Hacking Hardware Picofly - a HWFLY switch modchip

[jkyoho]

Hello guys, can you tell me where is the other spot of the other dat0 kamikaze mod, If I remember it is near the nand

https://gbatemp.net/threads/picofly-a-hwfly-switch-modchip.622701/post-10202368

 

[lightninjay]

Hey just logging back in, I posted in here too because I thought this one was used more / current. Sorry I am new here.

I ended up trying what you suggested and the chip worked for a second but then stopped working because the RST to wire solder was not good / strong enough

Ended up burning the pads off the board…. You can see the little pad to the right of the right RST pad.

Do I need to use an alternate point? Or is it too far gone?

Thanks for your time btw

Welp, I dunno if it'll help since it also looks like you removed the two components to the bottom right of the reset pads, but the pads in the red circle are also connected to RST according to the balika PCB layers.

 

[Jagovi]

Hi everyone,

I've been using a Nintendo Switch OLED with Instinct for 5 months without any issues, but today it stopped working. It only powers on in OFW and constantly blinks red, even when the console is turned off.

I tried replacing the chip with a Picofly. When I connect it, even with the console off, the chip lights up blue, then flashes yellow twice. When I power it on, it starts in OFW. I've taken some measurements and got the following values:

**Diode mode, black probe to ground:**

- 3v3: 0.868
- D: 0.710
- A: 0.708
- C: 0.713
- B: 1.300

**Diode mode, red probe to ground:**

- 3v3: 0.100
- D: 0.462
- A: 0.486
- C: 0.470
- B: 0.432
- CPU: 0.2

Does anyone have any help or suggestions?

 

[Takezo-San]

Hi everyone,

I've been using a Nintendo Switch OLED with Instinct for 5 months without any issues, but today it stopped working. It only powers on in OFW and constantly blinks red, even when the console is turned off.

I tried replacing the chip with a Picofly. When I connect it, even with the console off, the chip lights up blue, then flashes yellow twice. When I power it on, it starts in OFW. I've taken some measurements and got the following values:

**Diode mode, black probe to ground:**

- 3v3: 0.868
- D: 0.710
- A: 0.708
- C: 0.713
- B: 1.300

**Diode mode, red probe to ground:**

- 3v3: 0.100
- D: 0.462
- A: 0.486
- C: 0.470
- B: 0.432
- CPU: 0.2

Does anyone have any help or suggestions?

Look at the picofly error codes under spoiler led indication on this page:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/picofly-a-hwfly-switch-modchip.622701/page-78#post-10090767

It looks like RST is not connected from the pico chip error code your getting

 

[TankedThomas]

Hi, just try to see if any short on apu capacitors (happens to me on 2 oled for working late at night) and the 2 times the blue screen was for micro shorts on those caps, if apu heat up when you turn on the console i think is still alive

Edit: look continuity on that cap looks to me is shorted

I'm hoping you're right, truly. I thought I made sure nothing was bridged but I forgot to check continuity before closing it up - you'd think it's a rush job with how much I forget but I spent about eight hours on it again that day...

Yes, it still heats up, so that's hopefully a good sign.

I found a guy near me in New Zealand who does modchip (non-OLED installs) and he agreed to take a look at it for me. Complete fluke that I found him. Honestly not sure of his skills but the photos of his soldering jobs are very clean so I reckon it should be fine. He seems to know what he's doing. I think it's best I get him to look instead of touching it more myself. I might just make it worse.

Regardless of how it goes, I just want to thank you and especially @Takezo-San so much for your help. You guys have been fantastically selfless this week (and, by the looks of things, for a while in this thread). I'll definitely come back to update you if I can get it working again.

In the mean-time, I hit up my local Cashies and grabbed a V2 Switch second-hand. If anyone here has seen Dankpods, you probably know about Cash Converters.
I think half the stuff that's sold to them in my town is probably stolen but uh... anyway...
They had three original systems, one that was faulty and was a "maybe V1", another that was a "maybe V1", and a third that is a V2. I bought the V2, thinking it was a "definitely V1" console because I read the serial number wrong.
Big brain. It's fine though. At least I can play stuff in the interim.

 

[twins333]

I'm hoping you're right, truly. I thought I made sure nothing was bridged but I forgot to check continuity before closing it up - you'd think it's a rush job with how much I forget but I spent about eight hours on it again that day...

Yes, it still heats up, so that's hopefully a good sign.

I found a guy near me in New Zealand who does modchip (non-OLED installs) and he agreed to take a look at it for me. Complete fluke that I found him. Honestly not sure of his skills but the photos of his soldering jobs are very clean so I reckon it should be fine. He seems to know what he's doing. I think it's best I get him to look instead of touching it more myself. I might just make it worse.

Regardless of how it goes, I just want to thank you and especially @Takezo-San so much for your help. You guys have been fantastically selfless this week (and, by the looks of things, for a while in this thread). I'll definitely come back to update you if I can get it working again.

In the mean-time, I hit up my local Cashies and grabbed a V2 Switch second-hand. If anyone here has seen Dankpods, you probably know about Cash Converters.
I think half the stuff that's sold to them in my town is probably stolen but uh... anyway...
They had three original systems, one that was faulty and was a "maybe V1", another that was a "maybe V1", and a third that is a V2. I bought the V2, thinking it was a "definitely V1" console because I read the serial number wrong.
Big brain. It's fine though. At least I can play stuff in the interim.

Any reason you don't like the v2? All switches are hackable with picofly, so you should be able to mod it as well

 

[Jagovi]

Look at the picofly error codes under spoiler led indication on this page:

https://gbatemp.net/threads/picofly-a-hwfly-switch-modchip.622701/page-78#post-10090767

It looks like RST is not connected from the pico chip error code your getting

But… should the picofly Keep flashing with the console disconected? In my opinión it has a short anywhere

Post automatically merged: Jul 13, 2024

But… should the picofly Keep flashing with the console disconected? In my opinión it has a short anywhere

The low diode value in 3.3V with red probe at ground make me think about a shortage. But… where?

 

[bottlerocks]

I've just installed a V1 Picofly modchip and am unable to boot into Hekate, looking for some places to start investigation. My current symptoms:
- I get the "No SD Card" image after a quick blue-green flash, when no SD card is inserted.
- When an SD card is inserted, nothing happens when I attempt to power up.
- However, when I eject the SD card after pressing power (doesn't matter how long after), I get the Hekate V6.2.1 debug screen with a "failed to init or mount SD" message.
- In subsequent debug menu, "Launch" does not work, I can view Console info fine, Reload results in another blank screen, and Reboot (OFW) results in a blue screen.

I'm guessing I've screwed something with the solder job, but I can't find anyone else with this partial SD card experience either. Any advice?

 

[bvang913]

Is it an rp2040 or one of those hwfly style picofly chips? Past few days it looks like a lot of people with those hwfly's have been getting blue screens. Maybe there's something wrong with the chips they're ordering?

 

[s4n0suk3]

I've just installed a V1 Picofly modchip and am unable to boot into Hekate, looking for some places to start investigation. My current symptoms:
- I get the "No SD Card" image after a quick blue-green flash, when no SD card is inserted.
- When an SD card is inserted, nothing happens when I attempt to power up.
- However, when I eject the SD card after pressing power (doesn't matter how long after), I get the Hekate V6.2.1 debug screen with a "failed to init or mount SD" message.
- In subsequent debug menu, "Launch" does not work, I can view Console info fine, Reload results in another blank screen, and Reboot (OFW) results in a blue screen.

I'm guessing I've screwed something with the solder job, but I can't find anyone else with this partial SD card experience either. Any advice?

Hi check you microsd onboard conector , you need fit in right place is easy to dmg those conectors when you try to fit

 

[Jagovi]

But… should the picofly Keep flashing with the console disconected? In my opinión it has a short anywhere

Post automatically merged: Jul 13, 2024

The low diode value in 3.3V with red probe at ground make me think about a shortage. But… where?

Could you help me? I'm having an issue with my Nintendo Switch. What could be the reason for having voltage in the 3.3V caps without pressing the start button? Additionally, why does the chip turn on just by connecting the battery? Only turn on the chip, the Nintendo switch stay turned off.

 

[bottlerocks]

I did actually re-seat the micro SD onboard connector as the first troubleshooting step. It performed the same after I removed/re-seated it.

It's an RP2040. Should have mentioned in the OP.

edit: I went and looked at my order receipt and it is listed as an "hwfly RP2040". Not sure if that helps.

 

[bvang913]

I did actually re-seat the micro SD onboard connector as the first troubleshooting step. It performed the same after I removed/re-seated it.

It's an RP2040. Should have mentioned in the OP.

edit: I went and looked at my order receipt and it is listed as an "hwfly RP2040". Not sure if that helps.

Yeah, the past few days people that have asked about blue screen had some variant of that chip. Confidence? I didn't know. And by rp2040 I meant the waveshare rp2040 for which this thread and picofly are built on. If you post photos of your install and your diode readings I'm sure some eagle eyed person could probably spot an issue or point you in the right direction.

 

[bottlerocks]

I'll work on getting an image after I open the switch back up. I'm having a lot of difficulty finding what my diode readings should be on a V1 switch. I get continuity across SP1 and SP2, that much I know.

 

[bvang913]

I'll work on getting an image after I open the switch back up. I'm having a lot of difficulty finding what my diode readings should be on a V1 switch. I get continuity across SP1 and SP2, that much I know.

Here's a screen shot of the values someone posted on another page

 

[superxoi]

I have been using this cheap 3$ bismuth low melt for all my reballing to wick off the leadfree ever since i started repairing still now. For all the bga including Cpu from PS,Xbox,Switch... Never have had a return relating to the reballing. Before i do kamikaze i have reballed several oled for data0 line including abal's board one. Just wick the residue off the pad completely and we will be okay. I have known a several friend still using the lowmelt as i am as well. I think the problem reside on the user side. Just be careful with the residue.

Post automatically merged: Jul 14, 2024

Yes i have dead oled motherboard i know for learning Is kimkazi need mini grider or just any grider that have tiny head name of tool that you think it worth job??? Thank you picofly familly. View attachment 446510View attachment 446510

It is not dead yet friend. You can retrace it and the switch will turn on. Use a thin wire to bride the gap(if there is trace left). If there is no trace left from emmc side you can lift the emmc. If there is no trace lft from the cpu you can lift the cpu.

Post automatically merged: Jul 14, 2024

Yep, its weird because I used low melt on Samsung EMMCs and they have been 2 years going strong. One would think the same method would translate to any other EMMC but these SKHynix ones seem to have...real problems compared to other EMMC manufacturers. Were your recalls SKHynix ones too?

My thing now is too wait for the aerosol flux remover to arrive and wait for a recall to come back in lol because I have fixed it with a re-flow so maybe another 3 months!? I won't do anything to it except heat it up a little to soften the flux and then spray the aerosol under neath the EMMC too rule out if its the flux thats the cause or not. My money is on the low melt but I want to cancel out variables where we can.

~Meanwhile, last week I bought an OLED tablet for one purpose only....attempt the Kamikaze! And luckily it was also an SKHynix EMMC so it worked out well in terms of testing this method with consistency within our variables.
I've heard people on here asking how to practise the kamikaze method and its an easy answer imo. I have some Switch Lite donor boards and practised on random spots till I was comfortable. I got lucky and found a spot where there were lines running a layer or two underneath. Exactly what I needed to practise on because I was planning to tap into the Dat0 line on the reverse of the motherboard like @CarlosCruz did. If I didn't have a donor board, I would find some scrap pcb around and try it on that. Even if it was a RP2040 board! You just want to get to grips with the pressure and accuracy of the grinding pen and your hand. I have to give it to @CarlosCruz for giving such clear steps on how he did the method and here were my results:

View attachment 446116View attachment 446117View attachment 446122

For the life of me, I couldn't get solder paste to form in the well-like hole. It was frustrating. I tried using some solder on the tip of my iron to dip inside to the point but the line couldn't hold the ball. Too loose it seemed. Solder paste just clumped and didn't form a ball. Might be the paste itself being old as I hardly used it for a year and the casing of it was damaged so maybe oxidation ruined its chemical properties!? Luckily, I saw @FXDX used a repair pad (ones used for cpu line repairs) to make the connection. I had a bunch of Relife ones in abundance and it was super easy. No heat station needed. Just tinned the exposed line (carefully), put the Relife repiar pad on that line, quick touch or two with the iron, removed the excess tail of the new line I put in and then checked the connection on my DMM. Solid strong 0.710v. Solder masked it all and then was pretty much done with the Kamikaze. First time is always rough, same with the first time re-balling, but now I know what works for me. Next time will try to make a more even 'drill'...maybe wider and more symmetrical but I think I can stick with the Kamikaze in future.

The results were great too. The EMMC backup of the NAND had time of 36min 17s. Never had that on a SK EMMC before. Those are usually Samsung backup times. Benchmarks all passed too and glitch timing were quick (2-5 seconds, although I use mosfets and pull down resistors so they were glitch timings generally are a non issue for me, but still quicker than before regardless.)

I have ordered some smaller tip bits for the grinding pen so I can have a bit more accuracy but thank God it was good result. (kapton tape around so debris doesn't go too far away and its honestly doable.) I think Kamikaze is the most reliable post mod method so, my thought process is, by tools for it (like I did for the re-ball method) and get good and better at it. But not everyone will have the same thoughts on this but to each their own.

This is from one i repaired from a ruined board by doing kamikaze from a customer. I retraced data1 and data0 line. Then i covered it and did a kaiikaze from the back. You have to make the space for your tip tocontact the trace friend.

 

[Danook28]

I have been using this cheap 3$ bismuth low melt for all my reballing to wick off the leadfree ever since i started repairing still now. For all the bga including Cpu from PS,Xbox,Switch... Never have had a return relating to the reballing. Before i do kamikaze i have reballed several oled for data0 line including abal's board one. Just wick the residue off the pad completely and we will be okay. I have known a several friend still using the lowmelt as i am as well. I think the problem reside on the user side. Just be careful with the residue.

Post automatically merged: Jul 14, 2024

It is not dead yet friend. You can retrace it and the switch will turn on. Use a thin wire to bride the gap(if there is trace left). If there is no trace left from emmc side you can lift the emmc. If there is no trace lft from the cpu you can lift the cpu.

Post automatically merged: Jul 14, 2024

This is from one i repaired from a ruined board by doing kamikaze from a customer. I retraced data1 and data0 line. Then i covered it and did a kaiikaze from the back. You have to make the space for your tip tocontact the trace friend.

You meaning there are 2 place for dat0 you can grider????

 

[Takezo-San]

Anyone know possible causes of *== error code. Had it on an Oled with a kamikaze. It's just a general question, not posting pics as I rarely get a problem like this. Usually high success rate with Oleds but this one kept booting to ofw with that error code.
Changed chip, mosfets and even done the front and back kamikaze. But always boots to ofw with that error code.
All DMM readings were as they should be too.
Could it be just one of those switches that doesn't fair well with modchips? Unlucky?
Also, samsung emmc so real shame too. Atleast it's not dead I guess.

 

[Jagovi]

Hi everyone,

I've been using a Nintendo Switch OLED with Instinct for 5 months without any issues, but today it stopped working. It only powers on in OFW and constantly blinks red, even when the console is turned off.

I tried replacing the chip with a Picofly. When I connect it, even with the console off, the chip lights up blue, then flashes yellow twice. When I power it on, it starts in OFW. I've taken some measurements and got the following values:

**Diode mode, black probe to ground:**

- 3v3: 0.868
- D: 0.710
- A: 0.708
- C: 0.713
- B: 1.300

**Diode mode, red probe to ground:**

- 3v3: 0.100
- D: 0.462
- A: 0.486
- C: 0.470
- B: 0.432
- CPU: 0.2

Does anyone have any help or suggestions?

Could you help me, please? Thanks!!!

 

[Danook28]

Could you help me, please? Thanks!!!

The mosfet is reson and long wiers. Flux and lose dat0 point voltage. Sda scl can fix this error blue led blinking 4 time yellow light....