Hacking Discussion Consoles brick, learn how to handle it!

[Erol]

Anyone got bricked by using just SX PRO?

 

[VFCalado]

I see Switch is too sensitive on charge.
So it's safe wen we boot payload's in android devices?
Because wen I plug in my phone with USB-c Pro controller cable, I listening a strange sound from Switch. (low sound)

 

[raphamotta]

Please add to the first post :
-Only use official dock.
-Only charge the NS with USB C cables that has a 56K resistor (look at eBay or aliexpress for this information )

Source: https://support.nintendo.co.jp/app/answers/detail/a_id/34073/p/8664

...So

I want to apologize to @rajkosto
I have looked at his code base and nothing pointed to any hardware registers being muffed.
That being said, again sorry my dude I thought we were going to have another ps3 brick fest. Thankfully we will not!
Well not due to your CFW anyway


Seeing this happened out of nowhere and it really was perfectly lined up for me to think it was the fault of the CFW.
It was not, I have however followed the rabbit hole down as far as it can go, and have come out the other side

I reproduced the brick on a brand new console.
I did not install SwithME, trinket, or use the SwitchME external dongle. So we could take that out of the equation.
I tested with all CFW, and OFW (5.1) and every payload under the sun just because I wanted to be sure.
Again CFW or Payload are ruled out (for these particular switch(s) anyway but don't get it twisted bad CFW or a bad nca can 100% brick your system)
When the new system died it was booted in OFW with Zelda booted up.
I booted up OFW and CFW about 40-50 times. I started to notice some weird things going in both OFW and CFW.
At one point I had to keep plugging and unplugging the console into the dock 10-20 times very fast to get it to power back on because it was showing signs of a bricked
Charge controller IC. This happened in both CFW and OFW, it was just being random.

So lets travel down the path of wtf went wrong and how to avoid it in the future.
But first I want to say Nintendo has a VERY poor design at power management, it was just poorly thought out and execution even worse.
After ripping apart the burnt up switches and testing everything I found it very odd that both switches got burnt up exactly the same.
Charge Controller IC is bad.
Using official docks they came with same goes for the power cords.
Tore down the docks and tested them as well. I found no issue within the docks themselves (more on this later)

So after a few hours of racking my brain on what could have possibly gone wrong and tracking every lead back I found the issue.
I happened to plug in my cellphone charger into the outlet where the switch is plugged in. My phone said charging slowly and only showing 192ma
So flip the USB C cable in the phone and all of a sudden it spikes to 2200mA!
I figure OK this is a fast charger so that should be ok.
...but its not!
My phone should not be getting over 1940mA EVER.
I unplug the phone charger again and plug it back in. Showing 1730mA, flip the USB C and getting 340mA
So now I suspect its the power outlet (a usb combo unit).
I tare down the outlet and start to probe it. Nothing is visible to the eye, nothing smells or looks burnt.
So I wire it back in for further testing. I now see off of one of the regulators the power is fluctuating, its very minor but its enough to get me worried.
I plug in my phone charger again connect my phone and there we have it. I see 2200mA again.
So I start to test the circuit in the outlet, its pulsing current (never a good sign)
so I unplug everything and remove the socket for fear of it starting a fire.

So after testing what I have learned is that the power outlet I have in my wall is a piece of trash, it has failed very insidiously.
It could have been a failure of the controller IC in the outlet itself. I really don't want to dig any deeper and see why the outlet failed because I know it failed and that's good enough. Also I'm pretty sure it has been failing for a while but finally came to a head when the switch couldn't deal with repeated amprage pulses.
I watched the draw on the outlet load and release, sometimes it was rapid and sometimes it took a few minutes.
The only explanation I can come up with for why the the switch drops dead and my phone, laptop, or anything else I plug in doesn't die in a fire, is that every device is actually built to handle amperage fluctuations. Be it 100mA or 1000mA usually they will build in a cutoff or a fuse. We all know nintendo didn't want to spend $0.00007 for the 56k Ohm caps that should have been placed on the usb port for usb C standards. So who knows what else they skimped on or didn't have the foresight to test before releasing their hardware.

So in closing, don't plug your switch into an outlet that has an IC switching system (combo usb outlet)
You haz been warned

Again sorry Raj

That's why the 56k resistor it's important when you'll buy a cable for NS

 

[suzsuzuki]

That's why the 56k resistor it's important when you'll buy a cable for NS

Please @Meepers55 put this subject on OP since the lack 56k ohm resistor on cables are causing many bricks.

 

[der:Tom]

If someone is interessted in what the 56k resistor does here is some good explanation:
http://thechargebyventev.com/find-usb-c-cable-wont-fry-computer/