Hacking AutoRCM with the Nintendo Switch 101

[OkazakiTheOtaku]

Ah okay, that is fine. I don't have a dongle so I can't test that. This thread is for those of us who don't have a hardmod. Thank you for the clarification. I mentioned this point in the Disclaimer btw

That's not really relevant, it isn't a hardmod. It's a small linux computer that just is a substitute for a PC or phone. It isn't permanently connected the Switch or whatever, like a Trinket or Arduino.

I just tested, and the exact same thing happens with my macOS Fusee Launcher running on a regular PC.

 

[loler55]

Are you charging the console after doing so? Are you using any dongle? I can easily test this by letting my console drain battery but I've seen it reboot into RCM when I press Power Off from Horizon. In fact, that is how I am able to send SX Loader without touching the Power button or reconnecting the USB cable. The only other explanation would be that the USB connection reboots the console into RCM but this is untrue with Hekate's Power Off option no matter how long I keep it plugged in.
Try powering it off without your license. That is the only part I cannot reproduce. Also all testing is done without any hardmods so do not use those either. Lastly, it reboots into RCM after around 10-15 seconds so wait at least a minute before you're confident it didn't reboot.
RajNX is literally just Hekate with Atmosphere's IPS patches. I admit I didn't try it in my initial testing but just like every other CFW/bootloader, the console rebooted into RCM after 10-15 seconds. However now I am testing to see if there is any battery drain meaning it was in RCM the whole time. Its possible your phone wasn't detecting the console in RCM at first possibly due to not waiting at least a minute before touching the power button. I'd also recommend using a Windows computer.
I agree with the first part but the second option, the manual shut down from Horizon won't turn off the console. The manual shutdown in RCM is reserved for the dongle/cable-less and its easy to get to without performing a manual shutdown in Horizon. Either use the Restart function or the new EasyPower homebrew which will both cause the console to reboot into RCM almost instantaneously.

ok now i realise its ever on...
only complete of when i hold power 12 sec in rcm and my pc is conectet when i unplug the usb cable it goes into rcm... lol
now i use standby mode and plug my charger

 

[Draxzelex]

That's not really relevant, it isn't a hardmod. It's a small linux computer that just is a substitute for a PC or phone. It isn't permanently connected the Switch or whatever, like a Trinket or Arduino.

I just tested, and the exact same thing happens with my macOS Fusee Launcher running on a regular PC.

In both instances, you're sending the payload with a non-Windows OS so its possible the launcher is the difference here. I unfortunately do not have a Linux or MacOS to test this with but I can perform a battery drain test with Power Off from Horizon after I finish testing battery drain with RajNX that another user mentioned earlier.

 

[mattytrog]

OP quoted...

This is already known mate.

If using autoRCM, just keep a charged payload injector (SXPRo, homemade SAMD21 dongle) plugged in for 12 seconds after shutdown.

So, everybody a reminder... Nutshell time...

If not using internal modifications...

Options:

• Don`t use autoRCM
• Fit internal SAMD device
• Keep charged payload injector plugged in after shutdown for 12 seconds
• Hard power-off - hold power for 8 seconds in Horizon until screen black

If using Hekate, powering off with payload injector attached will kick you back to Hekate menu UNLESS you set an autoboot option. In which case, the screen will flash white then will be OFF.

Oh, and plugging ANY powered USB device when switch is completely off (ie charger) will kick you straight to RCM, so you will think your console has been in RCM the whole time. It hasn`t. The switch puts itself into RCM upon any USB power. This is for autoRCM users obviously.

 

[MattKimura]

This is a great writeup, I agree with your findings. The switch does enter rcm when you power off either by the power menu or holding power button for 12 seconds. Even someone on Discord who developed an app that powers off the switch, it automatically entered rcm after a few seconds and surprised him.
For me I held the power button for 15 seconds and left it overnight, I went from 99% to 40% so all the people who kept blurting out that holding the power button for 12 seconds were false. No matter how you power off the switch FROM horizon, it will enter RCM after a few seconds.
Also that behavior where sending the sx loader payload shuts down the switch, I remember that happening to me before. Sounds like a decent method to shut it off surely.

Question: How long do you hold the power button once you're in RCM to shut it off? By far this is the most convenient way to shut it off. Restarting then holding the power button to power off from rcm. Im surprised I haven't thought of doing this.

 

[Myron49485]

This is a great writeup, I agree with your findings. The switch does enter rcm when you power off either by the power menu or holding power button for 12 seconds. Even someone on Discord who developed an app that powers off the switch, it automatically entered rcm after a few seconds and surprised him.
For me I held the power button for 15 seconds and left it overnight, I went from 99% to 40% so all the people who kept blurting out that holding the power button for 12 seconds were false. No matter how you power off the switch FROM horizon, it will enter RCM after a few seconds.
Also that behavior where sending the sx loader payload shuts down the switch, I remember that happening to me before. Sounds like a decent method to shut it off surely.

Question: How long do you hold the power button once you're in RCM to shut it off? By far this is the most convenient way to shut it off. Restarting then holding the power button to power off from rcm. Im surprised I haven't thought of doing this.

Once you're in RCM, you can shut down by holding the power button for 6 seconds (I tested this in the past by connecting my Switch to the web fusee launcher on a Mac, holding the power button and recording the time it takes for the Switch to no longer show up). However, I don't know whether it properly shuts down, or if it behaves the same was as if you held the power button for 12 seconds. Some overnight testing needs to be done.

This morning my battery was completely flat because I powered down by holding the power button for 12 seconds the night before (that was then I had the error screen, refer to edit below). I checked Hekate and it said 0 mAh. From Hekate, I shut down the Switch, then connected it to the AC charger. I held the power button for 7 seconds to make sure that it wasn't in RCM, and left it to charge. 5 hours later, I was able to boot into CWF. It was at 20% and charging normally.

I agree that holding the power button for 12 seconds does not properly shut down the Switch.
Edit: Last night when I held the power button for 12 seconds to shut down, I did it because I got an error screen. It might have caused the console to enter RCM even though I held the power button for 12 seconds, so my conclusion may not be correct.

 

[Myron49485]

Oh, and plugging ANY powered USB device when switch is completely off (ie charger) will kick you straight to RCM, so you will think your console has been in RCM the whole time. It hasn`t. The switch puts itself into RCM upon any USB power. This is for autoRCM users obviously.

The way I tell whether my Switch has been in RCM is by feeling if it's warm, or by seeing how long it takes to appear in the devices box of the web fusee launcher upon plugging it in (if it's instant, that means it's already in RCM. If it takes a few seconds then it's not). This is definitely not an accurate way though

 

[Rasa39]

I've only ever used my switch in autorcm using the method used by ChoiDujourNX, which I think uses its own version of briccmii (not sure though).
I have shutdown from horizon and I get booted to rcm when I connect to a pc or phone.
I'll let it charge fully and I will test OPs method because so far I haven't noticed any drop in battery when I've left it "turned off" from ReiNX for the day. But then again I've not been actively monitoring the battery much.

Ed:
So left it for a bit after "powered off" from ReiNX and it has dropped from 100% to 95%, I suspected to get the same result as OP but just wanted to check for consistencies sake.
Not sure what you mean @Draxzelex by this not affecting autoRCM users who have hardmods, to me that sounds like any hardmod stops this battery drain even if you use autoRCM.

I've rebooted into hekate and used the power off option there, but for me this gets detected as apx as soon as I connect it to my pc. This happens if I use hekate power off both with and without plugging it back in before powering off. So for me it looks like your method of using hekate doesn't turn off my switch.

Bit more info, I'm on 5.1 fuseless update with a reed switch hardmod (currently not using due to autorcm to prevent fuse burn)

 

[Zumoly]

I've rebooted into hekate and used the power off option there, but for me this gets detected as apx as soon as I connect it to my pc. This happens if I use hekate power off both with and without plugging it back in before powering off. So for me it looks like your method of using hekate doesn't turn off my switch.

When you turn off via Hekate, you should remove it from your PC or not plug it back because that will cause the Switch to power on again.
Also for the phone users: once you inject the payload it's preferable to remove the cable altogether then shut down. That way you will not accidentally power on the Switch.

 

[Rasa39]

When you turn off via Hekate, you should remove it from your PC or not plug it back because that will cause the Switch to power on again.
Also for the phone users: once you inject the payload it's preferable to remove the cable altogether then shut down. That way you will not accidentally power on the Switch.

Yeah I thought it would do that, but OP said that connecting to a pc after powering off in hekate would cause it to not be detected as an apx device if you actually turned it off fully. So a few things in the OP left me a bit confused.

I suppose the easiest way of knowing for sure is just to hold down the power button for 12 seconds after powering off from horizon, that shuts the console down completely and stops the autorcm loop right?

 

[Zumoly]

Yeah I thought it would do that, but OP said that connecting to a pc after powering off in hekate would cause it to not be detected as an apx device if you actually turned it off fully. So a few things in the OP left me a bit confused.

I suppose the easiest way of knowing for sure is just to hold down the power button for 12 seconds after powering off from horizon, that shuts the console down completely and stops the autorcm loop right?

Yes.
Any hard button press while in RCM is like shutting down from hekate menu. So the Switch will be fully off unless the power button is pressed or a power source is connected.

 

[Draxzelex]

Ed:
So left it for a bit after "powered off" from ReiNX and it has dropped from 100% to 95%, I suspected to get the same result as OP but just wanted to check for consistencies sake.
Not sure what you mean @Draxzelex by this not affecting autoRCM users who have hardmods, to me that sounds like any hardmod stops this battery drain even if you use autoRCM.

I've rebooted into hekate and used the power off option there, but for me this gets detected as apx as soon as I connect it to my pc. This happens if I use hekate power off both with and without plugging it back in before powering off. So for me it looks like your method of using hekate doesn't turn off my switch.

Bit more info, I'm on 5.1 fuseless update with a reed switch hardmod (currently not using due to autorcm to prevent fuse burn)

Yes.
Any hard button press while in RCM is like shutting down from hekate menu. So the Switch will be fully off unless the power button is pressed or a power source is connected.

Zumoly here is correct. If the Switch is already plugged into another device via USB connection and you perform say Hekate's Power Off option, it will not reboot into RCM unless you press Power or unplug then re-plug the USB connection. What's interesting is that the Switch was actually accepting charge in this state (it went from 55 to 75% without touching anything, just leaving it plugged in). If you're truly paranoid, you can power it off without the USB connection. I needed the USB connection however to detect if it was in RCM or not because RCM is nearly impossible to detect otherwise.

 

[subcon959]

I needed the USB connection however to detect if it was in RCM or not because RCM is nearly impossible to detect otherwise.

It's easy to tell if you have a trinket m0 installed

 

[Draxzelex]

It's easy to tell if you have a trinket m0 installed

I'm a cheap bastard, sue me

 

[subcon959]

I'm a cheap bastard, sue me

Cost isn't prohibitive as it's cheap as chips, but I wouldn't ever want to do the soldering again.

 

[cloudfe]

Oh, and plugging ANY powered USB device when switch is completely off (ie charger) will kick you straight to RCM, so you will think your console has been in RCM the whole time. It hasn`t. The switch puts itself into RCM upon any USB power. This is for autoRCM users obviously.

Does this mean that, after safely shutting down the unit (let's say, by rebooting into SX OS menu and then powering off from there) it will go back in RCM if I place the Switch in its dock?

 

[mattytrog]

Does this mean that, after safely shutting down the unit (let's say, by rebooting into SX OS menu and then powering off from there) it will go back in RCM if I place the Switch in its dock?

Yep.

 

[cloudfe]

Yep.

Well, fu*k.
I guess I'll have to remember to let it in sleep while I recharge it (until a definitive solution comes up).

Thank you for replying.

 

[Zumoly]

Does this mean that, after safely shutting down the unit (let's say, by rebooting into SX OS menu and then powering off from there) it will go back in RCM if I place the Switch in its dock?

You're better off using the charger if you want it to charge while it's off.
Simply send the payload, plug in the charger and shut it down.
But if you put it in the dock, that will cause it to reboot instead.

 

[mattytrog]

Well, fu*k.
I guess I'll have to remember to let it in sleep while I recharge it (until a definitive solution comes up).

Thank you for replying.

Only solution is to not use autoRCM. UNLESS If somebody can provide me with the PID/VID of the switch dock (USB-C side) then I have something that MAY help.

I`m away from computer and a switch dock at the moment, so can`t find it myself. And I don`t know if it is in the documentation. Not looked.