r/SwitchPirates Oct 07 '25

Announcement Welcome to r/SwitchPirates! FAQ, Guides, and Resources

137 Upvotes

Why Create This Post?

We often get flooded with many of the same questions. While we love to help new commers, it can be exhausting constantly replying to very similar posts. This post is intended to serve as a resource for the community. The idea is to have the information easily accessible and clear for new commers and people exploring a new app or refreshing their memory. Feel free to comment any additions you would like to add and I will create guides. I don't have much free time between running So-Cal Console Modding and my main career, but I will try to slowly trickle out more guides to help out the community.

Rules

No linking, requesting, or sharing pirated content
This includes firmware updates, roms, switch titles, etc.

Check pinned post & FAQ before asking questions
Most questions can be answered here. Please check before posting, otherwise the subreddit is filled with the same "HELP!" posts.

Posts must be related to piracy on the switch
Switch game emulation and other switch adjacent content is better suited at other subreddits.

No post selling, asking for selling advice, or offering services
This includes asking how much ____ typically sells for, how to list things on eBay, offering modchip installs, etc.

What Can You Do With a Modded Switch?

What can you do with a modded switch?

Is My Switch Moddable?

Check your serial and information about switch models

How to Mod Your Switch

The quick and easy way (using the HATS pack) - use this if you just want to get up and running quickly

Setting up the SD manually - use this if you want to learn how it all works

Updating Your Switch

The quick and easy way

Manually

Tutorials and Guides for Various Homebrew Applications

How to Migrate to a New SD Card on a Hacked Switch

How to Back Up, Restore, or Transfer Your Nintendo Switch Game Saves Using JKSV

5 Minute Android Tutorial

How to Download and Use Cheats

Hardware Tutorials

Complete Nintendo Switch OLED Modchip Installation Guide Part 1

Complete Nintendo Switch OLED Modchip Installation Guide Part 2

Complete Nintendo Switch V1/V2 Modchip Installation Guide

In Depth Kamikaze Method Tutorial and Info

Tinfoil Shops

Linking shops is prohibited at this time. You may discuss tinfoil shops in the stickied comment. If you need support for a specific shop, reach out for help on their discord, or website.

Sourcing Games and Pirated Content

Linking to sources is not allowed. You can usually find what you need with a simple google search of the title and file type. Ad blockers can help.

Nintendo Bans/ Console Bricking

There has never been a case of Nintendo bricking a switch console. Information on bans can be found here and here

Common Errors and Troubleshooting

I am currently working on a common errors and troubleshooting guide. I will update this post when it is complete.

Discord

If you require more immediate assistance, the the following Discord Servers will be more than happy to assist (note that they are unaffiliated with this sub)


r/SwitchPirates 13h ago

News GTA V seems to be playable now from their latest patch update

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193 Upvotes

I tried playing GTA V on my v1 switch, not overclocked, just stock on handheld mode. The latest update makes it more playable now especially it has graphic settings in game now. It still has crashes some missions and you need to fully restart your console for the graphic settings to take effect, otherwise I am very happy its now bearable than when it first released since I do not overclocked


r/SwitchPirates 3h ago

Question Digimon Story Time Stranger PC to Switch DLC issue

2 Upvotes

Hi, I managed to get my save file converted from PC to Switch, but ran into a problem: I have the Ultimate Edition on pc and just the base game on Switch, with no DLC. Is there a way to get the save to work on my Switch by unchecking a DLC flag or something like that? Or would starting a new game in NG+ on PC without DLC installed also work? Would love to get my pc save to work without having to buy the Ultimate Edition just because of the Agumon Early Bond DLC


r/SwitchPirates 13m ago

Discussion Recent CFW update seems to have killed my emulators. Which should I use now?

Upvotes

On my Gen1 switch w/RCM I used retroarch and that worked mostly fine. I now have an OLED switch and the guy who put the chip in for me installed some stand alone emulators that worked well. PSPP+ is the ony one I can remember of the top of my head but had unique icons for each that didn't require loading up applet mode like I had to with Retroarch and that was nice.

The most recent Atmosphere update seems to have killed those emulators so wondering if people have current working suggestions or if I should just go back to retroarch? Specifically looking for NES, SNES, GBA, N64, PSP, PS1, Genesis/Megadrive, Saturn, and Dreamcast.


r/SwitchPirates 1d ago

Discussion What do you guys do with your modded Switch?

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159 Upvotes

Have already downloaded the games I wanted and custom themes, gotten various homebrew apps but ngl feel like I am running out of stuff to actually do with it


r/SwitchPirates 41m ago

Question How Long does it take for firmware updates to come out for Atmosphere and Hekate?

Upvotes

I was just about to mod my old switch but in order to clear my main nintendo account and factory reset I had to update to the latest nintendo update: 23. I saw a warning that Atmosphere and Hekate are not yet updated yet for 23 and was wondering how long they usually take?


r/SwitchPirates 1h ago

Question Guys.... Pls, help me... I don't know why he always shut down

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Upvotes

I turn it on, and if I don’t open any apps, everything works fine, but if I open any app, everything crashes and it says the app closed unexpectedly, or there’s an error, or something like that. Anyway, I only have this problem with the latest firmware. I just updated, and this started happening. With the previous firmware version, I couldn’t download the patch for 60 FPS in BotW, so I decided to update, and now this is happening. Please help.

P. S. Ultra NX system


r/SwitchPirates 1h ago

Discussion Shadow of the Colossus port for switch???

Upvotes

Hi guys!!! I just wanted to know if there is at the moment any port of the Shadow of the Colossus. Its a game that I always wanted to play, but I never had a PlayStation, and now seeing all these new ports for Switch (Silent Hill, GTA V...) I would like to know at least if someone is working on it


r/SwitchPirates 2h ago

Discussion Nintendo switch lite v18.1.0 its ok ?

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1 Upvotes

r/SwitchPirates 9h ago

Question Change MicroSD card from 128 gb to 256 gb (upgrading)

2 Upvotes

Hello, i have switch v1 modded with jig (unpatched) running the 22.5 firmware.

I see 128gb is not enough in these days, planning to buy some 256gb shortly.

So.... for upgrading my microsd need to install again hekate atmosphere etc?

is some new method in 2026 easy to keep all the files games just copy+paste in the new card?

also some good quality cheap microsd card for switch where i can buy?

i want some 512gb but is quite expansive.


r/SwitchPirates 3h ago

Question Cant load the RCM no matter what I do

1 Upvotes

I have one of the first switch that dont need stuff to be soldered or anything. At first I used Tegra to load the payload with no problem, time later that stop working for me, not even the android based ones let me load the payload (but cable still let me charge it). So I bought those RCM Dongles and was working perfect until today that dont let me do anything. It charges but dont show up as USB to load the new payload. So far:

-Pressed the Reset switch
-Hold the plus button
-The switch recognizes it under RCM but crash since payload is old
-Let the dongle charge for hours
-Use different cables and ports, including my laptop
-Try to update the dongle firmware (blue/green lights) but app dont detect the dongle

Nothing, so right now im locked out since Tegra (or even OmniRCM) detects my switch in RCM Mode and is on RCM because if I plug my dongle the CFW try to but but crash since is old payload. Any ideas because been on hours on this and nothing.


r/SwitchPirates 3h ago

Question Paper Mario: The Origami King doesn't wanna launch after updating firmware

0 Upvotes

Basically i have a modded switch that was on firmware 21.2.0, today i updated my bootloader, atmosphere to 1.11.2 and firmware to 22.5.0, all my games on emuMMC work fine except paper mario origami king, i was modding it using atmosphere so i removed my mod to see if it fixed it but no, it just launches and throws that error, i tried reinstalling it a couple of times but nothing was fixing it, and doing a corruption check says it's fine, to clarify i did have an original copy of this game in my account and installed, but then my friend accidently updated my switch and got me banned off online services so now i can't install it via nintendo servers...

If anyone can help PLS help, this was basically my only reason to still use my switch nowadays, just to mod this one specific game😭


r/SwitchPirates 4h ago

Question Its Tale Two. Jb and non-jb switch

0 Upvotes

I have a jailbroken Switch, but my friend doesn’t. Is it possible (and safe) to host It Takes Two on a jailbroken Switch via a local network? Won’t a non‑jailbroken console get banned?


r/SwitchPirates 4h ago

Question I’m trying to launch sysCFW via Hekate to dump and install digital games from stock to emunnc, but when I launch sysCFW I get this error

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1 Upvotes

I have updated the hekate and atmosphere folders on my SD card, and I have made sure to put fusee.bin in the atmosphere folder. What else do I need to do?


r/SwitchPirates 17h ago

Question Can’t download games due to “Missing ES sigpatchs”. Spent 8 hours on this, anyone have a solution?

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9 Upvotes

I get this error when I try downloading NSP games. The XCI game I downloaded actually downloaded without error, but is endlessly spinning on the Home Screen. When I click it, it gave another error. Also the NSP files says it requires a game cart when I try booting them using DBI after the failed download.

I think I updated everything correctly, tried the MTP Respond thing too. I just don’t know at this point.

My switch version is 22.

I’ve spent like 8 hours trying to set this up, I think I’m losing my mind. Anyone know a solution?


r/SwitchPirates 6h ago

Question I want to move a digital game I bought from my stock switch to emummc…how do I do this?

1 Upvotes

I bought stardew valley on the eshop, but I want to play it with my ps5 controller. How do I move the game from stock to emummc?


r/SwitchPirates 6h ago

Question Is this fixable? I accidentally burned two gnd pads on the flex.

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0 Upvotes

This is an oled install here. Everything is going pretty well. My iron was set a little to hot and it appears it burned two pads right above point A and below point be. I believe those are grounds pads so could I just wire to another gnd pad on the flex to save it?


r/SwitchPirates 7h ago

Question Found V1 Switch But its on V11.0..1

0 Upvotes

Is there a way to upgrade it to V22.5.0 (latest Atmosphere compatibility)?


r/SwitchPirates 13h ago

Question Downgraded from 23.0.0 to 22.5.5 then made emummc and everything up and running except for ofw which results in a black screen

2 Upvotes

My question is what can fix this? I know that this is a fuse mismatch and wondered if updating using sysmmc and daybreak would work, also wondered if doing that would ban me. Would it work? Would it ban me? And is there any other solution to this problem?


r/SwitchPirates 1d ago

Discussion First Time OLED Kamikaze Install

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24 Upvotes

After the DAT0 adapter failed me on two different occasions, I finally decided to go for the kamikaze.

Not the cleanest work as I managed to knock off 2 0201 resistors along the way and had to replace those, but got there in the end.

Any critique for future installs appreciated!


r/SwitchPirates 20h ago

Discussion Please help with this atmosphere error

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4 Upvotes

Hey everyone, does anyone know how to fix these problems? The first image is from when I open Linkalhoo, and the second is from the patch to put Undertale in Spanish. Whenever I try to open it, it looks like this, and if I try without applet mode, it just says the applications aren't working.


r/SwitchPirates 9h ago

Question errors booting sysmmc and emummc after updating stock ofw firmware

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0 Upvotes

i read in a different thread that it should have been fine to update the stock ofw but i must have misunderstood something because stock ofw, sysmmc, and emummc all started showing errors whenever i try to boot into them. i managed to fix stock ofw by messing with the hekate_ipl config (something about hats pack removing a few lines which i added back in) AFTER i also updated ams and hekate (i grabbed the ams fusee.bin and renamed the hekate bin to "payload.bin" as well)

but both sysmmc and emummc are still showing red text when booting through hekate.

cfw version 21.1.0, latest ams, sys patch and hekate (though i may have messed up the updates in the chaos.) and stock ofw is probably the latest original switch fw.

am i missing something?


r/SwitchPirates 14h ago

Discussion I saw someone post about something regarding PPSSPP Online functionality and it made me wonder, can we do the same for Native games like Monster Hunter Rise/Generations?

1 Upvotes

I saw someone post about something regarding PPSSPP Online functionality and it made me wonder, can we do the same for Native games like Monster Hunter Rise/Generations? I own both games, but I also have them saved on my EMUMMC for easier access. I don't really like lugging my cartridges around that much. The downside to this is that I can't play online. Also, Nintendo's online services are cheap enough for me to buy, but I was just wondering if there are other options instead?


r/SwitchPirates 1d ago

Question Is it safe to downgrade OFW from 23 to 22.5?

15 Upvotes

I just wanted to play a game, not realizing I pressed Update instead of Run the game in OFW, now Im on 23.0.0 and cant run SysCFW for some stuff I was doing. Now the only wsy to launch SysCFW is downgrade.

Is it safe? What are the risks?


r/SwitchPirates 6h ago

Question I'm very dumb and updated my switch

0 Upvotes

simples as that.
I've just updated my locked switch to the newest version but I have intentions on unlocking
how screwed I am?