Hacking Switch with AutoRCM won't accept payload

[dimag0g]

Today I rebooted my Switch and it didn't come back. The unit had AutoRCM enabled, so I expected it to grab the payload from a dongle upon reboot, but it didn't, no matter how many times I tried. I actually have two dongles which used to work, neither worked this time, clip or no clip. Plugging the Switch into a PC also doesn't trigger anything (I was expecting new device detection, could someone check if this is the case with their Switch?). The unit still charges fine, I can see PSU change the voltage from 5V to 15V when I connect the Switch to it.

Considering how rarely I reboot (once in several months) I don't exclude that the USB port got damaged since the last time. It still works with PD supplies though, and just before the reboot I was transferring files via USB with no issues. Is there a USB-C line which is only needed for RCM but not during fast charging or file transfer? Is there anything I could check to diagnose the problem further?

 

[Hayato213]

It might be the port or your unit isn't on autoRCM.

 

[Lacius]

Did you do anything to your Switch recently, like install a system update, that might have removed AutoRCM?

 

[dimag0g]

Did you do anything to your Switch recently, like install a system update, that might have removed AutoRCM?

I was going to update it, but didn't have the chance. Wanted to start with a clean power off / power on.

The unit should still be on AutoRCM, it won't display anything on the screen when I push the power button, and I already tried the payload dongle together with the jig in place of the right joy-con and holding Vol+.

Is a working unit detected by a PC while in RCM? Mine is not, so I wonder what could be the reason.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I was going to update it, but didn't have the chance. Wanted to start with a clean power off / power on.

The unit should still be on AutoRCM, it won't display anything on the screen when I push the power button, and I already tried the payload dongle together with the jig in place of the right joy-con and holding Vol+.

Is a working unit detected by a PC while in RCM? Mine is not, so I wonder what could be the reason.

It is. I couldn't tell you what's wrong but I think it's unlikely that the USB-C port would be damaged in such a way that RCM doesn't work but fast charging does. You'd have to be supremely unlucky, although I believe it is theoretically possible. The data pins are completely separate from anything that handles charging, there are actually 2 dedicated pins to negotiate USB-PD power (along with a host of other pins that are not directly related to either data or power)

 

[dimag0g]

Meanwhile I have checked the USB-C port continuity with my multimeter: D+, D- and GND all make contact with the respective solder joints on the PCB inside the Switch. There's also continuity on those lines inside my payload injector.

I wonder what else could be the issue. I assume SD card failure is out of the question: the payload displays a message if the SD card is unreadable. Could it be caused by a dead or corrupted EMMC?

PS. Ordered this baby: https://gbatemp.net/threads/emmc-reader-for-hac-emmc.584027/

 

[mmedeiro]

Interestingly my Trinket M0 just stopped injecting the payload. Switch goes in to RCM mode then I have to manually inject with the TegraRCMgui. Not sure what could have happened, was working fine for a year or so.

 

[de9ed]

Meanwhile I have checked the USB-C port continuity with my multimeter: D+, D- and GND all make contact with the respective solder joints on the PCB inside the Switch. There's also continuity on those lines inside my payload injector.

I wonder what else could be the issue. I assume SD card failure is out of the question: the payload displays a message if the SD card is unreadable. Could it be caused by a dead or corrupted EMMC?

PS. Ordered this baby: https://gbatemp.net/threads/emmc-reader-for-hac-emmc.584027/

you would need a mini usb cable to use with the emmc reader. I received mine but dont really know how to use it yet and waiting on the mini usb cable.

 

[dimag0g]

Interestingly my Trinket M0 just stopped injecting the payload. Switch goes in to RCM mode then I have to manually inject with the TegraRCMgui. Not sure what could have happened, was working fine for a year or so.

Thanks, it was indeed a possibility, but I have since tested both injectors with a different Switch unit, and they both worked perfectly.
I'm starting to think I blew up the dreaded PI3USB chip in my Switch. I wonder if it handles just data, or USB PD as well.

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

you would need a mini usb cable to use with the emmc reader. I received mine but dont really know how to use it yet and waiting on the mini usb cable.

I think you can connect the reader to a Linux PC, and you'll get block devices for BOOT0, BOOT1 and GPP partitions. Then you just read/write them as any block device. On Win10, you need a special driver, and then you can read/write using win32imager or HacDiskMount.

 

[dimag0g]

After reflashing the EMMC module with the latest clean backup, the unit didn't come back to life. The only plausible explanation I have is that the CPU board is damaged. If anyone has an idea of what else I could try, please let me know.