Hacking Question Hackable Switch - What’s the best solution, where do I start?

[Rockstead]

According to my serial my Switch is hackable.

Cost isn’t an issue, should I buy a solution like SX OS or do something else? I just want it to be as simple as possible with the k clouded hardware I need with a nice step by step guide, point me in the right direction please, for whatever reason some Reddit channels hate SX OS, should I avoid it for any reason?

Is there a free play type site to download games? I have a 200GB SD card, is that large enough? How many games could I get on?

It’s for my kids (and me), will they be able to mess up the hack or is to obvious that it is a hack?

Thanks

 

[HadesSama94]

According to my serial my Switch is hackable.

Cost isn’t an issue, should I buy a solution like SX OS or do something else? I just want it to be as simple as possible with the k clouded hardware I need with a nice step by step guide, point me in the right direction please, for whatever reason some Reddit channels hate SX OS, should I avoid it for any reason?

Is there a free play type site to download games? I have a 200GB SD card, is that large enough? How many games could I get on?

It’s for my kids (and me), will they be able to mess up the hack or is to obvious that it is a hack?

Thanks

The only diference between SXOS and others CFW is that you can use .XCI while other only .NSP, .XCI is easier to find to download, but you can covert it anyway. I like ReinX, but you need to take a look at your firmware, the 6.2.0 isn't able to install CFW, but soon it will be solved.

 

[designgears]

ReiNX has a nice guide
https://reinx.guide/

This has very basic few steps, I would suggest reading the ReiNX guide so you know what things are first.
https://github.com/AtlasNX/Kosmos

SX OS is fine, easiest of all to use and can launch .xci dumps.
https://sx.xecuter.com/

Everything is launched from the Album once you get booted.

--------------------------------------------

This is in the ReiNX Guide, but figured I'd put it here as well in case you go another route. This can also be done thru the SX OS boot menu.

Before doing ANYTHING to your Switch, do a FULL NAND BACKUP and save your BISKEYS. Backup NAND with Hekate: https://gbatemp.net/threads/rcm-payload-hekate-ctcaer-mod.502604/ (You should backup eMMC BOOT0/1 and eMMC RAW GPP) Dump biskeys with biskeydump: can be found on https://switchtools.sshnuke.net/

 

[Hugopugo]

sxox has cheats and emunand... i was an atmosphere user and now im using sxos... not that i prefer it, but it does have more features than the free versions

 

[thorasgar]

Are your kids expecting to play online? (Splatoon 2). Wont happen for long if you run CFW.

If you plan on it being a mobile gaming console then you will need an android phone or a dongle if it needs a reboot. SX reportedly also has a very good quality jig for RCM and they can be finicky. I have 3 Switches and I can’t get my generic jig to work on one of them, works fine on the other 2.

 

[Rockstead]

Are your kids expecting to play online? (Splatoon 2). Wont happen for long if you run CFW.

If you plan on it being a mobile gaming console then you will need an android phone or a dongle if it needs a reboot. SX reportedly also has a very good quality jig for RCM and they can be finicky. I have 3 Switches and I can’t get my generic jig to work on one of them, works fine on the other 2.

Woh, you need to manually do something every reboot to play backups?

I don’t have a jig but I think it will come with the SX OS right?

Any reason not to go SX OS? Is there a good support community compared to the free stuff?

 

[thorasgar]

Woh, you need to manually do something every reboot to play backups?

I don’t have a jig but I think it will come with the SX OS right?

Any reason not to go SX OS? Is there a good support community compared to the free stuff?

Yep, every reboot it needs a tethered payload inject. Sx or CFW.

Oh boy, that is opening a can of worms. Many have issues with SX OS so it is at minimum controversial. From a technical stand point it gets the job done albeit with some occasional bugs. SX comes with a high quality jig from my understanding. Since I don’t have SX I can’t definitively speak to the support but it seems on par with CFW here on the Temp from what I have seen.

Personally I am hoping for the success of Dragon Injector but it is a WIP and have a laptop I can use to inject while on the road most of the time.

I would say SX is a good solution for younger kids as long as you train them on proper usage and make sure they treat the dongle like a prized game cart and it has a permanent home such as a case. They likely won’t need to use it often but without it your Switch is dead.

Having SX doesn’t preclude you from using the free CFW down the road if you find it suits your needs better. Just make sure you install your games as nsp instead of xci for compatibility. The dongle can work for both. Also I beleive xci games load from their own menu instead of the home screen making it much more obvious that the system is different to your kid’s friends. In some situations that is not a good thing and can be awkward.

 

[Rockstead]

Yep, every reboot it needs a tethered payload inject. Sx or CFW.

Oh boy, that is opening a can of worms. Many have issues with SX OS so it is at minimum controversial. From a technical stand point it gets the job done albeit with some occasional bugs. SX comes with a high quality jig from my understanding. Since I don’t have SX I can’t definitively speak to the support but it seems on par with CFW here on the Temp from what I have seen.

Personally I am hoping for the success of Dragon Injector but it is a WIP and have a laptop I can use to inject while on the road most of the time.

I would say SX is a good solution for younger kids as long as you train them on proper usage and make sure they treat the dongle like a prized game cart and it has a permanent home such as a case. They likely won’t need to use it often but without it your Switch is dead.

Having SX doesn’t preclude you from using the free CFW down the road if you find it suits your needs better. Just make sure you install your games as nsp instead of xci for compatibility. The dongle can work for both. Also I beleive xci games load from their own menu instead of the home screen making it much more obvious that the system is different to your kid’s friends. In some situations that is not a good thing and can be awkward.

That is a great point about games looking differently, you definitely get where I am coming from, great point and thanks, I definitely want it to look the same.

Would you recommend going Reinx and I just order a high quality jig from somewhere? Anyone have a place in Canada to recommend for a high quality one?

The Jig just gets used once? Or not often?

I see that as long as they put it in sleep mode then they won’t need the dongle from the SX, but how does it work with Reinx, what am I using as a dongle?

 

[gizmomelb]

explaining some things in further detail:

normally you would have your XCI or NSP files on a microSD card inserted into the Switch.

XCI means you just select the file and it loads (the same as inserting a game card, essentially)
NSP means first you must INSTALL the game to the Switch internal NAND memory before you can play the game. Sometimes it can take 5-10 minutes to install the game the first time.

SXOS also allows you to directly load XCI files from a USB stick or hard drive - you don't need to buy a large capacity SD card to store the games on / you can have a very large collection of games to play from USB - BUT playing games from a USB hard drive makes the Switch not as portable as you have a USB cable and hard drive hanging off the bottom of the switch. It is good if you mostly play the Switch in the dock and on TV.


NEITHER SOLUTION allows you to play on the Nintendo online service - there may be a third party workaround for multiplayer networked games soon in a program named XLINK KAI

So your kid's Switch is NOT going to ever be able to play multiplayer games with their friends.

hope this helps!

 

[thorasgar]

In order to boot into CFW the Switch must be put in RCM mode first. A jig in the joycon rail accomplishes this. After that AutoRCM is recommended by most so on subsequent reboots the jig is not needed, unless you update the firmware which disables AutoRCM. Once in RCM the dongle, PC, Android phone, etc is used to inject the payload which starts the bootloader. From there you can boot CFW, make a Nand dump etc.

There are alternative cheap dongles you can get like the NS-Atmosphere on AliExpress. Jigs can be purchased on Amazon, eBay etc. but I can’t recommend one since the $3 one I bought on Amazon will not work for some reason on one of my Switches and I have fiddled with it many times.

The cheapest route assuming you have a PC and proper USB C cable (with 56k ohm resistor) I would start with a cheap jig from eBay or Amazon and see it it works. Then make a complete Nand backup using Canna’s guide in the tutorial section. Once there use ReiNX or Atmosphere, it doesn’t matter much for basic usage and is very simple to switch between the two and both can co-exist on the SD card. If that all works then order an NS-Atmosphere or check on the progress of Drangon Injector. (Fits in the game card slot)

As gizmomelb said once you go down this route online is going to get you banned. No Splatoon. Restoring a Nand backup each time you want to go online is a multi hour process so that is not practical. The most practical thing IMO to do is buy a dedicated CFW Switch and have a totally legit one that can go online. Especially with kids this is useful becuase if you have at least one game cart they can play against each other in local wireless mode without Nintendo knowing and risking a ban. Your legit switch is not going to get banned by connecting to a hacked one. Nice for road trips.

 

[Rockstead]

explaining some things in further detail:

normally you would have your XCI or NSP files on a microSD card inserted into the Switch.

XCI means you just select the file and it loads (the same as inserting a game card, essentially)
NSP means first you must INSTALL the game to the Switch internal NAND memory before you can play the game. Sometimes it can take 5-10 minutes to install the game the first time.

SXOS also allows you to directly load XCI files from a USB stick or hard drive - you don't need to buy a large capacity SD card to store the games on / you can have a very large collection of games to play from USB - BUT playing games from a USB hard drive makes the Switch not as portable as you have a USB cable and hard drive hanging off the bottom of the switch. It is good if you mostly play the Switch in the dock and on TV.


NEITHER SOLUTION allows you to play on the Nintendo online service - there may be a third party workaround for multiplayer networked games soon in a program named XLINK KAI

So your kid's Switch is NOT going to ever be able to play multiplayer games with their friends.

hope this helps!

I only plan on using Microsd as they may want to walk around the house with it and I don’t want it to be attached to a USB.

You mention you have to install a game the first time, but following that it loads quickly like if you were playing a digital downloaded copy from Nintendo?

Are you limited to how many games you can have it installed? Besides the size of your SD card, the one I bought is 200GB.

It seems convient to buy the SX OS (Pro?) because it comes with a dongle and jig, otherwise which dongle and Jig would you recommend I buy for a solution like Reinx? I’m assuming it also needs a Dongle and Jig.

Any reason to stick with SX OS if I don’t use cheats, I want the games to load like normal games, and no plans for external storage?

Thanks

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

In order to boot into CFW the Switch must be put in RCM mode first. A jig in the joycon rail accomplishes this. After that AutoRCM is recommended by most so on subsequent reboots the jig is not needed, unless you update the firmware which disables AutoRCM. Once in RCM the dongle, PC, Android phone, etc is used to inject the payload which starts the bootloader. From there you can boot CFW, make a Nand dump etc.

There are alternative cheap dongles you can get like the NS-Atmosphere on AliExpress. Jigs can be purchased on Amazon, eBay etc. but I can’t recommend one since the $3 one I bought on Amazon will not work for some reason on one of my Switches and I have fiddled with it many times.

The cheapest route assuming you have a PC and proper USB C cable (with 56k ohm resistor) I would start with a cheap jig from eBay or Amazon and see it it works. Then make a complete Nand backup using Canna’s guide in the tutorial section. Once there use ReiNX or Atmosphere, it doesn’t matter much for basic usage and is very simple to switch between the two and both can co-exist on the SD card. If that all works then order an NS-Atmosphere or check on the progress of Drangon Injector. (Fits in the game card slot)

As gizmomelb said once you go down this route online is going to get you banned. No Splatoon. Restoring a Nand backup each time you want to go online is a multi hour process so that is not practical. The most practical thing IMO to do is buy a dedicated CFW Switch and have a totally legit one that can go online. Especially with kids this is useful becuase if you have at least one game cart they can play against each other in local wireless mode without Nintendo knowing and risking a ban. Your legit switch is not going to get banned by connecting to a hacked one. Nice for road trips.

Thanks for the detailed reply, personally I would prefer a solution that didn’t rely on connecting to a pc if the kids shut it off by mistake, so it sounds like that a dongle would take care of that and I can train them to do that.

I’m not looking for anything cheap, what’s the best dongle/jig combo I can buy that is of quality? Is TX the only ones putting out quality ones?

Thanks for the detailed reply

In order to boot into CFW the Switch must be put in RCM mode first. A jig in the joycon rail accomplishes this. After that AutoRCM is recommended by most so on subsequent reboots the jig is not needed, unless you update the firmware which disables AutoRCM. Once in RCM the dongle, PC, Android phone, etc is used to inject the payload which starts the bootloader. From there you can boot CFW, make a Nand dump etc.

There are alternative cheap dongles you can get like the NS-Atmosphere on AliExpress. Jigs can be purchased on Amazon, eBay etc. but I can’t recommend one since the $3 one I bought on Amazon will not work for some reason on one of my Switches and I have fiddled with it many times.

The cheapest route assuming you have a PC and proper USB C cable (with 56k ohm resistor) I would start with a cheap jig from eBay or Amazon and see it it works. Then make a complete Nand backup using Canna’s guide in the tutorial section. Once there use ReiNX or Atmosphere, it doesn’t matter much for basic usage and is very simple to switch between the two and both can co-exist on the SD card. If that all works then order an NS-Atmosphere or check on the progress of Drangon Injector. (Fits in the game card slot)

As gizmomelb said once you go down this route online is going to get you banned. No Splatoon. Restoring a Nand backup each time you want to go online is a multi hour process so that is not practical. The most practical thing IMO to do is buy a dedicated CFW Switch and have a totally legit one that can go online. Especially with kids this is useful becuase if you have at least one game cart they can play against each other in local wireless mode without Nintendo knowing and risking a ban. Your legit switch is not going to get banned by connecting to a hacked one. Nice for road trips.

 

[thorasgar]

I only plan on using Microsd as they may want to walk around the house with it and I don’t want it to be attached to a USB.

You mention you have to install a game the first time, but following that it loads quickly like if you were playing a digital downloaded copy from Nintendo?

Are you limited to how many games you can have it installed? Besides the size of your SD card, the one I bought is 200GB.

It seems convient to buy the SX OS (Pro?) because it comes with a dongle and jig, otherwise which dongle and Jig would you recommend I buy for a solution like Reinx? I’m assuming it also needs a Dongle and Jig.

Any reason to stick with SX OS if I don’t use cheats, I want the games to load like normal games, and no plans for external storage?

Thanks

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Thanks for the detailed reply, personally I would prefer a solution that didn’t rely on connecting to a pc if the kids shut it off by mistake, so it sounds like that a dongle would take care of that and I can train them to do that.

I’m not looking for anything cheap, what’s the best dongle/jig combo I can buy that is of quality? Is TX the only ones putting out quality ones?

Thanks for the detailed reply

I think everyone has complaints about each dongle. But NS-Atmosphere and SX are definitely the best choices. If the $40-50 is not an issue and SX’s business practices are not a concern the.n I would probably just go with SX for now and as I said it doesn’t preclude you fro using any of the free CFWs if they warrant your attention in the future.

An xci game file just sits in a folder on the SD and is then loaded just like a jpg. An nsp format is copied to the SD then installed to the Nintendo folder of the SD (sort of like unzipping a .zip file) at that point you can delete the original nsp file. So you always need 2x the space of the file on the SD to be able to install it.

Is 200 GB enough space? In most cases yes, especially if you have a data storage on a PC to keep copies of all your games. If you don’t, now is a good time to pick up an external USB HDD to store games and Nand backups on. Are your kids really going to be playing 40 or so games all the time? Or can you archive off some of them and then copy them back over a year later if they decide they want to go back and play BoTW or Donkey Kong again? You can always have multiple mSD cards they are so small you don’t want your kids constantly pulling them out. My couch loves to swallow things like that. I use a 128GB sd and my boys don’t complain and find they actively only play 6-7 games at any one time. Saves are small and stay on the Nand even if you delete the game.

 

[krazyblunts]

how come no one is mentioning emunand?

 

[stephrk398]

If cost doesn't matter and you want it simple then sx is the way to go imo. The hate toward it is probably because it was the first cfw that enabled piracy, pretty much.

 

[gameboy]

nand backup first(min 64gb sd card), think of that before anything

 

[gizmomelb]

You mention you have to install a game the first time, but following that it loads quickly like if you were playing a digital downloaded copy from Nintendo?

Only NSP files have to be installed - NSPs work on the free firmwares and SXOS, ONLY SXOS supports XCI images of games (which is like popping in a new game cart.. it just runs, no installation (there are a few exceptions - LA Noire and the NBA games - which need to then download extra data to play the games.. even with the original cartridges)

Are you limited to how many games you can have it installed? Besides the size of your SD card, the one I bought is 200GB.

INSTALLED games - YES. The Switch only has 32GB of internal memory - NSP games INSTALL to that internal memory. Also it's where save games etc. are stored.

The SD card holds the COPIES of the NSP files you want to INSTALL TO THE SWITCH.

Or with XCI files you run them direct from the SD card - so in that case XCI for you / your kids is a better solution as the SD card can hold more games and they are easier to load / run.

It seems convient to buy the SX OS (Pro?) because it comes with a dongle and jig, otherwise which dongle and Jig would you recommend I buy for a solution like Reinx? I’m assuming it also needs a Dongle and Jig.

The SXOS Pro comes with the dongle and the jig and the custom firmware. There are cheap $15 dongles and jigs available overseas from Alibaba, ebay etc.. they're all pretty much the same.

Any reason to stick with SX OS if I don’t use cheats, I want the games to load like normal games, and no plans for external storage?

SXOS has XCI support which allows easier loading of games (no installation time needed, the games don't install to the internal 32GB NAND memory and you can fit more XCI games on the SD Card).


As for NOT mentioning EmuNAND - why confuse the issue even further? This person wants an easy solution their kids can use - I don't see what EmuNAND can do to benefit them. They still cannot play online with EmuNAND. The sole benefit EmuNAND in SXOS brings is it *MAY* make a system recovery easier, should anything ever go awry.


So stressing AGAIN - your kids will NOT be able to play online at ALL.

No multiplayer POKEMON
No Fortnite
NO NOTHING.

If your kids want to play online and to be able to play multiplayer games WITH THEIR FRIENDS then just man up and BUY them the games, since you keep commenting money is no option.

 

[Rockstead]

Only NSP files have to be installed - NSPs work on the free firmwares and SXOS, ONLY SXOS supports XCI images of games (which is like popping in a new game cart.. it just runs, no installation (there are a few exceptions - LA Noire and the NBA games - which need to then download extra data to play the games.. even with the original cartridges)




INSTALLED games - YES. The Switch only has 32GB of internal memory - NSP games INSTALL to that internal memory. Also it's where save games etc. are stored.

The SD card holds the COPIES of the NSP files you want to INSTALL TO THE SWITCH.

Or with XCI files you run them direct from the SD card - so in that case XCI for you / your kids is a better solution as the SD card can hold more games and they are easier to load / run.




The SXOS Pro comes with the dongle and the jig and the custom firmware. There are cheap $15 dongles and jigs available overseas from Alibaba, ebay etc.. they're all pretty much the same.




SXOS has XCI support which allows easier loading of games (no installation time needed, the games don't install to the internal 32GB NAND memory and you can fit more XCI games on the SD Card).


As for NOT mentioning EmuNAND - why confuse the issue even further? This person wants an easy solution their kids can use - I don't see what EmuNAND can do to benefit them. They still cannot play online with EmuNAND. The sole benefit EmuNAND in SXOS brings is it *MAY* make a system recovery easier, should anything ever go awry.


So stressing AGAIN - your kids will NOT be able to play online at ALL.

No multiplayer POKEMON
No Fortnite
NO NOTHING.

If your kids want to play online and to be able to play multiplayer games WITH THEIR FRIENDS then just man up and BUY them the games, since you keep commenting money is no option.

Thanks, you certainly convinced me on the SX.

I said money isn’t an option for purchasing the hack, not a general statement ‘and the kids don’t care about online, it’s cool.

I don’t cheap out because it s a solution that provides feee games, and I want r to be as easy as possible, that’s worth the extra cost, especially when we are talking about a one time fee of $30-$50usd.

 

[smf]

INSTALLED games - YES. The Switch only has 32GB of internal memory - NSP games INSTALL to that internal memory. Also it's where save games etc. are stored.

Why does tinfoil ask if you want to install NSP to internal memory or SD?

 

[gizmomelb]

nand backup first(min 64gb sd card), think of that before anything

Why does tinfoil ask if you want to install NSP to internal memory or SD?

because I haven't used it and was unaware of it's functionality - thank you for letting us know of the alternatives.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Thanks, you certainly convinced me on the SX.

I said money isn’t an option for purchasing the hack, not a general statement ‘and the kids don’t care about online, it’s cool.

I don’t cheap out because it s a solution that provides feee games, and I want r to be as easy as possible, that’s worth the extra cost, especially when we are talking about a one time fee of $30-$50usd.

no worries.. I just really wanted to stress there is NO online capability at all no matter what backup solution you choose - so if online for the kids is a big thing (especially for Pokemon or Super Smash Brothers) then the best thing is don't hack your switch.

 

[LightBeam]

I used sdsetup, the best guide I've found so far imho