Hacking Question Checking if the switch has ever been online?

Rehv

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Hello.

I was gifted an unpatched switch, but my friend doesn't know where he put the NAND backup he made before booting CFW (SX OS)... (yeah FML)

He says he didn't go online with it (ever) - basically he bought the unpatched switch, installed SX OS (emunand), played the hell out of it and is now giving it to me since he's bored.

According to what I've been reading here, I can get back to a "clean" NAND even without the backup by doing this, I just have to make sure it had never sent any logs to ninty otherwise Log Mismatch = BAN.

So it leads to my question, is there ANY way to check if he ever connected to the internet, like any log/tool or something like that?

Feel free to dump me with everything you've got, I might not be an expert but I know my way around stuff.

Or if it isn't possible, since he installed emunand right away, I could check the sysnand for logs and back it up if I don't see any CFW logs?

Thanks in advance for any help. If this is a dumb plan please suggest anything else :P

PS:
-Trying to do this because I wanna have a clean SYSNAND for online.
-He said he only used XCIs and not NSPs.
-Switch XAW70016 bought about 6 months ago. I'm kinda afraid to check but it should be on OFW 4.1.0.
-It's using AutoRCM so it's safe-ish to say he didn't burn any fuses.
 

Lacius

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First, an easier way to "clean" your sysNAND without a NAND backup would be to follow these steps.

To answer your question, there is no real way to check if your Switch has ever been online without checking News items and if the Switch has been updated, off the top of my head. However, you can't know if the Switch was connected to the internet before or after SX OS started being used.

At this point though, it doesn't really matter. The sysNAND is likely dirty after having been habitually used with SX OS to play backups, and playing online with it is probably a non-option, unless you want to be banned. There's not much you can do at this point except "clean" your NAND and cross your fingers.
 

xabier

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Hello.

I was gifted an unpatched switch, but my friend doesn't know where he put the NAND backup he made before booting CFW (SX OS)... (yeah FML)

He says he didn't go online with it (ever) - basically he bought the unpatched switch, installed SX OS (emunand), played the hell out of it and is now giving it to me since he's bored.

According to what I've been reading here, I can get back to a "clean" NAND even without the backup by doing this, I just have to make sure it had never sent any logs to ninty otherwise Log Mismatch = BAN.

So it leads to my question, is there ANY way to check if he ever connected to the internet, like any log/tool or something like that?

Feel free to dump me with everything you've got, I might not be an expert but I know my way around stuff.

Or if it isn't possible, since he installed emunand right away, I could check the sysnand for logs and back it up if I don't see any CFW logs?

Thanks in advance for any help. If this is a dumb plan please suggest anything else :P

PS:
-Trying to do this because I wanna have a clean SYSNAND for online.
-He said he only used XCIs and not NSPs.
-Switch XAW70016 bought about 6 months ago. I'm kinda afraid to check but it should be on OFW 4.1.0.
-It's using AutoRCM so it's safe-ish to say he didn't burn any fuses.

6 months old and v4.1. Not sure about release dates but i would say that you needed higher fw version than v4.1 to go online for 2018 christmas. I would say 5.xx or 6.xx.

He s not telling líes most probably.
 

Rehv

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First, an easier way to "clean" your sysNAND without a NAND backup would be to follow these steps.

To answer your question, there is no real way to check if your Switch has ever been online without checking News items and if the Switch has been updated, off the top of my head. However, you can't know if the Switch was connected to the internet before or after SX OS started being used.

At this point though, it doesn't really matter. The sysNAND is likely dirty after having been habitually used with SX OS to play backups, and playing online with it is probably a non-option, unless you want to be banned. There's not much you can do at this point except "clean" your NAND and cross your fingers.

Hummm can you clarify, I was under the impression that installing SX OS on EMUNAND shouldn't dirty SYSNAND, or maybe I'm just too much of a noob and saying nonsense. It's my first Switch, so...

6 months old and v4.1. Not sure about release dates but i would say that you needed higher fw version than v4.1 to go online for 2018 christmas. I would say 5.xx or 6.xx.

He s not telling líes most probably.

Yeah that is unusual, but since I live in Brazil and some retailers were stocking up on unpatched switches and selling them at a markup price, I don't doubt it (there are still new ones for sale, around $500-600 usd. New/patched ones go around $400 here). He says he never went online, so yeah SYSNAND shouldn't be updated. I guess I'll have to boot into SYSNAND and check it myself after I tried Lacius' suggestion.

EDIT: clarification on 'New'
 
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Lacius

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Hummm can you clarify, I was under the impression that installing SX OS on EMUNAND shouldn't dirty SYSNAND, or maybe I'm just too much of a noob and saying nonsense. It's my first Switch, so...
If he actually used an emuNAND from the beginning and never actually used hacks with the sysNAND, then you are correct that the sysNAND should be clean.

The problem with all of this is you have to take your friend's word for a lot of things. Is he trustworthy? Is he unlikely to make mistakes?
 

Rehv

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If he actually used an emuNAND from the beginning and never actually used hacks with the sysNAND, then you are correct that the sysNAND should be clean.

The problem with all of this is you have to take your friend's word for a lot of things. Is he trustworthy? Is he unlikely to make mistakes?

He would never purposely lie, and yes I've known him for a good 10+ years. But he might be mistaken about some things (and well, he did lose his NAND backup), I'm overzealous so since I wasn't the one to do it, I wanna make sure. It's not like I'll miss much if I'm banned, I'll just have to buy a switch for that purpose... but just in case, I can check the SYSNAND logs for entries without a title, do you know if that's still a valid way to check for CFW logs?
 

Lacius

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but just in case, I can check the SYSNAND logs for entries without a title, do you know if that's still a valid way to check for CFW logs?
No, that's probably not going to help you. There probably aren't going to be any signs of CFW usage that you can see, unless he installed NSP files to the sysNAND.

This all comes down to whether or not you trust your friend.
  1. If you think he didn't connect to the internet, then it's probably safe to "clean" your NAND.
  2. If you think he did connect to the internet, it might not be safe to "clean" your NAND.
  3. If you think he didn't dirty the NAND, then you don't need to "clean" your NAND.
  4. If you think he did dirty the NAND, then your only option is to "clean" your NAND.
 
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Rehv

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No, that's probably not going to help you. There probably aren't going to be any signs of CFW usage that you can see, unless he installed NSP files to the sysNAND.

This all comes down to whether or not you trust your friend.
  1. If you think he didn't connect to the internet, then it's probably safe to "clean" your NAND.
  2. If you think he did connect to the internet, it might not be safe to "clean" your NAND.
  3. If you think he didn't dirty the NAND, then you don't need to "clean" your NAND.
  4. If you think he did dirty the NAND, then your only option is to "clean" your NAND.

That's super helpful. Of all the above, it's most likely he never connected to the internet because that's based on his word and not something he's mistaken with. Not dirtying the NAND implies he knows how to do stuff, but if he did, he wouldn't have lost the backup... (well, I'd still have to thrust him that the backup is clean, lul)

I REALLY don't know how any of you guys can handle the second-hand market, at this point anyone getting a used switch is accepting his/her superban. :sigh:
 

godreborn

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I wouldn't worry too much about being able to go online. I told myself that if I ever do hack a switch, I'll probably go with a system that's already banned. I don't know how easy it is to make a mistake when dealing with emuNAND/sysNAND, but it sounds like a giant headache.
 

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