Hacking first post, trying to learn about switch

[SmoothNobody]

just found out about switch hacks. i did some light reading and hoping to learn the pros and cons of different methods. the only thing i care about is playing backups. only interested in free options. is jailbreak and CFW the same thing? i remember reading few months ago that jailbreak was for unsupported apps internet browser emulators etc but not playing backups. is this still accurate? i hear there are now several ways to play backups with different methods. i recall reading something about some need to be installed and others can just be loaded. not sure i fully understand this but i'm gonna guess some methods need games to be installed to the console and others can be loaded from external storage? which method do you guys suggest for a nub?

 

[Mark McDonut]

You gotta do more than light reading man, check the stickies in this subforum https://gbatemp.net/forums/switch-tutorials.289/

there are free and paid methods with varying amounts of risk, universally you don't want to go online after hacking unless you want to restore a full dump of your 32GB nand back using a homebrew app, otherwise nintendo will detect and ban you from online play, online game updates, and online firmware updates.

Definitely something you want to read a lot more about before doing anything.

 

[SmoothNobody]

i agree, i will continue to read and make sure i fully understand before doing anything. would appreciate getting my nub questions answered along the way to make my journey a little easier.

i have no interest in online and already know not to do it.

 

[Ashura66]

i agree, i will continue to read and make sure i fully understand before doing anything. would appreciate getting my nub questions answered along the way to make my journey a little easier.

i have no interest in online and already know not to do it.

If you don't mind spending money then SX OS is the way to go. If you prefer a free alternative that takes a few extra steps to get working then you have ReiNX( https://gbatemp.net/threads/official-reinx-thread.512203/ ) or RajNX( https://gbatemp.net/threads/rajnx-c...free-starter-pack-for-nintendo-switch.513785/ ). Whichever you choose, as you already know, online is a no go. If you want to just play backups and nothing else then either Rei or Raj got you covered. I personally use ReiNX. You also need to read up on how to enter RCM, about jigs, about all that since thre are different methods

 

[SmoothNobody]

i heard team xecutor was putting something in their methods that brick consoles if tampered with. i understand this is because they are pay to play and they don't want free distribution but this just rubs me the wrong way so they are not an option. i find it amusing the hackers don't want to be hacked but i am curious why people would pay for something that is available for free from other groups.

 

[JoeBloggs777]

i heard team xecutor was putting something in their methods that brick consoles if tampered with. i understand this is because they are pay to play and they don't want free distribution but this just rubs me the wrong way so they are not an option. i find it amusing the hackers don't want to be hacked but i am curious why people would pay for something that is available for free from other groups.

the brick code was removed along time ago.

I bought a SX pro, thats the dongle, RCM jig and SX OS more than 3 months ago, there was nothing else then, even now it's still one of the better jigs, the dongle is still the smallest and SX OS can play XCI and NSP files, its worked perfectly for my kids. no regrets best $50 i've spent.

 

[Ashura66]

i heard team xecutor was putting something in their methods that brick consoles if tampered with. i understand this is because they are pay to play and they don't want free distribution but this just rubs me the wrong way so they are not an option. i find it amusing the hackers don't want to be hacked but i am curious why people would pay for something that is available for free from other groups.

It was removed a long time ago. The only advantage that SX OS has right now is the dongle (But you can always buy third party dongles like the r4 or Atmosphere ones which are just as good or even better since they have an actual battery and not just simple capacitors) and the fact that they can run .XCI games but that's not TOO MUCH of an advantage

 

[JoeBloggs777]

It was removed a long time ago. The only advantage that SX OS has right now is the dongle (But you can always buy third party dongles like the r4 or Atmosphere ones which are just as good or even better since they have an actual battery and not just simple capacitors) and the fact that they can run .XCI games but that's not TOO MUCH of an advantage

well time will tell which is better the caps or battery, but looking at the link below , they state caps are better overall
https://dashcameras.net/battery-vs-capacitor/

2168-0002 have just released a XCI installer, i prefer XCI's to NSPs, dont need to install, one file you can copy and paste and then delete when you've had enough of the game unlike NSP files .

I like the complete package of TX, the SX os is so easy to use, just copy and paste.

 

[SmoothNobody]

It was removed a long time ago.

that's good to know, but still super D-bag to do in the first place. the rep gained by removing it doesn't exceed the rep lost by doing it in the first place. just found out if i buy their product it's only good for one console. screw that. how is a dongle an advantage? can't i just use an SD card to install REI and RAJ?

i did search for XCI/NSP and now know these are different game formats. have not figured out what a jig is yet. are ISO still used?

 

[Ashura66]

how is a dongle an advantage? can't i just use an SD card to install REI and RAJ?

The Rei and Raj files do go onto the SD card HOWEVER to actually launch them you need to connect your system to a PC or a Smartphone and use a loader, specifically Hekate. The advantage of the dongle is being able to launch the CFW without needing to connect to the pc or smartphone, making it completely portable

i did search for XCI/NSP and now know these are different game formats. have not figured out what a jig is yet. are ISO still used?

ISO are not used, XCI(Game cart dumps) or NSP(E-Shop dumps) are the formats you need. As for the jig its one of the many tools used to make the system enter RCM(recovery mode). CFW can only be launched when the system is in RCM and it's not permanent sof if you switch your system off completely, you'l have to re flash your system

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well time will tell which is better the caps or battery, but looking at the link below , they state caps are better overall
https://dashcameras.net/battery-vs-capacitor/

2168-0002 have just released a XCI installer, i prefer XCI's to NSPs, dont need to install, one file you can copy and paste and then delete when you've had enough of the game unlike NSP files .

I like the complete package of TX, the SX os is so easy to use, just copy and paste.

There have been PLENTY of reports of the caps completely dying and making the dongle completely unusable. Not so much for the dongles with battery.

.NSP is pretty much the same. Install it then remove it when you are done, the space it takes up on your SD card is more or less the same

 

[Vorde]

that's good to know, but still super D-bag to do in the first place. the rep gained by removing it doesn't exceed the rep lost by doing it in the first place. just found out if i buy their product it's only good for one console. screw that. how is a dongle an advantage? can't i just use an SD card to install REI and RAJ?

i did search for XCI/NSP and now know these are different game formats. have not figured out what a jig is yet. are ISO still used?

An ISO is an optical disc image (like a full beginning to end dump of a CD, DVD, Or Blu-Ray) so because this uses cartridges or eshop files, that's why we have XCI (ROMs based on the game carts) or NSPs (Nintendo eShop Installation files).
If you need help with things, let me know and I'll try my best to answer your questions

 

[JoeBloggs777]

There have been PLENTY of reports of the caps completely dying and making the dongle completely unusable. Not so much for the dongles with battery.

TX have sold many 1,000s of the SX dongle in the last 3 months, more than anyone else, so its obvious that you will hear of failures, the other dongles that use a battery have only recently come on the market so again it's obvious they haven't sold as many and people haven't been able to use them for long. but you will hear of battery failures soon.

 

[SmoothNobody]

The Rei and Raj files do go onto the SD card HOWEVER to actually launch them you need to connect your system to a PC or a Smartphone and use a loader

now i understand why people pay. that's a pretty big deal. is there any development news about loading backups with freeware without needing to connect to another device? any hacked SX OS floating around the net?

CFW can only be launched when the system is in RCM and it's not permanent sof if you switch your system off completely, you'l have to re flash your system

needing to re-flash every time you turn off your console sounds like crazyness so i'm hoping i'm not fully understanding the situation. how are people handling this?

If you need help with things, let me know and I'll try my best to answer your questions

you guys are awesome and i really appreciate the information. saves me so many days of reading random threads to discover key information.

 

[Ashura66]

now i understand why people pay. that's a pretty big deal. is there any development news about loading backups with freeware without needing to connect to another device? any hacked SX OS floating around the net?

Nope, nothing. However there are third party dongles and the TX team is going to release just their dongle and the jig without the OS license soon

needing to re-flash every time you turn off your console sounds like crazyness so i'm hoping i'm not fully understanding the situation. how are people handling this?

Two ways: One way is never fully turn off your system, keep it in sleep mode. the other is to turn on auto RCM but that comes with some disadvantages, mostly in terms of battery life. There are some threads here about that i suggest you read up on them. But leaving the system on sleep mode is perfectly acceptable, it's what i personally do

 

[SmoothNobody]

when you say re-flash do you mean re-enter RCM or re-installing CFW?

is the dongle just for installing CFW or is this something that is permanently plugged in the console to avoid having to re-install?

 

[Ashura66]

when you say re-flash do you mean re-enter RCM or re-installing CFW?

is the dongle just for installing CFW or is this something that is permanently plugged in the console to avoid having to re-install?

Both. Right now, CFW isn't permanent, it's temporarily "installed" onto the system's memory and when you turn off the system completely, that memory is wiped clean so the CFW is gone

Th dongle is a small usb device that you plug onto the usb slot of the console. Once you enter RCM, it will automatically run whatever payload is inside it

 

[Vorde]

Yeah I keep my Switch in Sleepmode, and "reflashing" the system is super easy. It's something that takes me less than 30 seconds. That kind of inconvenience for homebrew and backups is a price I'm easily willing to pay. Now you can get loaders on your phone as well so if you aren't nearby a computer when it happens, you're still in a good spot. Having it not be permanent can be a good thing because it means less for me to reverse and such if I choose to go back to Stock

 

[thorasgar]

I don’t have a dongle yet and have only needed to reboot once in the past month. (From a crash). Not really a problem if you are at home but if you need to reboot while mobile a dongle, internal hard mod or Android phone and cable are necessary.

Personally I am waiting to see if Dragon Injector works out, but if it doesn’t will just order a cheap dongle.
DragonInjector - Game Cart Payload Injector (Trinket M0 Clone)

 

[SmoothNobody]

i don't have a switch yet so forgive this super derp question, is sleep mode the same thing as pressing the power button on the console? when i hear about the CFW being stored in memory and warnings about turning off the system "completely" i'm wondering if the re-flash is needed when simply pressing the power button or only when there is complete power loss such as unplugging the console.

 

[Ashura66]

i don't have a switch yet so forgive this super derp question, is sleep mode the same thing as pressing the power button on the console? when i hear about the CFW being stored in memory and warnings about turning off the system "completely" i'm wondering if the re-flash is needed when simply pressing the power button or only when there is complete power loss such as unplugging the console.

Taping the power button makes it go into sleep mode. To completely turn it off you have to HOLD the power button for a few seconds