Hacking Are we setting ourselves up for the first Switch banwaves?

[Deleted User]

If you don't go online then they won't detect you... and here's the problem, you want to use their online services with games you do not legally (debatable but you get my point) own. I'm not worried about Nintendo detecting the current entry, I find it unlikely that Nintendo will ban users for this. But, there will be other opportunities for Nintendo to detect evil do-ers on their online services.

Once people start running custom firmware, unlicensed applications and play copied games online you can bet your life on it that Nintendo has ways to detect it. Yes, every pirate is setting themselves up to be banned. This has always been the nature of the game and always will be. The question is not 'is it going to happen?' the question is 'when will the banwave happen?' and 'are you going to get caught up in it?'. Users can only minimize the risk of being banned but there's no way to make it 0%.

Not getting banned starts with avoiding obvious stupid stuff like going online before a game has launched (Pokemon Sun/Moon), editing your save file to make impossible stuff happen (Fire Emblem Fates) or running custom applications while being connected to official servers (the PS3 scene). There will always be people who don't learn from history and they are doomed to repeat it, just make sure that you're not one of them and you'll be fine for the most part.

 

[the_randomizer]

Or, don't go online and cheat and you won't get banned?

 

[Deathscreton]

I'm sorry, are we talking about CFW risks of being banned, or the exploit? Cause f0f confirmed that the exploit is undetectable.

 

[MaverickWellington]

This is Nintendo we're talking about here, a company that has learned jack shit from the Xbox 360, Wii, WiiU, PSP, DS, and 3DS. All they can detect is software that modifies the original OS, so running Linux or whatever won't get you banned, but if you were to, say, install some homebrew or custom firmware, then absolutely yes, banning is a possibility, but right now, no, there's no way they can tell you're running Linux or something on your Switch.

To clarify, if you're installing programs in the linux partition and dicking around on that, you're totally 100% fine. If you're installing programs to the Switch's OS and playing them, such as the IODoom 3 port, then you run the risk of getting banned for running modified software. I can't tell you that you absolutely will get banned for running it, nor can I tell you that you cannot be banned for running it, but I absolutely can tell you that you can get banned if you are modifying the Switch's OS to do things not intended by Nintendo.

 

[RHOPKINS13]

If you don't go online then they won't detect you... and here's the problem, you want to use their online services with games you do not legally (debatable but you get my point) own. I'm not worried about Nintendo detecting the current entry, I find it unlikely that Nintendo will ban users for this. But, there will be other opportunities for Nintendo to detect evil do-ers on their online services.

Once people start running custom firmware, unlicensed applications and play copied games online you can bet your life on it that Nintendo has ways to detect it. Yes, every pirate is setting themselves up to be banned. This has always been the nature of the game and always will be. The question is not 'is it going to happen?' the question is 'when will the banwave happen?' and 'are you going to get caught up in it?'. Users can only minimize the risk of being banned but there's no way to make it 0%.

Not getting banned starts with avoiding obvious stupid stuff like going online before a game has launched (Pokemon Sun/Moon), editing your save file to make impossible stuff happen (Fire Emblem Fates) or running custom applications while being connected to official servers (the PS3 scene). There will always be people who don't learn from history and they are doomed to repeat it, just make sure that you're not one of them and you'll be fine for the most part.

I'm not really concerned with piracy, I just see a potential where even running the simplest of payloads we are now could be detected and we could get banned for it.

Hasn't always been the nature of the game. Pirates never got banned on Wii or DS, unless they were using crazy game cheats that ruined the experience for other players. Even then, some people got away with it way longer than they should have. MarioKart Wii used to be practically unplayable online because of it.

Or, don't go online and cheat and you won't get banned?

Don't necessarily have to cheat to get banned. I have a feeling most of the people caught in the 3DS banwaves were pirates, but not cheaters. And when they banned people on Xbox Live for the Xbox 360, they used to do it by detecting that the DVD drive firmware had been flashed, allowing for burned discs to be played.

 

[subcon959]

I'm sorry, are we talking about CFW risks of being banned, or the exploit? Cause f0f confirmed that the exploit is undetectable.

I feel that anything that happens once Horizon is loaded is a candidate for detection.

 

[Deathscreton]

I feel that anything that happens once Horizon is loaded is a candidate for detection.

I realize that, but the thread kinda departed from "will leaving in the exploit get me banned" to "cfw will get you banned". I think most of us understand the risk of going online with a console that's sporting CFW. That's not to say that it will happen. ReSwitched are talented individuals. If anyone can find a software based method of avoiding being detected online, it's those guys.

 

[McWhiters9511]

personally, i bet nintendo is just waiting for a ban wave. typical and old advice but, wait and see. thats what im gonna do.

 

[dubbz82]

Or, don't go online and cheat and you won't get banned?

That's not how it always works...MS was able to "see" flashed disc drives on some of the 360 systems for example. Cheating isn't the only thing they can ban for. Nintendo has historically been a bit more leaniant but that's subject to change without notice. No one knows what they can/will check for, and it's entirely possible that their checks may very well involve things unrelated to cheating online.

 

[Deleted User]

Hasn't always been the nature of the game. Pirates never got banned on Wii or DS, unless they were using crazy game cheats that ruined the experience for other players. Even then, some people got away with it way longer than they should have. MarioKart Wii used to be practically unplayable online because of it.

Before that you had people cheating in PSO Episode 1 & 2 on the gamecube / xbox and yes people got banned there for doing that.

Maybe you believe that the Wii/DS days will come back but you'd be fooling yourself.

 

[TheSynthax]

Pin 10 is basically a "Home" button of the Switch itself, NOT of the Right JoyCon. So yes they could potentially look out for a constantly pressed Switch-Home button and then ban you that way since said button doesn't physically exist on the console and can never "accidentally" be pressed.

There are better ways to detect hacked consoles, like the way Microsoft does it.

 

[Paulsar99]

Don't care if I get banned. It's the price I'm willing to take for homebrew, emulators, and free games.

 

[Viri]

Or, don't go online and cheat and you won't get banned?

They banned players with Gateway carts too. They also banned people who forgot to turn off their game time line progress.

 

[Youkosnake]

Here's the thing with that? What if, say, someone works in the construction industry and comes home covered in metal shavings one day happens to accidentally get said shavings in their switch?

 

[TheCyberQuake]

Here's the thing with that? What if, say, someone works in the construction industry and comes home covered in metal shavings one day happens to accidentally get said shavings in their switch?

That's a massive stretch. First off, if you are covered in metal shavings enough to get into a switch, you should be more concerned about the health problems for things like your lungs, not your switch getting banned.
Secondly, if you are covered in metal shavings you should probably shower before playing with your switch.
And finally, the amount of metal shavings that would need to fall into the joycon rail would be infeasibly high for it to actually cause that. Like most of it would just be stuck to you or have already fallen off by the time you get to your switch.

 

[Apache Thunder]

It's doubtful using the exploit on it's own could get a console flagged in Nintendo's system to be banned. But here's some things that are obvious no-no's and could get your console banned:

1. Using any sort of freeshop like homebrew to download games from Nintendo's servers. This time around a console unique cert is required to access Switch CDN from what I've heard. So obviously they can log unusual download requests and see what console was used to download them. Even if you download games you own. SInce you are not using Nintendo's official software the way the download requests occur on their servers would be different from official means. I don't know exactly how Switch's CDN works though but if it does require a console unique cert of some kind to use it....don't. Just don't. It's going to be one quick way to a ban.

2. Using online features of a game you do not own. Presumably via TX's new CFW thing they will soon release. This hasn't occurred really with 3DS that much (aside from obvious instances like using leaked copies of Pokemon games online before they reach the street date and with using "public headers" of 3DS roms booted off slot-1 devices) but that doesn't mean they won't start checking for this more on Switch if piracy starts to occur on the console. Also TX's CFW seems to use card slot to fake install a game for you to place (I guess they couldn't be bothered to allow proper piracy of digital copies of games?). Cart security is even better on Switch and I'm sure there's something akin to the unique headers each cart has that would be used to identify them online. If pirated copies of cart roms start going online, Nintendo will certainly spot them and ban the consoles that used them just like with the thing with public headers being detected with people using cart roms from slot-1 flashcarts on 3DS.

3. Using modified copies of games you own online. Especially in a way that would be considered cheating like trying to hack Splatoon 2. Since such methods require modding the console, this could give Nintendo reason to ban the console. Modifying game saves would also fall under this since it's normally impossible to modify a game's save outside of the original software that's using it due to saves only being on internal NAND this time around.

It should be pretty obvious what things you could do to avoid getting a RCM modded console banned.

 

[the_randomizer]

They banned players with Gateway carts too. They also banned people who forgot to turn off their game time line progress.

I never got banned for going online on the Wii U with a modded console *shrug*

 

[Viri]

I never got banned for going online on the Wii U with a modded console *shrug*

Nintendo didn't give a fuck about the Wii-U, hence they they took ages to even release a firmware that fixed hax. I was more talking about the 3DS.

 

[the_randomizer]

Nintendo didn't give a fuck about the Wii-U, hence they they took ages to even release a firmware that fixed hax. I was more talking about the 3DS.

I only used my 3DS to install CFW and CIA files, I never played online lol.

 

[Viri]

I only used my 3DS to install CFW and CIA files, I never played online lol.

Yuh, same, but I never got banned. http://www.desinerd.co.in/howto-avoid-nintendo-3ds-ban-wave-002-0102-cfw/

Turn off “send information about the console to Nintendo”

This is what got people banned. Some people claimed they had it off in the first place, but an update put it on by default. If I recall, this is what got people banned. I always kept it off, because, like fucking hell am I going to allow Nintendo to spy on my 3DS!