Basic guide on how to jailbreak your V1 Switch:

V1 switches are moddable because of an exploit found in the recovery mode. N1ntend0 fixed this exploit and started selling V2 switches around mid 2018, so you will need a V1 switch to jailbreak. You can use modchips on patched switches but those are complicated and won't be discussed here.

You will need:

  • A Micro SD card (64GB minimum, 128GB+ recommended)
  • An SD card reader (so you can connect the SD card to your PC)
  • An RCM Jig (~$5 on amazon)
  • A USB C to USB A cable (aka a USB C cable) (to connect your switch to your PC)

Step 0: Checking if you can jailbreak
Visit https://ismyswitchpatched.com to check if your system can be jailbroken. If it says it might be patched, it means your switch was produced around mid 2018 when the V1 switches weren't being produced anymore. If your switch's box looks like this, i think you should be good.

If your switch can be jailbroken, follow these steps:


Step 1: Formatting the SD Card
Put your SD card/SD card reader into your PC. Now, using a fat32 formatter (I use rufus) format your micro SD card to fat32, the menu should look something like this, except with your SD card's values.

Step 2: Files
Now is time for the jailbreaking software/firmware.

You will need to download:

After extracting them using winrar/7zip, drag the CONTENTS of the Atmosphere folder, Hekate folder and Sigpatches folder onto the SD card (not the actual folders, but the contents inside the folders!).
(In the Hekate folder you'll see "hekate_ctcaer_6.0.3.bin", you can keep that on your pc.)
In the bootloader folder that you just dragged on your sd, drag the fusee.bin file in there.

Step 3: Recovery Mode (RCM)
Make sure your switch is fully powered off. Eject the SD card from your PC and put it into your switch (in the slot behind the stand).
Take off the joycon on the right side of the console screen and slide on your RCM jig, with the side that says on with the holes on the bottom, it should easily slide the whole way down the rail.
Now, hold the volume up (+) button and press (don't hold) the power button while still holding the volume button. Now, let go of the volume button and your screen should still be black, that means you're in RCM (Recovery Mode). If you saw the nintendo logo pop up and your console powered on, just power it off and try again.

Step 4: Injecting the payload
Now on your PC, extract TegraRCM and run the installer. Once you've installed it, run the TegraRcmGUI program. Go to the settings tab and click "Install Driver", once that's done, go back to the payloads tab.
Now, plug your switch into your PC using the USB C cable. The picture at the bottom of the payloads tab should say "RCM O.K". Now click on the folder icon to the left of "Inject Payload" and browse to wherever you put the "hekate_ctcaer" .bin file i told you to keep on your PC earlier, and click "open". Now press "Inject Payload" and your switch should boot up to the hekate bootloader screen.

Step 5: Backing up
On hekate, tap on tools at the top and then tap on "Backup eMMC" and then tap on "eMMC BOOT0 & BOOT1". Tap close when it's finished. And now tap on eMMC RAW GPP (this one might take a while) Again, tap close when it's done and tap close again to get back to the tools screen. With your switch still connected to your PC with the USB cable, tap on USB Tools and tap on SD Card in the top left, which should mount your SD to your PC without having to take it out of your switch. There should be a folder called "backup", copy this somewhere on your pc, this will save you if you accidentally you brick your switch at some point. Now eject the SD on your PC and on your switch, go to the home tab and tap "reboot" at the bottom of the screen and press RCM. Now, on your pc on TegraRCM, browse your files again and select the Lockpick_RCM file you downloaded earlier, and click inject payload. (if it asks if you want to smash the stack again just say yes). Now, the Lockpick_RCM GUI should boot up on the switch. Press the power button to select the "Dump from sysNand" option, once that's done press any of the buttons on the top of your switch to go back. Now you can use the volume down (-) button to go down to Power Off and press the power button to turn off the switch. Now take your SD card out and put it into your PC and on the SD you should see a file named "prod.keys". Put that file wherever you keep your backups (not IN the backup folder)

Step 6: Installing the CFW (Custom Firmware)
Now eject the SD from your PC and put it back in the switch. Go into RCM mode by holding volume up and pressing the power button and inject the hekate payload file that you already injected earlier.
This is where you have to make a choice, whether you want a File based emuNAND or a partition based emuNAND. The emunand is the emulated version of your switch OS that you'll be creating. HERE are the pros and cons of each. Personally, I use file based because I think it's much easier but some say it's slower and more prone to corruption, but it's up to you.

Step 6 (a): Partitioned emuNAND
Go to the tools tab on hekate and select Partition SD Card, tap OK and set the emuMMC (RAW) to where it says "29 FULL" and tap on next step in the bottom right. Tap start and when the partition manager is done tap OK. Now tap close and go back the home menu of hekate and tap on emuMMC. Tap create and tap SD Partition, select "part 1" and wait for it to install. When it's finished tap close and tap Launch. There should be multiple options, you want to select the option that ISN'T Stock or sysMMC. The option you choose should either be called "emuMMC" or "Atmosphere CFW". After you tap it, you should see a few loading screens. To check if you've done it right, go to settings and go to system settings near the bottom. If the text under "System Update" ends with E, congrats! If it says S, you selected the wrong option and if there's no letter at the end.. You failed :(

Step 6 (b): File based emuNAND
Go to the home tab of hekate and select emuMMC and select "SD File" and wait for it to create the emuNAND. When it's finished tap close and tap Launch. There should be multiple options, you want to select the option that ISN'T Stock or sysMMC. The option you choose should either be called "emuMMC" or "Atmosphere CFW". After you tap it, you should see a few loading screens. To check if you've done it right, go to settings and go to system settings near the bottom. If the text under "System Update" ends with E, congrats! If it says S, you selected the wrong option and if there's no letter at the end.. You failed :(


Common Issues

  • If you get an error with a program id ending in "7E51A", go into your atmosphere->contents folder and delete the folder "420000000007E51A"

Other Relevant Guides

FAQ

Coming soon..

Edit Report
Pub: 03 May 2023 23:29 UTC
Edit: 02 Jul 2023 23:37 UTC
Views: 4976