Hacking Question Finally got unpatched system, a few questions about the direction i should take

[pugdog]

So I Finally found an unpatched switch.. I see lots of older guides about how to set things up, but want to confirm my best course of action in February 2020

My goals: I want to setup emunand in a way that would work for XCIs and NSPs (offline play only), but keep my sysnand 100% clean, so that I can continue to use it for pokemon online

Where I'm at now: Unpatched switch with current firmware (9.1.0), freshly factory reset from previous owner

I'm totally new to the switch hacking scene, except for reading a few (probably outdated) guides...

If I want to be as careful as possible to maintain my ability to play online on OFW and dual boot into CFW, what is my best course of action? (Assume I dont know anything)

Do I need to buy SX OS, or is atmosphere adequate for my needs?

which tools/methods make the most sense for my goals?

Is there anything in particular I should know before getting started, which might not be obvious from reading old guides?

I REALLY appreciate the help! Thanks!

 

[Deleted User]

SXOS!!!!!!!!

 

[pugdog]

will that work ok for my firmware version (9.1.0) and for avoiding bans when i use OFW?

every time i want to boot into OFW, do i just remove the SD card and boot normally, or do i need to actually restore the Sysnand each time?

like would it be possible to switch between OFW online and CFW offline while im on an airplane?

 

[Rahkeesh]

You do need SXOS if you want to mount XCIs like virtual carts. Atmosphere backups have to be installed like eshop titles one way or the other (although you can install from XCI or even gamecart)

The whole point of any emunand is that you don't need to restore sysnand every time. You just need to reboot the system to switch between the two. You can remove the SD card if you want but its not needed, emunand will use a different Nintendo folder for your installed titles, and you can even mark the official Nintendo folder as "archive" if you want to force content to install into your sysnand. I would recommend installing some version of incognito to your emunand, that way you won't risk screwing up the identification on your sysNAND and won't have to worry about emunand ever phoning Nintendo.

 

[Lacius]

There is no reason to buy SX OS. Atmosphere is free and does pretty much all the same things. You can use Atmosphere to install XCI files instead of mount them, so SX OS has no point for most people, at least not enough of a point that's worth the price.

 

[nightweb]

This post is based on my experience so I might be wrong or right, I don't know but it's worked for me
First thing MAKE A BACKUP!!!
second thing, don't skip the first thing, Full backup and boot1/boot2.

You say that the latest firmware is on 9.1.0 so you should be able to go online. I would setup your Nintendo profile (some games need it and complain). Next have to choose your CFW, Atmosphere and SX OS both have pro's and con's, each have their fan's and haters so I suggest you read up and pick which one based on your needs. As Far as I know, SX OS has a free mode (that just doesn't support XCI mounting, for XCI mounting you have to pay) and Atmosphere is free so you can test out both. my advise if if you want to play your own backups (as XCI's) and simplicity SX OS might be better, if you want a more advanced customizable option Atmosphere will probably be better (bonus mention, Atmosphere Normally gets updated to work with new firmware releases by Nintendo quicker, not always but normally and not by much). A extra point I feel I should add is that a few people have said they have used their own XCI's online with SX OS and not been banned, in opposition to this installing XCI's or NSP (which both do) involves putting a fake ticket in the switch which has been said to majorly increase the chances of a ban. However both of these are entirely speculation as none other than Nintendo know why or how they are detecting CFW.

If your going for SysNAND online/EmuNAND offline they should be like having two different switches, they won't share saves or game data/patches/dlc's, they just share your SD card. Picking this you can do it it in a couple of different ways, NSP/XCI installs make most sense if not using personal backups as they can take less space and don't need to be mounted. On Atmosphere you'll need "Patches" as Atmosphere doesn't support piracy or "backups" by default (SX OS includes them by default). I have linked a guide to Atmosphere installation below to help as a guide as I haven't installed it for anyone in a very long time so that probably be better than my experience. With SX OS just copy the Boot.dat file to the root of your SD card and your pretty much done. you have to use the SX OS payload.bin file to start up the switch. On first boot SX OS should ask you to make a EmuNAND, if you do this the folder your switch will use when it boot's will be depend on how you booted either "CFW=Emutendo" or "Stock=Nintendo".

Before you make a EmuNAND I would put airplane mode on and possibly delete the WiFi networks to make sure there's no accidents when you boot up the EmuNAND and if you just want to mess about and play with a few things you can delete it and make a new EmuNAND.

There's probably some more I can put here but it's tired so I'll check again later if I think of anything else, and I apologize for any spelling/grammar/childhood ending errors ^^,

Quick edit to answer your follow up questions, Both will work fine, and if you use EmuNAND for you CFW then booting Stock shouldn't have any risk of a ban but again we don't know what Nintendo checks for. No leave the SD in, Switch sometime needs a SD card and mostly very useful. An Airplane doesn't effect switching, you switch by shutting down and injecting payload (CFW) or just powering on (stock). you can inject using DragonInjector (awesome device btw, well recommened), Phone, Laptop, PC. so if you have one of them you can "switch" anytime


1. Guide
2. Patches

 

[Deleted User]

I am going to be another vote for you getting sxos. But remember you are the lucky owner of an amazing device. I often use my sxos dongle to boot to atmosphere. I also use it to boot to android. In fact i just used android to download a torrent of a video file and i am happily watching it using my switch. Pretty frigging incredible. Don’t forget all the really cool homebrew as well. Especially retroarch which you will want to use atmosphere for. The main advantage of sxos for me is usb loading of my games. Also keep in mind if you do get ihto retroarch fat32 is recommended.

 

[deejay87]

it is especially necessary to take your time to understand the procedure and the steps, I help a lot of people to do it, it's fast, under atmosphere for my part for the simplicity of configuration

 

[Ian095]

Create a NAND backup first and foremost before even running any Atmosphere/SXOS stuff. Use Atmosphere, don't give the people at SXOS money. Also I'd enable AutoRCM asap to avoid burning fuses if you are on lower firmware, or even more so might still be worthwhile these days because you never know what could be discovered in the future in terms of coding in Nintendo's OS.

 

[Dust2dust]

As was mentioned, SXOS' main advantage now is mounting XCI files on a USB device. Some people have a hard disk filled with TBs of xci files, ready to mount when the Switch is docked. Xci files can be just scene releases of dumped carts, but they can also be custom made to include the game, all DLCs, and the latest update, all in one file. Just mounting such a file doesn't take any room on the SD card. If such a feature is not important to you, then there is no point in getting SXOS, just go with the free solution, Atmosphere.

 

[pugdog]

i really appreciate the feedback!!!

questions about nightweb's post:
- "Full backup and boot1/boot2" , i understand backup means backup the sysnand, but is this done via hekate, or alternatively sx loader?
-"boot1/boot2" what do you mean by this and how do i go about achieving it?

so if i were to use atmosphere, i would need to install the patches mentioned above to be able to install and play downloaded games?

assuming i follow the guide for installing atmosphere to a T, what else do i need to do exactly to get it to be able to play downloaded games?

also, i dont really understand the fuses stuff.. i am on 9.1.0, what do i need to know to avoid messing anything up?

THANKS AGAIN!

 

[nightweb]

i really appreciate the feedback!!!

questions about nightweb's post:
- "Full backup and boot1/boot2" , i understand backup means backup the sysnand, but is this done via hekate, or alternatively sx loader?
-"boot1/boot2" what do you mean by this and how do i go about achieving it?

so if i were to use atmosphere, i would need to install the patches mentioned above to be able to install and play downloaded games?

assuming i follow the guide for installing atmosphere to a T, what else do i need to do exactly to get it to be able to play downloaded games?

also, i dont really understand the fuses stuff.. i am on 9.1.0, what do i need to know to avoid messing anything up?

THANKS AGAIN!

To Bo honest I don't fully understand the why and what not, but when I started you just needed a full backup no one ever mentioned about backing up Boot1/Boot2 but you apparently need all 3 to be able to restore and to add to that boot 1/2 are unique to each device and each firmware install. there are a few ways to backup the NAND I'll pop them here as I find them and get proper links for them too.

1, SX OS - Boot SX OS and hold the Vol+ button and you should see the main menu. From here tap "Options->NAND" here you'll have the option of dumping your NAND.
2. ReiNX toolkit (I haven't Personally done this) - This is a homebrew that when loaded up is apparently able to dump the current NAND (Sys or Emu) however in the official thread for the toolkit Reisyukaku noted that if not closed properly the Homebrew can corrupt your SD
3. Hekate - CTCaer mod v4.10.1 - This one I actually used when I first started messing with switches, it seems easy to understand and fairly reliable. I followed the instruction on screen mostly but there is a thread started by the maker and it comes with lots of tools to use, Plus I believe he even stole my boot logo

I found from personal experience the best option is to have a blank (apart from Boot.dat File if needed) ExFAT Sd card to make a backup off as it can take about 15 to 20 mins with and over an hour with Fat32 however the Nintendo's actual implementation is know to have issues


Depends if your downloading from E-Shop no, but if your playing "backup's" yup atmosphere needs the patches to ignore the checks put in by Nintendo. once you get Atmosphere up and running I imagine you'll need an app like Tinfoil, Goldleaf or even SX Installer however I can't give you much help on using them as I don't use them myself. You'll also need a source, with this unfortunately I can't help as while I've heard and read a few things and know of some it's forbidden to ask about or talk about it on this site as it skirts the line of what's allowed and helps people and whats not allows and could result in trouble for giving away sources for downloading pirate stuff

Now Fuses with the Switch might sound tricky but simple when you understand. in order to combat downgrading like on the PSP Nintendo use something called EFuses, these are realllllly tiny fuses built into the CPU, when an new firmware comes out (not every firmware but just for simplicity) the firmware break/blows/burns an amount that its programed to. When a Switch boots it looks as the fuses if more fuses are blown than the firmware have on its list, the Switch crashes. Some interesting info is here. People who want to be able to downgrade later try to preserve their fuses through various means, CFW AutoRCM so that when they downgrade the switch will see the amount of fuses it expects and boot properly.

You Said in your first post that you intend to dual boot so as your keeping your SysNAND stock it won't really effect you as you'll blow them as you update your firmware, just be aware that if you update and burn more fuses you won't be able to use the Backup of your SysNAND and boot it without using CFW as the fuse count will have changed