Hacking Question AutoRCM Brick?

[Ethan Pister]

Quite a few months ago, I decided to dabble around in hacking my switch. I was able to access Hekate, and I figured I'd turn on AutoRCM so I didn't have to mess around with the joycon jig anymore. What an awful decision - I can't seem to get my switch into RCM at all, and the switch shows no signs of life. When I dock the switch, the dock LED briefly lights up green, but that's it.

After hours of trying, TegraRCMGUI still won't detect the system, and I haven't seen the APX device notification appear on my laptop. Any ideas? What am I doing wrong?

 

[Fuzzy-v]

Did you let it sit for a few months without charging? When left in RCM mode, the switch looks off but it slowly depletes battery.

Plug it directly into the charger for a few hours. Not in the dock.

 

[Lacius]

1. Press the Power button once
2. Press and hold the Power button for 12 seconds
3. Either plug the Switch into your computer via USB or the dock while the dock is connected to the charger
4. Wait about 30 minutes to an hour
5. Try sending a payload such as Hekate. If it succeeds, use Hekate's "Power Off" function and keep the console plugged in so it can continue charging at a faster rate. If the payload did not work, try charging the console for longer or charge it elsewhere

Pulled from this guide: https://gbatemp.net/threads/autorcm-with-the-nintendo-switch-101.515402/

 

[Ethan Pister]

Leave the Switch plugged into your computer. It will trickle charge slowly, and you will eventually be able to run a payload like Hekate. Once you're in Hekate, it will charge at a normal speed.

My tech knowledge isn't very deep, but I don't think power is the issue here. My switch was fully charged when I turned it off, and tried to turn it on again on my PC.

I did some more looking around, and apparently, some people have had similar issues if they tried booting into RCM on a different computer. I recently reset my laptop - could that be the culprit?

 

[M7L7NK7]

autoRCM = brick

 

[Lacius]

My tech knowledge isn't very deep, but I don't think power is the issue here. My switch was fully charged when I turned it off, and tried to turn it on again on my PC.

I did some more looking around, and apparently, some people have had similar issues if they tried booting into RCM on a different computer. I recently reset my laptop - could that be the culprit?

RCM drains the battery, and RCM looks outwardly like a Switch that's powered off. A dead battery is likely the problem. See the steps above in my edited post.

Edit: Forgive me. I was on my phone before and missed part of your post. Check if you can reinstall the drivers with Zadig. You are correct that this could be your problem.

 

[Ethan Pister]

RCM drains the battery, and RCM looks outwardly like a Switch that's powered off. A dead battery is likely the problem. See the steps above in my edited post.

Edit: Forgive me. I was on my phone before and missed part of your post. Check if you can reinstall the drivers with Zadig. You are correct that this could be your problem.

I've been trying everything, but I feel like I'm a bit useless here. I'm not sure how to install the drivers - I'm not even sure what drivers to install. My apologies for being a little thick here.

 

[Lacius]

I've been trying everything, but I feel like I'm a bit useless here. I'm not sure how to install the drivers - I'm not even sure what drivers to install. My apologies for being a little thick here.

Follow the instructions under Driver Setup:
https://github.com/rajkosto/TegraRcmSmash

This works with TegraRcmGUI, too.

 

[Ethan Pister]

Follow the instructions under Driver Setup:

This works with TegraRcmGUI, too.

So I was rightly confused - as I said earlier, my laptop won't even recognize my switch being plugged in as an APX device. Or to any extent at all. My switch may as well be a daisy shoved into the USB port, according to my laptop. And so, unfortunately I can't install the drivers.

 

[Lacius]

So I was rightly confused - as I said earlier, my laptop won't even recognize my switch being plugged in as an APX device. Or to any extent at all. My switch may as well be a daisy shoved into the USB port, according to my laptop. And so, unfortunately I can't install the drivers.

The battery might have been drained, and it's going to trickle charge. Do that for an hour or so and try again. Follow my steps above, using your computer as the power source.

 

[stephrk398]

 

[Kafluke]

Early in the autoRCM days when you shut it off, it would turn back on in RCM and would slowly but surely deplete the battery completely. Let it charge overnight (plugged directly into charger, not dock) then try again.

 

[Ethan Pister]

The battery might have been drained, and it's going to trickle charge. Do that for an hour or so and try again. Follow my steps above, using your computer as the power source.

I'll give it a shot, I'm charging it right now. Hopefully this won't end with me acquiring a $300 paperweight. And thank you, stephrk398. Some comedic relief never hurt anyone.

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

Early in the autoRCM days when you shut it off, it would turn back on in RCM and would slowly but surely deplete the battery completely. Let it charge overnight (plugged directly into charger, not dock) then try again.

The thing is I immediately tried connecting the switch after turning it off as one normally would. The switch was at 100% battery. I don't see how RCM could have drained the battery from 100 to 0 in such a quick time span. I never felt any significant heat coming from the battery...

 

[Lacius]

I'll give it a shot, I'm charging it right now. Hopefully this won't end with me acquiring a $300 paperweight. And thank you, stephrk398. Some comedic relief never hurt anyone.

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


The thing is I immediately tried connecting the switch after turning it off as one normally would. The switch was at 100% battery. I don't see how RCM could have drained the battery from 100 to 0 in such a quick time span. I never felt any significant heat coming from the battery...

When a Switch is left in RCM and the battery drains, it won't report that drain properly. In other words, it could have been saying 99% charged but was actually dying.

Your timeline of events is ambiguous, so I can't tell you exactly what happened. It sounds like a battery drain though, and it's easily fixable with a little patience.

With AutoRCM, the Switch should always be kept on sleep mode and docked when not being used.

 

[EDMIRE]

I'll give it a shot, I'm charging it right now. Hopefully this won't end with me acquiring a $300 paperweight. And thank you, stephrk398. Some comedic relief never hurt anyone.

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


The thing is I immediately tried connecting the switch after turning it off as one normally would. The switch was at 100% battery. I don't see how RCM could have drained the battery from 100 to 0 in such a quick time span. I never felt any significant heat coming from the battery...

When the switch is in RCM mode after cutting it off, it appears as though it's off, but it's actually still on. Although there's no software running to drain the battery, it's still on in general and the battery will still drain.

 

[Ethan Pister]

When a Switch is left in RCM and the battery drains, it won't report that drain properly. In other words, it could have been saying 99% charged but was actually dying.

Your timeline of events is ambiguous, so I can't tell you exactly what happened. It sounds like a battery drain though, and it's easily fixable with a little patience.

With AutoRCM, the Switch should always be kept on sleep mode and docked when not being used.

My console was always on sleep mode and docked. I had been using the switch normally for a couple months. As I was about to power down the switch (through Horizon, by holding the power button and selecting power down on the touch screen), Horizon stated the console was at 100% charge, as it had just been charging on the dock.

This morning I tried again. My switch was plugged into the AC adapter for about 9 hours. Plugged it into my laptop, and I didn't receive any notification (such as 'APX device detected'), the switch doesn't show up in devices & printers, Zadig doesn't detect the system, and I assume neither does TegraRCM, as it still states No Rcm Detectected. This all remains true when I fiddle around with power button combinations (power + volume up doesn't do anything either).

Any other suggestions?

 

[eyeliner]

Press the power button for a minute with the console directly connected to your laptop until you hear the USB ding.

Also, might your Switch be an IPatched unit?

If so, sell it for parts.

 

[Lacius]

My console was always on sleep mode and docked. I had been using the switch normally for a couple months. As I was about to power down the switch (through Horizon, by holding the power button and selecting power down on the touch screen), Horizon stated the console was at 100% charge, as it had just been charging on the dock.

This morning I tried again. My switch was plugged into the AC adapter for about 9 hours. Plugged it into my laptop, and I didn't receive any notification (such as 'APX device detected'), the switch doesn't show up in devices & printers, Zadig doesn't detect the system, and I assume neither does TegraRCM, as it still states No Rcm Detectected. This all remains true when I fiddle around with power button combinations (power + volume up doesn't do anything either).

Any other suggestions?

When you go to List All Devices in Zadig, did APX show up there? Did you run TegraRcmGUI as an administrator?

 

[Hayato213]

My console was always on sleep mode and docked. I had been using the switch normally for a couple months. As I was about to power down the switch (through Horizon, by holding the power button and selecting power down on the touch screen), Horizon stated the console was at 100% charge, as it had just been charging on the dock.

This morning I tried again. My switch was plugged into the AC adapter for about 9 hours. Plugged it into my laptop, and I didn't receive any notification (such as 'APX device detected'), the switch doesn't show up in devices & printers, Zadig doesn't detect the system, and I assume neither does TegraRCM, as it still states No Rcm Detectected. This all remains true when I fiddle around with power button combinations (power + volume up doesn't do anything either).

Any other suggestions?

Have you try to reseat the battery?

 

[Lacius]

Press the power button for a minute with the console directly connected to your laptop until you hear the USB ding.

Also, might your Switch be an IPatched unit?

If so, sell it for parts.

It's not ipatched, and if it were, RCM would still be recognized.