Rumor: “UnlockSwitch” claim they have reverse engineered the MIG Switch and have a clone under way
This could be a late April Fools’ prank, or simply a whole bunch of nothing, but following the distribution of MIG Switch retail models, we’re already seeing a claim that the device has been reverse engineered, and that clones are being produced, under the name UnlockSwitch.
This rumor is to take with a huge bucket of salt as 1) it comes from a completely new Twitter account and 2) the demonstrated “UnlockSwitch” device doesn’t seem to do more than the MIG Switch, meaning there is no way at the moment to say that this isn’t simply a MIG Switch with a different sticker on it.
With that out of the way, let’s have a look at this “reverse engineered” MIG Switch claims
What is the MIG Switch
The MIG Switch is a flashcart for the Nintendo Switch, that can store and load multiple “backup” games on any revision of the console. Even if the MIGSwitch is advertised as a “back-up and development device”, there is no question that its primary purpose is Switch game piracy.
Mig Switch flashcarts – source skinpixel
Although it is already possible to hack basically any Switch model, the technique to do so on most recent consoles involve soldering a modchip. Once done this works great, but the procedure is not for the faint of the heart. By comparison, the MIG Switch is more limited, more dangerous (risk of ban), and more expensive, but much, much easier to use. As such, for people who don’t trust their soldering skills, or don’t want to pay a 3rd party to do the soldering for them, the MIG Switch remains a valid alternative.
For the homebrew scene, part of the interest in the MIG Switch lies in understanding how the team behind the device managed to defeat some of the Switch’s security, and whether or not the scene will be able to reverse engineer the MIG Switch (which is probably encrypted). There’s also an aura of mystery around the MIG Switch team themselves, who claim to be from Russia but are probably Team Xecuter.
Has MIG Switch been reverse engineered? Claims from UnlockSwitch
the UnlockSwitch Twitter account claim they have reverse engineered the MIG Switch, and are producing clones. If that turns out to be true, we expect that those would sell for significantly cheaper than the MIG Switch.
However, I haven’t been able to find anyone able to confirm whether this device is real, and whether reverse engineering actually happened, or the demonstrated devices are just MIG Switch flashcarts with a different case/sticker affixed.
Let’s entertain the idea that this is indeed a “clone” device here, and not a MIG Switch with a different skin. Notably, there doesn’t seem to be any practical difference between the demonstrated device and a MIG Switch. It is possible that the people behind the Unlock Switch are “only” cloning the binaries on the MIG Switch chips (thwarting potential encryption) without any actual code Reverse engineering happening in the process.
Short UnlockSwitch video demo on a Ver. 16.1.0#UnlockSwitch pic.twitter.com/5QBRnUBzcg
— Unlock Switch (@UnlockSwitch) April 7, 2024
The folks behind the Twitter account state that the UnlockSwitch is currently a prototype, but might start final production this month.
We’ll have to wait and see, but although this device could help push the prices of the MIG Switch down, I’m not sure it will help understand better how the MIG Switch operates. and as far as usefulness is concerned, I still believe the MIG Switch (and its potential clones) remains a sub-par solution compared to modding your Switch.
Source: UnlockSwitch (thanks to @TheUrbanMenace for the tip!)
My interest in the MIG Switch has to do with being able to have more storage for games even on a hacked Switch as I would be able to have all my cartridge games on the microSD card in the MIG cart and all digital on the internal microSD card. It would be a much better option than trying to replace the internal 32GB nand with a 512GB chip. Plus I would not be limited to a hacked Switch.
I would be worried about the MIG Switch containing anti-clone code that could brick the system like Gateway did on the 3DS.
Me too
Don’t worry, mig swtich doesn’t run custom code or require a software exploit (unlike gateway did), so can’t alter your device to brick it.
This is just a hardware device that pretends to be a game cart.
Since the MIG Switch directly connects to the console, could it being using some sort of JTAG chain in order to screw with things in the console? It does have an FPGA inside, which is very useful for high speed I/O changes.
Why bother tho? It costs more, does less and is not even less vulnerable to ban when compared to the modchips. We need more clones of the modchip instead of this to bring the price down.
if the price is right i will take one , migswitch is more expensive to my country than a modchip
A clone of this flashcart is welcome, but I can’t help but wish it had a button like the Sky3DS to make switching games incur less wear and tear on the cartridge slot.
The solder mask on the unlock switch pcb is black while the Mig’s is blue, that would be a hint that these are at least clones and not a sticker on top of Mig carts. Now whether these have been reverse engineered or not is a different story.
Long live team xecuter!!
Hard to say it’s a MIG Switch on a different shell. The MIG uses a blue lacquer while the Unlock uses a black one, and every MIG Switch PCB I’ve seen online seems to have 4 test probe points near the notch — absent in the Unlock PCB.
That being said, this doesn’t prove anything about the Unlock just having reverse engineered which ICs are in the MIG and copying the firmware.
What’s with the development part in “back-up and development device”?
I thought software through carts requires a valid key from nintendo to work, so what kind of development can be done on this thing?
Yeah MIG and clones just put that on their description to look like there could be legit uses for the devices. In practice they’re only useful for piracy
Slapping their brand on top of the chips themselves is sus