Universal CFW instalation guide

aevans0001 · Oct 6, 2018

Can you add where to go to enable exfat support? Is this still the method to do? https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-...tch-console-on-any-ofw-without-update.505182/

Kubas_inko · Oct 6, 2018

aevans0001 said:
Can you add where to go to enable exfat support? Is this still the method to do? https://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-...tch-console-on-any-ofw-without-update.505182/

Simply follow choidujourNX and install your FW but choose exfat.
But the one you linked works too.

OrGoN3 · Oct 8, 2018

What advantage would I have if I were to boot into ReiNX instead of just using Atmosphere with Raj's patching?

Kubas_inko · Oct 8, 2018

OrGoN3 said:
What advantage would I have if I were to boot into ReiNX instead of just using Atmosphere with Raj's patching?

Don't think/know that there is any. Both CFWs can do the same.

OrGoN3 · Oct 9, 2018

Kubas_inko said:
Don't think/know that there is any. Both CFWs can do the same.

Thanks Kubas_inko! Is one considered better than the other? If I went ReiNX, does it come with the patches or do I need to find the Darth Meteos pack for that? Thanks again!!! Great guide!

Kubas_inko · Oct 9, 2018

OrGoN3 said:
Thanks Kubas_inko! Is one considered better than the other? If I went ReiNX, does it come with the patches or do I need to find the Darth Meteos pack for that? Thanks again!!! Great guide!

It definitely has all the important patches. If you want to go with ReiNX try their official guide.

0x3000027E · Oct 13, 2018

For starters, fantastic guide, it really helps me understand these processes a lot better.

I have switch on 4.1.0. My idea was to first make NAND backup of 4.1.0, use choidujourNX to update to 6.0.1, then make a second NAND backup of 6.0.1 before booting into CFW. This way, I have a 4.1.0 backup (in case I want to downgrade my switch to lower firmware in the future), but I will also have a 6.0.1 backup in case I want to restore my switch to 6.0.1 OFW to play online (without CFW).

Is this possible? Or, after backing everything up, will booting 6.0.1 Horizon just burn fuses, rendering my 4.1.0 NAND backup useless?

Draxzelex · Oct 13, 2018

0x3000027E said:
For starters, fantastic guide, it really helps me understand these processes a lot better.

I have switch on 4.1.0. My idea was to first make NAND backup of 4.1.0, use choidujourNX to update to 6.0.1, then make a second NAND backup of 6.0.1 before booting into CFW. This way, I have a 4.1.0 backup (in case I want to downgrade my switch to lower firmware in the future), but I will also have a 6.0.1 backup in case I want to restore my switch to 6.0.1 OFW to play online (without CFW).

Is this possible? Or, after backing everything up, will booting 6.0.1 Horizon just burn fuses, rendering my 4.1.0 NAND backup useless?

What will burn fuses is booting a firmware higher than your fuse count without RCM. ChoiDujourNX installs AutoRCM by default to prevent you from accidentally booting into non-RCM OFW and subsequently burning fuses. You can still boot into Horizon, whether it be through CFW or OFW, without worry of burning fuses as long as you use a bootloader that prevents this (e.g. Hekate, ReiNX, SX OS V1.2+)

0x3000027E · Oct 13, 2018

Draxzelex said:
What will burn fuses is booting a firmware higher than your fuse count without RCM. ChoiDujourNX installs AutoRCM by default to prevent you from accidentally booting into non-RCM OFW and subsequently burning fuses. You can still boot into Horizon, whether it be through CFW or OFW, without worry of burning fuses as long as you use a bootloader that prevents this (e.g. Hekate, ReiNX, SX OS V1.2+)

Great, thanks for clearing that up.

SirByte · Oct 14, 2018

Would it be possible to enhance the guide with an "advanced user" section that goes through setting up a Hekate CTCaer mod (github) + Atmosphere build ("nightly build site") + ChoiDujourNX (switchtools) fuseless update from scratch manually instead of going through downloading some SDCard zip. In particular discussion of building the .ini files. You can find guides but not specifically for that combination.

Why? So you can learn and know what you're doing. not just the guy/gal that made the SDFiles zip file. For instance in hekate_ipl.ini (template in the source file), [Stock] would be say 5.1.0 after you've updated with ChoiDujourNX but 2.3.0 (in my case) before, so you would ALWAYS need kip1patch=nogc to be safe while the template only has a special boot option for that. And when you have done that, and want to boot atmosphere, atmosphere_hekate.ini would come into play that has again a kip1patch=nogc entry. Does it hurt to do both? Or should you leave the nogc patch ONLY in atmosphere_hekate.ini ?

Then there's an atmosphere-patched (I assume Rei's patches?) and atmosphere-unpatched on the "nightly build site". If you choose the first, do you still need kip1patch to be nogc,nosigchk or will that mess things up since you're already using a patched atmosphere?

Also do you need to use e.g. kip1=modules/newfirm/loader.kip or can you use kip1=atmosphere/stratosphere/loader/loader.kip to keep the atmosphere folder structure intact?

Kubas_inko · Oct 14, 2018

SirByte said:
Would it be possible to enhance the guide with an "advanced user" section that goes through setting up a Hekate CTCaer mod (github) + Atmosphere build ("nightly build site") + ChoiDujourNX (switchtools) fuseless update from scratch manually instead of going through downloading some SDCard zip. In particular discussion of building the .ini files. You can find guides but not specifically for that combination.

Might look on that, but no promises. And there is already a guide (somewhere on gbatemp) for getting the update from game dumps/cartridges/idk.

SirByte said:
Why? So you can learn and know what you're doing. not just the guy/gal that made the SDFiles zip file. For instance in hekate_ipl.ini (template in the source file), [Stock] would be say 5.1.0 after you've updated with ChoiDujourNX but 2.3.0 (in my case) before, so you would ALWAYS need kip1patch=nogc to be safe while the template only has a special boot option for that. And when you have done that, and want to boot atmosphere, atmosphere_hekate.ini would come into play that has again a kip1patch=nogc entry. Does it hurt to do both? Or should you leave the nogc patch ONLY in atmosphere_hekate.ini ?

This is exactly here. If you go to Extra/important -> ChoidujourNX -> Updating from 3.0.2 and lower to 4.0.0+ there is step by step how to add nogc to every entry you want to use. And so you need to add it to every .ini (and every entry/cfw) you want to use.

SirByte said:
Then there's an atmosphere-patched (I assume Rei's patches?) and atmosphere-unpatched on the "nightly build site". If you choose the first, do you still need kip1patch to be nogc,nosigchk or will that mess things up since you're already using a patched atmosphere?

Individual entries are independent of each other (or how do you say it). So you have to add the patch to every entry which you want to use.

SirByte said:
Also do you need to use e.g. kip1=modules/newfirm/loader.kip or can you use kip1=atmosphere/stratosphere/loader/loader.kip to keep the atmosphere folder structure intact?

Does not matter (as far as I understand it). Maybe they are a bit different, but if they are the same, it does not matter.

SirByte · Oct 15, 2018

Kubas_inko said:
Might look on that, but no promises. And there is already a guide (somewhere on gbatemp) for getting the update from game dumps/cartridges/idk.

Thanks; of course you can refer to the OP of the ChoiDujourNX release thread for obtaining the FW update files. It looks to me like you do the usual get RCM working first by an initial simple Hekate setup, perform an eMMC Boot0/1 backup, raw eMMC backup, then set up Atmosphere, go back and configure Hekate fully, then if you're under 4.0.0 you edit all .ini files to allow you to downgrade, then as the final step use ChoiDujourNX to update your firmware to 5.1.0 (6.0.0 if you don't care about DevMenu etc.)

This is exactly here. If you go to Extra/important -> ChoidujourNX -> Updating from 3.0.2 and lower to 4.0.0+ there is step by step how to add nogc to every entry you want to use. And so you need to add it to every .ini (and every entry/cfw) you want to use.

I see that. I'd personally do that before I update using ChoiDujourNX just for safety reasons. I mean if it doesn't hurt, why wait and just do it when you're configuring your atmosphere_hekate.ipl anyway.

Individual entries are independent of each other (or how do you say it). So you have to add the patch to every entry which you want to use.

Thank you! You'd think that since Hekate boots first, that would be a global setting but I guess it's not. So it's unfortunately not like on 3DS when you boot Luma it protects your B9S regardless what you chainload through it.

Kubas_inko · Oct 15, 2018

SirByte said:
Thanks; of course you can refer to the OP of the ChoiDujourNX release thread for obtaining the FW update files. It looks to me like you do the usual get RCM working first by an initial simple Hekate setup, perform an eMMC Boot0/1 backup, raw eMMC backup, then set up Atmosphere, go back and configure Hekate fully, then if you're under 4.0.0 you edit all .ini files to allow you to downgrade, then as the final step use ChoiDujourNX to update your firmware to 5.1.0 (6.0.0 if you don't care about DevMenu etc.)

I am not doing one big guide on "how to install CFW, configure it and update/downgrade via Choidujour".
I have a guide on "how to setup CFW" and then some "extra stuff" which is related to hekate and CFW (and might be useful).

So this guide does not represent how I setup CFWs.

Essometer · Oct 28, 2018

I have a question about Dumping/Restoring the NAND. Let's say I made a NAND backup on my Switch with firmware 4.0.1. Now I updated the Switch
normally (clicking update in the Setting menu), can I restore this NAND backup or is it unusable since I burned my fuses? In other words, is the NAND backup
"chained" to the firmware?

Kubas_inko · Oct 28, 2018

Essometer said:
I have a question about Dumping/Restoring the NAND. Let's say I made a NAND backup on my Switch with firmware 4.0.1. Now I updated the Switch
normally (clicking update in the Setting menu), can I restore this NAND backup or is it unusable since I burned my fuses? In other words, is the NAND backup
"chained" to the firmware?

You can restore it, but you have to boot bootloader which bypasses fuse check.

Essometer · Oct 28, 2018

Kubas_inko said:
You can restore it, but you have to boot bootloader which bypasses fuse check.

Ok, then I have another question: Suppose I make a clean NAND backup of my console, install a CFW for homebrew and update the console. If I restore my NAND and boot it using a bootloader, would that NAND still be clean for online play and would updating the console in this state lead to a clean console that could go online without getting banned?

Draxzelex · Oct 28, 2018

Essometer said:
Ok, then I have another question: Suppose I make a clean NAND backup of my console, install a CFW for homebrew and update the console. If I restore my NAND and boot it using a bootloader, would that NAND still be clean for online play and would updating the console in this state lead to a clean console that could go online without getting banned?

Depends on how you update the console. If you burn fuses, you will be unable to load your backup without booting into RCM and using a payload/bootloader that bypasses the fuse check. If you don't burn fuses when updating, you can restore your old backup but still would be unable to play online because you need a firmware of 6.X in order to do that. And to get to firmware 6.X, you can either choose to go to the safe route by burning fuses or update without burning them and risk getting caught by Nintendo. But as far as I know, Nintendo doesn't check the fuse count since the bootloader is the only one that checks it.

eliboa · Oct 30, 2018

Essometer said:
Ok, then I have another question: Suppose I make a clean NAND backup of my console, install a CFW for homebrew and update the console. If I restore my NAND and boot it using a bootloader, would that NAND still be clean for online play and would updating the console in this state lead to a clean console that could go online without getting banned?

Yes, that's exactly what I did, i'm using Atmosphère 0.7.3 online after a clean Nand restore (i also updated to 6.0.1 with ChoiDuJourNX). So far my Switch isn't banned. No NSP installed (of course).

Paladiex · Oct 30, 2018

How can I push my payload with a R4s dongle instead of a pc?

Edit 1: Found out how to do it, all you gotta do is go to http://www.r4i-sdhc.com/r4sdongles.asp#Download , download the "Customized" bootloader, overwrite that UF2 file onto the dongle, and then boot into RCM with the dongle attached. It will boot hekate v4.1 (alternatively you can download the newest hekate.bin file and rename it 'payload.bin' and add that to the root of your sd card), then can backup from there. Super simple. Please consider adding this to the guide.

Lullatsch · Nov 4, 2018

Hi, first let me thank you for this comprehensive guide!
I followed all the steps (made a fresh nand backup), but i can't seem to successfully start any CFW.
When I use the "cfw" option in "launch..." from hekate it seems to start up something but the last screen i get is one where a battery symbol is shown on the top left and an error message is shown.
I also tried the reinx.bin payload but after the reiNX splashscreen the normal stock rom boots up (no homebrew launcher in album with or without pressing R)
Im using an exFat 200Gb card, but since i cant even load the homebrew launcher your section on how to make exfat supported won't help me.
What am I doing wrong? Sorry if this is trivial.

Further info: 4.0 firmware
Also there is no other option under Custom Firmwares besides "cfw"

Draxzelex · Nov 4, 2018

Lullatsch said:
Hi, first let me thank you for this comprehensive guide!
I followed all the steps (made a fresh nand backup), but i can't seem to successfully start any CFW.
When I use the "cfw" option in "launch..." from hekate it seems to start up something but the last screen i get is one where a battery symbol is shown on the top left and an error message is shown.
I also tried the reinx.bin payload but after the reiNX splashscreen the normal stock rom boots up (no homebrew launcher in album with or without pressing R)
Im using an exFat 200Gb card, but since i cant even load the homebrew launcher your section on how to make exfat supported won't help me.
What am I doing wrong? Sorry if this is trivial.

Further info: 4.0 firmware
Also there is no other option under Custom Firmwares besides "cfw"

If you are trying to add exFAT support on a console that doesn't support exFAT yet, it doesn't make sense to use exFAT, right? You have to use FAT32 until the console supports exFAT. Since the SD card is larger than 32 GB, you will need to use a third-party program such as GUIFormat.

Lullatsch · Nov 4, 2018

If you are trying to add exFAT support on a console that doesn't support exFAT yet, it doesn't make sense to use exFAT, right? You have to use FAT32 until the console supports exFAT. Since the SD card is larger than 32 GB, you will need to use a third-party program such as Guiformat.

thank you it worked.

I formatted my card to fat32 and it booted without hesitation.
Because hekate supported it, I thought cfw might also. I did not see any hints concerning exfat/fat32 in this guide.

Your Switch will also no longer boot to stock firmware without going thru Hekate because of AutoRCM, in order to keep current fuse count

Does this mean to get the exfat support i will always be forced to use payloads to start the console? If I still want to be able to boot stock this is not an option or is it?

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