An EASY(but a bit more risky) way to update Switch Firmware WITHOUT burning any fuses

So I know there is already a very detailed tutorial out there that is quite good and safer than what I am writing, but a number of people seem to be interested in the method I discovered and have tested.
If you are interested in the safer(perhaps) way please look at this thread:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-...nofficially-without-burning-any-fuses.507461/

So the way I figured out basically sets up autoRCM or Brickmii right after the update, before any fuses can be burned. This is why this is potentially risky, if you do not boot into rcm after the update restart before the regular switch os boots the fuses will be burned and you will not be able to downgrade (at least without some other caveats)

DISCLAIMER: I believe this procedure is safe, but I take no responsibility if you somehow do burn fuses, get banned online, or other wise damage or break(brick) your switch console or connected hardware.3

NOTE: AutoRCM and Brickmii have a good chance of causing a small bug that prevents the system from staying powered completely off for more than 30 seconds, there may be a fix for this in the future. Also note that if your console boots to RCM without a payload device or computer sending it, it will appear to be off and can not charge, but will drain battery. I personal find this mildly annoying but most of the time I can keep it asleep in dock or powered on.

Also NOTE: this manner of updates may affect your cart slot firmware and may make the slot not read carts when loading an old fw version.

Things you will need:
  • a rcm jig, or other reliable way to enter rcm (not autorcm or brickmii as they get removed during updates)
  • A SX pro widget or similar product, or a realiable way to load a payload like sx os or hekate

Steps:
  1. Back up everything (boot, raw nand, sd card, you can't be too safe) and keep it someplace safe and labeled
  2. Check the fuse info using hekate, note how many are burned, so you know what you expect to see after the update
  3. Boot up switch in OFW or CFW or even just plain with no mods or loaders
  4. Once booted have your RCM jig inserted and ready to go ( be sure you have confirmed that this actually works)
  5. using either a cartridge or updating via system settings (assuming you are comfortable going online, but I think this is safe) begin updating your system
  6. *MOST IMPORTANT* When the update is almost done or the second you see the complete notification hold the [VOL +] button. And continue holding it till you get to hekate or sx os menu.
  7. When the system reboots it should be in RCM mode, if you have a widget plugged in it should boot to SX OS or Hekate
    IF ON SX OS: navigate to tools and enable auto RCM.
    IF ON HEKATE: navigate to tools and enable brickmii.
  8. Boot into CFW and you will be on the updated fw without having burned fuses
  9. Feel free to use hekate menu to view the fuse info to confirm the fuses are in the same state.

Hope you find this useful.
P.s. I may post a guide on how to downgrade using backup, and a way to protect your cart slot fw as well in the future.
 

Rune

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I'm about to try this now, going from a low OFW to 5.1.0. But I don't have the exFAT driver update, so I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to do this.

I know I need to have a exFAT card in the device to trigger the prompt for the driver update, which tells me to go online for the update. Will this then do the firmware update first and then the driver update? Or vice versa? Or is it all packaged together in a single update?
How will I do this without risking burning the fuses?
 

Maiken

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I'm about to try this now, going from a low OFW to 5.1.0. But I don't have the exFAT driver update, so I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to do this.


I know I need to have a exFAT card in the device to trigger the prompt for the driver update, which tells me to go online for the update. Will this then do the firmware update first and then the driver update? Or vice versa? Or is it all packaged together in a single update?

How will I do this without risking burning the fuses?


I updated yesterday from 4.1.0. to 5.1.0. with this method. Just inserting the exFAT formattd card worked. It updated the console and applied the exFAT update.
 

Rune

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I updated yesterday from 4.1.0. to 5.1.0. with this method. Just inserting the exFAT formattd card worked. It updated the console and applied the exFAT update.
Did it do it in one update? or was it a couple of separate updates with two reboots of the device?
 

knic

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Thanks for the tutorial. Unfortunately it didn't work for me. I followed all the steps but also:
1- removed the auto rcm before entering the OFW to update,
2- don't have the SX dongle (using pc to inject the payload).
I did hold the volume + when the completed message appeared and my jig was working, but it booted in the ofw. Checked and now I have 6 burnt fuses. No problem at all, as long I can play games.
 

LH1980

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The long guide mentioned cart slot not working after update. What about this guide, any issues with cart slot?
 

Kryptide

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The long guide mentioned cart slot not working after update. What about this guide, any issues with cart slot?

I did this successfully about an hour ago. I have tested all my game carts and they still work without issues.
Wanted to say thank you for this tutorial as I've been wanting to play some newer games without completely destroying the little hope of cold boot someday :)
 

AlexMCS

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I did this successfully about an hour ago. I have tested all my game carts and they still work without issues.
Wanted to say thank you for this tutorial as I've been wanting to play some newer games without completely destroying the little hope of cold boot someday :)

They won't work only if you boot without a nogc kip and only after you downgrade back to a fw under 4.0.
 

efxonly123

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Thanks for the tutorial. Unfortunately it didn't work for me. I followed all the steps but also:
1- removed the auto rcm before entering the OFW to update,
2- don't have the SX dongle (using pc to inject the payload).
I did hold the volume + when the completed message appeared and my jig was working, but it booted in the ofw. Checked and now I have 6 burnt fuses. No problem at all, as long I can play games.

I think you were supposed to hold the volume + button prior to the completed message.
 

annson24

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I've updated from 3.0.2 to 5.1.0 using this method and checking via hekate, it says that I've 4 fuses burnt, so does that mean I can still downgrade back to 3.0.2, right? I've a full backup of my 3.0.2 nand.
 

Draxzelex

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I've updated from 3.0.2 to 5.1.0 using this method and checking via hekate, it says that I've 4 fuses burnt, so does that mean I can still downgrade back to 3.0.2, right? I've a full backup of my 3.0.2 nand.
http://switchbrew.org/index.php?title=Fuses indicates 3.0.2 has 4 burnt fuses so you are correct. You can also make another backup of your 5.1 NAND in case you want to easily return to 5.1 without going through the whole update process.
 
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Myron49485

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I have some questions reguarding this process..

1. How do you boot into official firmware (OFW) with Hekate (CTCaer's mod)?

The only related options I see in Hekate are "Launch Firmware", which is to launch custom firmware, and "Reboot (Normal)", which actually puts me back into RCM mode since I have autoRCM enabled. I would like to know how to boot into OFW to install future updates.

2. What exactly happens when I select "Launch Firmware" without providing Hekate with a Hekate_ipl.ini file?

When I select that option, it tells me that I am missing the ini file (which I am), then proceeds to boot into an OS which I don't know whether is CFW or OFW. Is this potentially dangerous for burning fuses?

3. Is it safe to boot with the latest ReiNX CWF (ReiNX.bin) after updating without burning fuses?

4. I'm currently on 4.1.0 and have not done this procedure yet. Let's say that I make a backup of 4.1.0, update to 5.1.0 without burning fuses and enable autRCM, and make a backup of 5.1.0. Then, I decide to restore back to 4.1.0 and do so by restoring the 4.1.0 backup.

Now, if I want to go back to 5.1.0, is it as simple as restoring the 5.1.0 backup?

The 5.1.0 backup should contain autoRCM as I would have enabled it before backing up, but would restoring it be safe? (Also, the 4.1.0 file does not contain autoRCM as it is a clean backup, but that shouldn't matter as the fuses match the FW version)

(I think 4 has been answered in the post above)

Thanks for reading :)
 
Last edited by Myron49485,

Sephirosu

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I have some questions reguarding this process..

1. How do you boot into official firmware (OFW) with Hekate?

The only related options I see are "Launch Firmware" which is to launch custom firmware, and "Reboot (Normal)" which actually puts me back into RCM mode since I have autoRCM enabled.

2. What exactly happens when I select "Launch Firmware" without providing Hekate with a Hekate_ipl.ini file?

When I select that option, it tells me that I am missing the ini file (which I am), then proceeds to boot into an OS which I don't know whether is CFW or OFW. Is this potentially dangerous for burning fuses?

Thanks for reading :)


As far as I know when you do "launch firmware" it goes into OFW. No idea if that will burn your fuses or not. All I know is that as long as you boot into hekate you won't burn your fuses (according to someone on this thread).
 

Myron49485

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As far as I know when you do "launch firmware" it goes into OFW. No idea if that will burn your fuses or not. All I know is that as long as you boot into hekate you won't burn your fuses (according to someone on this thread).

I see. I would like to know for sure before proceeding.

Edit: Sephirosu was right, Hekate will never burn fuses.
 
Last edited by Myron49485,

shchmue

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when you select launch firmware it gives you the menu dictated by your ini file. when it fails to find one it boots OFW of course since hekate doesn't technically know anything about any CFWs unless you tell it through the ini
 

GaaraPrime

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Am thinking of using this method to update to 6.1.0 official and linking a Nintendo account. Apparently it's required to check your play times and some games require a linked Nintendo account.

Maybe Nintendo will make it mandatory for all games in the future to require a linked account. It's better to do it now than later, right?

Edit: By the way, I haven't even started playing any games on the Switch yet. So am thinking better do it now. Any advice?

Edit II: Just used this method to update to 6.1.0 without burning efuses, booted into Hekate, enabled AutoRCM, then booted into stock firmware, connected to internet, created and linked a Nintendo account.

Thanx a lot for this awesome guide. It was of tremendous help. Keep up the amazing work.
 
Last edited by GaaraPrime,

GaaraPrime

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@ravihpa you booted into stock firmware ?? Does it means OFW ?? I think you cant boot ofw if you dont want burn fuses ??
Yes booting into stock firmware via Hekate (Launch > More config options > Stock) doesn't burn your efuses. I double checked and can confirm 100% that my efuses aren't burnt. Am still at 5 fuses burnt = 4.1.0
 
Last edited by GaaraPrime,

XaneTenshi

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Just used this method to try and prevent my fuses from burning and keeping my FW 4.1.0 compatibility. It did NOT work!!!!

I did almost exactly as described in the OP. Difference was that I forgot to enable autoRCM when I booted into hekate after the update and proceeded to launch "OFW" (stock, through the config options).

I realized my mistake immediately, shut down the console, SUCCESSFULLY manually booted into RCM and then enabled AutoRCM in the option. But when I went to check for burnt fuses. it said 7 burned. It should have been 5.

This shouldn't have happened, since even if I forgot to enable autoRCM, the Switch never got the chance to boot with the official bootloader.

Yet, here we are. FW 6.1.0. 7 Burned fuses and Sleep mode now ruined on my 5.10 hacked Nand.

**** this!
 

movietime

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Has anyone tried this method to upgrade to 6.2? If yes please share details at what point you hold the +button to boot into CFW. Also is there any issue doing so? Thx
 

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