Switch Firmware Discussion

maximoose

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

Could they update the joycons to not play nicely with any hacked machine, or am I being thick (this is highly likely).

From what I understand, no - because..

Inviere wrote: »

this is a bootrom exploit, and step 1 in the chain of trust, full control of the console has been achieved. Once that happens, there's ways around pretty much everything.

They can't update firmware to fix this

Tom Mann Centuria

maximoose wrote: »

From what I understand, no - because..



They can't update firmware to fix this

Ah I thought maybe the joycons had their own firmware and maybe then wouldn't have been part of the console that had been exploited. Thought I was probably being too simplistic.

Chardee MacDennis

am i right in saying if you want to run any of this homebrew you'll need to use the little dongle that was used to cause the buffer overflow? If so, I really think (and hope) that will be a deterrent for some people...

Ste-

Chardee MacDennis wrote: »

am i right in saying if you want to run any of this homebrew you'll need to use the little dongle that was used to cause the buffer overflow? If so, I really think (and hope) that will be a deterrent for some people...

I think you need that to short the pins, then a specific button press to enter usb recovery then connect to a pc to run the payload. Do I have that right ?

Chardee MacDennis

With this thing from what i can tell



I'm just not sure that now they have access to the bootloader, could they create a soft exploit like the R4 which would open up more people to homebrew.

Ste-

Chardee MacDennis wrote: »

With this thing from what i can tell



I'm just not sure that now they have access to the bootloader, could they create a soft exploit like the R4 which would open up more people to homebrew.

You can use that or any wire once the pins are shorted afaik.
With this and you'll see soon they have CFW which will open up everything ala PSP.

readyletsgo

super_furry wrote: »

Looks like we’ll be getting a hardware change sooner than expected. Wonder if they’ll go with a form factor change too - Switch Lite or something similar - or if they’ll go down the Xbox 360 road and just change the internals.

I love my Switch and would have no problem buying a new one for online play if I could open up my original to Dolphin emulation.

This.

I would absolutely buy a new upgraded fancier Switch and keep my original for last gens emulators if possible. Dolphin FTW.

CastorTroy

Seeing that picture all I can think is that Johnny 5 would be happy at "No Disassemble".

I do laugh at all the people talking about looking forward to doing it so they can back up saves and all. Like we're suddenly to believe everyone wants Linux on their Switch? Majority will be hacking for one main reason.

Ste-

CastorTroy wrote: »

Majority will be hacking for one main reason.

Emulators!!

Digital Solitude

CastorTroy wrote: »

Seeing that picture all I can think is that Johnny 5 would be happy at "No Disassemble".

I do laugh at all the people talking about looking forward to doing it so they can back up saves and all. Like we're suddenly to believe everyone wants Linux on their Switch? Majority will be hacking for one main reason.

For sure piracy is what has people tickled by it, I think the Switch doomsayers are jumping the gun though. It took several years for R4s on the 3DS to emerge and most of them could only emulate the DS funtionality. A lot of them were quickly blocked by updates and you had to wait a few weeks for a new workaround. If you card was in your machine when you updated it, you needed a new card.

Even now, most cards cant play 3DS games, so to pirate them, you need to install CFW, then a program, then install them directly to the device, can't be installed on the SD iirc. The newer 3DS's can't be easily hacked without access to an older model with CFW installed.

While its not a great sign that its been cracked so early, there's a new SoC that won't contain the flaw on the way, if the hack requires any technical nitty gritty (like stacking and naming files and folders meticulously) then most casual users wont do it, and I'd be confident in Ninty holding off R4s after seeing how they did so much better from DS to 3DS.

Inviere

CastorTroy wrote: »

I do laugh at all the people talking about looking forward to doing it so they can back up saves and all. Like we're suddenly to believe everyone wants Linux on their Switch? Majority will be hacking for one main reason.

Indeed, but to play devils advocate for a moment, €60 for Doom when it can be got for €6 on PC? Sorry, and I know that's just one example, but Nintendo's pricing model is a HUGE incentive for pirates. Personally, I don't condone piracy as I believe in the end, it takes money from the pockets of those who deserve it, but when it's a veritable gulf between prices for the same game, it's only going to end one way. Nintendo, while arguably the best at what they do, need to seriously cop on when it comes to software pricing.

Digital Solitude wrote: »

While its not a great sign that its been cracked so early, there's a new SoC that won't contain the flaw on the way, if the hack requires any technical nitty gritty (like stacking and naming files and folders meticulously) then most casual users wont do it, and I'd be confident in Ninty holding off R4s after seeing how they did so much better from DS to 3DS.

Once the Atmosphere CFW is released, it's going to be very, very simple. With complete control gained over the system, it won't be long before you'll be able to load up a USB stick with games, & the Switch will be able to see them & load them with the click of a button. As for the new hardware revision, it's a new CPU that's been described within the newer firmwares. I don't think it's on shelves yet, but will be very soon. Then the hunt will undoubtedly begin for a vulnerability in that new hardware.

madmoe

Inviere wrote: »

Once the Atmosphere CFW is released, it's going to be very, very simple. With complete control gained over the system, it won't be long before you'll be able to load up a USB stick with games, & the Switch will be able to see them & load them with the click of a button.

:eek::eek::eek:

CiDeRmAn

Honest to god lads and lassies, this has the scope of killing the system completely.

Inviere

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Honest to god lads and lassies, this has the scope of killing the system completely.

I can't see it myself. Best case is any modified Switch won't be able to go online, which will hopefully be a large incentive for people should Ninty knock it outta the park when they eventually launch the service.

I do believe Ninty have fecked up though, royally. To think that we could see things like Retroarch running on the Switch, before the VC even goes live, is as massive a boo boo as Nintendo could have made. The VC is a service that the bloody Wii had, it seriously shouldn't have taken this long to see it on the Switch - especially with the resources Ninty have.

banie01

Ste- wrote: »

Emulators!!

I don't use Switch but I do use Nvidia Shield with the same chipset.
Emulators are a really massive plus on the Tegra Chipset.
They will add hugely to to the Switch if they are successfully ported.

sligeach

Behind the scenes with the hackers who unlocked the Nintendo Switch
"The best way to get a chip security audited is to put it in a game console"

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/04/behind-the-scenes-with-the-hackers-who-unlocked-the-nintendo-switch/

iamtony

I used to jailbreak my iphones then the benefits of updating the phone and loosing the jailbreak made me just update.
If it's a similar story with this, the majority won't bother in my opinion.

Inviere

iamtony wrote: »

I used to jailbreak my iphones then the benefits of updating the phone and loosing the jailbreak made me just update.
If it's a similar story with this, the majority won't bother in my opinion.

For many many people though, there's no greater benefit than 'free' games. I wouldn't be surprised if many buy a second Switch for online use, and keep a modded one for piracy.

The_B_Man

Inviere wrote: »

I wouldn't be surprised if many buy a second Switch for online use, and keep a modded one for piracy.

I'd do that meself if I could figure out the best way to get a low firmware console brand new.

If there's a way around the current paper clip method and a permanent soft mod then I'll defo get one in any firmware.

Piracy is one thing but I just REALLY want emulators on the switch!! Especially snes and N64. Dolphin running smoothly would also be legendary!

Inviere

The_B_Man wrote: »

I'd do that meself if I could figure out the best way to get a low firmware console brand new.

If there's a way around the current paper clip method and a permanent soft mod then I'll defo get one in any firmware.

Any current Switch out in the wild today is vulnerable, so you'd be a buying a new one for online use, and keeping your current one for modding. Once the Atmosphere CFW is released, the floodgates will open.

Piracy is one thing but I just REALLY want emulators on the switch!! Especially snes and N64. Dolphin running smoothly would also be legendary!

Same. The Switch is going to become an incredible, incredible little machine for emulation.

The_B_Man

Well my current switch is on the latest firmware so thats not ideal.
I was hoping I could go out and buy the Splatoon bundle or some other bundle, which is known to be on a certain low firmware, but I don't know which firmware they're on. It feels a bit like pot luck.

TBH, the clip method is a bit off-putting. I don't like the idea of having to do something on every boot. If it was a once off, and you then install CFW and you're good to go, then that's obviously ideal.

If the 5.x firmwares get blown open, then I'd be more than happy to buy one of those rumoured new hardware revision Switches, as long as I can transfer my saves over, as I've put hundreds of hours into Zelda, and have a lot of Mario Kart progress made, Steamworld, Mario Odyssey, etc. Losing those saves is a big deterrent to hacking and flashing a CFW, as I'd need to wipe the device. Perhaps that's why Nintendo are dragging their heels on cloud saves....

readyletsgo

I bought a backup switch last week, feck it . It'll sit in the press for a year or two until a user friendly hack comes out.

I REALLY want Dolphin on the go. PS2 if possible too would be amazing.

This all systems out now come with firmware 3.2 or higher now right? 3.0 is the sweet spot as far as I know.

Inviere

NXLoader has been released. Basically, you can launch the required payload directly from an Android phone (non rooted too), instead of using a PC to do it.

Grassey

Well that makes it eminently more accessible. Jig now ordered from ebay, app downloaded.

Will likely give it a go, get bored and forget about it. My switch gathers dust as is from lack of use!

madmoe

Grassey wrote: »

Well that makes it eminently more accessible. Jig now ordered from ebay, app downloaded.

Will likely give it a go, get bored and forget about it. My switch gathers dust as is from lack of use!

Just out of curiosity how much was the jig? I got a second Switch at the weekend for messing around with, gonna keep it offline and have my other one for playing online.

Cheers,
M

maximoose

Also, what can you actually do right now after loading the payload?

The_B_Man

madmoe wrote: »

I got a second Switch at the weekend for messing around with, gonna keep it offline and have my other one for playing online.

Any idea what firmware it was on?

Grassey

£4 plus p&p

madmoe

The_B_Man wrote: »

Any idea what firmware it was on?

Mine is on 5.0, had a quick look after I bought it. How about yours?

Kiith

Honestly, an exploit that allowed me to use Netflix and to emulate older games would make me consider buying the console again.