eMMC Issues [Help!]

[Captain_Tid]

Hi All,
New to the community, hoping to get some help. I've been running my modded switch for a few weeks now and until today had no issues. Hopefully I haven't bricked anything!
I have the latest version of Hekate and Atmosphere. I have AutoRCM enabled.
My issue is that I can't boot into CFW or OFW - both give me the following errors:
'Failed to init eMMC.'
'Failed to launch HOS!'

When I boot into Hekate, I get the following popup:

When I check console info -> emmc, I also get an error saying that "eMMC failed to init!"

Please let me know what else I should check, I'm really not sure where to start debugging this issue as I'm a bit of a noob still when it comes to this stuff.

 

[binkinator]

Hi All,
New to the community, hoping to get some help. I've been running my modded switch for a few weeks now and until today had no issues. Hopefully I haven't bricked anything!
I have the latest version of Hekate and Atmosphere. I have AutoRCM enabled.
My issue is that I can't boot into CFW or OFW - both give me the following errors:
'Failed to init eMMC.'
'Failed to launch HOS!'

When I boot into Hekate, I get the following popup:
View attachment 297224

When I check console info -> emmc, I also get an error saying that "eMMC failed to init!"

Please let me know what else I should check, I'm really not sure where to start debugging this issue as I'm a bit of a noob still when it comes to this stuff.

Never seen this myself but it doesn’t look very promising:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/switch-v1-failed-to-init-emmc-known-good-emmc-also-fails.588419/

Boot into Hekate, go to Console Info and try to check the eMMC.
If it reports the same you most likely has a dead eMMC module.
You can replace it and recreate your NAND from scratch (if you don't have any backup) but the console will never connect to Nintendo again.

 

[Captain_Tid]

Yeah I stumbled upon that thread earlier in my travels, hoping it's not the same issue I've got. Do you know if eMMC failure is the kind of thing that can be restored from backup? Or is it likely a hardware issue? Is there a way to check? How could this be a result of hacking my switch?

 

[binkinator]

Yeah I stumbled upon that thread earlier in my travels, hoping it's not the same issue I've got. Do you know if eMMC failure is the kind of thing that can be restored from backup? Or is it likely a hardware issue? Is there a way to check? How could this be a result of hacking my switch?

I hope I’m wrong here but it really sounds like you’re going to need to take it in to an electronics shop.

if the eMMC module is acting up it’s pretty serious as that’s kindof a key component. Hit the basics like fully charge it over night, pop it open and make sure all the connections are tight, reboot a few times, try a factory reset, all On the slim chance you can dodge a real bullet.

 

[Captain_Tid]

I hope I’m wrong here but it really sounds like you’re going to need to take it in to an electronics shop.

if the eMMC module is acting up it’s pretty serious as that’s kindof a key component. Hit the basics like fully charge it over night, pop it open and make sure all the connections are tight, reboot a few times, try a factory reset, all On the slim chance you can dodge a real bullet.

Hey, I really appreciate your response and explanation! I'm a programmer but certainly not a hardware specialist and I don't have the tools to open my Switch up right now (though I'm sure I can get a hold of them if it turns out to be necessary).

What's the legality around having a random electronics store open up my switch and look for faults? Is that the kind of thing they handle? Any clue how expensive that kind of operation would be?

 

[binkinator]

Hey, I really appreciate your response and explanation! I'm a programmer but certainly not a hardware specialist and I don't have the tools to open my Switch up right now (though I'm sure I can get a hold of them if it turns out to be necessary).

What's the legality around having a random electronics store open up my switch and look for faults? Is that the kind of thing they handle? Any clue how expensive that kind of operation would be?

if you’re still under warranty then go for it but if you have a modchip that ship has sailed long ago. If you have a V1 Erista don’t send it to Ninty as they will simply send you a V2 patched unit and call it a day.

Legally, you own the switch. Repair guys aren’t going to care what mods you have on it.

A lot of cellphone places can handle the work. They will charge an hourly rate. There are good ones for cheap and bad ones that are expensive and everywhere in between I‘m afraid. Ask around your local area and see if yiu can find a good one.

 

[Captain_Tid]

if you’re still under warranty then go for it but if you have a modchip that ship has sailed long ago. If you have a V1 Erista don’t send it to Ninty as they will simply send you a V2 patched unit and call it a day.

Legally, you own the switch. Repair guys aren’t going to care what mods you have on it.

A lot of cellphone places can handle the work. They will charge an hourly rate. There are good ones for cheap and bad ones that are expensive and everywhere in between I‘m afraid. Ask around your local area and see if yiu can find a good one.

Thanks for the help!
One other thing I thought of regarding debugging this, I'm pretty sure the last time it was used it was left undocked & on, and ran itself down to 0% battery. It turns on and charges fine now, but do you happen to know if this is a potential cause of frying emmc?

 

[binkinator]

Thanks for the help!
One other thing I thought of regarding debugging this, I'm pretty sure the last time it was used it was left undocked & on, and ran itself down to 0% battery. It turns on and charges fine now, but do you happen to know if this is a potential cause of frying emmc?

I’ve been waaaaaay more abusive to mine than that. This is just dumb luck man. You didn’t do anything wrong.

 

[de9ed]

sound like emmc is failing, i would try to backup externally if possible and restore it on a blank emmc. ( assuming emmc is the issue )

 

[Captain_Tid]

sound like emmc is failing, i would try to backup externally if possible and restore it on a blank emmc. ( assuming emmc is the issue )

By this do you mean I should use Hekate's tools to backup my emmc as it currently is? I'm not sure what I would do to restore it on a blank emmc.

 

[de9ed]

By this do you mean I should use Hekate's tools to backup my emmc as it currently is? I'm not sure what I would do to restore it on a blank emmc.

yes , see if you can backup boot0/1 and raw nand. china have blank emmc which you can restore ( if you think emmc is failing)

 

[Captain_Tid]

yes , see if you can backup boot0/1 and raw nand. china have blank emmc which you can restore ( if you think emmc is failing)

Sure, I will empty my SD Card into a safe place and create a backup of the current emmc on it.

I also have this backup from when I first modded my switch:

Could I try using this to restore my emmc? Or am I misunderstanding the nature of the issue?

 

[de9ed]

Sure, I will empty my SD Card into a safe place and create a backup of the current emmc on it.

I also have this backup from when I first modded my switch:
View attachment 297238

Could I try using this to restore my emmc? Or am I misunderstanding the nature of the issue?

if you have backup, that is perfect, just order a blank switch emmc then restore the backup on it with hekate.

 

[binkinator]

Sure, I will empty my SD Card into a safe place and create a backup of the current emmc on it.

I also have this backup from when I first modded my switch:
View attachment 297238

Could I try using this to restore my emmc? Or am I misunderstanding the nature of the issue?

keep this! When you get a new eMMC chip installed you can restore everything to stock and still connect to Nintendo….most people are not this lucky.

 

[Captain_Tid]

Thank you both very much for your time and help. Is there any value in attempting to restore with the backup I have at the moment or is it clear from the diagnosis that I will need to replace the hardware first?

Will a hardware store be able to fix the emmc I currently have or will they need to order a new one on my behalf?

 

[binkinator]

At this point nothing hurts. Try a restore…could get lucky (not likely, but hey!)

You can order an eMMC or you can let them order one.

 

[Captain_Tid]

At this point nothing hurts. Try a restore…could get lucky (not likely, but hey!)

You can order an eMMC or you can let them order one.

Cool, thanks a lot. I'm currently emptying my SD card. It looks like I'll need a larger SD card to try restoring from backup anyway as mine is only 32GB so there isn't enough room to put the rawnand files on there as well as the other files required for running a hacked switch. I'll get a hold of one and keep the thread updated with progress in case anyone else encounters a similar issue.

 

[switchhunter666]

Did it work?

 

[Captain_Tid]

Did it work?

I will need to buy a larger SD card to find out, which won't happen today. I'm also waiting to hear back from the electronics store I contacted about whether or not they service Switches.

 

[fvig2001]

Only encountered slow sd mode. Worst case your eMMC is dying. If I were you, I would buy a cheap 32/64GB eMMC off of eBay (the price is negligible last time I checked). Backup your current eMMC. Replace the eMMC and then make a quick backup of the new eMMC (to get the correct folder), copy backup to the new folder name, then restore it to the new eMMC. If you don't care about getting banned, you can run tools to make your switch see the 64gb space. Purely restoring will only give you 32gb of space.

Also be careful of taking out the sd card reader. Nintendo did a shit job on designing it. The pins on the switch side break way too easily. The connector literally can pull it off easily. You'd end up like me having a slow sd card mode.