered a similar looking one off Aliexpress recently.

 

[voidz9]

Hwfly aliexpress storefront started selling hwfly rp2040 lite/core/oled as of today.

 

[Modzvilleusa]

The board in 1st image does not seem to have any soldering pads available

the pads are behind the flex cable in the first pic.

Post automatically merged: May 20, 2023

i get mines last week,cant update via pc,so what for the buttons then?? boot boton?,we install one then in brand new oled,console start fine,we test like 5 times and everything was fine,after 5 successul booting,the console is dead,only black screen,chip only have solid blue light,and the screen show 2 times pink screen and now is totally dead,no show anything than black screen,we try everything and cant fix it,this never happen with the old real hwfly!

pink screen is usually a damaged cmd resistor on oled.
Check that the resistor measures 4.7k ohms
rp2040 will throw a slow emmc error if there's no 47ohm resistors on cmd clk and dat0.
maybe these boards are missing those added resistors? check the rp2040 install pdf. slow emmc will happen if you don't add resistors to those lines.