Serial mismatch on original system after modchip install

[TyrNo]

Guys, if you can help me with this problem, I'd be grateful: I sent my Nintendo Switch V2 to have a modchip installed, but when I received it, the original system wouldn't turn on (it would only go up to the Nintendo logo and then stay black) while the CFW worked perfectly. I sent it back, and they returned it with the original system working normally, but everything I had before was erased. When I got home, I noticed that the scratches on the black plate were gone (they didn't mention any replacement), and I found it strange, so I checked the serial number in the settings of the original system (the battery's serial number also doesn't match the one from before the modchip installation) and it doesn't match the one at the bottom of the Switch (the serial at the bottom is XKW and in the settings it's a random XKJ.).

I haven't connected it to the internet yet, fearing the risk of a ban. How should I proceed to restore it to normal, or is there no way without an initial backup which I suppose they didn't do?

 

[Dust2dust]

It looks like they swapped the motherboard or the casing. Did you take note of your serial number before sending it?

 

[TyrNo]

It looks like they swapped the motherboard or the casing. Did you take note of your serial number before sending it?

Of course, but you can actually change everything else and leave just the serial at the bottom unchanged? Is there any way to confirm the part that is inside using CFW? The black plate is actually completely different from mine, I don't know why they would exchange it for one that looks newer than the previous one and there was still a small noticeable scratch where you insert the Joy-Cons on one side that disappeared. I think the screen wasn't replaced because there was a cracked screen protector that is still on it.

 

[Deleted member 702243]

Of course, but you can actually change everything else and leave just the serial at the bottom unchanged? Is there any way to confirm the part that is inside using CFW? The black plate is actually completely different from mine, I don't know why they would exchange it for one that looks newer than the previous one and there was still a small noticeable scratch where you insert the Joy-Cons on one side that disappeared. I think the screen wasn't replaced because there was a cracked screen protector that is still on it.

the serial number label is on the front half of the shell, so you can change everything except the front half of the shell and keep the same serial label

you could even change the front shell and keep the serial label if you just cleanly removed it and put it on the new case too, but it's unlikely they did that considering the rest of your front half is unchanged

sounds like your seller broke your motherboard trying to do or fix the mod, so you lost all your data and they gave you a new board. you should probably ask for a partial refund if you can, unless you dont care about the data

 

[Dust2dust]

So basically, if you believe it's the same screen, you probably got back your original Switch motherboard, but in this new shell which bears a different serial number. Not a big deal. They probably had several Switch consoles opened at the same time and made a mistake reassembling.

 

[TyrNo]

the serial number label is on the front half of the shell, so you can change everything except the front half of the shell and keep the same serial label

you could even change the front shell and keep the serial label if you just cleanly removed it and put it on the new case too, but it's unlikely they did that considering the rest of your front half is unchanged

sounds like your seller broke your motherboard trying to do or fix the mod, so you lost all your data and they gave you a new board. you should probably ask for a partial refund if you can, unless you dont care about the data

Thanks for your answer. Can I identify the parts only by opening it, or is there another safe way to identify the components inside the Switch? It's hard to trust someone's parts if they change them without notifying that there was a problem.

Post automatically merged: Mar 9, 2025

So basically, if you believe it's the same screen, you probably got back your original Switch motherboard, but in this new shell which bears a different serial number. Not a big deal. They probably had several Switch consoles opened at the same time and made a mistake reassembling.

Thank for the help. I'm actually not sure about that the screen is the same. I left the place for about an hour, and when I returned, they had replaced the broken screen protector with a new one (also after that they claimed to have fixed the problem of the original system not booting after restoring something), which was the biggest difference between any other Switch and mine (besides the console serial). I will contact them to find out what might have happened.

 

[l7777]

Having trouble following, is the serial number reported in the system settings/hekate different from your original or is the case serial different?

 

[TyrNo]

Having trouble following, is the serial number reported in the system settings/hekate different from your original or is the case serial different?

1. Before installing the modchip: the serial number on the white sticker on the bottom of the Nintendo Switch V2 matched the one that appeared when entering the system settings (both exactly the same XKW...).

2. After installing the modchip: the serial number on the white sticker remains the same (XKW...), but going into system settings on the OFW and looking at the serial number shows a serial number that starts with XKJ (the battery serial number also differs from before).

EMUMMC is on the latest atmosphere version on a 128GB microsd.

 

[Hayato213]

Sound like motherboard got swapped.

 

[TyrNo]

Sound like motherboard got swapped.

Is there a possibility that they used a NAND backup from another console and used it on mine?

 

[Hayato213]

Is there a possibility that they used a NAND backup from another console and used it on mine?

No, NAND is unique to each console, easiest answer is that they swapped your motherboard with another motherboard. You might want to check your cartridge slot too, there are different version of cartridge slot/headphone jack daughterboard version.

 

[TyrNo]

No, NAND is unique to each console, easiest answer is that they swapped your motherboard with another motherboard. You might want to check your cartridge slot too, there are different version of cartridge slot/headphone jack daughterboard version.

Dude, at this point I think only the serial part on the outside of the Nintendo Switch is the same as before. I will contact them to understand what happened, but it looks like they made a mistake and maybe gave me another console. The back plate says it was made in Malaysia (mine was Vietnam) would that match the console's serial number starting with XKJ?

 

[Hayato213]

Dude, at this point I think only the serial part on the outside of the Nintendo Switch is the same as before. I will contact them to understand what happened, but it looks like they made a mistake and maybe gave me another console. The back plate says it was made in Malaysia (mine was Vietnam) would that match the console's serial number starting with XKJ?

XK is v2, as for the W it stands for western world, the J is for Japan.

 

[jkyoho]

Honestly I would worry more about if the swapped board got banned already from Big N than the serial number

 

[l7777]

Dude, at this point I think only the serial part on the outside of the Nintendo Switch is the same as before. I will contact them to understand what happened, but it looks like they made a mistake and maybe gave me another console. The back plate says it was made in Malaysia (mine was Vietnam) would that match the console's serial number starting with XKJ?

The serial number sticker and backplate aren't important, they're simply informational. The serial in the hardware cannot be changed. To get a mismatch where your original sticker is still there but a different serial is reported in the software they had to swap the motherboard. It was either on purpose because they couldn't fix it or on accident because they're sloppy. If they swapped the battery too that's kind of strange as that wouldn't be an accident. There's no reason to remove the battery when doing the mod.

Honestly I would worry more about if the swapped board got banned already from Big N than the serial number

This is also the other thing to worry about if you care about ban status. If you had a Nintendo account linked to the other serial number it could be difficult to get it moved/unlinked as well. There is also the potential for WiFi issues since the console is from another region it could be using that region's WiFi bands and not yours. That can be fixed however. The serial number mismatch cannot.

 

[TyrNo]

Update: They confirmed that they replaced the entire console and left only my white sticker on the bottom as the original. They stated that the OFW NAND is corrupted, and it will be very difficult to unbrick (I suppose they didn't make a backup of the NAND).

 

[l7777]

That's all very suspicious. They must not have known what they were doing. On some level things were working as you said you could boot CFW. There should have been enough working bits to recover the OFW in that case. A working emunand can be used to rebuild sysnand. And if it was CFW sysnand then there was some other reason it wouldn't boot to OFW.

In any event you have your answer on the serial number question.

 

[TyrNo]

That's all very suspicious. They must not have known what they were doing. On some level things were working as you said you could boot CFW. There should have been enough working bits to recover the OFW in that case. A working emunand can be used to rebuild sysnand. And if it was CFW sysnand then there was some other reason it wouldn't boot to OFW.

In any event you have your answer on the serial number question.

Maybe they did something wrong in the physical installation of the modchip?

 

[l7777]

Maybe they did something wrong in the physical installation of the modchip?

A hardware problem would have impacted CFW as well though. And TBH modding a V2 is trivial. I did my first one with no microscope.

 

[Hayato213]

Maybe they did something wrong in the physical installation of the modchip?

Would be different if it was an OLED since the serial number for OLED is on the back cover instead on the bottom of the shell.