Disclaimer: Use this at your own risk! I'm not responsible if this gets you banned or if the laws in your country get you and your moms in jail. While I'm pretty sure these steps are fine, I can't guarantee it!

To those of you who are aware of what's technically doable, this guide probably goes without saying but I thought I'd mention it here anyway. I just thought of a way of transferring my savegame of Tears of the Kingdom that has the glitched non-breakable master sword to the Switch 2. But this should also work with any downloaded 100 % save or cheated PKMN shiny savegames and what not.

It's basically pretty simple. I'll break it down in short points:

1. Take a modded Switch 1 where you are able to boot Atmosphère.
2. Boot into a stock (aka non-CFW) clean sysNAND. By "clean" I mean you didn't use any LayeredFS mods or installed stuff with homebrew installers. In short, everything that gets you banned.
3. Launch the games you want to transfer the saves for at least once. Needless to say the have to be legitimately (either a physical cart or a legally obtained eShop game).
4. Keep the Switch offline (enable airplane mode or delete the WiFi connection) and reboot into the sysNAND but this time with Atmosphère.
5. Use Checkpoint to inject your modded saves.
6. Reboot to stock (aka not using Atmosphère).
7. Now you're good to go. Just use the official system transfer feature to transfer everything to a vanilla Switch 2. You could even restore a NAND backup on your Switch 1 afterwards if you wanna circumvent the forced factory reset that comes with this process.

A closure note:
Obviously I can't test this guide yet. It should work from what I know about the Switch 1 and how Nintendo described the system transfer.
However I used this method in the past to transfer modded savegames from my modded emuNAND to my sysNAND. For example I did this with Diablo III and Mario Maker 2, both of which I then used online without getting banned to this day.

By the way, you could theoretically skip a few steps from above and just use Atmosphère right away without booting back and forth. Those steps are just "the safest way" of doing it and honestly I'd recommend sticking to them.

 

[Varo]

hello is there a way to transfer my saves from a banned modded switch 1 to a "patched switch" then to a switch 2?

note i dont have emunad at all on my modded switch.

I think this should be possible because I literally moved my saves from Yuzu to Patched Switch to Switch 2. As long as your save is clean I'd say. Looks like injecting saves is not checked that closely by nintendo. They probably assume it was left over by a now deleted game or something which is great for us.

 

[DragonMastax]

I think this should be possible because I literally moved my saves from Yuzu to Patched Switch to Switch 2. As long as your save is clean I'd say. Looks like injecting saves is not checked that closely by nintendo. They probably assume it was left over by a now deleted game or something which is great for us.

is there some sort of a guide for that?

 

[blaww]

I've never paid much attention to bans so I'm kind of curious: if you made a mistake somewhere in this process, how long does it usually take for Nintendo to catch on and ban the console? Is the main concern a ban for the original Switch you're moving saves from, or would they likely ban the Switch 2 that's receiving them as well (if doing the cloud saves method)?

I moved my saves over to sysnand a couple days ago and I can still connect to Nintendo servers just fine, but I haven't subscribed to NSO to upload any backups yet.

 

[Varo]

is there some sort of a guide for that?

I do not think there is a guide but I can write up something simple for you. Disclaimer tho, it worked for me, I cannot guarantee it will work for anyone else and you would be taking a RISK.

Pre-Check:
1. Patched switch is on latest firmware (20.1.1 at time of writing) on OFW, and CFW (Atmosphere 20.1.1|1.9.1). Patched switch can connect to Nintendo servers normally on OFW and not banned.

2. Patched Switch OFW (sysNand) is untouched, never been used for any kind of modding whatsoever. You have NEVER used atmosphere with your sysNand for anything but this exercise.

3. Between Patched Switch OFW and Switch 2 OFW you are using the same Nintendo account & profile.

If you do not pass the pre-check please quit here. It's not worth the risk.

Source System (Banned Switch, Yuzu, etc)
1. Take back ups of the saves you want to transfer.
2. Ensure the saves are not modded, these are normal saves you got by playing the game normally.
3. Do not transfer saves for online games like this. I have only done this for single-player games and cannot guarantee what will happen for multiplayer ones.
4. Backup using latest JKSV, or Yuzu has its inbuilt way of locating saves.

PC
Save your backups to any location on your PC

Patched Switch
CFW(emuNand)
1. Install all the games you are planning to do this for. Match the game version(s) from your source system. This makes it easier to transfer saves, especially from Emulators.
2. Use JKSV to restore backups for all the games.
3. Run the games to ensure the saves are working.
4. Delete all backups using JKSV for each game title. (Ensure PC still has it all backed up).
5. Make new backups for each game using JKSV.
6. Export SVIs for each game using JKSV. This ensures that we can restore saves of each game on OFW (sysNand) even if the game was never installed on OFW.
7. Ensure you are following every single thing possible to ensure Exosphere protects you. Scour the internet for DNS blocking and what not. Atmosphere's ability to protect your Patched switch from a ban even when you use it with sysNand is going to be key.

OFW(sysNand) Steps
1. Delete every way it can access the internet.
2. Put it in Airplane mode.
3. Restart to Hekate.

OFW(sysNand with Atmosphere)
1. Start JKSV in Applet mode. NEVER USE TITLE MODE
2. For your user, use the SVI to make a slot for your games. If the game(s) is already there for your profile, this step can be skipped.
3. Restore backups for the games.
4. Turn switch off and boot into Hekate.

OFW(sysNand)
1. Connect to internet and pray you can still access Nintendo servers.
2. Check your save data under System Settings -> Data Management to ensure your saves were injected.
3. If you don't have Nintendo Online, Use System Settings -> Data Management -> Transfer saves to different console to send Savew Data to your Switch 2.
4. If you have Nintendo Online, backup saves to cloud.

That's it!

Post automatically merged: Jun 15, 2025

I've never paid much attention to bans so I'm kind of curious: if you made a mistake somewhere in this process, how long does it usually take for Nintendo to catch on and ban the console? Is the main concern a ban for the original Switch you're moving saves from, or would they likely ban the Switch 2 that's receiving them as well (if doing the cloud saves method)?

I moved my saves over to sysnand a couple days ago and I can still connect to Nintendo servers just fine, but I haven't subscribed to NSO to upload any backups yet.

If your sysNand is safe from a ban and has the saves, I do not think uploading to cloud will get you banned now. You could even just transfer the saves to the Switch 2. The saves will just be deleted from your Switch 1 after, you can always back them up before the transfer tho

 

[CMDreamer]

Could be a potential entrypoint to hacks by injecting malicious payloads in to the savegame to then exploit potential switch 1 games flaws?

Might Tony come to the rescue this time too?

He was on a spree on PS consoles.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

+1 will update if I catch a ban later, but I straight up moved my EmuMMC game saves to my Switch 2 this way. I don't think they're checking closely.

I don't think so either, because they know piracy isn't possible on the Switch 2 so they don't really have any reason to care.
But I'm still scared of trying it, especially with online games, and especially especially with Pokemon games. But I really don't want to start over in Pokemon Legends Arceus. I own the game but I didn't play on my legit copy. Obviously if I want to play it on Switch 2 with improved performance I need to use my legit copy. But I don't think I'm willing to start over at this point, I'm quite far in the game. I have no idea what kind of anti cheating checks are in that game, maybe it has less checks than Scarlet/Violet. But still seems like a risk...

 

[arouris]

Is there anyway that Nintendo can figure out that the saves came from some emuNand and backup/restored with JKSV and ban any device that downloaded them/used them? I worry that even if I might not get banned now - I might in the future.

 

[lordelan]

Is there anyway that Nintendo can figure out that the saves came from some emuNand and backup/restored with JKSV and ban any device that downloaded them/used them? I worry that even if I might not get banned now - I might in the future.

Nope. They could see if a save was modified like as if you have a one per game legendary pokemon multiple times with your own trainer ID (which would be impossible) or a pokemon with maxed stats or weapons with 9999 durability in Zelda or something like that. But other than that, no.
So in other words, if your save is legit (no matter if the game and nand you played on were not), it's "clean".

But to be honest, I highly doubt Nintendo would tell any employees to go and analyse any user save games lol.

 

[QuickWick]

What if you own Pokemon Scarlet on cartridge but play on modded side to avoid the DLC Expansion.

So my save has both the game and expansion save data and I know Pokemon is closely monitored.

If I transfer from Switch 1 emuMMC to sysMMC, would my Switch 1 sysMMC get banned if I try to run the game due to the save file?
If I transfer from SW1 (sysMMC) to SW2, would my Switch 2 get banned?

 

[lordelan]

What if you own Pokemon Scarlet on cartridge but play on modded side to avoid the DLC Expansion.

So my save has both the game and expansion save data and I know Pokemon is closely monitored.

If I transfer from Switch 1 emuMMC to sysMMC, would my Switch 1 sysMMC get banned if I try to run the game due to the save file?
If I transfer from SW1 (sysMMC) to SW2, would my Switch 2 get banned?

You can only transfer it from emuNAND to sysNAND if you own the DLC on sysNAND.
However since PKMN games can't be synced to the cloud, you can only move it to S2 from there with a system (or at least user) transfer.

 

[[Truth]]

Is there anyway that Nintendo can figure out that the saves came from some emuNand and backup/restored with JKSV and ban any device that downloaded them/used them? I worry that even if I might not get banned now - I might in the future.

Rule of thumb: don’t inject modded saves of games that have online functionality.

 

[QuickWick]

You can only transfer it from emuNAND to sysNAND if you own the DLC on sysNAND.
However since PKMN games can't be synced to the cloud, you can only move it to S2 from there with a system (or at least user) transfer.

This is the answer I was looking for. The DLC has to be purchased. Got it. RIP to $65 out of my pockets for Sword expansion and Scarlet expansion. Yep I wouldn't mess around with Pokemon that's for sure.

 

[Shiftay]

Sorry to post in this thread, I was trying to see if I could do this without asking.

Currently, I have a switch 1 with homebrew that I have never taken online. Used it for many years at this point. I just received my Switch 2 and would like to get a modified Tears of the Kingdom save onto the switch 2.

Is the best course of action to update the firmware on my switch 1, take it online, modify the save, then save transfer that save while having a back up as Nintendo deletes the save on transfer? Am I mistaken that this is, currently, the best way to get save transferred?

My Switch 1 is obviously not banned as it isn't hasn't touched the internet ever. Sorry for the confusion, I don't really care if my switch 1 gets banned, I truly just want the ability to move saves!

Thank you all for everything you do, been lurking for years but haven't had to post since everything has been so detailed.

 

[lordelan]

Sorry to post in this thread, I was trying to see if I could do this without asking.

Currently, I have a switch 1 with homebrew that I have never taken online. Used it for many years at this point. I just received my Switch 2 and would like to get a modified Tears of the Kingdom save onto the switch 2.

Is the best course of action to update the firmware on my switch 1, take it online, modify the save, then save transfer that save while having a back up as Nintendo deletes the save on transfer? Am I mistaken that this is, currently, the best way to get save transferred?

My Switch 1 is obviously not banned as it isn't hasn't touched the internet ever. Sorry for the confusion, I don't really care if my switch 1 gets banned, I truly just want the ability to move saves!

Thank you all for everything you do, been lurking for years but haven't had to post since everything has been so detailed.

Depends on what you did on your Switch 1. Did you install "backups"? Then your NAND is not considered "clean" any longer and you might get banned when you go online.

Even a factory reset wouldn't get your NAND completely "clean".

However if you did all your shenanigans in an emuNAND, you're fine.
Just update your sysNAND, get newest hekate + Atmosphère + Checkpoint and follow my "guide" in the first post here.

 

[SunnyMoon]

A tainted sysNAND can be cleaned, via tools like haku33 because those wipe everything there is, reverting the console to a “ out of the box ” state

 

[miky1989]

I'm in a similar situation, like:

I played Pokémon Scarlet under a modded Switch 1 and, as I liked the game, wanted to buy a physical copy (+ DLC) to be played under switch 2 with better performances.

It would be a pity to restart the entire game from the beginning..
I was wondering if the possibility to share locally the save data from switch 1 to switch 2 (allowed by default from the system) could work, also excluding hypothetical bans.

Overall, the save data is not edited, just the game is a backup (not mine).
I'll buy my own copy soon, just wanted to be sure about this possibility.

Does somebody tried?

 

[miky1989]

I'm in a similar situation, like:

I played Pokémon Scarlet under a modded Switch 1 and, as I liked the game, wanted to buy a physical copy (+ DLC) to be played under switch 2 with better performances.

It would be a pity to restart the entire game from the beginning..
I was wondering if the possibility to share locally the save data from switch 1 to switch 2 (allowed by default from the system) could work, also excluding hypothetical bans.

Overall, the save data is not edited, just the game is a backup (not mine).
I'll buy my own copy soon, just wanted to be sure about this possibility.

Does somebody tried?

 

[Sir Tortoise]

I'm in a similar situation, like:

I played Pokémon Scarlet under a modded Switch 1 and, as I liked the game, wanted to buy a physical copy (+ DLC) to be played under switch 2 with better performances.

It would be a pity to restart the entire game from the beginning..
I was wondering if the possibility to share locally the save data from switch 1 to switch 2 (allowed by default from the system) could work, also excluding hypothetical bans.

Overall, the save data is not edited, just the game is a backup (not mine).
I'll buy my own copy soon, just wanted to be sure about this possibility.

Does somebody tried?

Assuming you have a clean unbanned sysNAND (you should), you can use the cartridge to play Scarlet on your Switch 1 sysNAND, inject the previous savefile, and then system transfer as normal to the Switch 2.

 

[miky1989]

Assuming you have a clean unbanned sysNAND (you should), you can use the cartridge to play Scarlet on your Switch 1 sysNAND, inject the previous savefile, and then system transfer as normal to the Switch 2.

Yea, basically on the modded switch, I have emuNAND and Sysnand.
Sysnand remained clean, with my original games installed (and especially, unbanned)
Everything modded is on EmuNAND, included the Pokémon Scarlet save I would like to transfer

 

[miky1989]

Yep, I confirmed this by trying. Unless I run the game at least once on my OFW, I can't use any homebrew software to put save files in. I do think tho, for a game like Pokemon scarlet which I already own, I could hack saves on CFW, put them on OFW and then get them on the Switch 2. However, I will not go to those lengths just to cheat on a Pokemon game and risk anything with my new console

Post automatically merged: Jun 12, 2025

Well, I just pulled off what I thought wasn't possible. Point 3 of OP really is not required. You can use JKSV to just create the game on OFW and then inject the backup. I just took saves of pirated games from CFW Switch 1 and put them on Switch 2 they even got backed up on cloud. Both my consoles still working fine, no bans.

Do you have the possibility to create a video-guide?

You know, I bought Pokémon Scarlet recently and I don't want to do any wrong step.

Basically, from emuNAND of my modded switch, I need to transfer the save file (of a backup version of Pokémon Scarlet) to the original partition or directly to Switch 2.
The save wasn't modded, it is genuine but coming from a backup version of the game. Now I just purchased the physical version and also planning to buy the DLC as I liked it.

Please let me know, also in PM.

I'm not really an expert and too afraid to do something wrong

Thanks in advance!

P. s. guys the invitation is opened to all of you.
If you are able to create and post a video guide which explain how to take the save file from the emuNAND of switch 1 with hekate and inject it to the sysNAND (in a way to could backup it on Nintendo servers or simply transfer it to the switch 2) I would be glad