Hacking Question Battery Drain w/AutoRCM Poll & Question

[Lumince]

This thread was one of the first threads I read when I was first learning how to hack my Switch, and it gave me the misconception that having AutoRCM causes battery drain during normal usage i.e. while playing games or during sleep mode. Although now that I am rereading it, I realize that wasn't really ever implied directly. It was just people not realizing their Switches weren't turned off, but left in RCM (which seemingly uses up battery in the same capacity as being turned on and not in Sleep mode).

But it seems that myth has been established into a solid superstition that a lot of people believe in and will defend ferociously. I'd even say the badly written title of this thread (along with the results of the poll above) is helping induct new users into this belief. And it doesn't help that this thread keeps getting bumped to the top.

I think it would greatly help if the 1st post was edited to have the same contents as the PSA regarding how to properly power off a Switch that has AutoRCM.

Tbh I agree with you on updating the first post. I was planning in doing that today when I saw that this thing had over 10k views....

The superstition part though. I ended up getting battery drain with autorcm installed after jamming it into the dock while it was off xD So noe I do have battery drain via AutoRCM.

I apologize for the misconception. That is a fault on my part... But it seemed to help people get to the bottom of it though!

I will update it after reading over what's been said

 

[benwyatt_ultimatechampion]

Hey everyone, quick question as I'm having some issues. My switch was at 100% battery last night, so I shut it down via the main switch screen (holding the power and then turning it off via the menu that pops up). I removed the microsd, added some games, and then tried to power it back on and nothing (this was in the span of maybe 1.5 hours). Since then, I have tried resetting by holding the power button down, plugging it into the AC adapter (no light to indicate charging), and it even let it sit in the dock overnight and I still can't get power.

I've got SX OS Pro and Auto RCM is installed. I don't necessarily want to have to send it in for repair unless needed, so any suggestions? Should I let it sit for a while and then leave it plugged into an AC adapter to charge for a long time and hope it powers on?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Lumince]

Sorry didnt meant to post that here

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

This thread was one of the first threads I read when I was first learning how to hack my Switch, and it gave me the misconception that having AutoRCM causes battery drain during normal usage i.e. while playing games or during sleep mode. Although now that I am rereading it, I realize that wasn't really ever implied directly. It was just people not realizing their Switches weren't turned off, but left in RCM (which seemingly uses up battery in the same capacity as being turned on and not in Sleep mode).

But it seems that myth has been established into a solid superstition that a lot of people believe in and will defend ferociously. I'd even say the badly written title of this thread (along with the results of the poll above) is helping induct new users into this belief. And it doesn't help that this thread keeps getting bumped to the top.

I think it would greatly help if the 1st post was edited to have the same contents as the PSA regarding how to properly power off a Switch that has AutoRCM.

Fixed? I need input on it. But I am leaving my house atm and wont be home until later

 

[Lacius]

Hey everyone, quick question as I'm having some issues. My switch was at 100% battery last night, so I shut it down via the main switch screen (holding the power and then turning it off via the menu that pops up). I removed the microsd, added some games, and then tried to power it back on and nothing (this was in the span of maybe 1.5 hours). Since then, I have tried resetting by holding the power button down, plugging it into the AC adapter (no light to indicate charging), and it even let it sit in the dock overnight and I still can't get power.

I've got SX OS Pro and Auto RCM is installed. I don't necessarily want to have to send it in for repair unless needed, so any suggestions? Should I let it sit for a while and then leave it plugged into an AC adapter to charge for a long time and hope it powers on?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Try plugging your Switch into your computer and booting into Hekate via something like TegraRcmGUI. By plugging it into the computer, it should provide the Switch enough power to enter RCM. Once in Hekate, it should charge normally. In Hekate, leave it plugged into your computer until it charges a bit, and then you can quickly switch to a wall outlet so it will charge faster.

I would also recommend using Hekate to fix any battery de-sync issues.

In the future, you should only do one of the following things when you're not using your Switch:

• Put the Switch into sleep mode.
• Keep the Switch on and docked.
• Power off the Switch from the Hekate menu.

Doing anything else will likely put you into RCM and drain the battery.

 

[benwyatt_ultimatechampion]

Try plugging your Switch into your computer and booting into Hekate via something like TegraRcmGUI. By plugging it into the computer, it should provide the Switch enough power to enter RCM. Once in Hekate, it should charge normally. In Hekate, leave it plugged into your computer until it charges a bit, and then you can quickly switch to a wall outlet so it will charge faster.

I would also recommend using Hekate to fix any battery de-sync issues.

In the future, you should only do one of the following things when you're not using your Switch:

• Put the Switch into sleep mode.
• Keep the Switch on and docked.
• Power off the Switch from the Hekate menu.

Doing anything else will likely put you into RCM and drain the battery.

Thanks for this advice as it got it working again! Is there an option to do a proper shut down from SX OS? Otherwise, sleep mode or docked it is. Again, thanks for the help.

 

[Lacius]

Thanks for this advice as it got it working again! Is there an option to do a proper shut down from SX OS? Otherwise, sleep mode or docked it is. Again, thanks for the help.

I don't use SX OS, but I'm pretty sure the only shutdown option is in Horizon, which will just reboot you into RCM like it did before. You could also hold down the power button for twelve seconds to force it to shutdown properly, but it's nearly impossible to know if it worked or if you booted into RCM, so I don't recommend it.

 

[shanefromoz]

After installing auto RCM via SX OS I immediately had issues. The "software" battery fix worked though

Where can i find the software battery fix for SXOS please

 

[aurelios69]

I belive that when the console is powered off. If it was autorcm enabled it turns on again. That's why it is discharging so fast

 

[snails1221]

Where can i find the software battery fix for SXOS please

hekate 3.0 and up includes a battery desync fix "tool"

 

[shanefromoz]

hekate 3.0 and up includes a battery desync fix "tool"

I read there are issues with it and some people have had to remove there batteries from there switch

 

[CTCaer]

I read there are issues with it and some people have had to remove there batteries from there switch

That's what's happening when ppl compile beta commits and distribute it.

Official release of v3.0 and up do not have this problem (which was rare anyway).

 

[mattytrog]

Most (all?) problems from autoRCM flattening batteries are due to dongle users.

At shutdown, you must insert your dongle and leave it there for about 12 seconds for the shutdown to complete.

I think CTCaer has fixed this with latest Hekate though.

Modchip users should not have this problem. If they do, they are doing something wrong.

 

[shanefromoz]

Most (all?) problems from autoRCM flattening batteries are due to dongle users.

At shutdown, you must insert your dongle and leave it there for about 12 seconds for the shutdown to complete.

I think CTCaer has fixed this with latest Hekate though.

Modchip users should not have this problem. If they do, they are doing something wrong.

I use a sxos dongle.
Could you explain about CTCaer please

 

[mattytrog]

I use a sxos dongle.
Could you explain about CTCaer please

He is the dev of Hekate CTCaer mod.

 

[shanefromoz]

He is the dev of Hekate CTCaer mod.

Sorry what i am asking how do i apply Hekate to fix the battery drain issue

 

[GothicIII]

After over a year of use I am a bit sad that there is no better solution for autorcm. I mean it works great - if it works.
For me its like puzzling something blindfolded.
Starting Environment:
-fully charged SXOS Dongle
-fully charged Switch
-multiple chargers (including official one)+Dock

When I don't use the switch for a week or so the problem of the process not working start appearing.
I put in the SXOS-Dongle and try to power the switch - nothing is happening.


So here begins the puzzle. Is it the switch or the dongle? Most of the time it is the switch with the battery drained. How it happens? I don't know.
It seems the switch just randomly boots into rcm. I have no clue since the screen is always off. I realized that it boots into rcm if an USB cable (data/power/dock) is connected. This makes
it difficult to check weither the switch was on before or not.
My switch is just drained without touching it for a week or two. I mean it is completly drained to 0.1%. Battery behaves normally when in horizon/CFW.
Also the SX OS dongle is trash. Every time I want to use it, I have to charge it for a few minutes. The capacitors can't hold the charge for a longer period of times.
And the charging process of the switch is really crappy. Using a multimeter and the official charger I get [email protected] - Switch can charge while playing. Using a QC4.0 Charger I get the same [email protected] but the Switch's battery is draining while playing. Wtf? Also the battery is draining for me when in RCM and on the official dock. I really don't get it.

My current solution for this:
- Somehow to charge the battery to 2%
- Booting sx os with an usb cable connected to pc and hoping that the switch survives the boot process (a retry needs charging for 10 minutes again)
- charging it like a normal device


This is beyond me and I hope there will be a better solution for autorcm in 2020.

 

[BaamAlex]

I put in the SXOS-Dongle and try to power the switch - nothing is happening.

After powering down the console...inject the sx os payload again, but hold the + button to boot into the sx os menu. And shut it down through this menu. I don't know about sx os, but it used to be that the console did not shut down properly when autorcm was enabled. Atmosphere+Hekate has already fixed this issue a few releases ago.

 

[mattytrog]

After over a year of use I am a bit sad that there is no better solution for autorcm. I mean it works great - if it works.
For me its like puzzling something blindfolded.
Starting Environment:
-fully charged SXOS Dongle
-fully charged Switch
-multiple chargers (including official one)+Dock

When I don't use the switch for a week or so the problem of the process not working start appearing.
I put in the SXOS-Dongle and try to power the switch - nothing is happening.


So here begins the puzzle. Is it the switch or the dongle? Most of the time it is the switch with the battery drained. How it happens? I don't know.
It seems the switch just randomly boots into rcm. I have no clue since the screen is always off. I realized that it boots into rcm if an USB cable (data/power/dock) is connected. This makes
it difficult to check weither the switch was on before or not.
My switch is just drained without touching it for a week or two. I mean it is completly drained to 0.1%. Battery behaves normally when in horizon/CFW.
Also the SX OS dongle is trash. Every time I want to use it, I have to charge it for a few minutes. The capacitors can't hold the charge for a longer period of times.
And the charging process of the switch is really crappy. Using a multimeter and the official charger I get [email protected] - Switch can charge while playing. Using a QC4.0 Charger I get the same [email protected] but the Switch's battery is draining while playing. Wtf? Also the battery is draining for me when in RCM and on the official dock. I really don't get it.

My current solution for this:
- Somehow to charge the battery to 2%
- Booting sx os with an usb cable connected to pc and hoping that the switch survives the boot process (a retry needs charging for 10 minutes again)
- charging it like a normal device


This is beyond me and I hope there will be a better solution for autorcm in 2020.

Modchip. No autorcm required. Patched units have been out for a year now, so all unopatched ones are out of warranty I guess. Fit a chip.