Rumor: $3 Nintendo Switch modchip might be coming, compatible with V2 (Mariko) and OLED (Aula)
Scene veteran Zecoxao has shared rumors that a Raspberry rp2040 based Modchip for Nintendo Switch is incoming. With the chip in question available for about $3 on most retailers like AliExpress, this could be a game changer, when Switch modchips today cost as much as $150 (installation not included).
$3 Raspberry Switch Modchip
In theory, it is very possible at this point that some hacking teams have fully reverse engineered Team Xecuter‘s SX modchip, and its clones HWFLY. From there, porting the glitching code to a cheap SOC sounds reasonable. It would also not be surprising that one of the many hackers on the scene got tired of modchip sellers banking on piracy, and decides to shortcut the whole process.
Furthermore, Zecoxao is not the only one who has mentioned this chip. Switch modding expert sthetix has also weighed in, saying he’s known about it but doesn’t have details. Zecoxao has gone on to state the chip will be compatible with OLED (Aula), Switch V2 (Mariko), but not with unpatched V1 (Erista). No word on Switch lite compatibility.
In other words, the rumor feels legit… to some extent.
Folks over at GBATemp have been discussing the rumor, where it initially started, based on a craigslist post attempting to sell the mod under the name “pikofly” (in reference to HWFLY).
The craigslist offer in itself feels shady, but some people have stated that glitching the Switch with a Raspberry RP2040 is a possibility. Long-time member of the Switch scene CompSciOrBust has gone one step further, and stated:
Yeah we can. I know the dev. He asked some people (including me) to spread FUD here because he wasn’t ready to release lol. Some Russian guy who was testing it sc*** him over by trying to sell it.
In that original GBATemp thread, the craigslist seller initially shared details about the pinout scheme:
7 PIN: 29 - D0 28 - CMD 27 - CLK 26 - RST 15 - SOC shelf
One could easily fake such information of course, but again, trusted people have stated this is legit.
$3 Switch Modchip, ETA wen
It feels very possible that this rumor is legit, but if the device is real, many questions are coming next: when should we expect a release? Will the product be fully open source, or will it be a competitor to the existing HWFLY clones, priced just a bit lower? How much skills (and additional cables/hardware) will it require to install on your own? sthetix in particular has said:
PEOPLE!! Don’t get too hyped by the RP2040.
I don’t know the details of how to use it, how it works, etc.
But, if it does replace the HWFLY for the OLED, I am sure it needs other components like the CPU ribbon cable and the DAT0 adapter. And of course the same solder points
— sthetix (@sthetixofficial) December 12, 2022
A fully open source solution, similar to what we’ve had in the past such as the SD2Vita design for PS Vita, would honestly be awesome. It would bring down the costs of Switch modding, and could enable significant innovation in that domain. On the other hand, if the person behind this mod have knowledge that nobody has released before, it’s also possible they’ll try to make a profit on this, instead of giving it away.
We’ll have to wait and see on this one, but exciting days could be ahead for Switch hacking. Anything that reduces the cost of modding Switch consoles would be awesome.
In the meantime, if you can’t wait to hack your Nintendo switch, check our Switch hacking guide.
source: via Zecoxao
I knew there was a reason I ordered so many Picos. 😀
This is legitimate, but a lot of the details floating about are… Not quite right. Personally, I have my hands on 2 working chips, one being the mentioned RPi. I’ve been testing them for weeks and have permission to publicly acknowledge their existence, and to outright dismiss any lies. Beyond that, I’m not supposed to disclose much else.
Within that scope, yes, it isn’t as easy as buying this chip and slapping it in there.
There likely will be bundles sold in the future with the proper cables already soldered to the RPi, diagrams of the Switch side of things, and maybe more included. Not to mention people trying to sell the test kits currently being shared to “high level scene people” (as I was called lol). These are not associated with myself or any of the multiple devs working on this project. These are to be ignored. Anything being sold now is essentially “stolen” PRE-beta works.
Thanks for the info
I’m not too excited about hacking the OLED, since it contains the same hardware. When / If the Switch gets a mid-gen hardware upgrade, it would be ideal if these modchips still work for it. If that happens I’m upgrading from my V1.
Nintendo is mercenary. everything she does, she charges 2 times more than sony or microsoft. glad to see hacking progress on the switch
This video shows a switch lite, so it would be compatible if it gets released.
So basically: All models except erista could be exploited with a rp2040
Doh, I hadn’t even noticed!!!
Yes, Core Mariko V2 + Lite Mariko V2 + NX Oled seems to be compatible, Erista V1 patched is not compatible at the moment.
I 4M T3H H4X0RZ
I hope that ninntendo patch it
Any hope for Erista model?
I don’t think Nintendo cares. This POS was already dated when it launched back in 2017, and with the next iteration coming by the end of next year or early 2024.
And besides, many refuse to mod to begin with, out of paranoia of getting banned.
Also, contrary to general belief, it’s not really the cost holding back people from modding because $150 is nothing if you’re already expected to pay ten folds that amount to own any amount of decent games.
Well technically the fear of being banned is not paranoia since the bans are very real 😉 emummc theoretically bypasses the risk (or, owning 2 Nintendo Switch) but not everyone grasps that.
There are also many who want to hack their switch without the main purpose of piracy. I know that’s not many of us, but for people like these, $150 to install linux and a couple of emulators feels like a ripoff.
There’s no point to get a Switch for Linux distro or emulation since there’s far better options with better performance like for instance the Steam Deck base model which renders the Switch obsolete since it’s an open system. You’re really in the wrong if you’re picking the Switch for this.
I hear you. That being said, the base steam deck costs twice as much as a Nintendo Switch, and isn’t available yet in many countries. It is not an actual option for many people. For people who are worried about cost (which was my point) and can actual find one (good luck), it is not a valid option.
TBF this is not difficult to do, the whole process is a chip glitch. I was playing around with this in an underground discord group in Jan/Feb time this year and the knowledge to glitch the switch is pretty easily available. I was able to glitch my switch using my chip whisperer and a couple of other tools easily enough, the issue was always that the FPGA source code on the HWFly and TX chip was too hot to handle, people had reproduced it months ago but everybody was and is worried about what Nintendo would do to the person who was caught. The FPGA was the missing link between a fully functioning modchip or not, the components to build an HWFly chip is only a few $$ nothing on it is expensive, but without this code it is a dead weight. In theory if somebody released the code we could have been using cheap $15-20 modchips months ago, and they could have been blank boards that you uploaded yourself in essence to stop the board seller getting sued.
I’m a bit surprised that nobody’s done it so far if it’s that easy? But as you say, people might be worried of the legal impact