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.

 

[randy_w]

I very nearly bought one of those because of the price but went went with the trinket in the end, still waiting for the thing to arrive though

They are pretty reliable tbh. Rebooted my switch for like 20 times, works every single time. Well they should because it's basically the same thing as trinket m0 as they use the same mcu, with the advantage of exposed usb pins and slightly smaller footprint. But shipping from china takes like 3 weeks.

Turns out they are pre-programmed with a different bootloader:
https://github.com/euclala/RCM-X86

No wonder volume up gets triggered randomly, in their sketch only D0 is used for joycon strap

 

[P4RI4H]

I pulled from GitHub and compiled mine from scratch so I don’t think that’s an issue.

Here’s the beginnings of my learnings that culminate in my “release” of the customer part2 I’m currently running in my Switch.

Will be curious if lifting the chip away from everything has any effect. I mean at that point it’s just a wire dangling off the end of some silicon!

Sure enough, the kapton under the chip fixed it. I never would've expected it to ground but I guess it does make sense. Wish I would've thought of that during installing and then I wouldn't have had to open it 37 times. [emoji1787]

Sent from my SM-F926U1 using Tapatalk

 

[randy_w]

Update:
Well seems like I spoke too soon.. After letting the console sit for some time, the chip started to trigger vol + randomly, which makes it basically unusable as it will interrupt the boot process every time and you can't select with power button anymore (it just registers as vol +). Also most of the time it will just boot to RCM but will not inject the payload. Tried to flash part 2 uf2 since that's the part contains the payload, same thing. Tried again and now the chip is completely dead. It will not even get recognized by computer no matter how many times I press reset button..

So much for this RCM x86 shit.. Guess I'll use trinket instead..

 

[binkinator]

Update:
Well seems like I spoke too soon.. After letting the console sit for some time, the chip started to trigger vol + randomly, which makes it basically unusable as it will interrupt the boot process every time and you can't select with power button anymore (it just registers as vol +). Also most of the time it will just boot to RCM but will not inject the payload. Tried to flash part 2 uf2 since that's the part contains the payload, same thing. Tried again and now the chip is completely dead. It will not even get recognized by computer no matter how many times I press reset button..

So much for this RCM x86 shit.. Guess I'll use trinket instead..

Sorry to hear man. It did look pretty cool and your component placement was on point. Hopefully you have a little slack in your wires and don’t have to rerun them.

 

[randy_w]

Sorry to hear man. It did look pretty cool and your component placement was on point. Hopefully you have a little slack in your wires and don’t have to rerun them.

Yeah I even tried lifting the vol+ wire completely off the board, like just suspending it in the air and not touching anything, yet it's still pressing vol+ like crazy. I also noticed there's like 150Ohm resistance between the actual vol+ pin on the ribbon cable and the alt-point on the back of the motherboard, not sure if this is normal. Anyway I even tried the pin on the front of the motherboard, right next to the ribbon connector. Still the same thing but damn this point is hard to solder to, cause the gold triangle sign next to it is exposed and it's ground. So easy to bridge them together and it's a pain in the butt to clean it up. Guess I could have just removed the vol+ wire and boot up holding vol+.

 

[randy_w]

Had some time this afternoon and decided to mess around with the RCM X86 chip again. Since it's basically an SAMD21 chip soldered on a circuit board, figured I could try to flash its bootloader with openocd directly. Examining the circuit board reveals SWDIO and SWCLK pins on the SAMD21 chip are actually connected to those 2 pads next to the RST pad.

Connected it to my raspberry pi and flashed using openocd without any issue. I had to use the official trinket m0 bootloader file though, the part one bootloader provided in fusee suite won't flash for some reason. After flashing the official trinket m0 bootloader, the usb interface is working again. Flashed part 1 and part 2, it's back to normal... Except the vol + glitch.

Checked the arduino code and the vol + strap is already configured to use the internal pull up resistor. According to the datasheet, internal pull up resistor is around 20KOhm, which seems a bit too large. So I just added a 2.2KOhm external pull up resistor, and guess what, the vol + random triggering glitch is gone. Everything's working again.

If anyone needs a detailed guide on "unbricking" these SAMD21 based internal modchips when the usb interface doesn't work anymore, just let me know and I'll make a separate post about it.

 

[binkinator]

Had some time this afternoon and decided to mess around with the RCM X86 chip again. Since it's basically an SAMD21 chip soldered on a circuit board, figured I could try to flash its bootloader with openocd directly. Examining the circuit board reveals SWDIO and SWCLK pins on the SAMD21 chip are actually connected to those 2 pads next to the RST pad. View attachment 305351

Connected it to my raspberry pi and flashed using openocd without any issue. I had to use the official trinket m0 bootloader file though, the part one bootloader provided in fusee suite won't flash for some reason. After flashing the official trinket m0 bootloader, the usb interface is working again. Flashed part 1 and part 2, it's back to normal... Except the vol + glitch.

Checked the arduino code and the vol + strap is already configured to use the internal pull up resistor. According to the datasheet, internal pull up resistor is around 20KOhm, which seems a bit too large. So I just added a 2.2KOhm external pull up resistor, and guess what, the vol + random triggering glitch is gone. Everything's working again.
View attachment 305352

If anyone needs a detailed guide on "unbricking" these SAMD21 based internal modchips when the usb interface doesn't work anymore, just let me know and I'll make a separate post about it.

This is awesome, man! Congratulation!

What even prompted you to take another look at a “busted” chip?

I don’t even have one of these and I’d like to read the unbricking guide.

 

[randy_w]

It's not very complicated, but tricky to get openocd working on my raspberry pi 3b. So first off you need to compile openocd from source, here are the commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install libtool autoconf libusb-dev
git clone git://git.code.sf.net/p/openocd/code openocd
cd openocd
./bootstrap
./configure --enable-sysfsgpio --enable-bcm2835gpio
make
sudo make install

You also need to enable SPI interface on your raspberry pi.

After compiling it, you need to wire the chip to the raspberry pi. You can do it without desoldering the chip but you need to disconnect the 3.3V wire from switch. I think you don't need to connect the RST pin, just 3.3V, GND, SWDIO and SWCLK. Here's the pinout from adafruit:

Now you need to create a file named openocd.cfg, and write following commands inside:

adapter driver bcm2835gpio

bcm2835gpio_speed_coeffs 194938 48
bcm2835gpio_swd_nums 25 24

#source [find interface/raspberrypi-native.cfg]
transport select swd
 
set CHIPNAME at91samd21g18
source [find target/at91samdXX.cfg]
 
# did not yet manage to make a working setup using srst
#reset_config srst_only
reset_config  srst_nogate
adapter speed 200
adapter srst delay 100
adapter srst pulse_width 100
 
#test codes
init
targets
reset halt

Then run openocd with sudo from the same directory, if you done everything correctly, you should see an SMD21 device in the terminal output.

Now grab the botloader.bin file for trinket m0 from here: https://github.com/adafruit/uf2-samdx1/releases/tag/v3.14.0
(The part 1 bin file from fusee suite doesn't work for some reason, always says failed to flash, maybe wrong file format?)
You need to convert the binary file to hex so openocd can flash it to the chip. You can use avr-objcopy on raspberry pi:

sudo apt install binutils-avr
avr-objcopy -I binary -O ihex bootloader.bin bootloader.hex

Now you can find the converted bootloader.hex in the same directory.
Finally you can flash the modchip. Open the openocd file you created earlier and remove everything after #test codes, then paste these commands instead:

init;reset init;at91samd bootloader 0
program bootloader.hex verify

reset
shutdown

You can ignore the reset error code if openocd complains about it. Now the chip should be flashed with adafruit's bootloader, and usb interface should be working again. Remove all wires, install the chip on switch, enter RCM mode on switch, push the samd21update.bin payload and reset twice, you should see the usb drive for uploading uf2 files. Now flash part 1 and part 2 normally, everything should be working again.

In theory this applies to all samd21 based payload injectors, you just need to find corresponding SWDIO and SWCLK pads to flash them.

 

[binkinator]

In theory this applies to all samd21 based payload injectors, you just need to find corresponding SWDIO and SWCLK pads to flash them.

Yes, this is why I was interested in seeing what you did. Really appreciate the knowledge!

 

[randy_w]

@binkinator By the way did you find a way to change background color for latest release v7? I tried editing the color values but nothing changed, it's still the red background:

I also tried editing the arduino file directly and upload it to the modchip, still nothing.

Seems like the new pre bootloader does not read these values at all.

 

[binkinator]

@binkinator By the way did you find a way to change background color for latest release v7? I tried editing the color values but nothing changed, it's still the red background:
View attachment 305429
I also tried editing the arduino file directly and upload it to the modchip, still nothing. View attachment 305430
Seems like the new pre bootloader does not read these values at all.

Correct. The locations completely moved. I published my notes on the new location. Let me find it and update here.

found it: https://gbatemp.net/threads/trinket...uite-uf2-packages.553998/page-29#post-9688851

my findings are for the Trinket but I bet the difference in offsets between M0 and Mx86 will be similar (or at least get you in the right neighborhood!)

 

[randy_w]

Correct. The locations completely moved. I published my notes on the new location. Let me find it and update here.

found it: https://gbatemp.net/threads/trinket...uite-uf2-packages.553998/page-29#post-9688851

my findings are for the Trinket but I bet the difference in offsets between M0 and Mx86 will be similar (or at least get you in the right neighborhood!)

Yep, that's what I did before but no matter what value I use, the color won't change at all, always white text on red background.

 

[binkinator]

Yep, that's what I did before but no matter what value I use, the color won't change at all, always white text on red background.

View attachment 305445

Thats exactly what I was seeing until I had my eureka moment. I remember wracking my brain brain over “it should be that one right there!” but it wasn’t. precisely why I posted notes…it was hella weird.

 

[randy_w]

Thats exactly what I was seeing until I had my eureka moment. I remember wracking my brain brain over “it should be that one right there!” but it wasn’t. precisely why I posted notes…it was hella weird.

Umm does it work on the v7 release? For me I've tried everything, the color just won't change.. I even tried programming the chip directly with arduino, still nothing. I tried changing boot animation and other settings and they are all reflected in the information page, but the color doesn't. No matter which value I use it's always the red background.

Maybe matty changed something inside the bootloader code (the binary code got pushed to the switch), and it completely ignores the value you set for colors? Wish matty could also publish the source code for the payload.

By the way you can program the chip directly from arduino when it's in bootloader mode, no need to use uf2 files.

 

[binkinator]

Umm does it work on the v7 release?

I love my v6 though. You're going to make me push v7 aren't you. Ungh. OK. Going in!

For me I've tried everything, the color just won't change.. I even tried programming the chip directly with arduino, still nothing. I tried changing boot animation and other settings and they are all reflected in the information page, but the color doesn't. No matter which value I use it's always the red background.

View attachment 305457
View attachment 305458

Maybe matty changed something inside the bootloader code (the binary code got pushed to the switch), and it completely ignores the value you set for colors?

I'm telling you man, I felt exactly like that...like Matty was fooling me from the gbatemp grave but he wasn't.

Wish matty could also publish the source code for the payload.

By the way you can program the chip directly from arduino when it's in bootloader mode, no need to use uf2 files.

Will give this a shot for sure. Will speed up testing.

 

[randy_w]

Well I gave up, will just use a bitmap boot logo instead.
Btw the bitmap needs to be 32 bit. Otherwise the bootloader just ignores it.

 

[binkinator]

Well I gave up, will just use a bitmap boot logo instead.
Btw the bitmap needs to be 32 bit. Otherwise the bootloader just ignores it.

Yeah, in v6 I have it all sorted. This new v7 is kicking my ass. Don’t know if I’m just rusty or maybe we‘re not meant to be playing with it just yet. Maybe try v6? V7 has had some things removed, like the SXOS license replacer. (not a generator)

 

[binkinator]

Umm does it work on the v7 release? For me I've tried everything, the color just won't change.. I even tried programming the chip directly with arduino, still nothing. I tried changing boot animation and other settings and they are all reflected in the information page, but the color doesn't.

How were modifying the boot animation?
I can’t get it to take no matter what I do.
It’s always just the static Red bg with White N-Logo.
I can’t get slide animation or anything different on this build.
I swear I know what I’m doing…or do I?!?!

UPDATE:

I switched to bog standard V6 which was the last official release from @mattytrog in the software thread and I’m able to modify everything without issue.

The 4-second (vol +) flashes are working exactly how I remember them now too. They go through a color cycle of red, green, blue, orange, yellow, purple, white. On the new V7 they go through red, green and then stop at white.

It’s as if there are a bunch of things in the middle that were removed. I still kinda feel we’re not meant to be using V7 yet…

E2:

so I broke down and read the GitHub. The (vol +) pattern has indeed been modified:

Only 3 operations needed on the chip now, all accessible from long press VOL+.​

First option: Toggle autoRCM. Release at first LONG flash... Or
keep holding to:
TWO FLASHES: Release at any point within the 2 flashes. RGB LED brightness(0-250). Hit VOL+ at your desired brightness
keep holding to:
THREE FLASHES+HOLD UNTIL SLOW FLASHING ON AND OFF - (steady flashing(White on Adafruit boards)): Chip Eeprom reset + SAMD21 update mode on next reboot. Returns to normal on subsequent reboots.

Too many unused features being accessible from just pressing VOL+. Confusing for people.

So, I’m not crazy on this count. This means you must be editing the hex in the UF2 file directly. Keenly interested in what you modified to get boot animation. I bet things moved around. Including the ability to change colors.

Edit:

With v6 I just dropped this in without any issues…

 

[randy_w]

It’s always just the static Red bg with White N-Logo.

Yep, seems like matty modified something in the payload itself and the value you set is ignored. Downgraded to V6 and I can change anything without issue. So for now guess I'll use V6 instead. Thanks for the effort, really appreciate it

 

[steve_fox]

Connected it to my raspberry pi and flashed using openocd without any issue. I had to use the official trinket m0 bootloader file though, the part one bootloader provided in fusee suite won't flash for some reason. After flashing the official trinket m0 bootloader, the usb interface is working again. Flashed part 1 and part 2, it's back to normal... Except the vol + glitch.

Good old RPI to the rescue

I Fly FPV and have loads of them for HD digital video transmission, a number of Zero, Zero 2's and one 3B mini (a custom board) for Air units and 4B for groundstation, amazing what you get for so little these days, you cant even buy a Pizza for the price of a Zero!