Can I use a previously modded switch as an unmodded generic Switch?

[unpatchedswitch]

Hi I've bought an XAJ40 Switch on ebay. Seller was selling on behalf of his son who has gone off to uni, so he doesn't know much about it other than it has previously been modded and kept offline.

SD slot is faulty so when I turn the console on, it just boots to the normal stock Switch menu just like it would on an unmodded Switch.

On the homescreen there's various game titles such as Vice City (see photo) - Each game has the cloud icon next to the game name. On an ordinary unmodded Switch this would mean you can re-download the game as you own it on your user profile.
Am I correct in thinking that these games with the cloud icon are legit digital copies (i.e bought from the eshop) that the previous user owned?
I've asked the seller but he doesn't know which digital games were bought but has said I'm free to use any that are attached to the user account that's logged into the switch.

My question then;
if I keep this console as it is (without fixing the SD slot and therefore notrunning any of the modded FW) - would there be a way for me to download these digital copies to the console?
It isn't connected to the internet as I've kept it offline. What would happen if I were to connect online? Would it just ban/ brick the console?

Thanks

 

[Hayato213]

You can't go online if it doesn't have a clean NAND or you just going to get banned.

 

[unpatchedswitch]

You can't go online if it doesn't have a clean NAND or you just going to get banned.

is this something that can be done?

 

[Hayato213]

is this something that can be done?

If the previous owner didn't make a clean NAND backup prior to messing with XCI/NSP then you don't have a clean NAND.

 

[InsaneNutter]

You can actually replace the SD card reader in the Switch without having to totally dismantle the console, its quite an easy repair: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+Switch+Micro+SD+Card+Reader+Replacement/113031

 

[The Real Jdbye]

You can actually replace the SD card reader in the Switch without having to totally dismantle the console, its quite an easy repair: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+Switch+Micro+SD+Card+Reader+Replacement/113031

Usually the SD reader is not the problem but the connector on the mainboard, which is a lot harder to fix.

 

[Hayato213]

You can actually replace the SD card reader in the Switch without having to totally dismantle the console, its quite an easy repair: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+Switch+Micro+SD+Card+Reader+Replacement/113031

Depends on if it is missing pins on the sd card conneector on the motherboard, if there was no missing pins OP can probably fix it by replacing the SD card flex.

 

[SonyUSA]

is this something that can be done?

There is a guide floating around somewhere that lets you mount your NAND with your keys to edit it, and the guide showed what to delete to get rid of any sort of mod history. It's probably a very old guide here on gbatemp so I can't really tell you more than that (I don't remember) but I used it before and that v1 Switch has been online many times since then no problem.

Also the seller probably lied and it's banned.
"Don't have batteries to test it so sold as-is"

 

[Maq47]

is this something that can be done?

First off, if the Switch came with a microSD card inserted, use a microSD to SD adapter and pop it into an SD card slot in a compatible Windows laptop, then press Win key+R, type diskmgmt.msc, press Enter, then send a screenshot here. If it had emuNAND (emulated NAND, essentially a separate partition on the microSD card pretending to be, and being used in place of, the actual Switch console's internal storage (NAND)). Usually, if an emuNAND is on the microSD card, 99% of the time the console is clean, and can safely be used online. If you do not have a Windows laptop, or you have a Windows desktop PC, or your laptop or PC doesn't have an SD card slot, you may need to buy a microSD to USB adapter of halfway decent quality (this means no using eBay or Amazon to buy it; I recommend a dedicated electronics store) to hook it up to your PC.Getting back to the instructions, once you're in Disk Management in Windows (there is no way to do this on Chromebooks or Mac devices), look for your microSD card; if you have no flash drives or anything like that attached, it will be the first device that is listed as FAT32 or exFAT in the list (look in the 'File System' column). Click on that line only once. This should select it in the bottom half of the screen. Finally, on the bottom half of the screen, check to see how many partitions (represented by boxes) are on the disk. If it says there are 2, and the second one says either 'Unallocated' or just a partition size and 'Healthy', then the Switch had emuNAND, and is likely safe to use online, assuming it hadn't been banned prior to setting up emuNAND. However, if there is no emuNAND, but the microSD card has a 'switch' folder on it, then it absolutely cannot be used online, at all, and you should look into getting a refund and returning it if possible.

 

[unpatchedswitch]

First off, if the Switch came with a microSD card inserted, use a microSD to SD adapter and pop it into an SD card slot in a compatible Windows laptop, then press Win key+R, type diskmgmt.msc, press Enter, then send a screenshot here. If it had emuNAND (emulated NAND, essentially a separate partition on the microSD card pretending to be, and being used in place of, the actual Switch console's internal storage (NAND)). Usually, if an emuNAND is on the microSD card, 99% of the time the console is clean, and can safely be used online. If you do not have a Windows laptop, or you have a Windows desktop PC, or your laptop or PC doesn't have an SD card slot, you may need to buy a microSD to USB adapter of halfway decent quality (this means no using eBay or Amazon to buy it; I recommend a dedicated electronics store) to hook it up to your PC.Getting back to the instructions, once you're in Disk Management in Windows (there is no way to do this on Chromebooks or Mac devices), look for your microSD card; if you have no flash drives or anything like that attached, it will be the first device that is listed as FAT32 or exFAT in the list (look in the 'File System' column). Click on that line only once. This should select it in the bottom half of the screen. Finally, on the bottom half of the screen, check to see how many partitions (represented by boxes) are on the disk. If it says there are 2, and the second one says either 'Unallocated' or just a partition size and 'Healthy', then the Switch had emuNAND, and is likely safe to use online, assuming it hadn't been banned prior to setting up emuNAND. However, if there is no emuNAND, but the microSD card has a 'switch' folder on it, then it absolutely cannot be used online, at all, and you should look into getting a refund and returning it if possible.

Thanks for the response. It did come with an SD card so I'll have a look into it using your instructions and reply here with my findings.