Hacking SWITCH NOOB PARADISE - Ask questions here

[binkinator]

Hello I'm a noob, I'm wanting to partition an SD card as so I have a partition for owned official games, another partition for emu nand and another for backup games is this possible or not as not seen any guides covering this?

The guides found using Google search are not giving much help to me being a newbie

check out this guide…it will walk you through the entire process based on your type of Switch.

https://rentry.org/SwitchHackingIsEasy

 

[chonky]

I bought a switch already hacked a while ago but now I've been investigating all I can about homebrew so as to not mess up. The switch is set up with an emunand, which I use exclusively to run atmosphere and play my games. On the other hand I've got my sysnand clean, which I've accessed through Hekate just to check it out but done nothing with it so far. My plan though is to use the Sysnand to play online, which the seller (I trust he knows what he's doing) claims it's set up to do.
My Sysnand has never been online so far, however my emunand is always connected to my wifi (after all I need internet to use tinfoil). Now I've been investigating and been led to believe that this could have flagged me for a ban anyways.
What's the course of action I should take? Am I screwed already?

 

[binkinator]

I bought a switch already hacked a while ago but now I've been investigating all I can about homebrew so as to not mess up. The switch is set up with an emunand, which I use exclusively to run atmosphere and play my games. On the other hand I've got my sysnand clean, which I've accessed through Hekate just to check it out but done nothing with it so far. My plan though is to use the Sysnand to play online, which the seller (I trust he knows what he's doing) claims it's set up to do.
My Sysnand has never been online so far, however my emunand is always connected to my wifi (after all I need internet to use tinfoil). Now I've been investigating and been led to believe that this could have flagged me for a ban anyways.
What's the course of action I should take? Am I screwed already?

Check to see if you brought protection:

https://rentry.org/ExosphereDNSMITM

Test to be sure it’s working:

https://github.com/meganukebmp/Switch_90DNS_tester

(Hit go back on the bottom left to get to the table of contents for the site)

 

[chonky]

Check to see if you brought protection:

https://rentry.org/ExosphereDNSMITM

Test to be sure it’s working:

https://github.com/meganukebmp/Switch_90DNS_tester

Checking now I do have atmosphere.ini on the root of my SD

[exosphere]
debugmode=1
debugmode_user=0
disable_user_exception_handlers=0
enable_user_pmu_access=0
blank_prodinfo_sysmmc=1
blank_prodinfo_emummc=1
allow_writing_to_cal_sysmmc=0
log_port=0
log_baud_rate=115200
log_inverted=0

I'm gonna do the test and report back.

 

[binkinator]

Checking now I do have atmosphere.ini on the root of my SD

[exosphere]
debugmode=1
debugmode_user=0
disable_user_exception_handlers=0
enable_user_pmu_access=0
blank_prodinfo_sysmmc=1
blank_prodinfo_emummc=1
allow_writing_to_cal_sysmmc=0
log_port=0
log_baud_rate=115200
log_inverted=0

I'm gonna do the test and report back.

Nice. this file’s existence means that even if you did connect, your Prodinfo file for both CFW/Sysnand and CFW/Emunand are blanked out (xmmc=1)
The test will prove whether or not your files in /atmosphere/hosts/ are spoofing Ninty’s DNS entries.

 

[chonky]

Nice. this file’s existence means that even if you did connect, your Prodinfo file for both CFW/Sysnand and CFW/Emunand are blanked out (xmmc=1)
The test will prove whether or not your files in /atmosphere/hosts/ are spoofing Ninty’s DNS entries.

Well, the test shows everything as unblocked, in bold red letters, except nintendo.net which appears as unresolved. Doesn't look good.
Curiously I already had the DNS test utility on my SD which means the seller was making sure as well, still I updated to the latest version to perform the test. As an aside, atmosphere crashed when I ran the test a 2nd time.

 

[binkinator]

Well, the test shows everything as unblocked, in bold red letters, except nintendo.net which appears as unresolved.

So you do have SOME content in a .txt file in the directory above. Check out that link I sent and it will show you what you need to add to get all green

Doesn't look good.
Curiously I already had the DNS test utility on my SD which means the seller was making sure as well, still I updated to the latest version to perform the test.

cool…never hurts

As an aside, atmosphere crashed when I ran the test a 2nd time.

Meh...shit happens.
fix the .txt file, reboot, and try again. No big.

 

[chonky]

So you do have SOME content in a .txt file in the directory above. Check out that link I sent and it will show you what you need to add to get all green

cool…never hurts

Meh...shit happens.
fix the .txt file, reboot, and try again. No big.

This is all that appears on my default.txt

# Nintendo telemetry servers
127.0.0.1 receive-%.dg.srv.nintendo.net receive-%.er.srv.nintendo.net

Ok, now I fixed the txt, rebooted and got all greens. But I wonder if it's too late? I've been keeping it online like this for months.

 

[binkinator]

This is all that appears on my default.txt

# Nintendo telemetry servers
127.0.0.1 receive-%.dg.srv.nintendo.net receive-%.er.srv.nintendo.net

Ok, now I fixed the txt, rebooted and got all greens. But I wonder if it's too late? I've been keeping it online like this for months.

You had a DNS leak, BUT you had your Prodinfo blanked, so you did knock on the door, but they didn’t let your switch inside to rat you out. You are likely OK. Nothing is 100%. Important thing is you are fixed now. Good stuff!

 

[chonky]

You had a DNS leak, BUT you had your Prodinfo blanked, so you did knock on the door, but they didn’t let your switch inside to rat you out. You are likely OK. Nothing is 100%. Important thing is you are fixed now. Good stuff!

By ok you mean I could go on my clean sysnand now (through hekate -> launch -> stock), connect and play online and be ok? Any other precautions I should take?

I have related question also. I recently updated my emunand to the latest firmware, along with atmosphere and hekate, but my sysnand is still on 14.0.0. I assume I need to update it to play online, and everything points to it having to be done the "official" way through system settings, but supposedly doing so from stock sysnand will turn off autoRCM and I'm gonna have to mess with the jig to turn it back on, which I've never done and would rather not have to.
One of the guides (https://nh-server.github.io/switch-guide/extras/updating/) suggests launching CFW on the sysnand through hekate and updating from there in order to keep autoRCM from turning off, but that sounds to me like a surefire way to get banned, you know, running CFW on sysnand and connecting to nintendo servers to get the update.
What's the suggested course of action here?

Many thanks for the help so far by the way, I've investigated so much and read so many guides and yet I had no idea about the stuff you just explained to me.

 

[binkinator]

By ok you mean I could go on my clean sysnand now (through hekate -> launch -> stock), connect and play online and be ok? Any other precautions I should take?

i just run exosphere.ini and defaults.txt and I havent had any issues. Nothing is guaranteed 100% except not hacking anything at all (But that’s not any fun at all)

I have related question also. I recently updated my emunand to the latest firmware, along with atmosphere and hekate, but my sysnand is still on 14.0.0. I assume I need to update it to play online, and everything points to it having to be done the "official" way through system settings, but supposedly doing so from stock sysnand will turn off autoRCM and I'm gonna have to mess with the jig to turn it back on, which I've never done and would rather not have to.

You are correct. That’s exactly how a stock upgrade works. At some point you’re going to need to inject...might as well learn how now.

One of the guides (https://nh-server.github.io/switch-guide/extras/updating/) suggests launching CFW on the sysnand through hekate and updating from there in order to keep autoRCM from turning off, but that sounds to me like a surefire way to get banned, you know, running CFW on sysnand and connecting to nintendo servers to get the update.
What's the suggested course of action here?

You can run CFW on Sysnand. Many people do CFW/Sysnand without issue. SciresM does it himself and has never been banned. It’s piracy (any nsp OR xci) and cheating that will get you into trouble.

Many thanks for the help so far by the way, I've investigated so much and read so many guides and yet I had no idea about the stuff you just explained to me.

you bet. Enjoy your switch!

(click my sig if youre ready for more adventures)

 

[chonky]

i just run exosphere.ini and defaults.txt and I havent had any issues. Nothing is guaranteed 100% except not hacking anything at all (But that’s not any fun at all)

I have one last question regarding exosphere. The guide says to leave blank_prodinfo_sysmmc=1 for sysnand and blank_prodinfo_emummc=1 for emunand, my file though has both set to 1. Won't this mean my sysnand will not be able to connect to nintendo's servers either? Or am I getting things wrong?

 

[binkinator]

I have one last question regarding exosphere. The guide says to leave blank_prodinfo_sysmmc=1 for sysnand and blank_prodinfo_emummc=1 for emunand, my file though has both set to 1. Won't this mean my sysnand will not be able to connect to nintendo's servers either? Or am I getting things wrong?

You’ve nailed it!
You will want to set Sysnand to 0 to allow it to go Online.

Switch Banning Hub — The @Draxzelex definitive place to read about console bans and how to reduce your risk of being next!

 

[chonky]

You’ve nailed it!
You will want to set Sysnand to 0 to allow it to go Online.

Hm, if I tried to go online on sysnand with the setting set to 1, would that get me flagged? Also makes me wonder why the guy would leave it like this and then claim the console is set up to play online.

I'll check out the banning hub also. Man I wonder if I'm being too paranoid.

 

[binkinator]

Hm, if I tried to go online on sysnand with the setting set to 1, would that get me flagged? Also makes me wonder why the guy would leave it like this and then claim the console is set up to play online.

I'll check out the banning hub also. Man I wonder if I'm being too paranoid.

What he did blanked out the Prodinfo, in both Emunand and Sysnand, so Ninty couldn’t ID you and flag you (until you figured out how things work.)
You should go back and give the man a tip.

you can never be too paranoid. They are, in fact, out to get you. Make no mistake.

 

[chonky]

What he did blanked out the Prodinfo, in both Emunand and Sysnand, so Ninty couldn’t ID you and flag you (until you figured out how things work.)
You should go back and give the man a tip.

you can never be too paranoid. They are, in fact, out to get you. Make no mistake.

Ok then just to be clear and doubly sure:

1. I set sysmmc to 0 on exosphere.ini, leave emummc on 1
2. I boot my clean sysnand with CFW through Hekate
3. I connect to my wifi and update the firmware through the system menu the legal way.
4. I reboot, boot into clean sysnand, stock no CFW, through Hekate, I connect to nintendo account, play legit bought games online.
5. I repeat steps 2 to 4 when a new FW update drops (after atmosphere is updated to support it)
6. I boot into emunand to play backups, can still keep it connected to wifi and use tinfoil because of exosphere.ini

Is this all correct?

 

[binkinator]

Ok then just to be clear and doubly sure:

1. I set sysmmc to 0 on exosphere.ini, leave emummc on 1

yes

2. I boot my clean sysnand with CFW through Hekate

yes

3. I connect to my wifi and update the firmware through the system menu the legal way.

yes

4. I reboot, boot into clean sysnand, stock no CFW, through Hekate, I connect to nintendo account, play legit bought games online.

yes

5. I repeat steps 2 to 4 when a new FW update drops (after atmosphere is updated to support it)

don’t have to…you can leave Sysnand alone and just update Emunand via Daybreak. You can get firmware from that Darthsternie Firmware site.
(your steps are correct for Sysnand…just stating that it’s not required to update Sysnand immediately…emu and sys are independent)

6. I boot into emunand to play backups, can still keep it connected to wifi and use tinfoil because of exosphere.ini

Is this all correct?

Yes. You pass with flying colors.

 

[chonky]

(your steps are correct for Sysnand…just stating that it’s not required to update Sysnand immediately…emu and sys are independent)

Well, I meant because I'd be unable to keep playing online until I updated sysnand.

In any case thanks again for all the help, I will try to report back if it all went well (or if it didn't), in case it can be of use to someone else.

 

[BlackRekuzza]

If I want to make a new emunand, what should I backup? Saves and games? Or atmo folder too?

 

[Draxzelex]

Thanks a lot for the link! I had a feeling that was the recommended guide, just wanted to make sure.

This is kind of an aside, but is it recommended to use separate SD cards if you want to use your Switch for both OFW and CFW, or is it safe enough to use like a dualboot setup on the same card? I was planning to have an official account with a few games I intend to buy and play online but I'd still like to be able to switch over to CFW sometimes. I figured it would be better if you can make separate partitions on the same card and just use one, rather than constantly having to swap out sd cards.

If this is in regards to whether or not Nintendo scans the SD card, there are multiple reasons why that isn't a viable ban method. For one, its not foolproof as having the contents of CFW/homebrew aren't enough to hack the console so someone who just so happens to have them on their SD card can be a false positive. Its also a violation of privacy for Nintendo to check what files are on people's personal SD cards. So as you can see, its not worth it for Nintendo to just look at what people have on their cards then ban them.

If I want to make a new emunand, what should I backup? Saves and games? Or atmo folder too?

That depends on a couple of factors. Is the emuMMC on the same SD card? If yes, then you only need to backup the save data (assuming its a partition-based emuMMC) as save data is typically the only thing stored within the emuMMC. If you installed any games to the internal memory of emuMMC, then you would have to back those up as well since that would mean they were installed inside the partition aka emuMMC itself. If the new emuMMC won't be on the same SD card, then you'll have to at least backup both save data and whatever games were installed regardless if they were internal memory or to the SD card. You only ever need to backup the /atmosphere folder if you modified it outside of the vanilla configuration with cheats, game mods, etc.