what cfw should i use ?

[MrWhosHacking]

just looking to see what cfw i should use and whats the difference

 

[sudeki300]

just looking to see what cfw i should use and whats the difference

what do you mean by which one?

 

[Takokeshi]

what do you mean by which one?

There are three, two of which are defunct.

Atmosphere is the go-to, supports everything up to latest firmware and doesn't take too long to get updated after major firmware updates. You'll be able to do mostly everything with it.

ReiNX only works up to 10.x and has no real advantages over Atmosphere, so skip that one.

SXOS is defunct, and never saw an update past 11.0.0, but it has unique functionality in that it lets one mount .xci cart dumps as virtual game cards instead of having to install games (you can run them from USB), which can be nice depending on your use case. It won't work for newer games that require newer firmwares, and won't work with certain homebrew or sysmodules that rely on Atmosphere libs.

 

[Shadow#1]

just looking to see what cfw i should use and whats the difference

Atmosphere

 

[jubbagee]

Atmosphere

 

[sudeki300]

There are three, two of which are defunct.

Atmosphere is the go-to, supports everything up to latest firmware and doesn't take too long to get updated after major firmware updates. You'll be able to do mostly everything with it.

ReiNX only works up to 10.x and has no real advantages over Atmosphere, so skip that one.

SXOS is defunct, and never saw an update past 11.0.0, but it has unique functionality in that it lets one mount .xci cart dumps as virtual game cards instead of having to install games (you can run them from USB), which can be nice depending on your use case. It won't work for newer games that require newer firmwares, and won't work with certain homebrew or sysmodules that rely on Atmosphere libs.

i was being sarcastic , but doesn't come over well when typing.

 

[GamingTable]

The only custom firmware is Atmosphere. That's the basis of every variation out there. https://github.com/Atmosphere-NX/Atmosphere/releases

Hekate is another 1. https://github.com/CTCaer/hekate

 

[Shadow#1]

The only custom firmware is Atmosphere. That's the basis of every variation out there. https://github.com/Atmosphere-NX/Atmosphere/releases

Hekate is another 1. https://github.com/CTCaer/hekate

Well hekate isn't a cfw

 

[mikefor20]

The only custom firmware is Atmosphere. That's the basis of every variation out there. https://github.com/Atmosphere-NX/Atmosphere/releases

Hekate is another 1. https://github.com/CTCaer/hekate

Incorrect. 3 exist. As stated above. Use Atmosphere. Use SXOS on the side if you want to run older games off USB. ,

 

[Lacius]

just looking to see what cfw i should use and whats the difference

Atmosphere is the only choice (if you want to use newer system versions and newer games).

The only custom firmware is Atmosphere. That's the basis of every variation out there. https://github.com/Atmosphere-NX/Atmosphere/releases

Hekate is another 1. https://github.com/CTCaer/hekate

Hekate is a bootloader you can use to launch Atmosphere.

 

[GamingTable]

Well hekate isn't a cfw

What, exactly, is a "firmware patcher".

 

[mikefor20]

Atmosphere is the only choice (if you want to use newer system versions and newer games).


Hekate is a bootloader you can use to launch Atmosphere.

Or you can use both atmosphere and sxos. You can even shrink the emunand.

 

[GamingTable]

Hekate is a bootloader you can use to launch Atmosphere.

Well hekate isn't a cfw

I used to use Hekate, years ago, until they started doing something to it. There was no Atmosphere mentioned [hekate_ctcaer_4.6]. I, also, see it needs it's own patches, nowadays. What's a " firmware patcher".

I went and found an old Hekate to be certain I am remembering correctly.

 

[Lacius]

I used to use Hekate, years ago, until they started doing something to it. There was no Atmosphere mentioned [hekate_ctcaer_4.6]. I, also, see it needs it's own patches, nowadays. What's a " firmware patcher".

I went and found an old Hekate to be certain I am remembering correctly.

Hekate has always used Atmosphere for CFW. In fact, it was the first way to be able to run Atmosphere before official builds of Atmosphere were available. As a bootloader, it does have the ability to run some limited patches on its own.

In other words, you need Atmosphere in order to be able to run CFW with Hekate.

 

[GamingTable]

Hekate has always used Atmosphere for CFW. In fact, it was the first way to be able to run Atmosphere before official builds of Atmosphere were available. As a bootloader, it does have the ability to run some limited patches on its own.

In other words, you need Atmosphere in order to be able to run CFW with Hekate.

Ok. So the first part of my comment is correct.

There's only ever been Atmosphere, with those spin offs using it in theirs'.

Still curious about that firmware patcher thing Hekate mentions.

Google isn't any help. I'm going to just assume Hekate is talking about Atmosphere. "Custom Graphical Nintendo Switch bootloader, firmware patcher, tools, and many more."

 

[Lacius]

Ok. So the first part of my comment is correct.

There's only ever been Atmosphere, with those spin offs using it in theirs'.

Still curious about that firmware patcher thing Hekate mentions.

Google isn't any help. I'm going to just assume Hekate is talking about Atmosphere. "Custom Graphical Nintendo Switch bootloader, firmware patcher, tools, and many more."

Ignoring random forks of Atmosphere that didn't last very long, there are the following:

1. Atmosphere. It's the only one that still receives support of any kind, and it has the most features. It's really the only choice. If you run into anything else out there that isn't on this list, it's probably an inferior fork of Atmosphere.
2. SX OS. It's closed-source (although it uses a lot of stolen code from Atmosphere), and it used to cost money (there are ways to crack it now). The developers have disappeared after TX ran into legal issues. It's no longer supported, it doesn't work with new system versions, and it doesn't work with new games. The only thing it does that Atmosphere doesn't is load games off a USB storage device, but it will only work for older games, and you have to be on an older sysMMC or emuMMC for SX OS to even load. The vast majority of users have left SX OS behind, but some still use it (in docked mode) for loading large games off cheap USB storage devices.
3. ReiNX. It was nice, but it doesn't receive support anymore. There's no reason at all to use it over Atmosphere.

That's pretty much it.

 

[GamingTable]

Ignoring random forks of Atmosphere that didn't last very long, there are the following:

1. Atmosphere. It's the only one that still receives support of any kind, and it has the most features. It's really the only choice. If you run into anything else out there that isn't on this list, it's probably an inferior fork of Atmosphere.
2. SX OS. It's closed-source (although it uses a lot of stolen code from Atmosphere), and it used to cost money (there are ways to crack it now). The developers have disappeared after TX ran into legal issues. It's no longer supported, it doesn't work with new system versions, and it doesn't work with new games. The only thing it does that Atmosphere doesn't is load games off a USB storage device, but it will only work for older games, and you have to be on an older sysMMC or emuMMC for SX OS to even load. The vast majority of users have left SX OS behind, but some still use it (in docked mode) for loading large games off cheap USB storage devices.
3. ReiNX. It was nice, but it doesn't receive support anymore. There's no reason at all to use it over Atmosphere.

That's pretty much it.

I know.

Atmosphere and bootleg Atmospheres.

I was going to do the 'no no' [lmao] and ping CTCaer about what a "firmware patcher" is, but I see he hasn't been on here in years.

I'll just stick with my assumption from above.

 

[Lacius]

I know.

Atmosphere and bootleg Atmospheres.

I was going to do the 'no no' [lmao] and ping CTCaer about what a "firmware patcher" is, but I see he hasn't been on here in years.

I'll just stick with my assumption from above.

There are patches applied to Horizon at the bootloader level that Hekate can do on its own. That's "firmware-patching."

 

[mikefor20]

Ignoring random forks of Atmosphere that didn't last very long, there are the following:

1. Atmosphere. It's the only one that still receives support of any kind, and it has the most features. It's really the only choice. If you run into anything else out there that isn't on this list, it's probably an inferior fork of Atmosphere.
2. SX OS. It's closed-source (although it uses a lot of stolen code from Atmosphere), and it used to cost money (there are ways to crack it now). The developers have disappeared after TX ran into legal issues. It's no longer supported, it doesn't work with new system versions, and it doesn't work with new games. The only thing it does that Atmosphere doesn't is load games off a USB storage device, but it will only work for older games, and you have to be on an older sysMMC or emuMMC for SX OS to even load. The vast majority of users have left SX OS behind, but some still use it (in docked mode) for loading large games off cheap USB storage devices.
3. ReiNX. It was nice, but it doesn't receive support anymore. There's no reason at all to use it over Atmosphere.

That's pretty much it.

You can use SXOS in handheld too. For USB devices. Also you can mount XCI without install right on an SD too. Super useful

 

[Lacius]

You can use SXOS in handheld too. For USB devices.

Yes, you can use SX OS in handheld mode, but there isn't much of a point in doing so for the vast majority of people.

While it's true USB devices can be used in handheld mode on SX OS, it isn't the most portable system if you're using a USB HDD storage device. If you're using something more portable like a thumb drive, it has to be USB-C, and it isn't going to have the same benefits as the aforementioned HDD (large and cheap storage space). In other words, portable USB sticks tend to come in about the same sizes and prices as SD cards.