Notice: I am not receiving notifications for this thread. I didn`t realise people were still posting in it.

Please please accept my apologies if I haven`t replied to tags etc... I have no idea what is happening. I`m subscribed to this thread but I am not receiving notifications. Please inbox me if possible. Or tag me in another thread.

Its amazing that people are still checking all of this out. I thank you for all of the help and support I have received in this thread over this year.

Cheers. Matty.


A video showing a modchip in action. Thank you once again to @metaljay for providing this. This is what you can achieve by fitting a chip!

Section 1. Gather your software.

Get your chip software from THIS THREAD.
Follow the flashing instructions there...

Section 2. Removing USB port and unneeded LEDs. (Adafruit chips only)

• Next, we need to remove the USB port from the modchip. I recommend a heatgun or a rework station. Heat up until the USB port just lifts off the modchip.

• Do the same for the LED just to the right of the USB port.

See picture:

You are now ready to fit your device. Proceed to Fitting section.

Section 3. Fitting modchip to your Switch.
New Universal Method. All SAMD-based internal chips. If your chip is not supported and you cannot work it out, PM me.

Trinket M0.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
Rebug SwitchME M0. Use Trinket files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
RCMX86 - Internal modchip version.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
Gemma M0. Use Gemma files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
ItsyBitsy M0 Express. Use ItsyBitsy files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
Feather M0 Express. Use Feather files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

BUILD YOUR OWN FROM A QFP ATSAMD21E18. Trinket equivalent pins.
Flash Trinket bootloader using OpenOCD via serial pins SWDIO / SWDCLK. Fit a reset switch somewhere... Or going to power / wake (aka method 2). If building for external use, it is good practice to fit a third capacitor between 3V & GND. This is deliberately vague and ambigious, as this needs research and you need to know what you are doing.

Link for setting the Pi up with OpenOCD: HERE
Raspberry Pi OpenOCD image in downloads section or HERE

Alternative Solder Points

Credit to @consolex for original pic. I`ve added alternative points to solder to:

Credit to @pyorin for this much tidier version showing the same info as the above one!

Replacement Parts List

Spoiler: Parts

Ok... So you have damaged your switch soldering your chip in. Not to worry.

First things first, DO NOT BRIDGE THE CONTACTS HOPING TO REVIVE YOUR SWITCH. With resistors, you may possibly get away with this, but with the capacitors listed below, if you jump these points, you will make a nice short-circuit to the PMIC and / or the M92T36, killing them instantly. Don`t do it.

OK... I`ll list these parts with METHOD 2 & 3 TRINKET PIN NUMBERS and the values of the components they solder to.

TRINKET 3V (POWER SUPPLY) - 2.2uF 0402 size MLCC capacitor. Voltage unimportant as long as it is over 6.3v
TRINKET PIN 2 (POWER ON RESET - goes to pin 5 on M92T36)- 4.7uF 0402 size MLCC capacitor. Voltage unimportant as long as it is over 6.3v
TRINKET PIN 0 (VOL+) - 150R (150 ohms) 0201 Thick Film resistor. 50mW
TRINKET RESET (SWITCH POWER BUTTON) - 150R (150 ohms) 0201 Thick Film resistor. 50mW

I recommend RS components.

FAQ

Q - How do I boot the switch into APX (RCM) mode?

A - You need to short out pin 10 on the right joycon rail to GND with a jig or modded joycon or paperclip (not recommended... Buy a jig you cheap-ass gyppo). Once shorted out, hold down vol+ and power. The switch screen should be off... Plug into your PC and it should recognise a APX device. Well done. You are in RCM.

Q - What glue should I use?
A - Only glue if necessary! Ideally if your soldering is of sufficient quality and your wire is thin enough, you don`t need glue. I use a bit because I am OCD. Anyway, use Epoxy. It`s what I use. Gives you some working time, is solid. Superglue makes a mess DO NOT USE SUPERGLUE. The only thing super about it is how it melts things. Epoxy won`t stick to the shield long-term, so bear that in mind. Pure Acetone will remove epoxy. Acetone tends to remove / melt anything to be warned. CHECK YOUR GLUE WON`T GO CONDUCTIVE OVER TIME - LOOKING AT YOU SCAMSUNG! The combination of heat cycles and absorbing of moisture can turn adhesive into a high-impedance connection!

Q - What size wire should I use?
A - I use AWG40 magnet wire or AWG30 Kynar. AWG40 goes onto components easier... And if you snap it, chances are the wire will snap and not the trace / component.
A2 - You can also use AWG30. I recommend Kynar wrapping wire but any will do. Looks nice, good resistance to elements, tidy. Nothing thicker than AWG30. You are just causing yourself more headaches. Trust me.

Q - Is AWG40 thick enough?
A - Yes. AWG40 is good for around 90mA.

Q - which methods do you recommend?
A - Connect all the straps...

Q - how do you recommend to set it up?
A - Fusee Suite. Search for Fusee Suite or go to link at top of this OP.

Q - My switch is flat and won't turn on.
A - Have you got the charger connected? Disconnect it or your switch won't boot! Boot to a payload (SX loader/Hekate), reconnect charger and leave on the payload menu and charge. Leave for 15 minutes and switch will start normally. It will continue charging one booted.

Disclaimer:
You have only yourself to blame. This voids warranty. This may or may not get you banned from online services. If it does, you got yourself banned. I`m not responsible if you kill your switch / your first-born with any of this in this post. I`m not infalliable. I`m partly senile. Do your own research. Kids, get bill payers permission before you attempt even using a screwdriver.
NUTSHELL: Don`t come having a go at me because you fooked your £300 console up. I`ll do my best to help you though if you do, Just don`t blame me.

Credits to Quantum-Cross, Atlas44, @Ninoh-FOX , @jcrorxp , @tecfreak, @mooglazer, @subcon959, @64Dp128k, @mikeleuskaldunak, @M-O-B, CTCaer, @evilsperm, @consolex and everyone else for valuable input.

IF YOU REQUIRE SUPPORT, IF YOUR CONSOLE ISN`T WORKING CORRECTLY... PLEASE POST A HIGH RESOLUTION PICTURE OF YOUR INSTALL. You might think it isn`t your soldering, but in all cases with the new methods, it is bad soldering. So, please post a picture.

A BRIEF WARNING - PLEASE READ

Spoiler: READ THIS

THIS MOD IS NOT FOR THE FEINT OF HEART. WE ARE SOLDERING TO TRACES AND COMPONENTS ON THE FRONT SIDE OF THE BOARD TO SAVE HAVING TO REMOVE THE BOARD AND SOLDER TO TESTPOINTS. IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING, OR THINK YOU ARE GOING TO STRUGGLE, PLEASE PLEASE SOLDER TO THE TEST POINTS NOTED IN THIS AND OTHER THREADS (YOU WILL NEED TO REMOVE THE MOTHERBOARD). DOUBLE - TRIPLE CHECK EVERYTHING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Good soldering skills are needed!
A magnifying glass is needed!
Good soldering iron needed - ideally with a 0.3 conical tip. No more than 30w!
SECURE YOUR WIRES PRIOR TO SOLDERING. Stick them down with double-sided tape.
Only use glue if you need to and glue wires after soldering. Don`t glue the solder to the component!
Put the tiniest amount of glue on the PCB mask only. Never on components. Use a cocktail stick for more glue control!!!
Take a look at alternative solder points to get you out of the sh*t if you do rip something off the board
If you aren`t the best at soldering, then think very carefully about connecting to pin 6 capacitor (the one in these new methods). If you rip this pad, you WILL NEED TO REMOVE YOUR BOARD and run from a testpoint.

 

[Hayato213]

What are you on about mate? Maybe you should read it properly instead.

He say's it wont stick long term if you put epoxy on the shield, he is not recommending to put the epoxy on the shield itself. And says if your soldering quality is good enough, then you don't need any type of glue. He also uses it regardless even though his soldering quality is good enough because he is OCD.

My suggestion to DenisTheManis was to simply use epoxy instead of leaving the barely stuck on tape hanging around inside the switch. If he's leaving the tape in there like that, then he's obviously not confident in the quality, and in this case epoxy is better.

I own 4 units with modchip from 4 different guys, I haven't seen really seen anyone putting proxy/glue on wire, I seen people put glue/epoxy on the shield part where the chip sit onto of , to keep it from moving, electical tape and kaptop is fine for keeping the wires from moving.

 

[smasha]

I own 4 units with modchip from 4 different guys, I haven't seen really seen anyone putting proxy/glue on wire, I seen people put glue/epoxy on the shield part where the chip sit onto of , to keep it from moving, electical tape and kaptop is fine for keeping the wires from moving.

I've done a few switches for myself and mates too. I put double sided tape on the chip to secure it to the shield (to prevent any type of short) then epoxy on the chip to secure it to the shield as well. However i also dab a bit along the wires to secure them to the mainboard, preferably near the the solder joint if there's a nice spot for it, because I'm also OCD. The way I see it, it can't hurt and It helps to relieve any stress on the wire/connection. Also would help in scenarios if the switch gets dropped (most of my installs will be used by kids), in case of a bad solder joint the wire won't just pop off (again, OCD).

 

[mattytrog]

Regarding the epoxy argument...

In electronics, we use epoxy for "potting"... It is very very useful in scenarios that would be detrimental to the electronics... For example water submersion, or tamper resistance, or even to tuned circuits that you don`t want the end user to retune. But mainly for mechanical protection.

In the old days, we used to use wax for potting and for "setting" things. Also for mechanical protection. Look at old radios from the 1980s.

However, anything that generates heat this is of course not correct. If you have something that will be completely submerged, or you want hidden and tamper-proof, you apply epoxy to it.

Samsung used to (still does?) use a kind of adhesive (not epoxy) to hold components in position prior to wave soldering. This adhesive wasn`t removed. Consequently, cooling and heating cycles condenses water vapour and this can enter the adhesive. Also this adhesive seems to "crystalise" over time and starts acting like a semiconductor, leading to a high impedance connection and upsetting tuned circuits by changing inductance / capacitance values. This can change reactance in that part of the circuit, giving you a bad time.

If you don`t have any Kapton, you can use the 2-part epoxy and put just a tiny bit on the mask ONLY. Never on a component that generates heat. Never any epoxy that contains metal. Avoid the "super-fast-set" stuff. Never seems to completely go off.

Equal parts of resin and hardener, mix really really well and just a tiny smart-looking "blob". Don`t pigeon-shit it all over the place... Less is more.

We are talking the tiniest bit on the end of a toothpick.

Epoxy doesnt flex a great deal. The shield is very shiny, so epoxy will eventually crack off(a bit like dried play-doh peeling off a plastic lid)

Kapton is fine. Looks nice too. And in this particular application is preferred.

Solder joints if soldered correctly will hold themselves within reason.

I used to place a dab of epoxy in one go over the wires, above the m92t36 on the groundplane. But now I use kapton.

If you do use epoxy, if using the black stuff, be careful as the black stuff CAN contain carbon. Carbon conducts as we all should know.

 

[DenisTheManis]

During installation of course. But post install, that tape isn't going to hold at all once it starts getting warm inside the switch. Infact it might peel off and end up in the fan or something. If he's not confident in the wires holding, then epoxy is best. Matty says so himself in his first post. as well No need to ever remove it anyway. And you don't put epoxy over the connections themselves, just putting a small dab somewhere along the wire down onto a safe spot on the board is enough.

Thanks a lot for all the advice. I guess I will have to open the switch up again. Because the tape flying in to the fan is definetely not something I would want
As it was my first soldering project, I obviously don't have a lot of faith in my work, so I used the tape. I dont see why cables should fall off, but I still wanted to help out a bit, in the case the switch falls down or something like that.
I also used rather inefficient paths for my cables. That's something I might have to revisit.

 

[plasticninjaguy]

Hi, sorry if I’m putting this in the wrong area but I’m getting desperate and I’m very new here.
So I attempted this modchip install, I removed the motherboard to keep away from the battery and to get a better space to work with. After completeing all the soldering, I killed my trinket during micro-USB port removal, so I was forced to just kind of leave all of the wires that were going to be going to the trinket just kind of kapton taped to a non conductive surface.
Anyhow, upon reassembly and powering on, all seemed to work fine, until I noticed the unit wouldn’t charge past 83%. I used the device until 15% then left it overnight and still nothing.
Wondering if anyone knows what might commonly die (in regards to the charging circuit) when attempting all of the straps for the trinket m0 install.
Thanks and sorry in advance for my kind of long post.

 

[mattytrog]

Hi, sorry if I’m putting this in the wrong area but I’m getting desperate and I’m very new here.
So I attempted this modchip install, I removed the motherboard to keep away from the battery and to get a better space to work with. After completeing all the soldering, I killed my trinket during micro-USB port removal, so I was forced to just kind of leave all of the wires that were going to be going to the trinket just kind of kapton taped to a non conductive surface.
Anyhow, upon reassembly and powering on, all seemed to work fine, until I noticed the unit wouldn’t charge past 83%. I used the device until 15% then left it overnight and still nothing.
Wondering if anyone knows what might commonly die (in regards to the charging circuit) when attempting all of the straps for the trinket m0 install.
Thanks and sorry in advance for my kind of long post.

Ok... Can we have a look at your install? Take some nice clear pictures of all areas where the straps are connected

 

[plasticninjaguy]

Ok... Can we have a look at your install? Take some nice clear pictures of all areas where the straps are connected

Thanks Matty
I forgot to mention I was using both alternate solder points, as I have hand tremors and these points seemed easier to pull off.
EDIT: uploaded wrong photo lol

 

[mattytrog]

View attachment 175740 View attachment 175739 View attachment 175739
Thanks Matty
I forgot to mention I was using both alternate solder points, as I have hand tremors and these points seemed easier to pull off.
EDIT: uploaded wrong photo lol

By the looks of it, you are using the "easy strip" winding wire. The lacquer melts when touched with a soldering iron?

You have something shorted somewhere. It could be the usb strap having a direct path to gnd somehow.

I'd strip it all out, see what is working and what isn't.

If you have popped anything, it will be the bq24193 I'm guessing if not charging. The m92t36 is probably ok because it was running for a time.

Use kynar wire instead. Those straps are probably well soldered but they are too long (particularly the joycon strap).

The lacquer is broken somewhere is my guess.

Feel free to send it in if you are struggling.

But start from the beginning. Let's see what's popped and what isn't.

 

[plasticninjaguy]

By the looks of it, you are using the "easy strip" winding wire. The lacquer melts when touched with a soldering iron?

You have something shorted somewhere. It could be the usb strap having a direct path to gnd somehow.

I'd strip it all out, see what is working and what isn't.

If you have popped anything, it will be the bq24193 I'm guessing if not charging. The m92t36 is probably ok because it was running for a time.

Use kynar wire instead. Those straps are probably well soldered but they are too long (particularly the joycon strap).

The lacquer is broken somewhere is my guess.

Feel free to send it in if you are struggling.

But start from the beginning. Let's see what's popped and what isn't.

Ok I’ve been testing things to ground and it appears that the resistor just to the right of the USB disconnect strap is not in any way common with ground. I am not very familiar with the switch’s charging circuit, but all of the other resistors are grounded at one end. I tried a google, but I’m not too sure on how to test the two charging ICs (bq and m92) if you could bump me in the right direction I’d be highly appreciative.
Thanks again Matty

EDIT: Omg they’re all caps aren’t they.

 

[mattytrog]

Ok I’ve been testing things to ground and it appears that the resistor just to the right of the USB disconnect strap is not in any way common with ground. I am not very familiar with the switch’s charging circuit, but all of the other resistors are grounded at one end. I tried a google, but I’m not too sure on how to test the two charging ICs (bq and m92) if you could bump me in the right direction I’d be highly appreciative.
Thanks again Matty

Bq24193... Simple. Plug power source into usb, see if v goes up.

M92t36... A good initial indication it is ok if you check pin 5 vcc-in. 5th pin down, left hand side. Next to the point we solder to for chip power.

There could still be other faults in the chip... There are fets etc, but because it powered on I'm saying it's ok for the moment.

Make sure you solder to the 3v point on the chip. Some people solder to the 5v point (ie to go through the regulator)

That just adds (slight) overhead but if it fails short circuit, will be death to max77620.

So ensure you connect to 3v. Get rid of the regulator if you like. Remove it completely from trinket.

This is all theory of course. As long as you are getting steady readings with your resistors (I think they might be 10k from memory. Can't check at the minute) you should be fine.

If you remove everything and still no charge, I'm guessing bq24193 dead. Easily replaced.

 

[plasticninjaguy]

Bq24193... Simple. Plug power source into usb, see if v goes up.

M92t36... A good initial indication it is ok if you check pin 5 vcc-in. 5th pin down, left hand side. Next to the point we solder to for chip power.

There could still be other faults in the chip... There are fets etc, but because it powered on I'm saying it's ok for the moment.

Make sure you solder to the 3v point on the chip. Some people solder to the 5v point (ie to go through the regulator)

That just adds (slight) overhead but if it fails short circuit, will be death to max77620.

So ensure you connect to 3v. Get rid of the regulator if you like. Remove it completely from trinket.

This is all theory of course. As long as you are getting steady readings with your resistors (I think they might be 10k from memory. Can't check at the minute) you should be fine.

If you remove everything and still no charge, I'm guessing bq24193 dead. Easily replaced.

Ok last question. With this charging circuit, is it designed to kick in once the battery goes below a certain voltage threshold or does it work using some other detection method. Because I noticed at 83% the voltage on the battery rails was 4 volts and now at 12% it’s at 3.7.

Thanks

EDIT: well ok after a complete tear down and reassembly, as well at the removal of that awfully ghetto looking USB disconnect strap, the device appears to be charging again. I plugged in USB power and the voltage across the battery rails shot from 3.7 to 4, then I noticed the battery went from 12% to 21% over about 5 mins.
Thanks again for all your time Matty, this has been a warm welcome to the GBATemp community.

 

[mattytrog]

Ok last question. With this charging circuit, is it designed to kick in once the battery goes below a certain voltage threshold or does it work using some other detection method. Because I noticed at 83% the voltage on the battery rails was 4 volts and now at 12% it’s at 3.7.

Thanks

EDIT: well ok after a complete tear down and reassembly, as well at the removal of that awfully ghetto looking USB disconnect strap, the device appears to be charging again. I plugged in USB power and the voltage across the battery rails shot from 3.7 to 4, then I noticed the battery went from 12% to 21% over about 5 mins.
Thanks again for all your time Matty, this has been a warm welcome to the GBATemp community.

No worries. The chip is controlled by i2c. Status can be read and commands sent and info received based on requirements in software. It is a smart little chip. Almost like a microcontroller in itself

 

[plasticninjaguy]

Well, it's me again.
So I ordered another Trinket M0 and retried the micro UBS port removal, with success. I installed the modchip successfully (I think) and when I power on the switch I see a flurry of lights. I went for the Dual Boot + SwitchBoot combo from the software thread, and I see different lights on the trinket when i press Power + Vol. up, however, regardless of what combo i use, the switch turns on to a backlit blank screen. I noticed continuity between pin 0 and ground on the trinket if that means anything. I currently have an SD card inserted with nothing on it, as I just wanted to see if the switch booted first
Thanks
Lloyd.

EDIT: I'm also no longer using the USB disconnect strap, as it seemed whenever i tried that the switch just wouldn't charge.

 

[mattytrog]

Well, it's me again.
So I ordered another Trinket M0 and retried the micro UBS port removal, with success. I installed the modchip successfully (I think) and when I power on the switch I see a flurry of lights. I went for the Dual Boot + SwitchBoot combo from the software thread, and I see different lights on the trinket when i press Power + Vol. up, however, regardless of what combo i use, the switch turns on to a backlit blank screen. I noticed continuity between pin 0 and ground on the trinket if that means anything. I currently have an SD card inserted with nothing on it, as I just wanted to see if the switch booted first
Thanks
Lloyd.

EDIT: I'm also no longer using the USB disconnect strap, as it seemed whenever i tried that the switch just wouldn't charge.

Sounds like your Vol+ is grounded. Check the soldering to the resistor for the Vol+ strap

 

[plasticninjaguy]

Sounds like your Vol+ is grounded. Check the soldering to the resistor for the Vol+ strap

i used the alternative strap found on the pcb with the vol+ button on it.
thanks

EDIT: can a grounded VOL+ alone cause a switch to fail to start? Also, the LED sequence on the chip, when I press power + vol up, is different from when I just hit power alone.

 

[plasticninjaguy]

UPDATE:
Ok so it seems you were right, that was what was causing the primary issue. However, now if I try to normal boot, the switch screen lights with a bright backlight, then very soon after goes dim, however if i try to do a CFW boot, then the screen comes up with the bright backlight and stays like that. I think I had this issue before when the chip wasn't installed, it would flash then go dimmer and reconnecting the ZIF connector between the game card reader and the NAND module fixed it, no same luck this time. Any suggestions? (also, I'm not sure if theres something I haven't done that I sould've, I havent put Atmosphere or Reinx on the SD card, nor have I manually downloaded Hetake, only what came in the UF2 files. Just saying cause I'm not sure if that could be part of the issue.
With many thanks
Lloyd

EDIT: well **** (idk if i can swear here lol), I thought this might be the case, i tapped the screen a few times after a normal boot after noticing the screen going bright and dark after a power button press and realised i was hearing the clicking sound from the "press a button 3 times", anyone know how one might troubleshoot the screen connector?

EDIT EDIT: Ok, it seems something is stuck hard inside of the screen ribbon cable ZIF connector, any suggestions on how to get something out of there? Also, I'm not sure what this clusterin the picture is for, but it seems that the larger components with the greyish band are shorting to ground on both sides, anyone know what these are for?

 

[metaljay]

UPDATE:

Can you get any clearer photos? Ill tag @mattytrog as im sure he doesn't get notifications anymore

 

[mattytrog]

UPDATE:
Ok so it seems you were right, that was what was causing the primary issue. However, now if I try to normal boot, the switch screen lights with a bright backlight, then very soon after goes dim, however if i try to do a CFW boot, then the screen comes up with the bright backlight and stays like that. I think I had this issue before when the chip wasn't installed, it would flash then go dimmer and reconnecting the ZIF connector between the game card reader and the NAND module fixed it, no same luck this time. Any suggestions? (also, I'm not sure if theres something I haven't done that I sould've, I havent put Atmosphere or Reinx on the SD card, nor have I manually downloaded Hetake, only what came in the UF2 files. Just saying cause I'm not sure if that could be part of the issue.
With many thanks
Lloyd

EDIT: well **** (idk if i can swear here lol), I thought this might be the case, i tapped the screen a few times after a normal boot after noticing the screen going bright and dark after a power button press and realised i was hearing the clicking sound from the "press a button 3 times", anyone know how one might troubleshoot the screen connector?

EDIT EDIT: Ok, it seems something is stuck hard inside of the screen ribbon cable ZIF connector, any suggestions on how to get something out of there? Also, I'm not sure what this clusterin the picture is for, but it seems that the larger components with the greyish band are shorting to ground on both sides, anyone know what these are for?

Looks like you have bent pins in the FPC connector to the LCD. You need to replace it.

I'd send it somewhere to sort out before anything else goes wrong.

Either me or someone else.

The FPC needs swapping and the chip needs fitting by people with a little more experience.

Not knocking your skills, but it would be beneficial for your console if you sent it to someone to sort out for you.

 

[mattytrog]

@plasticninjaguy

Replaced LCD FPC connector.
Replaced bq24193 and a few other bits.

Getting there!

Just need to soak test then chip it.

 

[plasticninjaguy]

@plasticninjaguy

Replaced LCD FPC connector.
Replaced bq24193 and a few other bits.

Getting there!

Just need to soak test then chip it.View attachment 176886 View attachment 176887

Wow! Thank you so much Matty, you’re an absolute legend!
So the charging chip was really gone then, that’s interesting. I saw a few shorts on places around the board but I didn’t think they were chip related. Oh well.

Thanks again so much!