Broken SD card slot?

[grooster]

Hi.

I have a V2 (Mariko) with SX Core chip. I use a FAT32 SD card with Atmosphere and a file-based emuNAND. I haven't ever had any trouble with it until now.

Yesterday, I had a random crash. I rebooted and expected things to restart normally, so I wasn't paying attention. When I looked back, it was a blank screen. No response. I forced a shutdown and watched closely this time. It got to the Atmosphere logo and then went blank. I tried again and this time, it got to the "Switch" logo but again, ended on a blank screen.

I grabbed a spare SD card, formatted it FAT32 and copied over a backup. I got the "BOOT.DAT?" screen.

I put the original card back in. "BOOT.DAT?" again. I ejected the card and pushed it in with a little force. This time it booted and then crashed after the Atmosphere logo.

I put in the spare card and gave it a little force but it didn't get past "BOOT.DAT?".

I switched back to the original card. The first time, I got "BOOT.DAT?". I re-seated the card (again, using a little more force than normal) and it booted successfully.

It looks like the SD card reader is broken. What should I do?

 

[jkyoho]

more like sd card connector loose pins

 

[grooster]

more like sd card connector loose pins

In other words, I need to get it repaired.

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

In other words, I need to get it repaired.

If it's just a bad SD card reader it's $5 for a replacement reader. If the pins on the motherboard are broken you'll need to get the 16 pin connector replaced and a new one soldered on. Again, the connector is like $4 but getting it soldered will be more if you need someone to do it.

 

[grooster]

If it's just a bad SD card reader it's $5 for a replacement reader. If the pins on the motherboard are broken you'll need to get the 16 pin connector replaced and a new one soldered on. Again, the connector is like $4 but getting it soldered will be more if you need someone to do it.

Thanks!

Any advice on how I could determine if it's the reader or bad pins? I rarely take the card out and the Switch has never been dropped or damaged. Hopefully, a new reader would do it.

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

Thanks!

Any advice on how I could determine if it's the reader or bad pins? I rarely take the card out and the Switch has never been dropped or damaged. Hopefully, a new reader would do it.

Open it up. Get a tri wing screwdriver and take a look yourself. Only way to tell what's going on.

The ribbon cable could be loose and might just need fastened correctly (unlikely). Taking the reader off you'll be able to get a good look at the motherboard to see if any pins are missing.
When my switch was doing exactly what yours is I opened it up, took the connector off and there were pins lodged right in the cable ripped out of the motherboard.

 

[grooster]

Open it up. Get a tri wing screwdriver and take a look yourself. Only way to tell what's going on.

The ribbon cable could be loose and might just need fastened correctly (unlikely). Taking the reader off you'll be able to get a good look at the motherboard to see if any pins are missing.
When my switch was doing exactly what yours is I opened it up, took the connector off and there were pins lodged right in the cable ripped out of the motherboard.

Thanks. I'll see what I can figure out!

 

[grooster]

I opened up the Switch and I don't see any damage to the connections.

I guess the next step is to try re-seating it or to replace the reader.

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

Did it feel loose? Yeah, pop it back on and see does it fix it. Replace it if it doesn't. Only like $5 for a new one.

 

[grooster]

Did it feel loose? Yeah, pop it back on and see does it fix it. Replace it if it doesn't. Only like $5 for a new one.

It popped out more easily than I expected, so maybe it was loose. I was expecting to feel some resistance.

 

[linuxares]

It popped out more easily than I expected, so maybe it was loose. I was expecting to feel some resistance.

Barley any resistance. It's such a bad design.

 

[grooster]

Barley any resistance. It's such a bad design.

Yeah, it's amazing that they didn't make better hardware or a better design.

 

[grooster]

I don't know how you're supposed to line this thing up but I tried. I plugged the card reader back in. It booted and I could load games with no issues.