Notice: I am not receiving notifications for this thread. I didn`t realise people were still posting in it.

Please please accept my apologies if I haven`t replied to tags etc... I have no idea what is happening. I`m subscribed to this thread but I am not receiving notifications. Please inbox me if possible. Or tag me in another thread.

Its amazing that people are still checking all of this out. I thank you for all of the help and support I have received in this thread over this year.

Cheers. Matty.


A video showing a modchip in action. Thank you once again to @metaljay for providing this. This is what you can achieve by fitting a chip!

Section 1. Gather your software.

Get your chip software from THIS THREAD.
Follow the flashing instructions there...

Section 2. Removing USB port and unneeded LEDs. (Adafruit chips only)

• Next, we need to remove the USB port from the modchip. I recommend a heatgun or a rework station. Heat up until the USB port just lifts off the modchip.

• Do the same for the LED just to the right of the USB port.

See picture:

You are now ready to fit your device. Proceed to Fitting section.

Section 3. Fitting modchip to your Switch.
New Universal Method. All SAMD-based internal chips. If your chip is not supported and you cannot work it out, PM me.

Trinket M0.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
Rebug SwitchME M0. Use Trinket files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
RCMX86 - Internal modchip version.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
Gemma M0. Use Gemma files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
ItsyBitsy M0 Express. Use ItsyBitsy files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

==================================================
Feather M0 Express. Use Feather files.
Solder as laid out in the following picture

BUILD YOUR OWN FROM A QFP ATSAMD21E18. Trinket equivalent pins.
Flash Trinket bootloader using OpenOCD via serial pins SWDIO / SWDCLK. Fit a reset switch somewhere... Or going to power / wake (aka method 2). If building for external use, it is good practice to fit a third capacitor between 3V & GND. This is deliberately vague and ambigious, as this needs research and you need to know what you are doing.

Link for setting the Pi up with OpenOCD: HERE
Raspberry Pi OpenOCD image in downloads section or HERE

Alternative Solder Points

Credit to @consolex for original pic. I`ve added alternative points to solder to:

Credit to @pyorin for this much tidier version showing the same info as the above one!

Replacement Parts List

Spoiler: Parts

Ok... So you have damaged your switch soldering your chip in. Not to worry.

First things first, DO NOT BRIDGE THE CONTACTS HOPING TO REVIVE YOUR SWITCH. With resistors, you may possibly get away with this, but with the capacitors listed below, if you jump these points, you will make a nice short-circuit to the PMIC and / or the M92T36, killing them instantly. Don`t do it.

OK... I`ll list these parts with METHOD 2 & 3 TRINKET PIN NUMBERS and the values of the components they solder to.

TRINKET 3V (POWER SUPPLY) - 2.2uF 0402 size MLCC capacitor. Voltage unimportant as long as it is over 6.3v
TRINKET PIN 2 (POWER ON RESET - goes to pin 5 on M92T36)- 4.7uF 0402 size MLCC capacitor. Voltage unimportant as long as it is over 6.3v
TRINKET PIN 0 (VOL+) - 150R (150 ohms) 0201 Thick Film resistor. 50mW
TRINKET RESET (SWITCH POWER BUTTON) - 150R (150 ohms) 0201 Thick Film resistor. 50mW

I recommend RS components.

FAQ

Q - How do I boot the switch into APX (RCM) mode?

A - You need to short out pin 10 on the right joycon rail to GND with a jig or modded joycon or paperclip (not recommended... Buy a jig you cheap-ass gyppo). Once shorted out, hold down vol+ and power. The switch screen should be off... Plug into your PC and it should recognise a APX device. Well done. You are in RCM.

Q - What glue should I use?
A - Only glue if necessary! Ideally if your soldering is of sufficient quality and your wire is thin enough, you don`t need glue. I use a bit because I am OCD. Anyway, use Epoxy. It`s what I use. Gives you some working time, is solid. Superglue makes a mess DO NOT USE SUPERGLUE. The only thing super about it is how it melts things. Epoxy won`t stick to the shield long-term, so bear that in mind. Pure Acetone will remove epoxy. Acetone tends to remove / melt anything to be warned. CHECK YOUR GLUE WON`T GO CONDUCTIVE OVER TIME - LOOKING AT YOU SCAMSUNG! The combination of heat cycles and absorbing of moisture can turn adhesive into a high-impedance connection!

Q - What size wire should I use?
A - I use AWG40 magnet wire or AWG30 Kynar. AWG40 goes onto components easier... And if you snap it, chances are the wire will snap and not the trace / component.
A2 - You can also use AWG30. I recommend Kynar wrapping wire but any will do. Looks nice, good resistance to elements, tidy. Nothing thicker than AWG30. You are just causing yourself more headaches. Trust me.

Q - Is AWG40 thick enough?
A - Yes. AWG40 is good for around 90mA.

Q - which methods do you recommend?
A - Connect all the straps...

Q - how do you recommend to set it up?
A - Fusee Suite. Search for Fusee Suite or go to link at top of this OP.

Q - My switch is flat and won't turn on.
A - Have you got the charger connected? Disconnect it or your switch won't boot! Boot to a payload (SX loader/Hekate), reconnect charger and leave on the payload menu and charge. Leave for 15 minutes and switch will start normally. It will continue charging one booted.

Disclaimer:
You have only yourself to blame. This voids warranty. This may or may not get you banned from online services. If it does, you got yourself banned. I`m not responsible if you kill your switch / your first-born with any of this in this post. I`m not infalliable. I`m partly senile. Do your own research. Kids, get bill payers permission before you attempt even using a screwdriver.
NUTSHELL: Don`t come having a go at me because you fooked your £300 console up. I`ll do my best to help you though if you do, Just don`t blame me.

Credits to Quantum-Cross, Atlas44, @Ninoh-FOX , @jcrorxp , @tecfreak, @mooglazer, @subcon959, @64Dp128k, @mikeleuskaldunak, @M-O-B, CTCaer, @evilsperm, @consolex and everyone else for valuable input.

IF YOU REQUIRE SUPPORT, IF YOUR CONSOLE ISN`T WORKING CORRECTLY... PLEASE POST A HIGH RESOLUTION PICTURE OF YOUR INSTALL. You might think it isn`t your soldering, but in all cases with the new methods, it is bad soldering. So, please post a picture.

A BRIEF WARNING - PLEASE READ

Spoiler: READ THIS

THIS MOD IS NOT FOR THE FEINT OF HEART. WE ARE SOLDERING TO TRACES AND COMPONENTS ON THE FRONT SIDE OF THE BOARD TO SAVE HAVING TO REMOVE THE BOARD AND SOLDER TO TESTPOINTS. IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING, OR THINK YOU ARE GOING TO STRUGGLE, PLEASE PLEASE SOLDER TO THE TEST POINTS NOTED IN THIS AND OTHER THREADS (YOU WILL NEED TO REMOVE THE MOTHERBOARD). DOUBLE - TRIPLE CHECK EVERYTHING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Good soldering skills are needed!
A magnifying glass is needed!
Good soldering iron needed - ideally with a 0.3 conical tip. No more than 30w!
SECURE YOUR WIRES PRIOR TO SOLDERING. Stick them down with double-sided tape.
Only use glue if you need to and glue wires after soldering. Don`t glue the solder to the component!
Put the tiniest amount of glue on the PCB mask only. Never on components. Use a cocktail stick for more glue control!!!
Take a look at alternative solder points to get you out of the sh*t if you do rip something off the board
If you aren`t the best at soldering, then think very carefully about connecting to pin 6 capacitor (the one in these new methods). If you rip this pad, you WILL NEED TO REMOVE YOUR BOARD and run from a testpoint.

 

[Avenger]

I saw the video at as well as the instructions. Is there any specific reason I have to remove the LED and the resistor beside it rather than just the micro usb port? I plan to install it internally and am wondering if there are any negative consequences to leaving the LED and resistor on. (the ones by the ON text beside the micro usb port).

EDIT - I ended up removing both plus the microusb after reading leaving them on can potentially draw more power.

 

[ganons]

@mrdude crashes still persist even with a new card fat32. Opened it up and removed the card reader, couldn't see any broken pins. Cleaned the contacts. I have attached pictures of install. One thing I noticed is that switch gets warm a little warm compared to oled. Also when placing flat on desk sometimes causes the crash. I noticed that if I tap the back case, a red light flashes which then freezes/crashes the switch. Sometimes it days failed to init SD card.

 

[ledezma2003]

Good Morning Everyone may have shorted both D+ D-. Switch will not turn on. Trinket turns on but nothing on the switch. I removed trinket and still nothing. Any ideas what i messed up and what i need to replace?
This was my first trinket. Ive done plenty of X86RCM, OLED mod chips, PicoFly and even some SXCores back in the day. I was just careless and tired that i didnt double check my work.
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[mrdude]

Good Morning Everyone may have shorted both D+ D-. Switch will not turn on. Trinket turns on but nothing on the switch. I removed trinket and still nothing. Any ideas what i messed up and what i need to replace?
This was my first trinket. Ive done plenty of X86RCM, OLED mod chips, PicoFly and even some SXCores back in the day. I was just careless and tired that i didnt double check my work.
Thanks in advance for any help.

Hold the power button for 15 seconds, See if you can boot into hekate.

 

[Omiaz]

View attachment 366958
Does anyone have any data or a pinout of this chip that's being sold on Aliexpress?

Was your installation successful? I have the same chip and can't find some good diagram

 

[Hayato213]

Was your installation successful? I have the same chip and can't find some good diagram

If you are planning to do 7 wires, you have to figure out which one is volume+ strap, joycon strap, and usb disconnect strap.

 

[ganons]

@mrdude crashes still persist even with a new card fat32. Opened it up and removed the card reader, couldn't see any broken pins. Cleaned the contacts. I have attached pictures of install. One thing I noticed is that switch gets warm a little warm compared to oled. Also when placing flat on desk sometimes causes the crash. I noticed that if I tap the back case, a red light flashes which then freezes/crashes the switch. Sometimes it days failed to init SD card.

So bit on an update to this saga @mrdude
I sent it back back to the modder and he replaced the trinket with the RP 2040 Core chip and so far none of those problems have occured.

Only new issue is battery reading seems wrong so will try that desync app

 

[Hayato213]

So bit on an update to this saga @mrdude
I sent it back back to the modder and he replaced the trinket with the RP 2040 Core chip and so far none of those problems have occured.

Only new issue is battery reading seems wrong so will try that desync app

My advice is to backup your NAND, as RP2040 chips have the problem of corrupting NAND.

 

[mrdude]

So bit on an update to this saga @mrdude
I sent it back back to the modder and he replaced the trinket with the RP 2040 Core chip and so far none of those problems have occured.

Only new issue is battery reading seems wrong so will try that desync app

If you got a battery update to a higher amp hour battery than the switch's original battery - that could cause that issue.

 

[ganons]

If you got a battery update to a higher amp hour battery than the switch's original battery - that could cause that issue.

Still using OG battery

 

[mrdude]

Still using OG battery

Well to simplify things, the software on the switch calculates the battery percentage from information it gets from the chip that's on the battery, The chip on the battery looks at the current battery voltage and is pre programmed with the amount of amp hours the battey holds and then sends the data based on that.

You have a few posibilities if that info is wrong:
1: The battery is sending the wrong info to the switch and causing the percentage calculation to be wrong - maybe it needs replaced.
2: The switch is calculating the percentage wrong from the info it received from the battery - probably not this.

First try to recalibrate the battery - there's lots of guides via google on how to do this. The next best option is to just try a new battery of the same capacity as the original switch battery - (doesn't need to be a switch battery for testing, just the volatge and amp hours need to be the same). If it's not that - the switch is probably faulty.

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Support/...e-Indicator-Displays-Incorrectly-1250816.html

 

[DannyBoi22456]

I have my seeeduino xiao installed internally and it is injecting the payload fine but windows wasnt recognising it over usb so i trimmed the d+ and d- cables down and it recognises but i still cant transfer files to my sd card using hekate or the usb utility in atmosphere

 

[Hayato213]

I have my seeeduino xiao installed internally and it is injecting the payload fine but windows wasnt recognising it over usb so i trimmed the d+ and d- cables down and it recognises but i still cant transfer files to my sd card using hekate or the usb utility in atmosphere

For Atmosphere and Hekate usb feature you need libusbk driver, as for uf2 driver folder you need to reset the chip if there is a reset button and then restart the switch.

 

[DannyBoi22456]

For Atmosphere and Hekate usb feature you need libusbk driver, as for uf2 driver folder you need to reset the chip if there is a reset button and then restart the switch.

Im pretty sure i have libusbk installed since it was working before i installed the seeeduino xiao and what do you mean by the uf2 driver folder?

EDIT: nvm i reinstalled libusbk and used a different usb c cable and port and it worked ty

 

[semsem]

This is the new RCM X86 that's being sold on AliExpress currently. It works well with the 5 cable method but I don't know if this one is even flashable with Fusee suite because I don't know if this one has a Reset pad. Could anyone help with this one?
Also USB connection to my PC doesn't work anymore wether it is DBI MTP Hekate UMS or Haze.nro even though my USB-A to USB-C cable and my PC are working fine. Weridly enough Hekate UMS works when I use an USB-C to USB-C cable. Help is appreciated

 

[Jarmenti]

Whenever I had usb connectivity issues, it was always the wires going to the d+ and d- points. Make the wires as short as possible or try a different wire gauge.

View attachment 401209
This is the new RCM X86 that's being sold on AliExpress currently. It works well with the 5 cable method but I don't know if this one is even flashable with Fusee suite because I don't know if this one has a Reset pad. Could anyone help with this one?
Also USB connection to my PC doesn't work anymore wether it is DBI MTP Hekate UMS or Haze.nro even though my USB-A to USB-C cable and my PC are working fine. Weridly enough Hekate UMS works when I use an USB-C to USB-C cable. Help is appreciate

 

[semsem]

Whenever I had usb connectivity issues, it was always the wires going to the d+ and d- points. Make the wires as short as possible or try a different wire gauge.

Thanks. I shortened the wires and now the USB connectivity works.

Does anyone know if this chip is flashable? It's being sold as an RCM X86 on Aliexpress so I thought it should be. But I can't seem to find a way to enter uf2 mode with this chip. Don't know which one is the RES pad if there's even one on this chip.

 

[unvaluablespace]

Hello. I recently did the mod with a Trinket M0 and have a question. I noticed on the info screen that while joycon and vol optioned are enabled, the "USB voltage" something (sorry im not in front of the device at the moment) said could not find or not enabled. Would this be referring to the USB disconnect strap that wires into pinout 2 and the pad on the right of the mainboard? I did have an issue where I accidently flooded solder onto the capacitor right below the pad, and had a heck of a time getting it off. I am worried I may have messed up that capacitor, as I checked my soldering and it looks good on both ends. Everything seems to be functioning fine but I do not fully understand the part that says "stops RCM accidents".

I do notice that I cannot boot properly if the switch is plugged into a charger. I usually have to hold power button to force off, then unplug and it boots fine. I also notice if I try to shutdown, the switch after a few seconds boots back up again.

 

[White_Raven_X]

Hello. I recently did the mod with a Trinket M0 and have a question. I noticed on the info screen that while joycon and vol optioned are enabled, the "USB voltage" something (sorry im not in front of the device at the moment) said could not find or not enabled. Would this be referring to the USB disconnect strap that wires into pinout 2 and the pad on the right of the mainboard? I did have an issue where I accidently flooded solder onto the capacitor right below the pad, and had a heck of a time getting it off. I am worried I may have messed up that capacitor, as I checked my soldering and it looks good on both ends. Everything seems to be functioning fine but I do not fully understand the part that says "stops RCM accidents".

I do notice that I cannot boot properly if the switch is plugged into a charger. I usually have to hold power button to force off, then unplug and it boots fine. I also notice if I try to shutdown, the switch after a few seconds boots back up again.

Switch will NOT power on if connected to USB charger because your trinket M0 is triggering RCM (recovery mode) through the data pads that you soldered to the USB. So essentially it can only have one connection at a time.

"Stop RCM accidents" is used to disconnect the M0 so that it doesn't continuously try to push recovery mode. If you find that your battery dies quickly while you turn your switch off, maybe you should connect that pin.

If I made any mistakes in my explanation, please chime in.

 

[unvaluablespace]

Thank you for the explanations. I sort of figured thats what it refers to, as the description is self explanatory. Ive attached a few screenshots of my admittedly noob attempts. I've worked on soldering for several years from time to time on personal projects. Components never this tiny, though pretty close. I tried to solder the wire to the pad and ended up accidently getting that glob onto the small resistor below it (at least what I believe is an SMD resistor). While frantically panicking and trying to get the glob of solder off the resistor, I had troubles, as it was like the solder turned into a glob of clay, and i essently had to slowly shape it to get it off the resistor. I feel like I may have burnt the resistor, but I assume not since the switch still powers on.

Everything works fine so far. The switch powers on, and I am able to booth into hekate, sysnand, emunand, atmosphere, etc, as well as get into the trinket boot menu by holding volume. When I go into Fusee_UF2 information however, I get the following for USB voltage (optional) - Not yet found. Reboot to check again.

I tried resoldering the wire the first time i saw that, which is actually how I ended up getting the glob of solder on the resistor in the first place, but even after finally getting it off, I'm still getting that message. Checked the wire with my multi-meter and still getting a connection from pin 2 on the trinket to the solder pad. Not sure why it still says not yet found.