Tutorial  Updated

Internal modchip - SAMD21 (Trinket M0, Gemma M0, ItsyBitsy M0 Express) Guide, Files & Support

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Its amazing that people are still checking all of this out. I thank you for all of the help and support I have received in this thread over this year.

Cheers. Matty.


A video showing a modchip in action. Thank you once again to @metaljay for providing this. This is what you can achieve by fitting a chip!



Section 1. Gather your software.

Get your chip software from THIS THREAD.
Follow the flashing instructions there...




Section 2. Removing USB port and unneeded LEDs. (Adafruit chips only)
  • Next, we need to remove the USB port from the modchip. I recommend a heatgun or a rework station. Heat up until the USB port just lifts off the modchip.
  • Do the same for the LED just to the right of the USB port.
See picture:
20181031_110415.jpg


You are now ready to fit your device. Proceed to Fitting section.





Section 3. Fitting modchip to your Switch.
New Universal Method. All SAMD-based internal chips. If your chip is not supported and you cannot work it out, PM me.

Trinket M0.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

trinketfinal.jpg

==================================================
Rebug SwitchME M0. Use Trinket files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

rebugfinal.jpg

==================================================
RCMX86 - Internal modchip version.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

RCMX86-Internal-Final.jpg


==================================================
Gemma M0. Use Gemma files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture


gemma final.jpg

==================================================
ItsyBitsy M0 Express. Use ItsyBitsy files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

itsybitsyfinal.jpg




==================================================
Feather M0 Express. Use Feather files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

feather_final.jpg




BUILD YOUR OWN FROM A QFP ATSAMD21E18. Trinket equivalent pins.
Flash Trinket bootloader using OpenOCD via serial pins SWDIO / SWDCLK. Fit a reset switch somewhere... Or going to power / wake (aka method 2). If building for external use, it is good practice to fit a third capacitor between 3V & GND. This is deliberately vague and ambigious, as this needs research and you need to know what you are doing.

Link for setting the Pi up with OpenOCD: HERE
Raspberry Pi OpenOCD image in downloads section or HERE
SAMD pi connection.png



Alternative Solder Points

Credit to @consolex for original pic. I`ve added alternative points to solder to:
Alternatepoints.jpg


Credit to @pyorin for this much tidier version showing the same info as the above one!
Alternatepoints2.jpg

s-l1600.jpg

alternative3v.jpg




Replacement Parts List

Ok... So you have damaged your switch soldering your chip in. Not to worry.

First things first, DO NOT BRIDGE THE CONTACTS HOPING TO REVIVE YOUR SWITCH. With resistors, you may possibly get away with this, but with the capacitors listed below, if you jump these points, you will make a nice short-circuit to the PMIC and / or the M92T36, killing them instantly. Don`t do it.

OK... I`ll list these parts with METHOD 2 & 3 TRINKET PIN NUMBERS and the values of the components they solder to.

TRINKET 3V (POWER SUPPLY) - 2.2uF 0402 size MLCC capacitor. Voltage unimportant as long as it is over 6.3v
TRINKET PIN 2 (POWER ON RESET - goes to pin 5 on M92T36)- 4.7uF 0402 size MLCC capacitor. Voltage unimportant as long as it is over 6.3v
TRINKET PIN 0 (VOL+) - 150R (150 ohms) 0201 Thick Film resistor. 50mW
TRINKET RESET (SWITCH POWER BUTTON) - 150R (150 ohms) 0201 Thick Film resistor. 50mW


I recommend RS components.

FAQ

Q - How do I boot the switch into APX (RCM) mode?

A - You need to short out pin 10 on the right joycon rail to GND with a jig or modded joycon or paperclip (not recommended... Buy a jig you cheap-ass gyppo). Once shorted out, hold down vol+ and power. The switch screen should be off... Plug into your PC and it should recognise a APX device. Well done. You are in RCM.

Q - What glue should I use?
A - Only glue if necessary! Ideally if your soldering is of sufficient quality and your wire is thin enough, you don`t need glue. I use a bit because I am OCD. Anyway, use Epoxy. It`s what I use. Gives you some working time, is solid. Superglue makes a mess DO NOT USE SUPERGLUE. The only thing super about it is how it melts things. Epoxy won`t stick to the shield long-term, so bear that in mind. Pure Acetone will remove epoxy. Acetone tends to remove / melt anything to be warned. CHECK YOUR GLUE WON`T GO CONDUCTIVE OVER TIME - LOOKING AT YOU SCAMSUNG! The combination of heat cycles and absorbing of moisture can turn adhesive into a high-impedance connection!

Q - What size wire should I use?
A - I use AWG40 magnet wire or AWG30 Kynar. AWG40 goes onto components easier... And if you snap it, chances are the wire will snap and not the trace / component.
A2 - You can also use AWG30. I recommend Kynar wrapping wire but any will do. Looks nice, good resistance to elements, tidy. Nothing thicker than AWG30. You are just causing yourself more headaches. Trust me.

Q - Is AWG40 thick enough?
A - Yes. AWG40 is good for around 90mA.

Q - which methods do you recommend?
A - Connect all the straps...

Q - how do you recommend to set it up?
A - Fusee Suite. Search for Fusee Suite or go to link at top of this OP.

Q - My switch is flat and won't turn on.
A - Have you got the charger connected? Disconnect it or your switch won't boot! Boot to a payload (SX loader/Hekate), reconnect charger and leave on the payload menu and charge. Leave for 15 minutes and switch will start normally. It will continue charging one booted.

Disclaimer:
You have only yourself to blame. This voids warranty. This may or may not get you banned from online services. If it does, you got yourself banned. I`m not responsible if you kill your switch / your first-born with any of this in this post. I`m not infalliable. I`m partly senile. Do your own research. Kids, get bill payers permission before you attempt even using a screwdriver.
NUTSHELL: Don`t come having a go at me because you fooked your £300 console up. I`ll do my best to help you though if you do, Just don`t blame me.

Credits to Quantum-Cross, Atlas44, @Ninoh-FOX , @jcrorxp , @tecfreak, @mooglazer, @subcon959, @64Dp128k, @mikeleuskaldunak, @M-O-B, CTCaer, @evilsperm, @consolex and everyone else for valuable input.


IF YOU REQUIRE SUPPORT, IF YOUR CONSOLE ISN`T WORKING CORRECTLY... PLEASE POST A HIGH RESOLUTION PICTURE OF YOUR INSTALL. You might think it isn`t your soldering, but in all cases with the new methods, it is bad soldering. So, please post a picture.


A BRIEF WARNING - PLEASE READ
THIS MOD IS NOT FOR THE FEINT OF HEART. WE ARE SOLDERING TO TRACES AND COMPONENTS ON THE FRONT SIDE OF THE BOARD TO SAVE HAVING TO REMOVE THE BOARD AND SOLDER TO TESTPOINTS. IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING, OR THINK YOU ARE GOING TO STRUGGLE, PLEASE PLEASE SOLDER TO THE TEST POINTS NOTED IN THIS AND OTHER THREADS (YOU WILL NEED TO REMOVE THE MOTHERBOARD). DOUBLE - TRIPLE CHECK EVERYTHING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Good soldering skills are needed!
A magnifying glass is needed!
Good soldering iron needed - ideally with a 0.3 conical tip. No more than 30w!
SECURE YOUR WIRES PRIOR TO SOLDERING. Stick them down with double-sided tape.
Only use glue if you need to and glue wires after soldering. Don`t glue the solder to the component!
Put the tiniest amount of glue on the PCB mask only. Never on components. Use a cocktail stick for more glue control!!!
Take a look at alternative solder points to get you out of the sh*t if you do rip something off the board
If you aren`t the best at soldering, then think very carefully about connecting to pin 6 capacitor (the one in these new methods). If you rip this pad, you WILL NEED TO REMOVE YOUR BOARD and run from a testpoint.
 

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mattytrog

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Ok. Get switch booted into horizon. That's the switch os.

Make sure no usb device is connected to the usb c port

Double press reset

Then plug your usb cable in. The bootloader drive will pop up showing the files as I described in op. Replace with new UF2. Easy.

Do not press reset twice with a usb cable in. It will not work. Disconnect first.
 
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Ok. Get switch booted into horizon. That's the switch os.

Make sure no usb device is connected to the usb c port

Double press reset

Then plug your usb cable in. The bootloader drive will pop up showing the files as I described in op. Replace with new UF2. Easy.

Do not press reset twice with a usb cable in. It will not work. Disconnect first.
I did that, nothings changed. Does it automatically rename the file? Because if I copy it over, then plug it in again, it's just the regular three files

EDIT: Now it suddenly works. I swear posting in threads is the only way to fix things
 
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I did that, nothings changed. Does it automatically rename the file? Because if I copy it over, then plug it in again, it's just the regular three files

the file isn't real. The drive isn't even real.

All the UF2 contains is the instructions and code that the chip needs to flash itself.

The UF2 isn't "run" or used again after you have dragged it to the little drive.

It's used once to program the chip. That's all.

If you dragged it to the drive and the drive "unplugged" or closed itself, then it flashed correctly.

If you are still having problems after that, you need to check your wiring. Though it should be correct as you have just dropped a UF2 on there.
 

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Ok I must still be missing something because I still have nothing on my screen. I am following this guide for setting up the SD card: https://gbatemp.net/threads/basic-m...nket-rebug-rcmx86-others.518574/#post-8290278

What I have done:
  1. Plugged switch into PC via usb. Switchme flashes red and nothing on screen.
  2. Used zadig app to assign libusbK driver to the APX device.
  3. Now APX shows in device manager when switch is plugged in.
  4. Dragged Hekate_Chainloader_TRINKET_REBUG.UF2 onto TegraRcmSmash.exe. Which flashes a few lines quickly with final one saying something like smashing the attack. Can't really tell because it closes automatically.
  5. Put SD card (formatted as exFat) into PC and extracted the 0.zip onto the root. SD card only has the 0 folder with the 01.s2 and start.bin inside.
  6. Put that into switch and got nothing on reboot, still a black screen. So I looked into ReiNX guide. (Not sure what the best CFW is, so figured I'd start with this one as the guide is very clear to follow)
  7. Followed the guide here https://reinx.guide/gettingstarted and setup the SD card with all the files it asks for.
  8. Used TegraRCMGUI, it shows RCM OK and pushed ReiNX payload to the switch and all went well.
  9. Put the SD card in the switch again and now it boots showing the ReiNX graphic with these msgs:
  • Error: Failed to read GPT!
  • Unpacking package2...
  • Unpacking firmware...
  • Error: Package2 Magic invalid!
  • Patching OS...

From there it never continues. If I turn the switch off and back on again, I get a black screen.

I'm not sure if this is now the thread to continue this discussion, If not, let me know or what I should do next.
 
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mattytrog

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Ok I must still be missing something because I still have nothing on my screen. I am following this guide for setting up the SD card: https://gbatemp.net/threads/basic-m...nket-rebug-rcmx86-others.518574/#post-8290278

What I have done:
  1. Plugged switch into PC via usb. Switchme flashes red and nothing on screen.
  2. Used zadig app to assign libusbK driver to the APX device.
  3. Now APX shows in device manager when switch is plugged in.
  4. Dragged Hekate_Chainloader_TRINKET_REBUG.UF2 onto TegraRcmSmash.exe. Which flashes a few lines quickly with final one saying something like smashing the attack. Can't really tell because it closes automatically.
  5. Put SD card (formatted as exFat) into PC and extracted the 0.zip onto the root. SD card only has the 0 folder with the 01.s2 and start.bin inside.
  6. Put that into switch and got nothing on reboot, still a black screen. So I looked into ReiNX guide. (Not sure what the best CFW is, so figured I'd start with this one as the guide is very clear to follow)
  7. Followed the guide here https://reinx.guide/gettingstarted and setup the SD card with all the files it asks for.
  8. Used TegraRCMGUI, it shows RCM OK and pushed ReiNX payload to the switch and all went well.
  9. Put the SD card in the switch again and now it boots showing the ReiNX graphic with these msgs:
  • Error: Failed to read GPT!
  • Unpacking package2...
  • Unpacking firmware...
  • Error: Package2 Magic invalid!
  • Patching OS...

From there it never continues. If I turn the switch off and back on again, I get a black screen.

I'm not sure if this is now the thread to continue this discussion, If not, let me know or what I should do next.
No no no...

You are doing it all wrong.

Before I continue, did you sort it? You may have sorted it in the meantime.
 

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OK...

Brief update.

Method 2... The idea was that pin 3 (which is PA07 on the chip) goes to ground upon a hard reset. This allows us to dual boot.

I`ve been going through the bootloader code and this seems to be actually part of the chip design.

So, nothing we can do about improving method 2 as it stands.

It is so strange how PA07 is the only pin to go to ground upon a hard reset.

HOWEVER!!!

I have a fix. Or I think it is a fix...

Going to post a UF2. Trinket / Rebug only at the moment.

Someone try and report back please. This is for METHOD 2 users ONLY...

PLEASE PLEASE let me know if it makes things better or not...

TRY THIS
 

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Nope, I'm still at this spot. Working on the house in the meantime. I figured I must be doing something wrong but wasn't sure what...
 

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OK. Lets break this down...

  1. Plugged switch into PC via usb. Switchme flashes red and nothing on screen. - CORRECT
  2. Used zadig app to assign libusbK driver to the APX device. - CORRECT
  3. Now APX shows in device manager when switch is plugged in. - CORRECT
  4. Dragged Hekate_Chainloader_TRINKET_REBUG.UF2 onto TegraRcmSmash.exe. Which flashes a few lines quickly with final one saying something like smashing the attack. Can't really tell because it closes automatically. - WRONG
  5. Put SD card (formatted as exFat) into PC and extracted the 0.zip onto the root. SD card only has the 0 folder with the 01.s2 and start.bin inside. - CORRECT
  6. Put that into switch and got nothing on reboot, still a black screen. So I looked into ReiNX guide. (Not sure what the best CFW is, so figured I'd start with this one as the guide is very clear to follow) - OK...

You have successfully been able to send a payload to get you to your normal switch home screen... So from the main switch OS, disconnect everything. Nothing in USB.

Double-press RESET switch. RECONNECT USB CABLE

A drive will pop up.

Drag the S2_Chainloader_TRINKET_REBUG.UF2 to this drive.

No need to delete anything... Just drag it to it.

Let me know when you have done that.
 

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Hmm, I cannot get to my normal switch home screen at all. I either get black screen, or ReiNX graphic which freezes on the above error.

On TegraRCMGUI, it shows RCM OK when my switch is showing a black screen and I plug in the USB.
 
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Hmm, I cannot get to my normal switch home screen at all. I either get black screen, or ReiNX graphic which freezes on the above error.

On TegraRCMGUI, it shows RCM OK when my switch is showing a black screen and I plug in the USB.
You need to download hekate from the hekate thread and send that. Or sxos. Anything to get you to your home screen.
 

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Ok sent Hekate and switch booted it. I selected Reboot (Normal) but just went black and nothing. LED on mod went solid red. Was the normal home screen supposed to boot?

I just found the sdsetup.com site and was building an SD zip with everything on it. Figured I'd learn the SD folder structure with it all on there for me.

Not sure which firmware or loader is preferred atm.

Also noticed if I try to do any of the backups in hekate, I get in red Failed to init eMMC.

Oddly enough I can't get back into Hakate now, TCM GUI says payload injected, but screen just stays black now...ugh..This is after I tried sending sxloader.bin.
 
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Ok sent Hekate and switch booted it. I selected Reboot (Normal) but just went black and nothing. LED on mod went solid red. Was the normal home screen supposed to boot?

I just found the sdsetup.com site and was building an SD zip with everything on it. Figured I'd learn the SD folder structure with it all on there for me.

Not sure which firmware or loader is preferred atm.

Also noticed if I try to do any of the backups in hekate, I get in red Failed to init eMMC.

Oddly enough I can't get back into Hakate now, TCM GUI says payload injected, but screen just stays black now...ugh..This is after I tried sending sxloader.bin.

No.
Eject SD card
Send Hekate
Just go to launch. You may get an error about SD card. Press power again to continue with a default boot.

Once in home screen let me know
 

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it might be worth adding this to OP to get more visibility.
im guessing you think can fix via software rather than any changes to soldering points?
You are right.

I didn't want to add to OP just in case it didn't work. Don't want to fragment things further.

If it works, I can implement the changes for all downloads
 
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Since the team rebug modchip seems to be on back order..what would you guys say is the next easiest chip that I can flash and install in my system? Preferably one I can pick up from Amazon

Also how would I than update the payloads on that chip? Does it still read from the SD card ?
 
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Since the team rebug modchip seems to be on back order..what would you guys say is the next easiest chip that I can flash and install in my system? Preferably one I can pick up from Amazon

Also how would I than update the payloads on that chip? Does it still read from the SD card ?
Trinket / Gemma / itsybitsy / exen mini.

All are SAMD based. All work in a similar way
 
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Correct. Just follow the op :)
Of course! Just wanted to double check. Always better to ask stupid questions instead of making stupid mistakes!

Have you thought about adding the SX Pro to the OP? That has been documented on how to be installed internally as well
 

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