Both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 have received a major firmware update, bumping the systems to version 22.0.0. Though the changes made to the original Switch console are minimal, the Switch 2 got a surprising new addition in in Handheld Game Boost. For the price of higher power usage when in handheld mode, you're now able to have non-upgraded Switch games believe they're playing in docked mode when on the go. Through this you'll see a bump to the targeted resolution in many games, with many now making use of the Switch 2's 1080p display.

When making use of this feature, attached Joy Cons will be interpreted as a Pro Controller. Though this will be compatible with the majority of games, some notable titles like the Pokemon Let's Go games will not function properly due to a lack of support. At this time there is no per-game toggle, requiring you to head into your settings to disable the boost. This new option can be found at the bottom of the System tab in System Settings.

The full changelog for both systems can be found below:

Nintendo Switch 2:
Ver. 22.0.0 (Released March 16, 2026)

• Changed the on-screen text and animations when you load a virtual game card in the HOME Menu.
• Added the ability to save notes about friends on your Friend List. The note content is not displayed to friends.
• Added the ability to see and edit these notes from the Nintendo Switch App. The app must be on version 3.3.0 or higher to use this feature.
• The following features were added to support GameChat:
  • Added the ability to invite friends to GameChat rooms you’re participating in. Some friends may not be able to be invited, such as supervised accounts.
  • Friends that haven't finished GameChat initial setup can now be invited to GameChat. Some friends may not be able to be invited, such as supervised accounts or those who haven’t used a Nintendo Switch 2.
  • It may take a while for this change to be reflected after updating your console to system version 22.0.0.
  • Improvements were made to the quality of the game screen shared in a GameChat when expanded.
• Added the ability to rewind 10 seconds/advance 10 seconds with the ZL and ZR Buttons when watching a full screen video in News or Nintendo eShop.
• Added the option to add the following data to “Automatic Uploads” from Album.
• Clip Video, Video saved as a screenshot, and screenshot with added text.
• Added Portuguese (Portugal) and Russian to “GameChat Voice ⇔ Speech to Text” languages in Accessibility.
• Text-to-Speech, under Accessibility, can now read the text in Album and during first-time setup.
  • Please see Nintendo Switch 2 First-Time Setup and Connection for instructions on how to turn text-to-speech on in the first-time setup.
• Added the ability to see the breakdown of storage capacity by data type for the system memory and microSD Express card.
• Added the ability to perform an audio test when “Linear PCM 5.1 Surround” is selected for TV Sound in Audio.
• Changed the "Hong Kong/Taiwan/South Korea" region to "Hong Kong/Taiwan/South Korea/South East Asia" in Device.
• Added “Handheld Mode Boost” to Nintendo Switch Software Handling in System.
  • Handheld Mode Boost will cause compatible Switch software to run as if in TV Mode, so certain functionality may be affected. Please see the on-device description for more details.
• The following features were added to Airplane Mode:
  • When Airplane Mode is activated, the previously set preferences for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or NFC while in Airplane Mode will be saved and applied.
  • Added the ability to individually enable or disable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or NFC during Airplane Mode from the Quick Settings.
• Added the ability to see a notification in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smart device application when the Parental Controls PIN is input successfully on the console. This can also be set up to be a push notification to your smart device.
  • The app must be on version 2.4.0 or higher to use this functionality.
• General system stability improvements to enhance the user's experience.

Nintendo Switch:
22.0.0 (Release date: March 17, 2026)

• We have adjusted the guidance and visuals when inserting a virtual game card in the HOME menu.
• We've added a feature to the "Friend List" on your My Page that allows you to save personal notes for each friend.
  • The contents of your notes will not be visible to your friends or other users.
• You can also view and edit notes in the "Friends" section of the Nintendo Switch App smartphone app.
  • You need to update the Nintendo Switch App to version 3.3.0 or higher.
• The Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smartphone app now displays a message indicating that the parental control password has been successfully entered on the console.
  • You will need to update 'Nintendo Parental Controls for Switch' to version 2.4.0 or later (scheduled for release at a later date).
  • You can also receive a push notification on your smartphone when you successfully enter the PIN for the monitoring settings.
• We have fixed several issues and improved operational stability.

This is the first major update since the retirement of SciresM. As always, it is advised to wait before updating your Nintendo Switch as this new firmware has been reported to break Atmosphere.

Nintendo Switch Update Information
Nintendo Switch 2 Update Information

 

[PKM190]

TBH switch is at EOL

Not quite, it will still be active likely until the Switch 2 enters its final year or two. I think it might last longer than the 3DS given that whenever they update Switch 2 firmware they update the Switch 1's firmware as well. I'm sure eventually they will stop but I think that won't be until post 2030. So it will get updates... hopefully Atmosphere does as well.

 

[froggy55]

If someone upgrades, is it possible to downgrade without using Daybreak in that case? Or would they get stuck with this Hekate error?

you only be able to downgrade on an emmumc i think since atmosphere is not working on latest update you would not be able to boot into atmosphere with sysnand to downgrade however there might be a way to down grade from hekate using tegra explorer but if you are using the sysnand online you risk a ban

Post automatically merged: Mar 17, 2026

Not quite, it will still be active likely until the Switch 2 enters its final year or two. I think it might last longer than the 3DS given that whenever they update Switch 2 firmware they update the Switch 1's firmware as well. I'm sure eventually they will stop but I think that won't be until post 2030. So it will get updates... hopefully Atmosphere does as well.

for real i hope some one steps up and takes over atmosphere or even develops something simular that works equaly well or even better

Post automatically merged: Mar 17, 2026

google is your friend

the entire point of this is to weed out people who can't figure out how to get in

so I'm not going to break their rules - but it's very trivial and easy

sorry mate

edit: you won't find any new information there anyway I promise

ok so i googled and found a hash generator for sha3_384 i converted my username and sent a message and still nothing i think this is messed up that they make it so hard im tech savey but just because i have heard of certain things doesnt mean i should not be able to access im good at following directions but here they are not clear it just says use the sha3_384 hex digest what ever that is on google i only get the hash generators where i input my user name and it converts it to a sha3_384 hash id which i copied and pasted and sent as a message

 

[Scarlet]

Holy shit Nintendo added a feature??? And a good one???

The only shame in my mind is that the Let's Go games can't make use of this cleanly since they don't support the Pro Controller. It's a shame there doesn't appear to be per-game toggling of the boost mode. Still, an actual good feature. In 2026. Who'd have thought it.

 

[RyanTheArchivist]

i know very, very little about the Switch 2, so excuse my ignornt question, but is the Switch 2 operating system based on the Switch 1 OS?
I would assume so given the backwards compatibility, but i cant be sure. xbox systems historically had BC, too and i believe the OS there was quite different.

If they are quite similar, that would give hackers a headstart. a good starting point in analyzing the system for weaknesses.

Yes HOS2 is just a fork of HOS. However the problem is HOS itself is insanely secure.

 

[Ligeia]

Well it's not like there's gonna be tons of games worth updating for at this point on Switch 1.

 

[AmeliaFox]

yes it's confirmed broken, see my earlier post

Post in thread 'Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 firmware update 22.0.0 released'

Mar 17, 2026

Screenshot from a user out in the wild who accidentally updated:

• x65943

• 
• 
• 

It's relatively easy to fix, keys are already available, patches have been made, we just need to add some changes to a few files in atmosphere for new fs offsets/emunand and keys. It will probably only take a about a day or so.

***************** Info for patches.ini *****************
removed for now, as sys-patch deals with this..

package2_key_15=22857e1af78b5cf9xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
key_area_key_application_15=ab49472bbc7368fexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I wouldn't worry too much about getting this updated to be honest, there's plenty people that can do it. In the meantime don't update until atmosphere has been updated, sys-patch (version I am using) didn't need any changes.

 

[ertaboy356b]

If someone upgrades, is it possible to downgrade without using Daybreak in that case? Or would they get stuck with this Hekate error?

Only if you didn't burn the fuse by using Atmosphere on OFW to update.

Post automatically merged: Mar 17, 2026

Holy shit Nintendo added a feature??? And a good one???

The only shame in my mind is that the Let's Go games can't make use of this cleanly since they don't support the Pro Controller. It's a shame there doesn't appear to be per-game toggling of the boost mode. Still, an actual good feature. In 2026. Who'd have thought it.

It's funny how Nintendo release this at the same time NVidia announced their AI Slop.

 

[PKM190]

It's relatively easy to fix, keys are already available, patches have been made, we just need to add some changes to a few files in atmosphere for new fs offsets/emunand and keys. It will probably only take a about a day or so.

***************** Info for patches.ini *****************
#FAT - SDKVersion:22.2.0.0
[FS:B7A29739B7EDDEFC]
.nosigchk=0:0x8019C:0x4:A9960394,E0031F2A
.nosigchk=0:0x26838:0x4:E01B0036,1F2003D5

#ExFAT - SDKVersion:22.2.0.0
[FS:FB0B68DB2403D119]
.nosigchk=0:0x8019C:0x4:25C30394,E0031F2A
.nosigchk=0:0x26838:0x4:E01B0036,1F2003D5

package2_key_15=22857e1af78b5cf9xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
key_area_key_application_15=ab49472bbc7368fexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I wouldn't worry too much about getting this updated to be honest, there's plenty people that can do it. In the meantime don't update until atmosphere has been updated, sys-patch (version I am using) didn't need any changes.

Are you working on Atmosphere updates? Are there a number of people working to keep it updated? If so, I truly thank you for continuing to develop it.

 

[Greninji88]

Updates after updates! There's been a lot recently.

 

[AmeliaFox]

Are you working on Atmosphere updates? Are there a number of people working to keep it updated? If so, I truly thank you for continuing to develop it.

No, but I know how to update it and what to patch and where to find what to patch. If Atmosphere github isn't updated within the next week I'll probably end up doing it myself but it's best to just wait for a few days, there's no rush to update and no games need it for now. For those people that let their dogs/kids/cousins update "accidentally", well they really should be using sys-patch with the fw update block applied......

 

[PKM190]

No, but I know how to update it and what to patch and where to find what to patch. If Atmosphere github isn't updated within the next week I'll probably end up doing it myself but it's best to just wait for a few days, there's no rush to update and no games need it for now. For those people that let their dogs/kids/cousins update "accidentally, well they really should be using sys-patch with the fw update block applied......

Thanks. For a lot of us we need the updates to go online to play our games, and we don't use pirated games so staying on an old firmware is not really an option.

 

[AmeliaFox]

Thanks. For a lot of us we need the updates to go online to play our games, and we don't use pirated games so staying on an old firmware is not really an option.

No you don't, you can use emunand and sysnand together, for online use a clean sysnand, for offline use emunand with 21.1.0 fw (latest version that works with atmosphere).

 

[froggy55]

No, but I know how to update it and what to patch and where to find what to patch. If Atmosphere github isn't updated within the next week I'll probably end up doing it myself but it's best to just wait for a few days, there's no rush to update and no games need it for now. For those people that let their dogs/kids/cousins update "accidentally, well they really should be using sys-patch with the fw update block applied......

That's awesome I can totally wait until next week no big deal that's really cool of you to be willing to take care of it if no one else does thank you so much

 

[baspav]

SciresM has already said he won't be the one to fix this, and there is no clear successor at least as of now

as such, there is no guarantee even 1 month from now that there will be a workaround - we are in no man's land

Exact words are: "I'm planning on retiring from work in the public hacking scene"
So it's not clear whether he will retire.

 

[froggy55]

No you don't, you can use emunand and sysnand together, for online use a clean sysnand, for offline use emunand with 21.1.0 fw (latest version that works with atmosphere).

But what about the ability to transfer game Saves Because if I have The EMMUMC at a lower firmware Then the System partition I would not be able To run Atmosphere With the system Partition To inject the game Saves

 

[pedro702]

handheld boost is the real deal so good, this is a huge upgrade for switch 2 owners

 

[kingaz]

Exact words are: "I'm planning on retiring from work in the public hacking scene"
So it's not clear whether he will retire.

That's cope. He's retired.

 

[Darth Meteos]

transferring hacked save data to switch 2s just became impossible
glad i moved my 2018 smash save over the other day

 

[whitesword7]

Exact words are: "I'm planning on retiring from work in the public hacking scene"
So it's not clear whether he will retire.

Ahhhh, so what you’re saying he’s only “planning” on it but not yet “act” on it… I got you

 

[Skelletonike]

This update was all I really wanted, this way Switch games will run and look much better on the Switch (games that had locked resolution especially), apparently the Xenoblade games look great on the Switch 2 now.