Switch homebrew installation fatigue

November 2021 - August 2024

Disclaimer: I do not condone piracy. This page only talks about legal stuff you can do with your console.

Disclaimer 2: I am not responsible of any damage you may do to your console. Try this at your own risk.

Sigh. It's so complex to find accurate, complete and up-to-date information to install stuff on Switch.
I did my own research and summarized it here:

Hardware:

You need a hackable Switch kept on the lowest possible firmware, an empty microSD card >= 64GB formatted in exFAT (or FAT32 if you don't care about files bigger than 4GB... but I recommend ExFAT), and a way to boot in RCM mode (SX Pro or jig + dongle).

The very first time you hack your Switch (or if you have a new microSD card)

Go into Plane Mode to avoid bans, and copy / extract the following items at the root of an SD card:
- Hekate
- Sigpatches
- Hbmenu
- Some boot files (ex: SX's boot.bat + boot.ini + hekate.bin renamed as payload.bin)
-

Create an EmuMMC (emulated internal memory, a.k.a emuNAND. Click for details)

Insert the jig and dongle in your Switch, boot it whille pressing the "volume +" button, and open Hekate. Go to Tools > Partition SD card > OK > 29GB emuMMC > Next step > Start. When it's done, go to Home > emuMMC > create emuMMC > SD partition > Part 1. Shutdown the console.

- You can now install homebrews on your SD card (and access them through the photo gallery app), and upgrade virtual firmware any time.

Upgrade your virtual firmware and homebrews (before june 2024):

Delete existing /atmosphere and /bootoader folders from your SD card,
then download and put following items at the root of your SD card, in this order:
- Hekate
- Atmosphere
- Global Firmware (use the latest that is supported by Atmosphere, check the release notes to be sure)
- Sigpatches
- Hbmenu
- Tinfoil (NRO or NSP version)
- Any other homebrew or content you want to upgrade or install
- Run the DayBreak homebrew to install the new firmware. (Choose the options "Preserve settings" and "Fat + ExFat").

June 2024 update

Since june 2024, fusée, tinfoil, atmosphere 1.7.1, FW 1.8.1 and hbmenu aren't compatible with each other anymore, god damn it.

The current fix consists in using a hacked fusee.bin and these sys patches.

PS: sdsetup is not maintained anymore, and doesn't support firmwares > 16.0. You can still use it to get interesting homebrews.

PS: Tinfoil requires a password to enable unsigned code installation, the password is: "up up down down left right left right B A +" (but take care to not install anything malicious).

Cheers,

Xem