Bought a switch for my son for Christmas not knowingly this CFW scene has picked up pretty fast already. Found a mother load magnet link full of NSP and xci files so now I'm currently dumping my brand new switch rawnand.bin on 4.1 FW before I start messing with CFW. Can anyone get me to a fast track directions where I can load these files asap. Is there a certain firmware that I need be to load newer nsp/xci files? I do not play games online at all on any consoles so besides online gaming what would I be missing if my switch gets a nintendo ban? I don't think I can instruct my 3 year old son how to boot rcm and load HB so is there any somewhat kid friendly cfw that can easily load nsp/xci files? Whats the difference between the free and paid cfw?
Theoretically, any firmware can load .XCI/.NSP files but games aren't supported on all firmwares and we don't have a way to spoof/bypass those requirements. The 2 ways of getting around those requirements involve using EmuNAND from SX OS or updating the firmware without burning fuses with the homebrew application ChoiDujourNX (fuses primarily prevent downgrading so if you update without burning them, you maintain a path for downgrading).
There are 2 types of bans, the normal bans and CDN bans. Both limit online play, eShop access, and online game updates however CDN bans prevent online system updates. CDN bans are rather rare nowadays so you will most likely incur a soft ban.
Don't know if any of the guides are "friendly" enough for a 3-year old to follow but they all use the same exploit so the process remains the same; stick jig/metal into switch, enter rcm, plug into device via USB, and send payload. This is a highly watered down version but this is how Switch hacks proceed.
SX OS:
https://sx.xecuter.com/
ReiNX:
https://reinx.guide/
Atmosphere:
https://guide.sdsetup.com/#/
As for differences between the free and paid CFW (which is just SX OS), SX OS has their own cheat engine, HDD support, and .XCI
loading (free CFW also have .XCI support but they need to be installed). All CFW support .NSP files but the free ones have better compatibility with homebrew than SX OS. Lastly, SX OS offers very little customization while the free ones can be freely tailored to the user.