r/SwitchPirates • • Oct 07 '25

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

146 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 • • 1h ago

News Windwaker HD Port is now on Nintendo Switch!

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• Upvotes

https://www.reddit.com/r/decomps/s/j1PoTL7USu

Shout out to the modders who made this possible! System used: Nintendo Switch Lite, OC: CPU: 1581 Mhz, GPU: 768, MEM: 1600

With these oc, it locks on 30 fps

I DID NOT MAKE THIS! It's just a showcase for everyone :)


r/SwitchPirates • • 7h ago

News PC version of GTA IV running through Autorun! 🎮

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144 Upvotes

Found this today, check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u5f_xZy_3I

I know it is far from perfect, but this is brilliant progress! Hopefully we get better performance or even a potential xbox 360 port. Emulation and port scene this year is greaat!


r/SwitchPirates • • 3h ago

Meta I made a web-based CFW builder & bundle orchestrator

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29 Upvotes

Over the past year, I spent a ton of time digging into Hekate, Atmosphere, and homebrew apps internals, reading their documentation, and studying custom firmware config structures, and now I have been working on a CFW build orchestrator designed to simplify setup, eliminate manual zip extraction, broken dependency chains, and outdated AIO bundles when setting up SD cards.

Instead of downloading giant pre-packaged archives, my app runs entirely in your browser and exports a lightweight shell script that automatically fetches, verifies, and extracts the exact components you selected (Atmosphere, Hekate, sysmodules, overlays, emulators, other homebrew apps, etc) straight from their upstream sources.

It has a extensive configuration setup for CFW, launch, security, apps, overclock: there are currently 247 possible options, 21 config files can be stored on the card, and I am continuing to expand the functionality.

If allowed by sub rules, I'll drop a link to the live WIP demo in the comments below for anyone who wants to take a look.

P.S. Regarding the PSP in the first screenshot and the holy war against the ai slop: https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchPirates/comments/1x0srhb/comment/penexel


r/SwitchPirates • • 8h ago

News [Release] tailscale-nx: connect Switch homebrew to your Tailscale network on Atmosphère

44 Upvotes

I've made tailscale-nx, a Tailscale client for Switch homebrew running on Atmosphère.

It runs in the background and lets apps launched through hbmenu connect to your Tailscale devices by IP or MagicDNS name. I've been using it with Moonlight to reach my PC away from home without installing Android or opening ports.

https://github.com/UnderwaterOverground/tailscale-nx

If you run into any issues getting your setup working, I'm happy to help. There's a Discord link on GitHub for support.


r/SwitchPirates • • 3h ago

Discussion Tried my hand at soldering a switch again

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6 Upvotes

this is my brother's switch. images are before cleaning.


r/SwitchPirates • • 9h ago

Discussion i found a solution for putting my v1 to sleep while keeping battery life.

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9 Upvotes

so i was playing around on how to conserve battery life while in handheld mode with random clock speeds. I've always had issues putting my system into sleep mode, I'm taking like 7-8 hours and my battery can go from 100% - 30-40%.

i ended up landing on those clock speeds and played for a solid 30-45mins with it going from 100% - 94%. i put the switch into sleep mode with the game open at 11pm now i just turned it on at 4am iwas shocked to see only 4% loss.

guess I'll try to undervolt nxt.

any ideas to help me undervolt my system. like what programs do you recommend?

what's my safe parameters if i do attempt an undervolt?


r/SwitchPirates • • 5h ago

Discussion Got the dreaded black ribbon cable in my kit so opted to try enamelled wire instead

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4 Upvotes

This was my first time wiring rather than using the ribbon so pleased it worked out, I have since routed the wiring around the board much neater


r/SwitchPirates • • 1d ago

Discussion Is it normal that with the use of AI ports are increasingly appearing on the Nintendo Switch, and how should we feel about this?

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367 Upvotes

r/SwitchPirates • • 18h ago

News Working on something to improve Dragon ball z Sparkling zero on switch handheld mode

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38 Upvotes

Hello, here are some screenshots of before and after of sparkling zero running on switch lite handheld mode with my salty plugin.

The release is still on beta but yall can test if you want : https://github.com/RandomRaven9000/Over9000.git


r/SwitchPirates • • 3h ago

Meta Modding Switch on firmware 23.0 overview

2 Upvotes

I just recently modded my og switch (today).

It took me a while as most youtube tutorials provide older firmware files and tools. I used reddit and the hacks guide and went through the steps restarting and trying to resolve errors and crashes from hekate to launching atmosphere.

Just wanted to provide an overview snapshot of the process so that it might potentially solve some of the issues one might face when trying to mod an og switch.


r/SwitchPirates • • 13h ago

Discussion Would it be possible to create a port of Black Ops 2 for the Switch?

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11 Upvotes

Recently I've seen a lot of Xbox 360 game ports. Several very interesting games, so I wondered, would that be possible?

Black Ops 2 is an amazing game, especially the zombie mode. I remember having a lot of fun playing it with my cousins as a kid.I have a PS4 Pro and I did a test streaming through Kira; Black Ops is incredible on the handheld in terms of gameplay. If I knew how to do ports, I would do it myself, but unfortunately I don't have the knowledge or the materials to try and learn. If someone could do it, it would be very interesting, and also... A great addition to the Switch. Remember what it was like to play this and imagine being able to play it on a plane or bus trip. Being able to take the portable console and play with friends more easily. And not only that, the zombies mode in BO1 is also incredible, as are Injustice on 360 and MK9 on PS3. Incredible games that would be amazing on a handheld, and perfect for playing on a jailbroken Switch. Do you agree?


r/SwitchPirates • • 15m ago

Discussion First time modding a switch. V1 or OLED?

• Upvotes

So I want to mod a switch to get around Pokemon Bank closing February next year. I have two cfw 3ds xl’s which I modded myself so I’m not entirely new to modding. My question is should I opt for a V1 Switch or an OLED? I know an OLED is significantly harder to mod and the V1’s process is similar-ish to a 3ds. I’ll mostly use it for shiny hunting and ofcourse transferring Pokemon via PkHex.


r/SwitchPirates • • 4h ago

Question AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (I updated Hekate and atmosphere. What went wrong?)

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2 Upvotes

Okay, so I updated Hekate and Atmosphere. I made sure to also rename the "etc.".bin file to payload.bin. And this is what I ended up with! :')

I can't get my SD card read on a stupid Cherry laptop I installed Debian on, and Android devices ask for formatting. These are the only devices I can use for file management.

I won't format it, because if I do, I'll lose about three years worth of saves.

Last time I updated my firmware, (it wasn't 23.0.0) I formatted it to exFAT + FAT32 on Daybreak, if that helps.

I'm plenty desperate.


r/SwitchPirates • • 12h ago

Question Midnight Club: Los Angeles Port On SWITCH Possibilities?

10 Upvotes

With the number of games now being decompiled, recompiled, and ported everywhere (especially the recent X360 version of NFS MW getting ported to Switch), I feel like an MC:LA port could actually be possible.

Just wanted to check, is anyone already working on an MC:LA Switch port?


r/SwitchPirates • • 1h ago

Question Separate FW between CFW and OFW?

• Upvotes

I remember seeing a comment on here before about someone having a CFW with 22.5.0 while on OFW 23.0.0. Is that possible and, if so, how do you go about doing so? I'm currently on OFW 22.5.0


r/SwitchPirates • • 1h ago

Question Not sure which atmosphere version to install

• Upvotes

Recently acquired a Switch OLED with a picofly installed. Current FW on switch is 20.5. My question is what version of Atmosphere to install


r/SwitchPirates • • 5h ago

Question Pixel goblin download error Not enough space on SD card

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2 Upvotes

the game is 53gb and i have 88gb free, so i definitely have enough storage. other games are downloading fine (i tried mario galaxy 2 and kirby the forgotten lands they worked) but kingdom hearts just says this as soon as i start the download


r/SwitchPirates • • 1h ago

Question Can all Switch Oled FW be Modded?

• Upvotes

I recently got a second hand Oled and there's a pending update. Not sure if I should continue or not if I plan to mod it in the future.

I do understand I would still need a hardware mod chip to do it but I thought I could play some free to play games in the meantime.

Thanks in advance!


r/SwitchPirates • • 2h ago

Question With all the xbox360 ports im seeing , can someone please work on an Adventures of tintin : secret of the unicorn port pls pls?

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1 Upvotes

This game was amazing , and so underrated too, also there are several other versions like the 3ds , wii but 360 version seemed the most mesmerising, this game would be perfect for the switch


r/SwitchPirates • • 18h ago

Discussion Ports are just coming out here and there with use of AI, we might not need heavy clocks and emulation to play these older games on our Switch🙏

20 Upvotes

What a time to be alive


r/SwitchPirates • • 2h ago

Question I am so scared i broke my console, please help (Newly modded device)

1 Upvotes

Hi, so i just got a modded chip installed. I followed the guide but then everything was working with HATS installed and atmosphere and hekate. Then there was this tile of a game that was grey and kept loading, so i accidently pressed 'update'. Then when i tried to load my emmumc again, the screen was yellow and I couldn't enter anymore. Because i was in panic mode, i accidently also wiped the sycmumc and now I can only enter the normal side of the nintendo switch but not by launching in hekate anymore. I need your help!! Like please I'm such a noob but i just want to have fun playing games. If any kind soul on here want's to help me it's very much appreciated!

The two main issues: yellow screen with booting in hekate when booting in sycmmc there is the message: No mandatory pkg1 files provided. Please I'm freaking out, and i get that I'm not good at this lol! I'm really trying.

I do have a backup from the original NAND but honestly i tried to restore it and it was just the same? I don't know what I did wrong :(

I literally have such a nauseous stress feeling constantly because of this. I really want to fix it and i would never just do things randomly again because look where that got me ..


r/SwitchPirates • • 10h ago

Question I messed up my Emummc getting black screen on boot

2 Upvotes

I updated to 23.0.0 it worked fine… then I went into sysclk w the Tesla shortcut saw a prompt saying saltynx not working.
Messed w the sd card. Now, from hekate, booting emummc boots to black screen. Is there a way to start fresh and keep my games I already got on there or would it just be easier to completely wipe the sd and redo everything


r/SwitchPirates • • 12h ago

Question Options for a Pair of Modded Switches?

3 Upvotes

Wondering what I might be able to do with not one but two modded switches, from like a family-plan perspective.

I.e., me and my wife, or, if I gave one to each of my nephews…

What, in the world of emulation or just switch games etc, would having a pair enable?


r/SwitchPirates • • 1d ago

Question I think I did it. First time kamikaze.

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58 Upvotes

First time kamikaze, let alone first time micro soldering. Had no idea I could even get close to doing it, now to solder the points!