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WIP First things first, the following have either been the base for the majority of my guides or provided homebrew of one form or another. Team-Xecuter (Link2), NX-Card, Arcade Punks, Atmosphere-NX, RetroArch, shchmue for their work on Lockpick_RCM, LIBRETRO for their Emulator guide, EMU-GEN for their Emulator guide, drewbuntu for the original guide that started me on this path, NH Switch for their awesome DNS guide, & Game_Over for their How to install custom themes guide. Disclaimer: This guide is assuming that you’re using the SX OS Pro set, have a PC with Windows 10, & have a basic understanding of software modification. I also have 2 Switch consoles, one that is my main unmodified system with my main account & a modified one that has a “Burner” account. This guide is mostly pulled from the 22 bookmarks I have used & I thought it could be useful to have a current OFW/CFW guide as most are for very OLD FW & homebrew. Even following this guide, you can get banned for use of CFW but I have had no issues as of yet. If I do, I will update the top line here along with the reasoning so you can hopefully avoid it. If you do get banned, I’m sorry but there is nothing I can do to help you. YOU are following this guide at your own risk. If you see anything incorrect or that you would like added, feel free to comment below & the posting will be edited to reflect the changes. DO NOT REQUEST ANY PIRATED MEDIA OF ANY KIND. You will be banned & the post will be deleted… this is your only warning. Table of Contents Goals Hardware Notes Materials Required Guide Goals: Setup the baseline for the SX OS 2.9.4 (BETA) build Dump & play backed-up cartridges without them physically present Update backed-up cartridges without being on the Nintendo Network Setup a Custom Theme Transfer Saves from your Main (unmodified) account to "Burner" (modified) account Install & play PS1 & below emulators Backup Amiibos onto the Switch Build a full “Troubleshooting” guide with useful links Hardware Note: There are several variations of the Nintendo Switch that were released & you will need to verify your Switch can be modified without hardware modifications required to continue. You can verify if it’s a pre-patch Switch (Pre-July 2018 model) HERE. If it has been patched & shows “This Switch requires a mod chip” do not continue any further. Materials Required: Tools / Parts: PC running Windows 10 Pre-July 2018 model Switch Xecuter SX Pro with dongle Micro SD Card (I currently use a 512gb Lexar with SD Adapter) Homebrew: (DO NOT unzip anything yet as some items aren't needed within the Zip files) Baseline SXOS_beta_v2.9.4 sxinstaller_v3.02 Switch_90DNS_tester.nro Backup Games SXDumper204r sxloader910 (Auto-mounts backup game cartridges) Themes (If you don’t want to use custom themes you can skip this part) hekate_ctcaer_5.1.2_Nyx_0.8.5 Lockpick_RCM.bin Kosmos-v15.2 Lockpick.nro NXThemesInstaller.nro Themes from the QCEAN Discord. Emulation RetroArch Additional Supplies: Patience….. Setup the baseline for the SX OS 2.9.4 (BETA) build: (I highly recommend starting from a fresh Initialization & using a “Burner” Nintendo account so your main doesn’t have the possibility of being banned) Prep the Switch Ensure the Switch is completely powered off & install the empty SD card you plan to use for the modify. Boot up the unmodified Switch Under Nintendo eShop / Account Information, verify that the account you want to link to the modified console displays "This console is registered as your primary console" under the Primary Console options. Do this for all accounts on the Switch & select Deregister for all the accounts you want to avoid using on the system once modified. (Once again I would recommend using a "Burner" account so you don't loose anything from your main account if you do get banned) Under System Settings / System / Formatting Options, Select Initialize Console, complete the usual startup procedures, & link the account you want to remain on the modified console. Under Settings / Internet / Internet Settings, select your current network & then select Change Settings. Change DNS Settings from Automatic to Manual & input which ever of the following is closest to your location: Location: Primary DNS: Secondary DNS: Europe (Server located in France) 163.172.141.219 207.246.121.77 America (Server located in the USA) 207.246.121.77 163.172.141.219 Select Save & exit back to the home screen. Once complete, power off the system completely & remove the Micro SD card. Building the Micro SD contents Insert the Micro SD into the computer. Copy the following files onto the ROOT of the Micro SD, unzip the Zip files, then delete the Zip files. SXOS_beta_v2.9.4 sxinstaller_v3.02 SXDumper204r sxloader910 (Auto-mounts backup game cartridges) hekate_ctcaer_5.1.2_Nyx_0.8.5 Lockpick.nro NXThemesInstaller.nro Copy the Lockpick_RCM.bin file into the bootloader / payloads folder on the Micro SD. Copy the Switch_90DNS_tester.nro file into the switch folder on the Micro SD. Open the Kosmos-v15.2 Zip File & drag/drop ONLY the sept folder to the root of the Micro SD. Create a folder named "themes" on the root of the Micro SD & copy any themes you wish to use. You can download & copy themes from the QCEAN Discord. Create 2 folders named "games" & xci within the sxos folder. Copy the RetroArch Zip file into a folder on your desktop, unzip the Zip file, then delete the RetroArch Zip file. Search under RetroArch / cores for what systems you want to keep. Delete all the cores you do not want to use. Create a folder named "system" within the RetroArch / cores folder & place the files you need to get some of the systems to function properly. (Arcade Punks & archive.org can help you out with this.) Create a folder named "roms" within the RetroArch folder & create a folder for each system you wish to emulate. (Atari - 2600, Nintendo - NES, Sony - PSX, etc.) Copy your FAN MADE roms into the appropriate folder for each system you plan to use. (Ensure that the format is compatible with each emulator & that they aren't zipped. You can check HERE) Move the retroarch & switch folders along with the retroarch.jpeg to the root of the Micro SD. Right click on the Micro SD under This PC & select Eject. Boot into RCM on the Switch Insert the Micro SD in the Switch. Remove the Right Joy-Con & insert the Jig with the ON facing down. Insert the SX Pro Dongle with the - sign on the left. Press & hold the Vol+ button & tap the Power button. From this point you should see the SX OS boot up screen then 3 options; Boot Custom FW, Boot Original FW, & Options. Activate License via xecuter website Select Boot Custom FW & when prompted select Continue ONCE. Select Back, Options, then Poweroff. Remove the Micro SD & insert it back into the computer. Go to the xecuter website & select browse. Navigate to the Micro SD & select the license-request file. You should now be prompted with "SUCCESS" & a dialog box asking you yo save the license file. Save this file to a safe location on you computer & copy it to the ROOT of the Micro SD. If you aren't prompted with "SUCCESS" & a dialog box asking you to save the file, give it a couple minutes then try again. If it still won't work, I would recommend contacted the seller. Delete the license-request file. Right click on the Micro SD under This PC & select Eject. Backup NAND (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP) Repeat the steps found under "Boot into RCM on the Switch" Select Options, NAND, then Dump NAND. (This will take a hot minute but could save you some heartache later down the road) Once complete, select Poweroff. Remove the Micro SD & insert it back into the computer. Navigate to the Micro SD & COPY the sxos folder to a safe location on you computer. Right click on the Micro SD under This PC & select Eject. Startup Settings (Ease of access) Repeat the steps found under "Boot into RCM on the Switch" Select Options, AutoRCM, Install AutoRCM, then Continue. Once complete, select Poweroff. Once the Switch is completely powered off, remove the Jig & reinsert the right Joy-Con. Press & hold the Vol+ button & tap the Power button. From this point you should see the SX OS boot up screen again then 3 options; Boot Custom FW, Boot Original FW, & Options. Select Boot Custom FW. FROM THIS POINT YOU SHOULD HAVE EVERYTHING SETUP, COPIED, & BE ABLE TO COMPLETE MOST OF THE GUIDES BELOW WITHOUT NEEDING TO REMOVE THE MICRO SD OR INSERT THE JIG INTO THE RIGHT JOY-CON SLOT AGAIN. Test 90 DNS: (Changing the DNS ensures that you won't connect to the Nintendo Servers on accident.... hopefully keep a ban away) Boot into CFW. Select the Photo Album to open the SX Menu. Scroll to the right to the Homebrew tab. Select 90DNS Testing Utility. After the test finishes, it should show all connections as “blocked!”. Dump & play backed-up cartridges without them physically present: (I have had the fastest speeds & least number of errors doing this while the Switch is docked) Boot into CFW. Insert game cartridge. (May have to insert it twice as SX OS likes to throw an error the first time. If you already have multiple games on the home screen dumped, it does not seem to throw the error as often when you insert a new game cartridge.) Select the Photo Album to open the SX Menu. Scroll to the right to the Homebrew tab. Select SX Dumper. Press - & change the following settings: Trim .xci dumps (YES) Wipe certificate from .xci dumps (YES) Press B to return to the SX Dumper main menu. Highlight the game you wish to dump & press A to select. Highlight Dump Cartridge & press Y to Start Dump. Once complete, press the HOME button. Select the Photo Album to open the SX Menu. Highlight the game you downloaded under GAMES & select it by pressing A. The game will be mounted & playable from the home screen. If you have multiple games on the home screen, when you select one to play that isn't mounted, it will be auto-mounted & ready to play due to the sxloader910 placed on the Micro SD earlier. Update backed-up cartridges without being on the Nintendo Network: (This guide assumes you have a 2nd Switch available that hasn't been modified or banned) Insert the game you wish to update into the unmodified Switch Highlight the game & press + to bring up the information page. Under Software Updates, select Via the Internet. Once complete, on both unmodified & modified Switches do the following: Highlight the game & press + to bring up the information page. Under Software Updates, select Match Version with Local Users then Next. On the unmodified Switch, select Create Group. On the modified Switch, Select Join Group & Select the unmodified Switch profile once it displays. On the unmodified Switch, select Start Communication. To verify that it has been updated on the modified Switch, select the game & if it takes you to Select User rather than "A update is required" you are good to go. Setup a Custom Theme: (You can download themes from the QCEAN Discord but there are several other sources you can find online. If you're going to boot into OFW to do updates or anything else, I would recommend skipping this step. All the items you will need are already on your Micro SD as long as you followed the first guide above.) Power off the system completely. Insert the SX Pro Dongle with the - sign on the left. (If you didn't enable AutoRCM, remove the Right Joy-Con & insert the Jig with the ON facing down. Press & hold the Vol+ volume button & tap the Power button. From this point you should see the SX OS boot up screen then 3 options; Boot Custom FW, Boot Original FW, & Options. Under Options / Payloads, highlight hekate_ctcaer_5.1.2.bin & select Launch. Under Console Info: Select Fuses, Dump fuses, OK, then close to return to Console Info. TSEC Keys, Dump Keys, OK, then close to return to Console Info. Under Home, select Payloads then Lockpick_RCM.bin. Navigate the options using the Vol+ and Vol- buttons & Power to select Dump from SysNAND. Press Vol+ or Vol- to return to the main menu. Navigate the options again & select Power off. Boot into CFW. Select the Photo Album to open the SX Menu. Scroll to the right to the Homebrew tab. Select NXThemes Installer. The first time you open NXThemes Installer do the following: The installer will prompt you to Extract home menu, select OK. Follow and READ the follow-on prompts until you get to the NXThemes Installer Ver. 2.2.1. menu. Under Themes, press Y then select the themes you wish to install & press + to install them. (Ensure you only install one of each type, Player Select, All apps menu, Settings applet, User page, Home menu, & Lock screen. When you install a Lock screen it will prompt you that the theme can crash your system during the booting process. If there is a crash, turn of the Switch completely, insert the Micro SD into your computer, & delete the 0100000000001000 folder found in the atmosphere / contents folder on your Micro SD.) Select YES. Select Quit. Press & Hold the Power button then select Power Options, Restart. You should now see your spiffy new theme. REMOVE YOUR THEME BEFORE YOU UPDATE YOUR FIRMWARE. IF YOUR FIRMWARE VERSION CHANGES AFTER A THEME IS INSTALLED, THE SWITCH MAY BOT BOOT PROPERLY. IF THIS HAPPENS, DELETE THE 0100000000001000 FOLDER AS STATED ABOVE. Transfer backed-up game data to/from a computer: (Very quick & easy guide that will help save you time so you don't have to constantly dump the cartridges) Power off the system completely & remove the Micro SD card. Insert the Micro SD into the computer. Under sxos / xci you will find the games you dumped. Copy the file(s) to a safe location on you computer. Move the file(s) to the sxos / games folder on the Micro SD. If you have any games on your computer that aren't on the Switch, you can transfer them to the sxos / games folder on the Micro SD as well. Insert the Micro SD & Dongle. Boot into CFW. Select the Photo Album to open the SX Menu. Highlight the game you transferred under GAMES & select it by pressing A. The game will be mounted & playable from the home screen. Transfer Saves from your Main (unmodified) account to "Burner" (modified) account: (This guide will cover transferring your saves from a unmodified Switch with a "Main" account to your modified Switch with a "Burner" account.) step 1 step 2 step 3 step 4 step 5 step 6 Install & play PS1 & below emulators: (All the items you will need are already on your Micro SD as long as you followed the first guide above.) Boot into CFW. Select the Photo Album by holding both the R & A button to open the Applet Menu. Select RetroArch. If you want to install the PS1 core: Under Main Menu, select Online Updater, Core Updater, Sony - Playstation (PCSX ReARMed) Under Settings, select Video then ensure that Threaded Video is set to ON To update to cores: Under Main Menu, select Online Updater, Update Installed Cores. To setup your playlists: (List the systems available with games available) Under Main Menu, select Load Content, Playlists, the Scan Directory. Navigate to the / retroarch / roms folder & select <Scan This Directory>. Allow it to finish the scan then press B until you're back at the Main Menu. Now you should see your systems & games listed below Import content. (If you did a small playlist, 50 or less, I would recommend verifying that they all showed up. Bad dumps are uncommon.) To play your game: Scroll down to the system you wish to play Highlight the game you wish to play. Select the game the select run. Select the core you wish to use then select run again. ENJOY!!!! Backup Amiibos onto the Switch: (This guide goes over how to backup your physical Amiibo collection onto your Switch & load them onto a NFC reader for use while playing Switch games.) Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Build a full “Troubleshooting” guide with useful links: (Forever a WIP) Useful Links RetroArch Core Guide (Lite) RetroArch Core Guide (General) RetroArch Core Guide (Detailed) Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 Issue 4 Issue 5 TMP 8: (NOTE) Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6