Hacking Clean restore after burnt fuses?

[-Mike-]

Hi there,

I was looking for an answer to my question but found none. If there is an answer somewhere... Sorry in advance!

I was reading a lot the last days, but it is hard to get into the topic of hacking a switch.

I own a hackable switch which was never online. It came with FW 4.x installed and Pokemon just updated it to 5.1

I know I can make a nand backup and then use some tools to update the switch without burning fuses.
But as I understood, if I ever boot into OFW the fuses will get burned, correct?

If that happens, how will I ever be able to go back to a clean console who can be used online? Because as I understand I can no longer boot my 5.1 backup.


At the moment I will never go online, but if the service improves a lot the next years, I will keep the opportunity.
I also don't care about burning the fuses if there is still a way to go back to a clean system. (But why should I do a nand backup then???)


Thank you for clarification!

 

[Lacius]

If you boot into OFW without using a bootloader like Hekate, then yes, your fuses will be burnt. If you boot OFW from Hekate, then your fuses will not be burnt. In other words, if you have AutoRCM installed, you cannot burn fuses.

If this doesn't answer your question, then I don't know what your question is.

 

[-Mike-]

The question is, if I will burn the fuses (doesn't matter how, maybe while making a mistake while playing around..) how will I ever be able to restore a clean factory default system for online usage without any custom bootloader?

 

[Kafluke]

The only way to restore a clean version of any nand is to first make one.

Did you make a nand backup from hekate before doing anything else? If yes what version is it?

 

[-Mike-]

I did not apply any changes to my switch right now.
That's why I am asking how to do it right.

When I start to hack I will create a 5.1 nand backup.
But again, when in future I have updated to 11.x with 20 burnt fuses, cfw, bootloader homebrew and so on while being offline all the time, how can a restore to a clean factory default system I can use online. (No matter which version, can be 11.x then, but without a existing backup)

Or is this impossible then? If so, I can force a ban right now, lol..

 

[Kafluke]

Yes it's possible. But only if you boot to RCM every time and only if you load a custom boot loader that prevents fuse burn. I would use autoRCM in case you ever forget. Unfortunatly you're on 5.1 now. 4.1 and lower are your best options for unreleased unteathered hacking. This is what I would do.

1. Boot to hekate or sx os and make a complete raw nand backup as well as boot 0 and boot 1.
2. Enablen autoRCM.
3. Use choi (Nx version) and update to latest version. 6.2 as of the time of this post.

That's it. You're done. Now you can always restore to 5.1 if you want to at a later date because autoRCM will keep your fuse count the same as 5.1

 

[-Mike-]

I understand, thank you.

But let's imagine the update 7.x disables autorcm or I make a mistake an burn the fuses.

Do I have any chance then to ever restore a clean system? Sorry for asking again, but it is not clear for me.

 

[M7L7NK7]

Only use Choidujour to update and don't make a mistake

 

[thaikhoa]

Do Factory Restore Settings when being on OFFLINE mode (officially supported by Nintendo Switch)
Mount SYSTEM using HacDiskMount > Delete everything in save folder except 800.....120. After rebooting, the system will automatically regenerate all the deleted files to its original form and you will get a clean nand.

This is savedata of the system after doing factory restore settings. As you can see, there won't be any ticketblobs (80...e1 and 80...e2) or errorlogs (80...d1) here except the empty playing history of 80...11, empty homemenu cache icons 80...47/48. All files can be deleted just fine except 80...120 for the system to enter to initial setting stage after rebooting.

 

[Kafluke]

I understand, thank you.

But let's imagine the update 7.x disables autorcm or I make a mistake an burn the fuses.

Do I have any chance then to ever restore a clean system? Sorry for asking again, but it is not clear for me.

Turn on autoRCM and you wont ever burn fuses. Simple as that.

Also dont ever update until you come here and find out if it's safe or not

 

[Lacius]

I understand, thank you.

But let's imagine the update 7.x disables autorcm or I make a mistake an burn the fuses.

Do I have any chance then to ever restore a clean system? Sorry for asking again, but it is not clear for me.

First, as long as you have AutoRCM installed and always use ChoiDujourNX to install updates, you will never burn your fuses. Second, if you burn your fuses somehow, you can still restore your clean NAND backup, boot OFW from Hekate, and then update to the latest version to match your fuses.

 

[-Mike-]

To be honest, I think of not using auto rcm for some reasons:
-I am not the only one who is using the console, and there is a risk that it will be stuck in RCM and drain the battery. As I know this can damage the battery and I maybe have to open the switch and remove it.
-I don't care about burnt fuses because the switch will never online for the moment and I will only install updates who are CFW proof.
-No one knows if AutoRCM can be detected, even if it is disabled again and the NAND has been restored, right?

Second, if you burn your fuses somehow, you can still restore your clean NAND backup, boot OFW from Hekate, and then update to the latest version to match your fuses.

Okay this sounds great, but if I do so, there is a risk that Hekate (Or Choi for updating offline) will be detected in a future firmware and the risk of a ban still is present even after an additional factory reset before going online?


So I think I now understood, that if I burn some fuses accidentally and don't have a matching nand backup, it is possible that I NEVER can go back to a ban-proof system. Especially because we don't know which detection mechanisms will be implemented in future firmware.

Is this the right conclusion?
If yes, it will be OK for me. Then I know there is no 100% bulletproof recovery solution for burnt fuses and I can't take any precautions. (Except AutoRCM, maybe..)

 

[goldensun695]

@-Mike-, I'm in the same position as you and have the same question. From what I gather, you only have a truly clean nand if you backup before booting cfw. If your clean nand backup doesn't match your fuse count (e.g. because you accidentally burnt fuses), you won't be able to boot into ofw. But you can use Hekate to boot cfw and use choidujour to update to a firmware that matches your fuses. This is still considered tainted because you've booted cfw.

Therefore your conclusion is correct, your only "precaution" is autorcm.

NB: Please correct me if I'm wrong. It'd be great to be able to update firmware without booting into cfw.

 

[Lacius]

You can boot OFW from Hekate to hypothetically update your clean NAND in the unlikely event that you burn your fuses.

If you have AutoRCM installed and only use ChoiDujourNX to update, you don't have to worry about burning fuses.

 

[-Mike-]

I am reading and reading a lot of posts in this forum. It's crazy how much information (and misinformation) is around.

I recently read about emunand. Is this a solution?

I can let the sysnand remain at 5.1 and update the emunand with fuse-protection to 6.2 or higher in future.

If I accidentally boot to sysnand (maybe because of no AutoRCM) it still boots 5.1 and won't burn fuses.

And if I ever want to restore a clean system, I can restore the 5.1 nand backup, go online the first time ever, load 20 updates and have a 0,000001% chance of getting banned?

This sounds perfect for me, isn't it?

 

[Kafluke]

Yeah that's accurate. You need to pay about 30 bucks to get the software for emunand tho. Dont worry sx os is definitely worth the price.

 

[-Mike-]

Yeah I read the controverse things about them. But even if they play unfair, there is no alternative user friendly solution available yet, as I can conclude myself after reading for some hours now.

The emunand then is THE feature to make the decision easier, after I was open for all solutions the last days.
It sounds to me to be the best idiot proof solution in terms of going back to a clean system and not have to worry to end up in a dead end.

 

[goldensun695]

Second, if you burn your fuses somehow, you can still restore your clean NAND backup, boot OFW from Hekate, and then update to the latest version to match your fuses.

Thanks for the tip.

If I accidentally burn fuses and it no longer matches the nand backup, I can boot into ofw through hekate and update the firmware to the latest.

@Lacius, Would that keep the nand clean e.g. no risk of ban?

@-Mike-, that might be a workaround in case you burn fuses and don't want to pay for SX OS.