Hacking Nintendo switch toggling between homebrew and online mode? Homebrew emulators..

[jimlaman8]

Still a relative newb to the Nintendo Switch, but had some questions on modding/jailbreaking and retaining online ability without any risk.
In the past on the wii i had the home brew channel and emulators, which is my main drive here, however I dont want to jeopardize digital downloads. I also assume you cant play NES and SNES virtual console titles without being online(?).

First off wondering what the best method to jailbreak and get emaulators on there would be these days (c64 and other emulators to install)? Is it Emunand or SX OS etc?

And secondly the best way to go from one mode to the other (offline mode to online normal)? Is it just a menu choices when you start the switch? Can a physical mod be made to toggle?
I see other terms thrown around but still unsure on them, like cfw and ofw. (edit, custom and official firmware i guess)
I have kids using the system so i want to make sure its obvious which mode to go into. I dont have a second switch on hand, though for younger kids i guess having one that doesnt have to be toggled is safer (second unit later on).

I was hoping things could be as simple as putting in a second sd card (one for ofw and cfw and maybe airplane mode with cfw), but i guess maybe this isnt fool proof?

I'm also guessing that typically updating to the latest switch firmware/update will break the custom OS without an update (one was just released the other day for instance).

Also, it appears it requires a physical pin mod to get started on any emunand mod?

Thanks in advance for any info and clarification

 

[tom2199]

Read this guide here: https://nh-server.github.io/switch-guide/ it answers most if not all of your questions. If you follow the tutorial, you'll get an completely independent system that is loaded from the sd card. From that system (emunand) you can run emulators etc. your switch system as it is right now still resides in your internal memory so it acts independent from your hacked one.

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

Just keep your emunand offline! forgot that one but it's mentioned in the guide as well. if you want to use homebrew online, you'll have to setup 90dns: https://nh-server.github.io/switch-guide/extras/blocking_updates/ or/and (i recommend both) incognito: https://gbatemp.net/threads/incognito_rcm-wipe-personal-information-to-reduce-risk-of-ban.549462/
but thats a bit much for the beginning, just make sure you're reading the guide carefully and reproduce every step

 

[jimlaman8]

Read this guide here

Thanks, i assume no matter what there is the physical pin mod that has to be done to even get started correct?

And does each Nintendo switch update break the OFW mode? IE: the one released the other day for instance, so never update unless the mod specifies it works?

I guess ill have to decide which way to go, all in one SD or two different SDs, and i'm assuming there can be a prompt on rebooting to go to OFW if on the same SD card?

 

[tom2199]

Thanks, i assume no matter what there is the physical pin mod that has to be done to even get started correct?

And does each Nintendo switch update break the OFW mode? IE: the one released the other day for instance, so never update unless the mod specifies it works?

I guess ill have to decide which way to go, all in one SD or two different SDs, and i'm assuming there can be a prompt on rebooting to go to OFW if on the same SD card?

yes, you'll need to bridge the pins of the right joycon rail. if you want to send payloads (going into cfw from ofw) without a computer i recommend something like this https://www.xkit.xyz/rcmloader/ the advantage is, there is a rcm jig included as well, though you can find that seperately as well.
you can use seperate sd cards or one, thats your choice. the cfw has to be started either with a computer/android smartphone or a dongle every time you turn it (completely) off. (completely off, i don't mean standby)
as for firmware updates, the cfw doesn't touch your internal memory (ofw) if you have configured it so. that means you can update ofw if you want, with cfw in emunand (copy of the internal memory for the cfw) you should wait to see if everything is compatible, maybe you will have to update the cfw before you can update the firmware, but that just relates to emunand, on ofw you can do what you want

 

[jimlaman8]

So with the rcmloader device it isnt necessary to do the bridging of pins on the right joycon?

Still unsure but, how easy is it going from ofw to cfw, simple as a shutdown reboot, menu choice, or even easier if using the rcm loader?

 

[tom2199]

So with the rcmloader device it isnt necessary to do the bridging of pins on the right joycon?

Still unsure but, how easy is it going from ofw to cfw, simple as a shutdown reboot, menu choice, or even easier if using the rcm loader?

No, you would still need a jig but it is provided with the loader. the pins on the joycon don't need to be bridged, the pins on the rail do. so a jig ( https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/511x4UOzbHL._SY355_.jpg ) does the job. yes you can just shutdown/reboot or you can choose it from a menu, both are possible.

 

[jimlaman8]

No, you would still need a jig but it is provided with the loader. the pins on the joycon don't need to be bridged, the pins on the rail do. so a jig does the job. yes you can just shutdown/reboot or you can choose it from a menu, both are possible.

Ah nice then the rcm loader one sounds like a nice thing to have for multiple reasons, i assume off amazon its the one thats around 37, at least the specs and photos seem to show the same unit, there wasnt really a buy option on the original link.

 

[tom2199]

Ah nice then the rcm loader one sounds like a nice thing to have for multiple reasons, i assume off amazon its the one thats around 37, at least the specs and photos seem to show the same unit, there wasnt really a buy option on the original link.

I think if you look around you'll find cheaper prices, on AliExpress (i think ebay as well) they are around 15$, but they ship from china so the waiting time is 1-1,5 months. Up to you if you're willing to wait for a cheaper price.

 

[Goku1992A]

To probably be honest with you just buy a SXOS dongle. Everything will be plug andthey have free shops for emulator games and switch games this is why I am recommending you to them it will cost $50 and you will get it within 1-5 days.

Atmosphere is free but considering it's more stuff that you have to do and dig around it's best to buy SXOS. It may be a few more bucks but if you are buying a RCM loader for $10 (wait 2 months for it) you might as well buy the SXOS dongle. It's ultimately up to you if you want to go the free or paid route. I have both Atmosphere and SXOS on separate switches.

 

[tom2199]

To probably be honest with you just buy a SXOS dongle. Everything will be plug andthey have free shops for emulator games and switch games this is why I am recommending you to them it will cost $50 and you will get it within 1-5 days.

Atmosphere is free but considering it's more stuff that you have to do and dig around it's best to buy SXOS. It may be a few more bucks but if you are buying a RCM loader for $10 (wait 2 months for it) you might as well buy the SXOS dongle. It's ultimately up to you if you want to go the free or paid route. I have both Atmosphere and SXOS on separate switches.

Good point, haven't thought about that because I'm not using SX. But yeah that's an option as well.

 

[kassio69]

Just keep your emunand offline!

Not totally true. Read below.

I guess ill have to decide which way to go, all in one SD or two different SDs, and i'm assuming there can be a prompt on rebooting to go to OFW if on the same SD card?

You can use only one SD card. Read this:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/multipl...restoring-a-clean-nand-for-online-use.562188/

 

[tom2199]

Not totally true.

Literally one sentence after I explained what steps to take to safely go online, so whats your point?

 

[kassio69]

Literally one sentence after I explained what steps to take to safely go online, so whats your point?

You're telling him how to "safely" go online WITH 90dns, and that way being unable to use the eShop or play officially online.
I'm telling you both there's a way to use your emuMMC online WITHOUT 90dns, being able to use all of Nintendo's funcionality.
You should consider reading my post.

 

[tom2199]

You're telling him how to "safely" go online WITH 90dns, and that way being unable to use the eShop or play officially online.
I'm telling you both there's a way to use your emuMMC online WITHOUT 90dns, being able to use all of Nintendo's funcionality.
You should consider reading my post.

I know that, but there is Little to no point in doing so, thats what sysnand is for imo. Of course of someone is relying on PegaSwitch thats a different Story but for most users it simply doesn't make sense to do that.

 

[jimlaman8]

Updated question, so i have the rcmloader dongle. I assume i should still do the nand backup. The guide says to load the hekate payload. Can I just put the hekate_ctcaaer_5.2.0.bin file renamed as payload in user2, select user2 on the dongle and go from there?

Or is it not really needed since i'm using the rcmloader device?

I think it was mentioned, but once a payload is loaded, ie: atmosphere and switch is on, i assume once its shut off then it will be OFW mode on next boot, so effectively there is no icon/reboot screen to choose ofw with this method? Or does enabling autorcm mode get around that (safe as long as offline in cfw mode?)

I also assume i dont need to do any formatting of the sd card, its already exfat from before, i copied over the three OS folder structures and files per the rcmloader tutorial video as well (to the sd card).

I assume i should update to 10.0 firmware first before payloads (i have updated the atmosphere version on the rcmloader and sd card etc).

 

[tom2199]

Updated question, so i have the rcmloader dongle. I assume i should still do the nand backup. The guide says to load the hekate payload. Can I just put the hekate_ctcaaer_5.2.0.bin file renamed as payload in user2, select user2 on the dongle and go from there?

Yes, that should work.

I think it was mentioned, but once a payload is loaded, ie: atmosphere and switch is on, i assume once its shut off then it will be OFW mode on next boot, so effectively there is no icon/reboot screen to choose ofw with this method? Or does enabling autorcm mode get around that (safe as long as offline in cfw mode?)

Yes, if you turn it off and back on it's going to boot ofw, if you choose reboot you should boot back to hekate, there should be an option to boot to ofw there as well.

I also assume i dont need to do any formatting of the sd card, its already exfat from before, i copied over the three OS folder structures and files per the rcmloader tutorial video as well (to the sd card).

As part of the guide you'll create an EmuNAND, so you'll have to reformat your card for that because it's going to create a extra partition. Exfat is dangerous on the switch anyway so everyone recommends fat32. Just backup everything on the sd card on your PC and follow the tutorial

 

[jimlaman8]

As part of the guide you'll create an EmuNAND, so you'll have to reformat your card for that because it's going to create a extra partition. Exfat is dangerous on the switch anyway so everyone recommends fat32. Just backup everything on the sd card on your PC and follow the tutorial

I thought i had read that for some file sizes over 3.7GB the exfat was needed, it was already exfat from the factory however.

I didnt realize the emunand was needed when using the rcmloader, the tutorial video for that device didnt mention that part of the guide anyway. (i wasnt sure how the rcmloader fit into the guide steps, seems like it was an isolated method to access cfw without doing extra steps). Ill reread that area.

So then i guess without having done the emunand steps, i shouldnt start the rcmloader payload portion yet (ie: i need to use the pc to do the other)
EDIT: i guess actually i can use the rcmloader to inject the Hekate payload (but thats not the same as the atmosphere_hekate one or is it), i had moved the hekate files to the user2 folder on the rcmloader, i see that this step formats things, beyond not having the large file ability with exfat, what was the danger on exfat (edit2: i see possible file corruption issues with exfat), i guess larger files need split somehow or maybe are automatically split for fat32?

 

[tom2199]

I thought i had read that for some file sizes over 3.7GB the exfat was needed, it was already exfat from the factory however.

I didnt realize the emunand was needed when using the rcmloader, the tutorial video for that device didnt mention that part of the guide anyway. (i wasnt sure how the rcmloader fit into the guide steps, seems like it was an isolated method to access cfw without doing extra steps). Ill reread that area.

So then i guess without having done the emunand steps, i shouldnt start the rcmloader payload portion yet (ie: i need to use the pc to do the other)
EDIT: i guess actually i can use the rcmloader to inject the Hekate payload (but thats not the same as the atmosphere_hekate one or is it), i had moved the hekate files to the user2 folder on the rcmloader, i see that this step formats things, beyond not having the large file ability with exfat, what was the danger on exfat?

You can use the guide I linked earlier, just the payload injection part is different for you because you have an injector, I think atmosphere_hekate should be an old version of hekate, you can overwrite it or use one of the user ones. (You can delete the ones you don't need as well) EmuNAND is useful if you want ofw to play legit games online, if that's not needed EmuNAND is of little use.
The switch automatically splits games etc over 4gb, so there should be no problem migrating to fat32. If you want to install big nsps, it is easier in my opinion to install them over USB, so you never have to copy the file over and don't need to hassle yourself with the 4gb limitation (goldleaf, awoo-installer and tinfoil all have the option of installing games over USB). If you want to copy the nsps to install them, there are filesplitter-tools out there so they'll fit on fat32. Many many users reported data loss on exfat because the implementation of that is not good in the switch, so it tends to destroy itself even if it's working fine for a while

 

[jimlaman8]

I finally made it to the portion in the guide of creating the sd partition.
The guide seems to lack this info, but, when i press partition, it then presents me with a gui of
HOS (fat32) slider
EmuMMC Raw slider (up to 29GB out of the 400gb)
Linux and android

The guide doesnt say, but i'm guessing i need to slide the emuMMC slider to max it out at 29GB (or maybe less, assuming this is just for homebrew apps and nothing large)?

So far i tried it without doing that slider but when i try to enable emuMMC i cant pick Raw1 from the left side, its greyed out. I think by not sliding it over to create both fat32 and the emummc raw partitions at least, is why i couldnt turn it on and select raw1

EDIT, at one point i hit sd file creation, couldnt stop the process so it ran, then i tried to go back and do the sd partition again to do the slider, but now it gives me info on 3 or 4 already set partitions, i cant delete them and start fresh. If i put the sd card in the pc it shows 29gb for the size, not the full 400gb, so i'm not sure how to start this process over, i'm rather stuck. EDIT: used a partition manager tool to delete the two errant partitions, starting over again.

 

[jimlaman8]

Making progress further along, i was able to get it to boot with hekate and then hit launch atmosphere from there, however, if i use the rcmloader to try to launch reinx, i get the splash screen then a black screen for some reason. I also tried some transfers using goldleaf + ns_usbloader or also using quark but ran into some errors on the transfer there on both apps.