That’s super cool! I’m very curious about this whole process, and I have many questions.
Do the controllers also need to be jailbroken? Do they retain their full functionality, most importantly the wireless capabilities, pairing and motion sensing? Does the dock still work? How’s the performance for x86_64 games? How’s the performance (and experience) for Switch games? What are the risks in doing this? How would you compare this to just getting a Steam Deck or making something that’s probably easier?
Thanks in advance for answering, but in case it’s too much, could you please link me the homebrewing project? I’ve got a Switch that’s probably old enough to use the plastic jig, but I won’t screw around with my little sibling’s toy if the joycons don’t work properly. I’d rather harvest the mainboard of my Framework 13 when I decide to upgrade it and build the aforementioned Beth Deck.
Not OP, but I’ve done this to my Switch.
- Only works if you have a first-run Switch that is susceptible to Fusee-Gelee. Or if there’s a modchip involved, but a) adding a modchip is really fiddly and b) I don’t know how much of the following applies if you have a modchip.
- There are ways that don’t require modifying a Joycon. There are “jigs” that you can buy or even 3d print if you’ve got access to a printer. Those slide down into the Joycon rail to connect a couple of pins necessary to do the whole homebrew thing. There are also paperclip and tinfoil methods that… aren’t 100% safe.
- No, the Joycons don’t need to be jailbroken or anything. The modification OP is referring to, if you go that direction, is strictly a hardware mod to connect (electrically) a couple of pins inside the Joycon that connect to pins on the Switch (at the bottom of the “rail”).
- I’m not sure what’s running on what OP has in the photo there but it looks like either Linux or Android. Either way, it probably isn’t an x86_64 emulator. But one thing you can do with homebrew is to run a (slightly-tweaked) “copy” of the factory-installed Switch OS from the SD card. If you’re doing that, then everything retains full functionality. The dock works fine and the Joycons work exactly the same with one minor caveat: when switching between the main/system and “copy”/“EmuEMMC” OS’s, you’ll need to re-pair.
- No idea whether x86_64 emulation is an option and if so what kind of performance you could expect.
- Performance and experience for Switch games is perfect!
- One risk is bricking (obviously) which is a pretty negligible if you back everything up the way the guides tell you to ahead of time. (In fact, it’s very arguable that homebrewing your Switch actually makes your Switch more resistant to bricking because you have more options with regard to fixing it yourself.)
- Another risk is getting banned from the e-shop and all online interaction. Basically if Nintendo detects you’re running homebrew (for instance, if your Switch is online and communicating with Nintendo and reports to Nintendo that you have something installed that isn’t officially-lisenced Nintendo software/games) they’ll ban you from all online things. The Switch itself will still work fine for all offline interactions and any games on the device will continue to work as will physical game cartridges. But, as long as you only make modifications to the “copy”/“EmuEMMC” and set up some of the DNS blocking options that prevent your Switch from communicating with Nintendo’s servers (or just never connect to the internet from the EmuEMMC OS), you should be golden.
- Also, if you have a first-run Switch (that doesn’t require a modchip) there’s very little chance of voiding your warranty. If you need to send your Switch in for service, as long as you don’t send them a modded Joycon, jig, or SD card loaded with homebrew stuff, and as long as you don’t make any mods to the main OS, there’s no way for them to detect that you’ve modded it. The only downside is that if you send in a first-run Switch for service, it’s almost guaranteed they’ll replace the motherboard with one that isn’t hackable without a modchip.
- Oh, I guess one more risk I should mention. It’s possible your EmuEMMC will get corrupted randomly (at least that happened to me) and you won’t be able to boot into it again without setting it back up from scratch (from a (new or old) backup of the system OS). That will lose you any saved game data on your EmuEMMC. Though that can be mitigated by backing up your save games to the SD card on a regular basis. (I’ve learned my lesson.) That isn’t so much a risk for any games you play on the system OS (which you can boot into at any time trivially.)
- I don’t have any experience with the Steam Deck, so couldn’t speak to that. I love being able to mod Switch games, back up my saves, install emulators, etc on my Switch.
If you want to get homebrew on your Switch set up, you can start here. But of course, it only works for the earliest-released Switch runs. And you’ll need a computer or something to send a “payload” to your Switch to get booted into a homebrew environment.
Good luck!
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I haven’t modified the behavior of the controllers at all; that much is just decorative. Same for the dock. You can use this as a “normal” switch and everything works :)
- edit: you can also use some third-party laptop docks! but not all of them. I think the switch is using some non-standard protocol. Some docks advertise themselves as “switch compatible”. However, when you are using a homebrew os (linux or android), then it will work with any dock.
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I have a steam deck as well, and I use both. A modded switch (or any switch, tbh) has very limited system specs. x86 emulation is possible, but only for games that don’t use much cpu or ram. Steam and Proton are basically unusable. This is for emulation and low-spec indie games.
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The trailhead begins at https://switch.hacks.guide/. I recommend a 512 GB microsd, with 128 GB set aside for ubuntu and 64 GB for android. Happy hacking :)
Yeah the Switch uses myDP protocol which is obscure and unsupported by most laptop docks out there, only ones which support that protocol and supply charging will work with the Switch. Also I didn’t know that Laptop docks worked fine in Linux if they didn’t work in the normal Switch OS. I assumed the lack of compatibility was due to hardware or chipset reasons, not OS related reasons.
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Which paws button opens the menu?
normally I use the Home or Plus button for that, but I do have Retroarch set up so that I can pause by clicking both sticks at once, so you could say that’s a “paws button” :3
How was the homebrewing process? Does it work on all models or only some?
i used the fusee-gelee method because i have a pre-2019 switch; you need to make or buy a plastic jig to activate an invisible button at power-on. this is patched for 2020 models onwards.
however, in 2023 an open-source modchip was developed that works on all models, you can make it yourself for $5 and some precise soldering, or you can send your switch to a mail-order service on etsy for like $50 and have someone do it for you.
fusee-gelee method because i have a pre-2019 switch
Biggest reason I pre-ordered the Switch 2, hoping for another Nvidia tegra style hardware exploit lolol
I was really tempted to do the same, but for the price i’d rather have a Steam Deck. Way more power for that price, and it comes pre-hacked.
PCMR. Switch 2 has zero interesting launch titles IMO. Try back in a year or two (when the artificial scarcity Nintendo BS is dead,)
I’ll stick with my steam deck
I’m planning on buying a switch 2, and modding my current switch, consequences be dammed.
how do you make the modchip?
The hardware mod method depends on a raspi rp2040 chip to fiddle with some CPU lines and emulate the storage, so the mega-cheap way involves a little fabrication and fly wires to a $3 board, but you can get premade flex-pcb kits called “picofly” boards for crazy cheap now, like 20 bucks. The hardest part is the precise and delicate soldering that absolutely requires skill and some high quality tools, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility if you’re already equipped and experienced with microscope-level repairs. It is an advanced level DIY procedure, and not for the inexperienced hobbyist.
now im curious, does minecraft java run better on there than the native bedrock port?
I haven’t tried the bedrock port yet, i’ve actually been getting into Luanti/Minetest since it has much lower system requirements than either version of Minecraft.
edit: i should note that, yes, you can run Java Minecraft on this, and you can also run mods (just watch your ram usage, the switch only has 4GB)!
the switch only has 4GB
damn that’s impressive how much they can do with 4gb in modern day.
This is really cool, did you go through the process to change your Joycon colors yet, or have you left them as is?
not yet, but thank you for the link!
edit: will this run on linux?
Oh, I’m not sure if it will. I used a Windows VM with Bluetooth Pass-through to run it last time. I think there was a version that runs on Android, not sure how good that one is though.
I’ve already hacked my switch to dump my own roms. What did you install to get this UI and installed apps?
That looks like Android. You can install and “dual boot” Android on a hacked Switch just like you can switch between the normal firmware and the emuMMC with your homebrew stuff.
this is Switchroot Ubuntu! but i do also have Switchroot Android installed on my sd card. Triple-boot! Or quad, if you also count the emuMMC partition.
