Banned Switch HOS unsupported

[neko_koneko]

Hello,

So I have a banned OG Switch that I decided to use soley for offline play. The way the console was banned is that somehow, Tinfoil found itself onto my sysNAND, I believe, and when I tried to open Tinfoil after I was banned, it said that the data on the microSD card was corrupt. Now, from the Hekate menu, when I launch into stock, etc., I get the HOS not supported error. I assume this means that, because I updated to the latest OFW, the versions of Hekate and Atmosphere are no longer compatible.

Now my question is, how can I start from the ground up with the CFW, or update Hekate and Atmosphere so that homebrew apps and game backups would be able to run again? I have experience with the HATS pack. Will that be fine to use?

Another question I have is, as long as I don't mind no online play, since this console is already banned, is it kind of a positive thing in that there is less hassle and concern over trying to make sure CFW files stay off the sysNAND? Is it easier to play around with CFW now, in other words? How do I handle the sysMMC and emuMCC from here on out?

I appreciate the help!

 

[thesjaakspoiler]

Just get the latest HATS package to see if that solves your problem.
The latest hekate/atmosphere version should be able to deal with the latest ofw.

If you can get hekate started, then just follow some guide to set up an emummc.
That way the CFW will just ignore the sysNAND completely.
The easiest is to use an image based emummc, then you don't need to bother about making a partition on the sd card.
But even a partition based emummc is not that hard if you just follow one of the guides.

Remember to get the latest sigpatches as well to avoid any other errors.

 

[neko_koneko]

Thank you. I will try this out.
I have one more question that doesn't make sense to me. So, on a modded, unbanned Switch, if I launch into sysMMC ,or stock, can I play online there? I know not to go online while booted into emuMMC. Also, if I have played online with a game cart or legit digital game on a modded Switch while in sysMMC, and I want to transfer that game save that I went online on to a clean unmodded Switch, will that be safe? How would I do that if I am not able to use jksv, or any other transfer tool, on an unmodded Switch? I hope this is clear.

Post automatically merged: Jul 29, 2024

Just get the latest HATS package to see if that solves your problem.
The latest hekate/atmosphere version should be able to deal with the latest ofw.

If you can get hekate started, then just follow some guide to set up an emummc.
That way the CFW will just ignore the sysNAND completely.
The easiest is to use an image based emummc, then you don't need to bother about making a partition on the sd card.
But even a partition based emummc is not that hard if you just follow one of the guides.

Remember to get the latest sigpatches as well to avoid any other errors.

Thank you. I will try this out.
I have one more question that doesn't make sense to me. So, on a modded, unbanned Switch, if I launch into sysMMC ,or stock, can I play online there? I know not to go online while booted into emuMMC. Also, if I have played online with a game cart or legit digital game on a modded Switch while in sysMMC, and I want to transfer that game save that I went online on to a clean unmodded Switch, will that be safe? How would I do that if I am not able to use jksv, or any other transfer tool, on an unmodded Switch? I hope this is clear.

 

[Blythe93]

I have experience with the HATS pack. Will that be fine to use?

HATS pack probably has more stuff than you actually need. Instead of using those packs, I'd suggest that you just update Atmosphere and Hekate first from their official repositories and see if that will fix your boot problems. Can you even boot into sysMMC without SD card inserted?

Tinfoil found itself onto my sysNAND, I believe, and when I tried to open Tinfoil after I was banned, it said that the data on the microSD card was corrupt.

For installing game backups I'd highly suggest using DBI instead. I've personally never had any issues with it ever since I hacked my Switch.

Another question I have is, as long as I don't mind no online play, since this console is already banned, is it kind of a positive thing in that there is less hassle and concern over trying to make sure CFW files stay off the sysNAND?

Kinda. It's still advisable to block Nintendo servers with either 90DNS or DNSMITM in order to block accidental firmware updates since banned consoles can be updated the official way. Other than that, I guess you can use CFW on sysNAND if that's what you want to do. Writing to sysNAND might wear it down over time I believe, resulting in console failure a bit sooner than if you've used emuNAND only instead. I'm not sure how many writes it can take before it goes bad.

So, on a modded, unbanned Switch, if I launch into sysMMC ,or stock, can I play online there?

If you've booted into stock firmware, yes, you can play online there as long as you sysMMC is clean (e.g. you've never installed pirated game onto it, homebrew forwarder or similar). Semi-stock is also an option, but I'm not 100% sure what's safe to use in that case (probably something like 60fps mods on offline games).

Also, if I have played online with a game cart or legit digital game on a modded Switch while in sysMMC, and I want to transfer that game save that I went online on to a clean unmodded Switch, will that be safe?

As long as you haven't modified those saves, used cheats or similar, I believe that it's safe.

How would I do that if I am not able to use jksv, or any other transfer tool, on an unmodded Switch? I hope this is clear.

Switch has its own save transfer tool if you go into System Settings > Data Management > Transfer Your Save Data. Note that save data can only be transferred between users that are linked to the same Nintendo Account. Some games, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons have their own official save transfer tool i.e. Island Transfer Tool. Uploading your save file to the Save Cloud is also an option, but I believe it requires an active online subscription.

 

[neko_koneko]

HATS pack probably has more stuff than you actually need. Instead of using those packs, I'd suggest that you just update Atmosphere and Hekate first from their official repositories and see if that will fix your boot problems. Can you even boot into sysMMC without SD card inserted?


For installing game backups I'd highly suggest using DBI instead. I've personally never had any issues with it ever since I hacked my Switch.


Kinda. It's still advisable to block Nintendo servers with either 90DNS or DNSMITM in order to block accidental firmware updates since banned consoles can be updated the official way. Other than that, I guess you can use CFW on sysNAND if that's what you want to do. Writing to sysNAND might wear it down over time I believe, resulting in console failure a bit sooner than if you've used emuNAND only instead. I'm not sure how many writes it can take before it goes bad.


If you've booted into stock firmware, yes, you can play online there as long as you sysMMC is clean (e.g. you've never installed pirated game onto it, homebrew forwarder or similar). Semi-stock is also an option, but I'm not 100% sure what's safe to use in that case (probably something like 60fps mods on offline games).


As long as you haven't modified those saves, used cheats or similar, I believe that it's safe.


Switch has its own save transfer tool if you go into System Settings > Data Management > Transfer Your Save Data. Note that save data can only be transferred between users that are linked to the same Nintendo Account. Some games, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons have their own official save transfer tool i.e. Island Transfer Tool. Uploading your save file to the Save Cloud is also an option, but I believe it requires an active online subscription.

Thanks for all of the information.

For save data, would I use jksv to backup my save that is on my modded, banned Switch? I assume that I won't be able to use Nintendo's transfer save data option in system settings on my banned Switch. I may be wrong, though. How would I restore the save to the clean, unmodded Switch?

 

[Blythe93]

For save data, would I use jksv to backup my save that is on my modded, banned Switch?

That you can do, yes. However, you won't be able to restore it on your unmodded Switch.

I assume that I won't be able to use Nintendo's transfer save data option in system settings on my banned Switch. I may be wrong, though.

Transfer Your Save Data option requires that both consoles are connected the same network and, as far as I know, it doesn't matter if one of the consoles is banned or not. Not sure if there's a risk of getting your unbanned console banned, but as far as I know, it should be OK unless you've modified your save file. You'll also need have the same NNID linked on both consoles. Note that once you transfer your save it'll be removed on the banned console automatically.

 

[neko_koneko]

That you can do, yes. However, you won't be able to restore it on your unmodded Switch.


Transfer Your Save Data option requires that both consoles are connected the same network and, as far as I know, it doesn't matter if one of the consoles is banned or not. Not sure if there's a risk of getting your unbanned console banned, but as far as I know, it should be OK unless you've modified your save file. You'll also need have the same NNID linked on both consoles. Note that once you transfer your save it'll be removed on the banned console automatically.

Ok. Would this require internet connection? The banned Switch is unable to use online.

So, both consoles have to be connected to the same wifi network? Or have the same NNID?

 

[Blythe93]

Ok. Would this require internet connection? The banned Switch is unable to use online.

As far as I know, it doesn't require an active Internet connection as it has some sort of wireless ad hoc network. I could be wrong about technical side of the things, but it should work without connecting to the Internet.

The banned Switch is unable to use online.

Banned Switch can connect to the Internet, it's only the eShop access and stuff like that that's restricted.

So, both consoles have to be connected to the same wifi network? Or have the same NNID?

I'm not sure if the WiFi network is required at all, but definitely the same NNID on both consoles must be set. Note that the save file one the console that you're transferring from will be removed upon successful transfer, and the save file on the consle that you're transferring to will be overwritten if exists.

 

[neko_koneko]

Just get the latest HATS package to see if that solves your problem.
The latest hekate/atmosphere version should be able to deal with the latest ofw.

If you can get hekate started, then just follow some guide to set up an emummc.
That way the CFW will just ignore the sysNAND completely.
The easiest is to use an image based emummc, then you don't need to bother about making a partition on the sd card.
But even a partition based emummc is not that hard if you just follow one of the guides.

Remember to get the latest sigpatches as well to avoid any other errors.

I believe I already have an emuMCC, but if you recommend I create another, I will. Also, how can I check if my current emuMCC is image based or not? If it isn't image based, is partion based fine, too?

And for sigpatches, how can I see if they are up to date?

Post automatically merged: Aug 3, 2024

HATS pack probably has more stuff than you actually need. Instead of using those packs, I'd suggest that you just update Atmosphere and Hekate first from their official repositories and see if that will fix your boot problems. Can you even boot into sysMMC without SD card inserted?


For installing game backups I'd highly suggest using DBI instead. I've personally never had any issues with it ever since I hacked my Switch.


Kinda. It's still advisable to block Nintendo servers with either 90DNS or DNSMITM in order to block accidental firmware updates since banned consoles can be updated the official way. Other than that, I guess you can use CFW on sysNAND if that's what you want to do. Writing to sysNAND might wear it down over time I believe, resulting in console failure a bit sooner than if you've used emuNAND only instead. I'm not sure how many writes it can take before it goes bad.


If you've booted into stock firmware, yes, you can play online there as long as you sysMMC is clean (e.g. you've never installed pirated game onto it, homebrew forwarder or similar). Semi-stock is also an option, but I'm not 100% sure what's safe to use in that case (probably something like 60fps mods on offline games).


As long as you haven't modified those saves, used cheats or similar, I believe that it's safe.


Switch has its own save transfer tool if you go into System Settings > Data Management > Transfer Your Save Data. Note that save data can only be transferred between users that are linked to the same Nintendo Account. Some games, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons have their own official save transfer tool i.e. Island Transfer Tool. Uploading your save file to the Save Cloud is also an option, but I believe it requires an active online subscription.

I've always used CFW on emuNAND. So, I guess that's the only option I will use from the Hekate launch menu from now on. As for firnware updates, does turning off auto updates in settings help in anyway? Would I still need 90DNS or DNSMITM? I have also heard of the Atmosphere redirect tool. Is that a better option than 90DNS?

 

[Blythe93]

Also, how can I check if my current emuMCC is image based or not?

If you connect your SD card to the PC and if you get a prompt that a certain partition needs to be formatted, you have a hidden partition emuMMC.
If you don't get prompt, you can check via Disk Management if your SD card has a hidden image partition.
Otherwise, if you see files like BOOT0, BOOT1, 00, 01,... in your emuMMC/.../eMMC folder, you have a file-based emuMMC.

If it isn't image based, is partion based fine, too?

Partition-based emuMMC is less prone to corruption, while file-based emuMMC is easier to make a backup of in case you ever need to move to another (bigger) SD card.

As for firnware updates, does turning off auto updates in settings help in anyway? Would I still need 90DNS or DNSMITM?

Yes to both. In case that 90DNS or DNSMITM stop working for some reason (very unlikely), your console will connect to the Nintendo servers and download the latest updates. With auto update turned off, it will at least delay the update until you tell the console to update itself. That way you can still remove the updates before they are installed and check if there's something wrong with the way 90DNS or DNSMITM is setup in order to fix it before you proceed.

I have also heard of the Atmosphere redirect tool. Is that a better option than 90DNS?

I personally use DNS MITM only, but it doesn't hurt to use both. They both do the same thing, blocking your console from connecting to the Nintendo servers.

90DNS relies on an external servers which may go down sometime in the future (unlikely, as it's led by reputable members of the Switch hacking community) and does not retain when switching conenctions, meaning that you have to set it up for each and every new connection you connect to.

DNS MITM relies on your console to know everything it needs to block and you have a control over what gets blocked, and it remains active for each and every connection you connect to afterwards. However, you'll need to maintain the blocklist, which shouldn't be a problem as I'm yet to see a new domain/pattern that needs to be blocked.

 

[neko_koneko]

If you connect your SD card to the PC and if you get a prompt that a certain partition needs to be formatted, you have a hidden partition emuMMC.
If you don't get prompt, you can check via Disk Management if your SD card has a hidden image partition.
Otherwise, if you see files like BOOT0, BOOT1, 00, 01,... in your emuMMC/.../eMMC folder, you have a file-based emuMMC.


Partition-based emuMMC is less prone to corruption, while file-based emuMMC is easier to make a backup of in case you ever need to move to another (bigger) SD card.


Yes to both. In case that 90DNS or DNSMITM stop working for some reason (very unlikely), your console will connect to the Nintendo servers and download the latest updates. With auto update turned off, it will at least delay the update until you tell the console to update itself. That way you can still remove the updates before they are installed and check if there's something wrong with the way 90DNS or DNSMITM is setup in order to fix it before you proceed.


I personally use DNS MITM only, but it doesn't hurt to use both. They both do the same thing, blocking your console from connecting to the Nintendo servers.

90DNS relies on an external servers which may go down sometime in the future (unlikely, as it's led by reputable members of the Switch hacking community) and does not retain when switching conenctions, meaning that you have to set it up for each and every new connection you connect to.

DNS MITM relies on your console to know everything it needs to block and you have a control over what gets blocked, and it remains active for each and every connection you connect to afterwards. However, you'll need to maintain the blocklist, which shouldn't be a problem as I'm yet to see a new domain/pattern that needs to be blocked.

I see. Is file-based and image based the same thing?

As far as 90DNS, DNSMITM, etc., I came across a guide with how to set them up. Including the redirect tool. Is this good to follow?
https://switch.hacks.guide/extras/blocking_nintendo/

 

[Blythe93]

I see. Is file-based and image based the same thing?

Unless I'm mistaken, image-based is the partition-based? If so, then they are different for the reasons I've previously mentioned.

As far as 90DNS, DNSMITM, etc., I came across a guide with how to set them up. Including the redirect tool. Is this good to follow?

Yep. NH Switch guide was recently updated so I guess that info posted there is up-to-date as well. I've used their guide in order to mod my Switches and they were pretty elaborate. I've also checked Rentry guide as well as good old Switch Homebrew guide that is now defunct.