Hacking Question Battery Drain w/AutoRCM Poll & Question

[Lumince]

Update: 8-26-18 (I was typing this and hit back on my mouse..... Lost a bunch of updating stuff.... So if this is blunt, that is why)
My experience with AutoRCM was going great until I as well started having battery drain issues after turning my switch off from Horizon. This started after I put my switch into the dock and after that, my switch would just reboot into RCM mode after being powered down. To my surprise, after powering off my switch, plugging in the SX Pro Dongle would stop the switch from booting up or rebooting back into RCM mode. Which puzzled me. So as of now, my switch just stays in sleep mode

Info:

• To fully turn off your, you will need to power off via Horizon, and boot the CFW you use and hit "Power Off" in that menu. This will fully power the switch off as I have been told.
• I have also seen that holding the power button for 8 seconds or more while in horizon will trigger a force power-off (I have not tested this)

• You can charge your switch with AutoRCM installed. This requires you to charge it with the power brick that powers the dock. I have had to this already and I can say that it does work.
• Since AutoRCM corrupts the BCT (*BCT is the boot configuration table), which results in the switch not being able to charge normally while in RCM mode.
• Switch does not charge normally with AutoRCM, a.k.a corrupt BCT.
  1. Either it charges very slowly or sometimes with a broken slow/fast/slow/fast charge pattern:
  2. Or this behavior is current taken from the USB controller or the BPMP (Nvidia's Boot and Power management processor)
• In AutoRCM, the Charge IC probably can't update the battery calibration file and could make the percent fake.

• I have not experienced Battery De-Sync Issued with AutoRCM. This seems to be a misconception that scares people away from installing AutoRCM. Afaik, AutoRCM do not cause De-Syncs.

I think its time to put this to bed once and for all...

In Hekate...

Selecting power-off from Hekate menu turns switch completely off. Just like the PMIC is switched off. (I think it actually is from its I2C lines.)

• Power off from Horizon will take you to RCM after 12 seconds. To get round this, you need your payload injector ready to send.

• Once selecting power-off and you are in RCM after 12 seconds, the next Hekate payload push will look like it is booting (if you have autoboot enabled), but the screen will flash white and console will be off.
  
• If you don`t have autoboot enabled, it will kick you to the Hekate menu if you have your payload injector plugged in. If you have nothing plugged in and no internal SAMD chip, you will stay in RCM until your battery dies.
• Same applies to SXOS. You need SX pro plugged in until shutdown is complete (after this 12 second delay)

This has been done to death now.

The only way to get round this, is to

• Disable autoRCM or
• Hold power for at least 8 seconds in Horizon or RCM to force power-off
• Fit internal SAMD - (I know of a thread that deals with such issues )

So, Switch charges and does not charges in RCM. xD

The results (battery was 89%):


The switch can charge normally the battery, if the BCT is intact!
In RCM AND in hekate menu.
*BCT is the boot configuration table that autoRCM corrupts.

Tests showed that it was charging with the same current, as in Horison OS.
The current it was drawing with 89% battery, was 800mA - 1000mA, using Switch wall adapter. On PC, it was the max the hub could give.


------------------------------------


The switch cannot charge normally with a corrupt BCT (AutoRCM).
In hekate, it shows similar behavior (read below).
Extra emphasis on the "normally".

With autoRCM, basically a corrupt BCT, the switch behaves differently.
There are 2 behaviors that I saw when connecting to the switch wall charger:

• Common - It was draining 140-250mA.
• Common (in hekate) - 200mA - 400mA
  
• Rare (normally if you connect charger after powering off from HOS) - Drain of alternating 250mA and 1000mA, with surges of 2.5A.

------------------------------------

Summary - facts:

1. Switch can charge completely normally in RCM or Hekate with a BCT intact
   • The percent % in Horizon OS, after a RCM charge, is not fake.
2. Switch does not charge normally with AutoRCM, a.k.a corrupt BCT.
   1. Either it charges very slowly or sometimes with a broken slow/fast/slow/fast charge pattern:
   2. Or this behavior is current taken from the USB controller or the BPMP (Nvidia's Boot and Power management processor)
   • In AutoRCM, the Charge IC probably can't update the battery calibration file and could make the percent fake.

I don't know for behavior .3 what really happens and what Switch does. This can be easily examined, by connecting a current multimeter between battery and switch and check the readings.

 

[Draxzelex]

I installed briccmii the moment I heard about it and then never touched my Switch after that (battery was at 100%). Sometime later, I wanted to test something quickly so I booted up Hekate and went into Horizon, both CFW and OFW. Battery was still at or near full once I turned it off from the menu, not from Hekate or by manual shutdown. I think either the next day or sometime later when I wanted to check something else, I turned on my Switch with Hekate only to find battery around 30%. Needless to say, I removed AutoRCM and have never touched it since. It should also be worth nothing that the creator of briccmii, @rajkosto experiences this issue from time to time so he might be able to shed some light on this issue.

 

[Lumince]

I installed briccmii the moment I heard about it and then never touched my Switch after that (battery was at 100%). Sometime later, I wanted to test something quickly so I booted up Hekate and went into Horizon, both CFW and OFW. Battery was still at or near full once I turned it off from the menu, not from Hekate or by manual shutdown. I think either the next day or sometime later when I wanted to check something else, I turned on my Switch with Hekate only to find battery around 30%. Needless to say, I removed AutoRCM and have never touched it since. It should also be worth nothing that the creator of briccmii, @rajkosto experiences this issue from time to time so he might be able to shed some light on this issue.

I've had the opposite affect. I had my switch off for 8 hours, 3 times so far, and the battery has stayed been the same after turning it back on. Just odd.

 

[snails1221]

After installing auto RCM via SX OS I immediately had issues. The "software" battery fix worked though

 

[Lumince]

After installing auto RCM via SX OS I immediately had issues. The "software" battery fix worked though

Like you had desync issues? Or the battery was draining while the switch was "off"? I'm afraid to do the sync fix with autorcm installed just because people are having issues with it.

 

[Zumoly]

I like to idea of Autorcm but the current version of it...not so much. If we could have an option to deactivate and reactivate it at will, then that'll be golden!
And the interesting thing is...if it can corrupt the boot files...can we corrupt them to boot into CFW all the time (say incorporate @CTCaer's payload) ?

 

[Lumince]

I like to idea of Autorcm but the current version of it...not so much. If we could have an option to deactivate and reactivate it at will, then that'll be golden!
And the interesting thing is...if it can corrupt the boot files...can we corrupt them to boot into CFW all the time (say incorporate @CTCaer's payload) ?

We are corrupting the boot0. No custom edits other than that. It just forces the switch to boot into RCM mode. Cant do anything else right now

 

[Draxzelex]

I've had the opposite affect. I had my switch off for 8 hours, 3 times so far, and the battery has stayed been the same after turning it back on. Just odd.

My memory is a bit hazy on this which is why I didn't say it but I think I docked my Switch after testing with Hekate the first time. This might be the difference people are looking for since this does not turn on the console, normally, and only charges it. Regardless of whether I docked it or not, I should also mention my Switch was neither on or in RCM prior to me finding out its battery was around 30%.

 

[BelmontSlayer]

I use AutoRCM (brickmii v2) and have no battery drain problems long as I keep my Switch in sleep mode.

 

[snails1221]

Like you had desync issues? Or the battery was draining while the switch was "off"? I'm afraid to do the sync fix with autorcm installed just because people are having issues with it.

I was having desyncing issues, my switch kept dying at the 40-50% mark. Oh and I uninstalled auto RCM before running the "resync" tool.

 

[CTCaer]

I like to idea of Autorcm but the current version of it...not so much. If we could have an option to deactivate and reactivate it at will, then that'll be golden!
And the interesting thing is...if it can corrupt the boot files...can we corrupt them to boot into CFW all the time (say incorporate @CTCaer's payload) ?

Nope. To do that you have to resign your one BCT with nintendo's private keys. Impossible..
Otherwise, there wouldn't be a reason for warmboot in lower than 5.x firmwares

My memory is a bit hazy on this which is why I didn't say it but I think I docked my Switch after testing with Hekate the first time. This might be the difference people are looking for since this does not turn on the console, normally, and only charges it. Regardless of whether I docked it or not, I should also mention my Switch was neither on or in RCM prior to me finding out its battery was around 30%.

The dock powers on the switch. It doesn't only charge it.
It's the same boot procedure when you plug it in dock or wall adapter or PC.
So if you had AutoRCM, it was powered on and stuck at RCM the moment you touched the dock's USB port.

Btw, I'm more than 3000 hours in RCM till now (I always forget it, even for a day some times).
I still don't have the de-sync. But also I don't use AutoRCM (no need hmmm).

 

[cherryduck]

I used the AutoRCM option that comes with SX OS. For the first few days I put my Switch into sleep mode when I wasn't using it, and my battery barely went down at all. Then I turned my Switch off completely for about a week with about 87% battery left and when I came to use it, it wouldn't turn on at all. NXLoader and TegraRCMSmash wouldn't recognise it at all. Put it in the dock for an hour or so and it finally managed to turn on with 3% battery, left it in the dock to charge.

So in my case at least, it seems better to leave it in sleep mode rather then turning it off completely, as somehow this drained the battery completely empty.

 

[Zumoly]

Btw, I'm more than 3000 hours in RCM till now (I always forget it, even for a day some times).
I still don't have the de-sync.

I thought RCM was safe to be in, that AutoRCM was the issue.

 

[magico29]

I used the AutoRCM option that comes with SX OS. For the first few days I put my Switch into sleep mode when I wasn't using it, and my battery barely went down at all. Then I turned my Switch off completely for about a week with about 87% battery left and when I came to use it, it wouldn't turn on at all. NXLoader and TegraRCMSmash wouldn't recognise it at all. Put it in the dock for an hour or so and it finally managed to turn on with 3% battery, left it in the dock to charge.

So in my case at least, it seems better to leave it in sleep mode rather then turning it off completely, as somehow this drained the battery completely empty.

hell yeah,i am going to take your word baby and leave my babies same way.

 

[tbb043]

I only installed autorcm yesterday, but haven't noticed any issues so far. I thought it was mainly using Linux (which I didn't and don't plan to use on Switch) that caused battery problems *fingers crossed*

 

[kamesenin888]

So if you use auto rcm its better to run the resync battery payload sometimes?

 

[M7L7NK7]

I went from 1.0.0 to 5.1.0 with the guide and if I turn the Switch off it's dead the next morning

 

[Lumince]

I went from 1.0.0 to 5.1.0 with the guide and if I turn the Switch off it's dead the next morning

Did you use briccmii to repair the cust_data? If so then it's not that... maybe I'm just lucky?

 

[MattKimura]

Is it true that if you boot into the SX OS menu and choose power off from there, the system will truly be powered off rather than RCM? I heard that somewhere just once, might be bogus info. Because normally when you power it off from the OS, it just goes to RCM as far as I know.

 

[DocAmes1980]

AutoRCM installed. If powered off and undocked/off of the charger the system goes from 100% to dead in less than 24 hours. It seems like upon powering off it automatically starts RCM. I haven't tested extensively but it's happened twice. I assume it will happen everytime so I just leave it in sleep mode.