Hacking Question What happens when a console runs out of battery with AutoRCM turned on?

[ScarletDreamz]

Tittle.

Is it possible to charge it back normally? or it does not charge? or do i need to charge it via an special way? O:

 

[a9lh-1user]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/important-psa-autorcm-battery-warning.505192/
or
https://gbatemp.net/threads/battery-drain-w-autorcm-poll-question.509649/
or
https://gbatemp.net/threads/battery-draining-when-console-is-off-with-autorcm.505030/

Hope that will help to answer your questions

 

[Kubas_inko]

simply said, just let it charge. it is charging in RCM, but very slowly.

 

[ScarletDreamz]

So it does charge eventually, that was the question indeed C:

 

[Dontwait00]

simply said, just let it charge. it is charging in RCM, but very slowly.

Seems like, in horizonFW, charges at +1632Mhz while in autorcm only +55Mhz

 

[mariogamer]

Seems like, in horizonFW, charges at +1632Mhz while in autorcm only +55Mhz

That's specifically an autorcm issues, not rcm.

So, Switch charges and does not charges in RCM. xD

The results (battery was 89%):


The switch can charge normally the battery, if the BCT is intact!
In RCM AND in hekate menu.
*BCT is the boot configuration table that autoRCM corrupts.

Tests showed that it was charging with the same current, as in Horison OS.
The current it was drawing with 89% battery, was 800mA - 1000mA, using Switch wall adapter. On PC, it was the max the hub could give.


------------------------------------


The switch cannot charge normally with a corrupt BCT (AutoRCM).
In hekate, it shows similar behavior (read below).
Extra emphasis on the "normally".

With autoRCM, basically a corrupt BCT, the switch behaves differently.
There are 2 behaviors that I saw when connecting to the switch wall charger:

• Common - It was draining 140-250mA.
• Common (in hekate) - 200mA - 400mA
  
• Rare (normally if you connect charger after powering off from HOS) - Drain of alternating 250mA and 1000mA, with surges of 2.5A.

------------------------------------

Summary - facts:

1. Switch can charge completely normally in RCM or Hekate with a BCT intact
   • The percent % in Horizon OS, after a RCM charge, is not fake.
2. Switch does not charge normally with AutoRCM, a.k.a corrupt BCT.
   1. Either it charges very slowly or sometimes with a broken slow/fast/slow/fast charge pattern:
   2. Or this behavior is current taken from the USB controller or the BPMP (Nvidia's Boot and Power management processor)
   • In AutoRCM, the Charge IC probably can't update the battery calibration file and could make the percent fake.

I don't know for behavior .3 what really happens and what Switch does. This can be easily examined, by connecting a current multimeter between battery and switch and check the readings.

But it does charge.

 

[M7L7NK7]

If mine goes flat I inject a payload, then immediately plug the AC adaptor into the Switch and it will sit on the black screen with the battery icon in the top left, when it gets to 1% it will boot into cfw automatically

 

[Mr. Wizard]

You lose 30 minutes or so of your gaming life. And somewhere a kitten dies.

 

[Captain_N]

The entire battery charging problem is really damn dumb. The battery should charge regardless of the mode. a separate circuity should control the battery charge. should have nothing to do with booting. Why design it that way?
the entire charging control sould work independent of the cpu

 

[Mr. Wizard]

The entire battery charging problem is really damn dumb. The battery should charge regardless of the mode. a separate circuity should control the battery charge. should have nothing to do with booting. Why design it that way?
the entire charging control sould work independent of the cpu

It does. That is why the switch still charges with USB spec minimums. ~5v100ma.
In order to get faster charging you need smart circuitry since it's dealing with much higher wattage.
If you think it's so stupid, why not redesign it then? Try not to blow yourself up.

 

[Captain_N]

It does. That is why the switch still charges with USB spec minimums. ~5v100ma.
In order to get faster charging you need smart circuitry since it's dealing with much higher wattage.
If you think it's so stupid, why not redesign it then? Try not to blow yourself up.

what im saying is the charging circuit should have nothing to do with the cpu, whether the console is booted or in sleep mode. it should charge the battery regardless. Does a laptop battery charging circuit care if the laptop is on,off,sleep? no it does not it just charges the battery. so if i brick a bios chip the battery still charges.

 

[Mr. Wizard]

what im saying is the charging circuit should have nothing to do with the cpu, whether the console is booted or in sleep mode. it should charge the battery regardless. Does a laptop battery charging circuit care if the laptop is on,off,sleep? no it does not it just charges the battery. so if i brick a bios chip the battery still charges.

Have you ever drained a laptop battery beyond what the PD controller says is completely flat?
Just because your laptop says the battery is dead, it isn't "completely" dead, there is enough reserve to initialize the controller.
If you were to drain that battery further you would be in the same situation as the switch, since in RCM there is no PD controller safeguard to turn off the device at a certain point. I think you need to do some more research.

 

[Captain_N]

Have you ever drained a laptop batter beyond what the PD controller says is completely flat?
Just because your laptop says the battery is dead, it isn't "completely" dead, there is enough reserve to initialize the controller.
If you were to drain that battery further you would be in the same situation as the switch, since in RCM there is no PD controller safeguard to turn off the device at a certain point. I think you need to do some more research.

yeah i know what happens when a battery is actually 100% dead. I have had to fix some by bypasing the board and giving the battery some charge.
so heres my question then, why no safeguard? is it no possible?

 

[Mr. Wizard]

yeah i know what happens when a battery is actually 100% dead. I have had to fix some by bypasing the board and giving the battery some charge.
so heres my question then, why no safeguard? is it no possible?

Well, it is but you were never meant to be in RCM anyway, so I'm pretty sure Reggie doesn't give a fuck.

 

[Captain_N]

Well, it is but you were never meant to be in RCM anyway, so I'm pretty sure Reggie doesn't give a fuck.

lol yeah. Reggie probably does not even know what rcm is lol.I bet in the future when we have more controll like the 3ds, this problem will be a thing of the past

 

[Mr. Wizard]

lol yeah. Reggie probably does not even know what rcm is lol.I bet in the future when we have more controll like the 3ds, this problem will be a thing of the past

In risk of being off topic, we need a guy like this to join the scene.

 

[Deleted User]

In risk of being off topic, we need a guy like this to join the scene.

Memories, I had the Japanese Saturn back in the day.