@ds34
this is the same chip just different marking code.By the way, where's the difference between the cyw4356 and the bcm4356?
As far as I understood is the cyw4356 based on the bcm4356 and the Cypres company added their own parts, right?
Does the Switch use BCM stock chips or the Cypres ones?
I was told that the chip gets flashed by the Switch everytime it boots up. Is that true?
If it is recognized by the system it should show up in `lspci` I believe, so if that's not the case in guessing there is a hardware error@ds34
I have attached the output of the lshw command too.
I will swap IC's between motherboards and see if it is going to work this weekend after have received the iphone6 stencil, soldering balls and other minor items to carry the swap.
Also, I have tried to tether my phone's internet connection over Bluetooth and it did not work at all, however, file transfer works flawlessly. Have anyone been able to tether internet over Bluetooth?
Yeah exact same chip, just renamed, says so in the data sheets.By the way, where's the difference between the cyw4356 and the bcm4356?
As far as I understood is the cyw4356 based on the bcm4356 and the Cypres company added their own parts, right?
Does the Switch use BCM stock chips or the Cypres ones?
That would make sense as the firmware binary (specific to each chip) always needs to be installed with the driver.I was told that the chip gets flashed by the Switch everytime it boots up. Is that true?
If it is recognized by the system it should show up in `lspci` I believe, so if that's not the case in guessing there is a hardware error
Yeah exact same chip, just renamed, says so in the data sheets.
That would make sense as the firmware binary (specific to each chip) always needs to be installed with the driver.
Thanks, this is very interesting information @Joonie86 .
View attachment 203864
I just installed L4T on my switch and got this output, this is a working switch, I was wondering if there's anyway to dump this firmware/driver and install that on a broken switch with a IC replacement.
I did some digging and found that Wifi firmware is embedded inside the wlan module itself (0100000000000016), and those firmware files used for L4T seem to be dumped from the OFW files.
The BT module and its firmware is found on 010000000000001B,
Maybe it's possible to disable the check from the WLAN module itself.
I also came across the git report that has a script to dump the wlan firmwares used for L4T.
https://github.com/perillamint/nx-fwextract/blob/master/index.js
Right, if you are able to get your hands on a broken motherboard you should be able to fix it by swapping the chip. Otherwise, it's not clear atm why new chips (reportedly) don't work.Hey i think i'm in the same boat as some of you. the strange behavior of my switch was, that it was slowly dying, in the end it only booted sometimes when i left it on the shelf for some days.
Currently it's disassembled because i wanted to replace the bcm with a new one from zedslab. (no air solder atm)
But after reading this thread i think i'll wait and offer me as an test subject.
thx @joonie86 for pointing me to this thread.
@ds34
Also, I have tried to tether my phone's internet connection over Bluetooth and it did not work at all, however, file transfer works flawlessly. Have anyone been able to tether internet over Bluetooth?
Amazing find @acidcoolxxx!!Here is some usefull data for the BCM chips.
https://blog.quarkslab.com/reverse-engineering-broadcom-wireless-chipsets.html
How to optain the firmware and how to flash it all explaind.
Infrared Station is a laser-like focus solder flow station. It heats only the area desired, with very little (if any) collateral damage to surrounding components. You can watch some reball and reflow videos on YouTube and some of the professional fix-it shops have these to fix phones and game systems.Hi H0ppus,
Not sure what the infrared station is you mention but a hot air soldering station is sufficient. I would highly recommend getting the right stencil though, I got mine from aliexpress. Just checked and there are a bunch for sale, just search 'bcm4356 stencil'. You'll need solder balls, I use 0.25mm leaded. (haven't tried with paste, might be easier to handle)
Also good solder braid to clean the pads and chip, tacky flux, and Kapton tape to hold the chip in place on the stencil. Careful when you heat the balls to affix them to the chip, as the stencil started bulging so I pressed down on it with some tweezers while heating. This is the procedure I followed, but I'm no expert :
-remove both chips with hot air
-clean the pads on board and chip with solder braid, flux and soldering iron (very important to get it as smooth as possible here)
-apply flux to new chip, tape it to stencil with kapton tape aligning pads to holes
-apply balls to stencil, fumble around until there's exactly one ball in every hole, remove any superfluous balls (magnification required!)
-heat balls until shiny
-apply flux to board and solder on new chip
I think I will try this as well, then. I have a V1 that just wont get past ANY boot screen, OFW and CFW. I wish it was a pinned chip instead of BGA, since these seem to fail so often.I purchased a broken version 2 switch off ebay. It booted to 2nd Logo and that was it. I replaced all the chips but nothing Changed. It would only charge at .41 amps. V2 console would not allow me to inject Heckate so I thought it was toast. Purchased some .25mm solder balls and pulled the WiFi chip off a donor board. Reballed the chip by hand and replaced it on the board. To my suprise the console booted right into its firmware then WiFi and bluetooth work perfect. I am so happy and it's because of the info from Grimdim and Mattytrog. Both of you are legends. Thank you!!