Hacking INSTINCT-NX Chip

[josete2k]

Battery fuel guage chip.

Thanks... It seems it's a faulty bms because the grey wire from batt marks 0 volt if I measure it with a multimeter...

 

[Youngsie]

This is likely redundant at this point with the shops going down but wanted to post my experience.

I sent two switches to an installer one with a HW chip and one with the instinct nx chip.

The guy has done many HW installs before but this was his first instinct nx.

Upon soldering the chip the device was a brick and wouldn't turn on. he desoldered everything to resolder it with wires (Thinking it could be the signal interference issue although discovered since that error exhibits different symptoms) and in the process noticed that two pins on the chip were bridged

TLDR If your device doesn't turn on after soldering the chip double-check the pins on the chip itself.

He said that the quality of the instinct nx chip was noticeably worse than any of the HWFLY chips he has done.

 

[Hassal]

This is likely redundant at this point with the shops going down but wanted to post my experience.

I sent two switches to an installer one with a HW chip and one with the instinct nx chip.

The guy has done many HW installs before but this was his first instinct nx.

Upon soldering the chip the device was a brick and wouldn't turn on. he desoldered everything to resolder it with wires (Thinking it could be the signal interference issue although discovered since that error exhibits different symptoms) and in the process noticed that two pins on the chip were bridged

View attachment 368996



TLDR If your device doesn't turn on after soldering the chip double-check the pins on the chip itself.

He said that the quality of the instinct nx chip was noticeably worse than any of the HWFLY chips he has done.

I already knew this chip was a POS once my console refused to turn on, and I did a ton of consoles with hwfly chip with little to no issues. People started questioning my soldering ability as if it was my fault. I have a stack of them and I'm hesitant to use them on any new switches. I already had one that gave me a nightmare.

 

[Blakejansen]

I already knew this chip was a POS once my console refused to turn on, and I did a ton of consoles with hwfly chip with little to no issues. People started questioning my soldering ability as if it was my fault. I have a stack of them and I'm hesitant to use them on any new switches. I already had one that gave me a nightmare.

What version of the HWFLY is compatible with the adapter that doesn't require reflow/reball?

 

[Hassal]

What version of the HWFLY is compatible with the adapter that doesn't require reflow/reball?

If you mean the dat0 you can use any adapter but make sure it doesn't short.

 

[Blakejansen]

If you mean the dat0 you can use any adapter but make sure it doesn't short.

I saw a video stating that it is now not recommended to reball when installing the chip. In the same video they said that there are new dat0 adapters that you anchor using solder with no need of using a hot air station. Supposedly the recall was causing solder joints to crack and it was bricking systems.

How can I tell that I am using the correct adapter that doesn't need to hot air station?

 

[Hassal]

I saw a video stating that it is now not recommended to reball when installing the chip. In the same video they said that there are new dat0 adapters that you anchor using solder with no need of using a hot air station. Supposedly the recall was causing solder joints to crack and it was bricking systems.

How can I tell that I am using the correct adapter that doesn't need to hot air station?

Its the same adapter that connects to dat0 whether you reflow or not. The only difference in these adapters is how they are anchored but other than that they are much the same.

 

[Blakejansen]

Its the same adapter that connects to dat0 whether you reflow or not. The only difference in these adapters is how they are anchored but other than that they are much the same.

What changed in how the adapters are anchored?

 

[Hassal]

What changed in how the adapters are anchored?

They stopped making the old ones that had issues. You're fine choosing whatever adapter you're comfortable installing.

 

[Phantomas77]

I saw a video stating that it is now not recommended to reball when installing the chip. In the same video they said that there are new dat0 adapters that you anchor using solder with no need of using a hot air station. Supposedly the recall was causing solder joints to crack and it was bricking systems.

How can I tell that I am using the correct adapter that doesn't need to hot air station?

Reball and Reflow are two different techniques, I imagine here you were refering to the "reflow" one.

Reballing is the best and permanent solution, just make sure to clean well the old solder and use a leaded one with lower melting point.

 

[jacopo99]

I just got this instinct v6 set from aliexpress for about 30 dollars.
I noticed the soldermask is black and not white.
Does anyone have a review for it?
Cheers.

 

[xtrem3x]

Got one of these installed on my new TotK switch

 

[doom95]

With the flex all installs look the same

 

[pwsincd]

I absolutely recognise those there fingernails in the video

ANd the guy in the console reflection . lol

 

[bergstyle]

I just got this instinct v6 set from aliexpress for about 30 dollars.
I noticed the soldermask is black and not white.
Does anyone have a review for it?
Cheers.


View attachment 369370

This is the only one that is still available for purchase. Keep us posted on the install!

 

[Phantomas77]

Got one of these installed on my new TotK switch

View attachment 369398View attachment 369399View attachment 369400View attachment 369401View attachment 369402View attachment 369403View attachment 369404View attachment 369405

Nice work, which NAND brand you got on this new edition of Zelda?

 

[jacopo99]

Got one of these installed on my new TotK switch

That looks very very good. Am iI correct by saying you only needed 2 flying wires? Which size have you used for them?

 

[swutch]

Nice work, which NAND brand you got on this new edition of Zelda?

I have two Zelda editions here. Both have sk-hynix nands.

 

[xtrem3x]

Nice work, which NAND brand you got on this new edition of Zelda?

SK hynix which I've read is unfortunate. I've created backups but fingers crossed it'll be ok

That looks very very good. Am iI correct by saying you only needed 2 flying wires? Which size have you used for them?

It's a very tidy install, I can't claim the credit though but I'll pass along the compliment.
Yes, just 2 wires, 0.1mm enamel coated magnat

 

[Mr Skinner]

Well, I successfully installed the modchip. The findings are the same as most have already told in this topic. It has excellent compatibility, has a poor build, looks like an end-of-gen clone of hwfly, and so on. I had no problems with soldering or training the chip, everything seems to be done correctly.

A curious detail that seems to me to be a peculiarity of INSTINCT NX (although I haven't tested my SD for problems). Apparently he has problems with high capacity SD. I'm using a 512GB and experience variable booting times in heakate/emunand, ranging from "almost instantaneous" to "up to a two minute wait". It is formatted in FAT32. Sometimes it gives the uncomfortable impression that it is not working, but just wait for it to boot into atmosphere without problems.

Perhaps the only thing I would have done differently was to have used the flat that comes with the chip instead of installing the fly wire type, which are basically loose wires on the board. I followed the sthetix video, which despite being excellent content, gave me the impression that the installation that excluded the flat was more on a whim than out of necessity, despite him stating that the flat would be causing interference and errors in the console.



In any case, I would buy again. I even went back to do it and found that the seller had all his ads removed. I didn't find any more chips on Aliexpress.