Hacking Update an older modded Switch?

[robroy90]

Greetings all!
I have a Switch that I have had for some time now and had it successfully modded with SXOS, etc. It has a battery drain issue where it will literally start draining the moment it is unplugged and will start draining the battery almost as fast as a countdown timer. Dead within 30 minutes, even at idle with the screen off. Initially, I though it was a bad battery, so I replaced it with a kit from iFixit, but the issue persisted.

So, I am inclined to believe it is a bug with the modified firmware, etc. I know it needs an update anyway as the modified FW and other associated tools are definitely out of date. So my question is this? How do I go about safely bringing it to the current level of FW/mods/tools, etc. I seem to recall you could easily blow e-fuses unnecessarily if you were not careful. Can someone please be kind and just give me a refresher on the current lay of the land, so to speak? Is it still a pursuit worth pursuing? Can you successfully emulate the latest official Switch OS releases so that you have access to the latest games, etc?

I don't mind doing research, and don't expect to be spood-fed, but if there is a guide to follow for bringing things current, I would gladly follow it! Or if someone has some specific steps for me, I'd surely appreciate it. I just don't know where to begin exactly.

Thanks in advance!

 

[forsalebypwner]

Sure I can give you a couple pointers. But first, my understanding of this is that your Switch will stay on while plugged in, correct? It doesn't ever randomly power off due to these issues? If not, just make sure that you have the charging cable (USB-C) plugged into an outlet, or plugged into some other kind of USB-C fast charging device, if possible. This is just a precaution, not necessarily needed.

It sounds like you're talking about the Custom Firmware being out of date, but another thing you should check is in Settings>System>and then right under where it says "Software Update" (don't click that button!) it should say Current version: X.X.X for example mine is on 10.0.4 which is relatively up to date. The reason you'll want to make sure you're not too far behind on the Switch current firmware version is because newer games start to require higher firmware. In my experience, you usually want to be within 1 major release version of the current firmware, but you *don't* want to be running the very latest firmware. Every time Nintendo comes out with a new FW version, developers have to fix all of the custom firmware, typically. So here's how you upgrade this firmware safely and easily, I've done this tons of times, it seems more daunting than it really is: https://switch.homebrew.guide/usingcfw/manualupgrade.html I've used this guide every time.

On to the next part - updating your custom firmware/homebrew software. This part is easier IMO. Head over to sdsetup.com, choose "Recommended Defaults" at the top of the page, and then add or remove any other pieces of software that sound interesting/relevant to you. You can hover over anything to see what it is/does. When you're done selecting, it'll create a ZIP file for you to download, then all you need to do is unzip those files right onto the root of your SD card.

Good luck, and sorry to hear about your battery. I hope an upgrade will help!