ub3r1337's first impressions from a direct demo of TX upcoming new hardware mods!

ub3r1337 recently meet with TX to have them demo to him their upcoming new mods for the Switch (patched, mariko and lite). Unfortunately, he didn't get any pictures, but he says they'll be coming later on. Even so, he shared some of this new information at MaxConsole, also shown below:

First Off: It is a hardware mod. TX went back to its roots, and this solution is a device you need to install inside your Switch.

From what we could tell the install looks ultra simple and almost plug and play. When pushed about the install requirements, TX held back from claiming its fully solder-less, stating clearly that this particular design will always benefit from a few simple solder connections, versus the original intent of fully solder-less (at least for the classic model which is the unit we got to inspect).

In other words, a fully solder-less install is potentially possible with the classic models however it is not recommended by TX due to long term reliability concerns (we will cover this more in-depth at a later date, once we have our preview unit in our hands and put it thru some tests)

Second Point: There is one device for Patched and Mariko unit which is probably under production (see point three) and should be available soon They plan to release 2 devices; one for all classic versions (original, patch and mariko) and one for the Switch Lite.

Third Point: I really pushed for a release date, but TX refused to confirm anything during our meeting. From what I understood, even though it seems to be currently under production, because all sorts of things can occur in the factory during production, they will not commit to a date to me or their resellers until they are certain they can deliver on time enough stock to meet the demand.

I guess I can only respect that, this is probably why they did not announce anything yet, and we should know more once it is finally officially announced on their TX website.

At some point ub3r1337 hopes to get some pictures and videos from TX and a review unit, but we have no clue when that will happen. For now we just have to sit and wait for some more news regarding these new TX hardware mods to appear online!

Source: MaxConsole

 

[Burorī]

Who's ready for another 43 page long thread?

 

[Andalitez]

Who's ready for another 43 page long thread?

I am, my body is ready

 

[Lumince]

Atmosphere guys sweating bullets now. Lol

Its a damn hardmod. Not a RCM exploit. I dont want that shit in my switch

 

[ghjfdtg]

The boards are not 100% alike. Similar, sure.

perhaps the chip is a device that stretches over to each pins, hence how it can be semi solderless, the 2 chips for the 2 layouts.

From a company point of view it would make much more sense to bridge the gap with wires. You only need 1 board for both which is cheaper to make.

 

[Skirlez]

@DayVeeBoi Posted a thing about the video I mentioned. I don't know how to quote his post, so instead I'm gonna post the link to it.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/team-xe...est-switch-models.551125/page-11#post-8841788

@bluesn00w @Joseph111

 

[Arras]

From a company point of view it would make much more sense to bridge the gap with wires. You only need 1 board for both which is cheaper to make.

Sure, but "easy to install" is a very important selling point when it comes to hardware mods.

No proof again. What a shame...

Seriously. How hard is it to take a video of Switch Lite running CFW?

If it is a hardware mod, it probably doesn't let you run CFW. My bet is it's like the launch Gateway where it just simulates game carts and nothing else.

 

[darkriku2000]

I expected a hardware solution but wasn't expecting an in body mod chip. I wonder how complicated the installation will be.

 

[ghjfdtg]

@Arras
Maybe, but you need to solder anyway if this is true. Pogo pins/clips are nowhere near as reliable long term.

 

[DbGt]

Its a damn hardmod. Not a RCM exploit. I dont want that shit in my switch

modchips have been around for much longer than CFW

CFWs just appeared last gen

and its much better than nothing

 

[MichiS97]

Sure, but "easy to install" is a very important selling point when it comes to hardware mods.

If it is a hardware mod, it probably doesn't let you run CFW. My bet is it's like the launch Gateway where it just simulates game carts and nothing else.

It being a hardware mod doesn't neccessarily mean that it won't let you run CFW. I'm guessing they might be using some sort of glitching vulnerability.

 

[hippy dave]

Unfortunately, he didn't get any pictures,​

Put up or shut up.

 

[Skirlez]

modchips have been around for much longer than CFW

CFWs just appeared last gen

and its much better than nothing

Aren't they used together? Don't modchips allow you to use CFW?

 

[Deleted User]

is it that hard for proof?
i don't feel like im asking for much

 

[fadx]

If it's for booting CFW it's probably a glitch chip, if that's the case you'll probably see hundreds of clones in no time. Good for those that don't support TX and/or their practices.

 

[PRAGMA]

Aren't they used together? Don't modchips allow you to use CFW?

Modchips allow you to execute some kind of unsigned code, not directly allowing CFW, but usually do

 

[Dr.Hacknik]

Its a damn hardmod. Not a RCM exploit. I dont want that shit in my switch

This is a fair point. Doing hardware modification for exploits is, risky. Both in voiding your warranty for tampering physically and there's unknown risks in damaging the hardware.

This 'exploit' with no confirmed sources such as pictures or videos within a rather decently long timespan from the last post; is rather unsettling. I'll take everything with the tiniest grain of salt.
Until I see it in action, I don't trust any sources. That even goes for Atmosphere development. Rumors these days in this scene are an issue, just like every other hacking scene.

 

[Skirlez]

Modchips allow you to execute some kind of unsigned code, not directly allowing CFW, but usually do

Oh right, forgot about the PS1 Modchips.

 

[orangy57]

Okay now we can hit up the tiny soldering guy

 

[_hexkyz_]

@_hexkyz_ any comment?

Sure, why not?
Ironically, this just proved me right. This new piece of information is exactly what my first post in the other thread stated.
The rumors made them act and, if real, it is now indeed confirmed to be a modchip.

I must highlight however that this interview has a number of inconsistencies. For example, it seems the interviewer only had access to an original Switch running the modchip: "(at least for the classic model which is the unit we got to inspect)".
The absence of video or pictures from TX themselves contrasts a lot with what happened for the original Switch where the first thing they did was publish a video of a Switch displaying their logo. Note that this was before the RCM based exploit and around the CCC talk.
Combining this with how it's almost certain they've been developing a modchip since day 1 (which was left in the background in favor of the dongle approach once the exploit was public), it's clear to me that the modchip solution works on the original and patched units (they've dumped the new ipatches before) but it's still not ready for Mariko and Lite. Therefore, this buys them time without compromising to resellers and customers (which they were already trying to avoid before this whole thing).

Reset glitching is pretty much proven to be used by TX for at least extracting the new master keys (instead of exploiting TSEC) and they have a long background in that area. However, the new SoC in Mariko/Lite is a tougher challenge and I believe they've been stuck there for a while, presumably because the attack is unreliable and fails too often.

 

[Switch_Maniac]

If it's for booting CFW it's probably a glitch chip, if that's the case you'll probably see hundreds of clones in no time. Good for those that don't support TX and/or their practices.

So two wrongs make a right is what your saying? Makes sense.