Hacking Hardware Picofly - a HWFLY switch modchip

[Kitsune_sempai]

The fact that someone will sell a FW instead of the community finally having their own modchip FW with readily available parts and not rely on supply from sketchy stores halway accross the world is kind of pissing on this parade.
Kudos to the guy who developped it and a lot of work went into it but it wouldn't have been possible without community members brave enough to break their own hardware for testing.
And if the price is almost the same as the HWFLY then it's really a shame.

 

[Doodka]

The fact that someone will sell a FW instead of the community finally having their own modchip FW with readily available parts and not rely on supply from sketchy stores halway accross the world is kind of pissing on this parade.
Kudos to the guy who developped it and a lot of work went into it but it wouldn't have been possible without community members brave enough to break their own hardware for testing.
And if the price is almost the same as the HWFLY then it's really a shame.

not the fact that this firmware is related to a specific thread, there was information about the sale of these modchips earlier. But the price is really shameless, but it seems to me that against the background of competition, hwfly will get also lower the price and we will get a price around $50

 

[binkinator]

not the fact that this firmware is related to a specific thread, there was information about the sale of these modchips earlier. But the price is really shameless, but it seems to me that against the background of competition, hwfly will get also lower the price and we will get a price around $50

I predict a race to the bottom. Most people who are going to hack their Switches already have done so at the peak. We're in the long tail now. There will be a steady trickle but pricing from HWFLY has already started marching down from $150 during mid-pandemic to $65 today. A lot of people will just want to recoup their money and get out.

 

[Adran_Marit]

Also. The successir to the switch when they release

 

[rcpd]

I predict a race to the bottom. Most people who are going to hack their Switches already have done so at the peak. We're in the long tail now. There will be a steady trickle but pricing from HWFLY has already started marching down from $150 during mid-pandemic to $65 today. A lot of people will just want to recoup their money and get out.

This was also my thought. There are a bunch of vendors that bought a bunch of HWFLY chips. They’re going to want to dump these things once this becomes valid competition. Especially if this can bring prices down even more, the HWFLY chips will have to come down to stay relevant.

I don’t see this being much more successful than HWFLY chips. It’s essentially the same thing with the same drawbacks preventing people who can’t solder from installing it. If anything, unless a ready made flex cable is produced, this is more difficult than a standard HWFLY install.

 

[Soggytoast111]

Once more of these are in the wild they will be fully reversed eventually. It's inevitable. There isn't enough mitigation possible with a puny RP2040 to keep secrets forever.

 

[Adran_Marit]

Once more of these are in the wild they will be fully reversed eventually. It's inevitable. There isn't enough mitigation possible with a puny RP2040 to keep secrets forever.

Puny rp2040 reminds me of puny god

 

[scd]

you think a rp2040-1 could fit in a switch lite? ive done nothing more than a cusurary look but it seems it could fit in, albeit a bit tight.
asking because where im at the rp2040-1 is cheap and isn't shipping all the way from china

 

[binkinator]

View attachment 357956you think a rp2040-1 could fit in a switch lite? ive done nothing more than a cusurary look but it seems it could fit in, albeit a bit tight.
asking because where im at the rp2040-1 is cheap and isn't shipping all the way from china

here are the specs from waveshare, side-by-side:

https://www.waveshare.com/rp2040-zero.htm

• RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi in the United Kingdom
• Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz
• 264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of on-board Flash memory
• USB-C connector, keeps it up to date, easier to use
• Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards
• USB 1.1 with device and host support
• Low-power sleep and dormant modes
• Drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB
• 29 × multi-function GPIO pins (20× via edge pinout, others via solder points)
• 2 × SPI, 2 × I2C, 2 × UART, 4 × 12-bit ADC, 16 × controllable PWM channels
• Accurate clock and timer on-chip
• Temperature sensor
• Accelerated floating-point libraries on-chip
• 8 × Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support

https://www.waveshare.com/rp2040-one.htm

• RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi in the United Kingdom
• Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz
• 264KB of SRAM, and 4MB of on-board Flash memory
• Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards
• USB 1.1 with device and host support
• Low-power sleep and dormant modes
• Drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB
• 29 × multi-function GPIO pins (20× via edge pinout, others via solder points)
• 2 × SPI, 2 × I2C, 2 × UART, 4 × 12-bit ADC, 16 × controllable PWM channels
• Accurate clock and timer on-chip
• Temperature sensor
• Accelerated floating-point libraries on-chip
• 8 × Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support

Looks like the One you’re looking at has double the on-board flash at 4MB vs 2MB for the Zero. Other than the obvious built in USB everything else appears to be the same…

Length and Width wise it should fit just fine.

Height wise you might have to remove the buttons.

 

[icantfly]

does the firmware work with rp pico boards? should i give it a shot or wait for zero to arrive before attemptin the mod?

 

[Adran_Marit]

View attachment 357956you think a rp2040-1 could fit in a switch lite? ive done nothing more than a cusurary look but it seems it could fit in, albeit a bit tight.
asking because where im at the rp2040-1 is cheap and isn't shipping all the way from china

More or less

Post automatically merged: Mar 9, 2023

does the firmware work with rp pico boards? should i give it a shot or wait for zero to arrive before attemptin the mod?

Edit: yes but you need the right pinout
For ubuntu, yes, atmosphere, no

 

[Lamcza]

here are the specs from waveshare, side-by-side:

https://www.waveshare.com/rp2040-zero.htm



https://www.waveshare.com/rp2040-one.htm


Looks like the One you’re looking at has double the on-board flash at 4MB vs 2MB for the Zero. Other than the obvious built in USB everything else appears to be the same…

Length and Width wise it should fit just fine.

Height wise you might have to remove the buttons.

there is also something like THIS but idk if it has all of the pins or spec but it can be flatter because it is just one-sided and slighty smaller hmm

 

[szubiennica]

This is too thicc for lite

 

[binkinator]

At a later date it would be cool to build a bare bones…just enough to run…rPi2040

http://www.technoblogy.com/show?3U75

Would certainly not be a cost saving measure as the chip itself is $1.00 (33%) of the $3.00 cost and then you still have to pay shippping. You would have to be doing it just for the love of the game.

https://chicagodist.com/products/rp2040?src=raspberrypi

 

[Mr Skinner]

This was also my thought. There are a bunch of vendors that bought a bunch of HWFLY chips. They’re going to want to dump these things once this becomes valid competition. Especially if this can bring prices down even more, the HWFLY chips will have to come down to stay relevant.

I don’t see this being much more successful than HWFLY chips. It’s essentially the same thing with the same drawbacks preventing people who can’t solder from installing it. If anything, unless a ready made flex cable is produced, this is more difficult than a standard HWFLY install.

I wouldn't be so optimistic. I even believe that prices will go down more (they have even dropped a lot), but if you compare the first days of speculation (the news from zecoxao) of the modchip, and now, prices have stagnated. I believe most vendors have already understood that, despite all the community input, hopes for a picofly coming may require more patience than most are willing to endure and are still willing to pay.

I believe that unless encryption/other solution is achieved before the switch's supposed successor, prices will follow up by 50usd. This was the case with the flashcart gateway before the softmod exploit for 3ds.

 

[Magnus Hydra]

View attachment 357956you think a rp2040-1 could fit in a switch lite? ive done nothing more than a cusurary look but it seems it could fit in, albeit a bit tight.
asking because where im at the rp2040-1 is cheap and isn't shipping all the way from china

That’s what I used in my video on page 84? Maybe 82 idk.

 

[binkinator]

That’s what I used in my video on page 84? Maybe 82 idk.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/pikofly-a-probably-fake-hwfly-modchips-or-not.622701/post-10091957

buttons removed…fits.

 

[Adran_Marit]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/pikofly-a-probably-fake-hwfly-modchips-or-not.622701/post-10091957

buttons removed…fits.

Seems to be the case with most of the chips so far... hmmmm

 

[qgywibczozfvvl]

I wouldn't be so optimistic. I even believe that prices will go down more (they have even dropped a lot), but if you compare the first days of speculation (the news from zecoxao) of the modchip, and now, prices have stagnated. I believe most vendors have already understood that, despite all the community input, hopes for a picofly coming may require more patience than most are willing to endure and are still willing to pay.

I believe that unless encryption/other solution is achieved before the switch's supposed successor, prices will follow up by 50usd. This was the case with the flashcart gateway before the softmod exploit for 3ds.

Do we have any origins ? , Or people selling chip with fw as of now .

 

[Adran_Marit]

Do we have any origins ? , Or people selling chip with fw as of now .

Not that I'm aware of