Will the Switch 2 be Nintendo's first unhackable console?

[DuoForce]

I think one of the main drivers for Nintendo systems being hacked is Pokemon. The demand for editing Pokemon locally, and the hacking and modding scene for pokemon is extremely active. There has never been a Nintendo system with a main line pokemon game on it that hasn't been hacked. So it's just a matter of time after it releases. I honestly can't imagine not being able to extract my save and edit my pokemon with pkhex. No other game has the type of fanbase Pokemon has with that amount of people that want to edit their pokemon. People will be like rabid wild animals trying to crack their systems open once a main line Pokemon game is released for it.

This and piracy

 

[Velorian]

This and piracy

Yeah, but Pokemon just existing drives both hacking and piracy. People are rabid wild animals when it comes to mainline Pokemon games. People want it before the release date, people want to mod Pokemon encounters, people want very specific Pokemon with specific stats, and people want POKEMON!

 

[DuoForce]

People are rabid wild animals when it comes to mainline Pokemon games

Idk man first mainline game since 2022 looks like ass

 

[hippy dave]

Idk man first mainline game since 2022 looks like ass

Doesn't stop the pokefans

 

[anhminh]

Isn't Switch suppose to be unhackable? Like everyone just said there is no possible way to brute force the key to start pirating it. How did they get that key in the end? Someone uncle who work for Nintendo told them?

 

[pinbi7]

I tought game and watch was first

Post automatically merged: Mar 30, 2025

Isn't Switch suppose to be unhackable? Like everyone just said there is no possible way to brute force the key to start pirating it. How did they get that key in the end? Someone uncle who work for Nintendo told them?

Someones uncle works at Nvidia

 

[XenoFredo]

Isn't Switch suppose to be unhackable? Like everyone just said there is no possible way to brute force the key to start pirating it. How did they get that key in the end? Someone uncle who work for Nintendo told them?

I was interested in knowing the answer so I asked ChatGPT:

The original Nintendo Switch (v1 models) was hacked due to a critical hardware vulnerability in the NVIDIA Tegra X1 chip, not through brute force or insider leaks.

How They Got the Keys:​

1. BootROM Exploit (Fusée Gelée) – Hackers discovered a flaw in the Tegra X1’s USB recovery mode. This allowed them to send arbitrary code before the system security was fully initialized, effectively bypassing Nintendo’s encryption protections.
2. Read-Only Memory (ROM) Attack – Since BootROM is read-only, Nintendo couldn't patch it with software updates. Once hackers had access, they could extract encryption keys and decrypt system files.
3. Side-Channel Attacks & Fault Injection – Some researchers used more advanced hardware hacking techniques, like glitching voltage or electromagnetic interference, to manipulate the chip into revealing secret keys.
4. Reverse Engineering & Leaks – Some information was obtained through software vulnerabilities, but there have also been instances where internal details (like key generation methods) were leaked.

Why Wasn’t It "Unhackable"?​

The Switch was designed with modern security measures, but hardware vulnerabilities like the one in the Tegra X1 chip provided a permanent entry point. The key point is that this was a mistake on NVIDIA's part, not Nintendo's. Later Switch models (starting with the Mariko revision and OLED) fixed this flaw by using updated hardware with patched bootROM.

So no, it wasn’t an "uncle at Nintendo" situation—just skilled hackers finding and exploiting a critical hardware flaw that Nintendo couldn’t patch remotely.

 

[Skv0ra]

I believe it will be hacked eventually with a hardmod/modchip. I don't think it will have a software exploit though.

Same thing was said about the venerable PS3, and we all know how that turned out in the end.

 

[deeps]

Isn't Switch suppose to be unhackable? Like everyone just said there is no possible way to brute force the key to start pirating it. How did they get that key in the end? Someone uncle who work for Nintendo told them?

The keys required to sign software and games (making them look like they were made/approved by Nintendo) are still unbroken and remain a secret deep within the Nintendo vault. However, several ways were discovered to circumvent the need for those keys and patch out all the signature checks.

 

[TomSwitch]

The Switch is already extremely secure. It's only known vulnerability is voltage fault injection. It's safe to assume Nintendo will require Nvidia to secure their Switch 2 chip against this.

Do you have any idea how expansive this is going to be? Hardening increases cost, power consumption, and die area. Nintendo didn't even patch the V1 until 2 years later, go figure.

Post automatically merged: Apr 6, 2025

Then how come we still don't have any softmod for patched units or even coldboot for the unpatched ones?

If one say xbox one wasn't hacked due to lack of motivation you can say that again for Switch.

 

[Error52]

I think if you're lucky you might see modchips hitting after a good few years but I don't think there's gonna be a softmod for a very, very long time.

 

[NuadaXXX]

I'm curious, but theoretically, we're already in the Switch 2 on the first day, thanks to the MigSwitch?

Well, we'll see...

 

[Emeraldu]

MigSwitch

Indeed... nobody yet metioned the MigSwitch. Switch 1 cart is identical to the Switch 2 .. at least in size

 

[wurstpistole]

Indeed... nobody yet metioned the MigSwitch.

That's because there is absolutely no way the Mig Switch will work on Switch 2 hardware.

 

[NuadaXXX]

That's because there is absolutely no way the Mig Switch will work on Switch 2 hardware.

why? i mean u can play online with it and N cant see it if u have org rips.

 

[Nicro]

Imagine Nintens keycards-gamecarts backfiring, when you can forge the keys for e-shop downloads.

Unlikely, but it would be funny as hell.

 

[nubman33]

migswitch will work just fine.

 

[linuxares]

migswitch will work just fine.

I'm curious if they added detection for it

 

[TurtTide55]

it will most likely be modded with a mod chip.

 

[Skv0ra]

Imagine Nintens keycards-gamecarts backfiring, when you can forge the keys for e-shop downloads.

Unlikely, but it would be funny as hell.

Moar FreeShop, moar better!!