Dishonest Broken Nintendo Switch from eBay - Can I FIX it?

Hi, in this video I attempt to fix a Nintendo Switch from eBay. It is showing no signs of life, and the seller states one day it just stopped working...Hmmm, let's see if it can be fixed.
Merch is here!!!!! www.puddlt.com/my-mate-vince
If you would like to support these videos, please click here / mymatevince
If you have an interesting 'non returnable' item for a 'trying to fix' video then my PO box is:
PO Box 2597
WATFORD
WD18 1HT
UK
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things. I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things, so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series. Many thanks, Vince.

[@TheCod3r]

Just for reference, there is a way to rebuild a new nand for it without the original keys. I think Dan from New Retro Repair has a way to do it on his channel :)

[@NewRetroRepair]

Hey Phil, thanks for the mention! @My Mate VINCE Check out the video where I rebuild the NAND for a switch. It's a big IF, but IF your switch NAND still works and you can access the prod keys, you can essentially do a "manual" factory reset to clear out any corrupted files. It basically rebuilds HOS using the keys stored on the NAND module to get it back to a factory state. If you have any questions feel free to email me or DM me. Contact info is on most of my videos/streams 🙂

[@TheCod3r]

@@NewRetroRepair no worries mate. I hope vince can find some useful info for a revisit on your channel :)

[@brennangraymandala5310]

Eeeeeeeeeaxdd

[@randomretroplays3123]

It's great that all you repair guys help each other out. Vince is a nice guy ,just like yourself 👍

[@emralcrewrblox]

Yeah, ive done done this on a console i bought that had the same issue as this one, although it won’t play online anymore it will work offline just fine

[@ekens6344]

I don't know much about the switch but I think RCM mode is recovery mode or rescue mode, special mode built in to the main chip to allow loading software even if the main operating system (stored on the eMMC chip) is damaged or missing. So it's definitely possible that it was a failed hacking attempt that corrupted the contents of the eMMC, but it's also possible just the eMMC itself or something on the eMMC board failed, in all of those cases the console will fall back to recovery (RCM) mode. autoRCM works by tricking the console into thinking the eMMC is corrupted so that it always starts in RCM mode, but I don't think that's what happened here. Again not sure if it's common on switch but in other devices especially in various cars, the eMMC chips do fail quite often. It's such a problem on older Teslas that the cars have actually been recalled for it From what I've read, if you don't mind using up a spare eMMC board (it will get overwritten), if you put in a working eMMC board, think you can extract the console keys from the APU using a tool called Lockpick. You can then use these keys to generate a working switch firmware correctly married to the console? There is a full guide if you search google for manualchoiupgrade. Obviously when backing up in step 2 you are backing up the donor NAND (aka eMMC) which is worth doing if you want to try to put the donor eMMC back in its original console later on. you can get keys.txt from Lockpick I think (just rename the keys file it makes to keys.txt), the firmware (fw) file you need to find online somewhere, everything else you need is in that guide. I have never tried this so if anyone reading this has any idea on whether this could actually work or not, I would be really interested to know! PS - really enjoyed video as always!

[@Mymatevince]

Excellent, thanks ekens, I will google that guide and see what others comments say. It would be great to get the standard Switch OS back on here again 👍👍👍👍👍

[@Dtr146]

@@Mymatevince it is a hackable switch and those go for good money

[@MrRelevance02]

@@Mymatevince I would love a follow up video on possible fixes to reinstall the original OS to the switch and to bypass or rewrite over the code sets that are on the old EMMc nand flash.

[@unitedfools3493]

@@Dtr146 I don't think they're that valuable anymore since the newer models are close to being fully exploited.

[@1up_Gaming]

I've not watched this yet, but I am at the start. From this short comment, are you saying it is in RCM mode? Basically, if you have a hacked system, you HAVE to stick the paper clip / slide thing in the right Joycon rail, then hold Volume Up and Power, this puts the system into RCM mode, where it is ready to accept a payload and boot. Now, you can get around all this faff by setting an option in the custom firmware ( once you have booted it ) that keeps the system in RCM mode " Auto RCM" as it is called. I recently had to "fix" this for someone local, they just wanted a normal working Switch, so after fully charging it, I booted it to custom firmware, went in to "Hekate" and changed Auto RCM to "off" and then it would boot as normal. Hopefully this is helpful to you, and now... off I go to watch the rest of the video and see if I have totally got the wrong end of the stick :p

[@StezStixFix]

Great to see the Switch Killer back in action! I'm sure someone will know how to get the OG keys back and you can restore this to it's original glory! Awesome video, as always, Vince! 👍

[@Mymatevince]

Fingers crossed Steve. ekens63 has already commented something which looks promising 🤞👍

[@TheStickCollector]

Same

[@Regaljester75]

Stezstix? Are you the drummer for the Macc Lads? You share the same name and you sure look alike. Please let it be so 🤩

[@BOT_TAHIR]

Could we get an update if you fix it Vince

[@FreddyHowe]

Vince doing a Switch repair is like comfort food, it just feels right!

[@Natei]

Vince I think you're mistaken, RCM doesn't mean it been hacked, it just means its in recovery mode, which very much could be because that chip died. RCM is used to push the payload to hack it, but doesn't necessarily mean it has been hacked.

[@chrish1398]

Definitely hacked. Has "dodgy" software on it.

[@andreamitchell4758]

yes regular RCM (recovery mode) but there is also auto RCM and that does indeed need to enabled from a CFW so it was hacked , it has hekate on it

[@andreamitchell4758]

@@chrish1398 the software is not "dodgy" that is hekate there may be a way to restore it to get horizon working again , but it would be much easier if he had a NAND dump/ backup the first thing you should always do when you hack a console is make a raw dump of your NAND he should try to put an SD card in it with atmosphere setup and see if it will boot atmosphere CFW

[@Natei]

@@andreamitchell4758 that’s not true. You can turn auto RCM on as a controlled way of essentially “bricking” your switch, this doesn’t require it to be hacked at all. Also the software he is using, he is pushing the payload for the software it’s running. If by hacked you mean accessing the menu to turn that on, then maybe, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s running any software. AutoRCM could be a fall back mode because that chip died.

[@andreamitchell4758]

@@Natei yeah I mean accessing the hekate menu to enable autoRCM mode the switch has regular RCM out of the box that requires to use shot 2 pins in the joycon rail (use a RCM jig) it's a feature of the terga X1 chip well at least on the early non patched erista model switches , not the red box mariko ones or later ipatched erista models someone would have had to install hekate in order to enable the autoRCM on his switch , which I would consider hacking it I use SXOS and never used hekate or atmosphere but I assume it won't boot because the payload looks for the atmos boot bin file on the sd card which he does not have setup , this console was probably using an emulated NAND too , which is also missing since there is no SD card not sure if simply setting up the atmosphere files on the SD card would enable this console to boot into OFW or to atmosphere CFW or not but there is a complex tutorial on how to unbrick it without having a NAND backup so it is salvageable at least it could boot CFW and maybe OFW too, but might not be able to access the eshop or run retail carts since the soft brick recovery method wipes the systems serial number so might just be able to run .NSP's and not go online

[@MrStereoify]

We've been waiting so long Vince! Onwards with the video, super excited

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Marvel Marv 👍👍👍👍👍

[@TheBrownBearTherian]

Been super depressed today but this will cheer me up love it when you try to fix switches

[@nicolaslacoste9367]

Very glad to see you back fix game consoles. Best regards, Nicolas

[@caretakergaming21A]

You've just gained a new sub. Amazing work and I've learned alot. I'ma go binge alot of your stuff right now Vince!!

[@rylansparks3782]

This is the coolest video you've made in a while

[@CLC-1000]

My mate Vince returns to the name Switch killer, but to me you are more the Switch saver. Great video Vince. 👍

[@BlindGuardian050]

Haven't watched your channel in a while but it's good to see what you taught me is still true: don't trust anyone selling anything ever.

[@gamingvariation1323]

Great video Vince keep it up, ur close to the mil 1!

[@mufinman1987]

That doorbell at the 9:20 mark got me. I actually paused the video and opened my front door.

[@paullefur6213]

Great vlog Vince, i'm sure there will be a re visit vlog on this i have faith in you take care

[@eathenalexander2836]

I’ve been missing Vince Nintendo switch fixes ….remember when he would figure things out for him self with countless testing and trying ..good old days

[@kraiker1]

This was a cool video, appreciate you stepping into the software side.

[@ajburdett882]

Awesome work Vince! I always admire your perseverance! Others would have given up and sent that power supply to landfill, and all because of a tiny SMD resistor! A good fault finding - albeit time consuming - tactic would be to go round a board testing resistors checking they provide the resistance they are rated at. Obviously it's not an exact science if they are in circuit, but in theory if you test straight across the resistor the reading shouldn't be too far off. Hopefully this video will help others with this particular power supply!

[@PMcDFPV]

SWITCH KILLER RETURNS !!! Good luck brother !

[@Mymatevince]

Haha, thanks Paul 👍👍👍

[@Adrian_Finn]

I think a revisit and exploring this business of extracting keys to reassign a new eMMC and restore this thing back original OS would be very interesting indeed.

[@burleighking7143]

Nice job vince

[@herozero5555]

I've been waiting for another Switch fix!💯😜👍❤️

[@RedGhostNY]

Man thats super lucky 💯💯 Nothing better then a modded OG switch 💯

[@randomretroplays3123]

As long as it powers on vince I'm sure there is a way to get the original software back up and running. Well done on identifying the problem, you little genius you 😉👍

[@rfr653]

good job mate.

[@mm0077]

Thank you great attempt to repair this console. Others have already guided you how to rebuild the nand. Somewhere I came across a title called nand uniqueness and search for it.

[@eijek7]

You have gotten the hang of the hacking scene in consoles

[@kikihobbyrepair]

Nice video Vince! I think this was not hacked before just have a failed EMMC. Even if you remove the EMMC module and plug the switch into the PC it will show up as RCM in Tegra. Other important thing is to never plug in the EMMC of an another switch because it will burn fuses which sucks. The only way would be to recover this switch is with a Modchip which is not easy to find anymore.

[@Beaps73]

Ohhhhh yeah another Switch Killa vid, let's go!

[@frozerinosrepairs]

Great again. Thank you for sharing ☺️☺️☺️

[@snik2pl]

Reflection of lamp on ceiling gets me every time i buy on ebay

[@retrorestored]

Nice job! Cool to see you got something running, but very unfortunate it can’t be used a Switch anymore.. now it’s a Nintendroid. 😆 Hopefully sometime in the future there will be a way to restore it. 👍

[@Insomniacs8]

I would start by measuring the emmc board in diode mode and comparing to a good one. The vias corrode easily. If that all looks fine, you could try running biskeydump to see if you can still get at the keys. If you do get bad readings, you could try rebelling and putting the chip on another board.

[@GadgetUK164]

Great job getting this one "working" =D RCM is the built in recovery mode I think! It's possible a legit update corrupted due to power issue or something. Maybe there's a way to re-sign another eMMC to this device? If it's not possible now, I bet it will be in years to come!

[@Mymatevince]

Cheers Chris, hopefully some comments will come in to find out if it is possible 👍

[@DEmma1972]

ive not seen anything like this before. At least you got a pretty cool game out of it in the end

[@--Zook--]

3:30 noise just seems to go into my head and if it's not used it just seems to disappear instantly. Yeah I feel ya man.

[@zacharykirtz4857]

If you see this, most/all of the nand rebuild guides out there being recommended assume the eMMC has an intact partition layout with the partitions properly encrypted with the consoles keys. None of that would apply here since you’d be using a replacement eMMC from another device. You can restore systems under these circumstances, but it’s a bit more involved and there are some catches (mainly, online stuff and possibly gamecards will not work). I’d be happy to try helping if you’re interested though ^^

[@beogeek]

Hey Vince what camera are you using for recording and are you capturing via clean HDMI out or straight recording to the Handycam?

[@RDJ134]

That was something i didnt expected.

[@captainmullet]

Hi Vince, I'm not sure if you ever went back to this, but, I heard of someone who was able to resolve the "failed to init eMMC" error on Hekate. They had some luck by removing the EMMC from the memory board and placing it in a BGA169 reader. Using a flash programmer, they were able to read the EMMC in either 1 or 4 bit mode, depending on the severity of the failure. Although taking a backup in a lower bit mode was time-consuming, they had a way to restore a brand new EMMC with the backup they had taken from the faulty one. They also had success in reading a faulty EMMC with an SD card adapter and manually soldering the lines between the EMMC IC and the pins of the SD card adapter. At a minimum, they needed VCC, VSS, CMD, CLK, DAT0, which ensured a 1-bit mode read/write.

[@mr.unknown1386]

I'm betting your going to fix it 👍👍 🙃 You got it partially working. 👍👍

[@repairtechstuff]

Nice work mate also the screen remained black with no backlight, your Switch is in RCM. that could have been another hint too.

[@nikkic36]

Hi vince. What camera and mic do you film with?

[@lukepotter6120]

Hi Vince have a question for you do you fix freeview dvr boxes, I have one with a faulty rf connector.

[@markhardycreative]

I think that reflection was one of those round ceiling lights with 4 pins on the corners.

[@TheSkaldenmettrunk]

What a journey. I hope you are able to load the switch software back up.

[@piplup2009]

Nintendo switch repairs are my favourite

[@thedutchretrogamer]

nice vid mate where can i download that software?

[@SidneyCritic]

I was doing a motherboard and dreading testing 100s of passives for double beep shorts, when I realised, if one side DOESN'T beep, you don't need to test the other side because it's already proven it won't double beep. Did the whole MB in about 10min.

[@Apk07]

It's possible to completely bypass the eMMC and use an SD card for something called "EmuMMC" where you run an emulated eMMC, complete with a copy of the system OS and everything off the SD card alone. When you set up Atmosphere (a custom Switch firmware), this is usually the recommended method. Run your games and whatnot off EmuMMC and it all works perfectly. The only caveat is whenever power is lost (battery drained or a full shut-off), you have to re-inject a payload that lets Atmosphere boot from the EmuMMC properly as opposed to your non-existent eMMC. Doing the Lockpick method is obviously the better option if your ultimate goal is to restore the Switch to stock.

[@Mediic-SureShot8]

Id definitely use that switch, Its great that you can run android on it, Great video vince the switch killer 👌

[@zincmann]

Was the switch dishonest or was the seller dishonest? LOL ;-) Love your content Vince.

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

His back!!!!

[@brutlern]

Eco friendly Vince. Saving tape, one Switch at a time.

[@ktaragorn]

Curious why tape if shrinkwrapped..

[@Mymatevince]

🤣🤣👍

[@Luisito0o]

Not sure if someone’s mentioned this but a red flag I noticed was the serial number label was missing (taken off). It’s what tells you if it’s “hackable” which are V1 versions. Unfortunately you need the original Nand to the switch to get it back to normal. However, it’s more valuable than a standard switch. I would mod it with the sd card and it should work. THERES A WAY and the plus side, this is a more sought out switch. So it’s a GREAT purchase!

[@TomMannCenturia]

What a tag line "I kill a thousand Switches a year" 😂😄

[@Monkey_SK]

I think this video could be improved with the use of the Spongebob square pants "a few moments later" apart from that, great stuff Vince.

[@hakimdurand8427]

What windows tablet is that Vince? seems like a handy device :o

[@raymoorhead3783]

Here's a thought how funny would it be to get a switch emulator running on a switch :)

[@digipimp75]

Yep, I've seen this many times. Some kid probably tried to hack their Switch, failed to create a nand backup and screwed up the system, then they just throw it on ebay :(

[@stewiegrffin79]

Do a revisit where you extract the keys and replace the memory module!

[@dooleh84]

To be fair that "hack" fix is pretty cool, I'd play PSP and PS1 games on a switch, and maybe in a few years you'll be able to run yuzu on it and go full circle. xD

[@markbaker594]

Vince you should try maybe on the Switches start documenting the faults/repairs and produce a book of some sort (Just a thought).

[@Sm00k]

yeah, eMMC seems a kill. Have you tried to create eMMUCC partition on the SD with NxNandManager thou?

[@ZeliusDev]

inject the payload, then try going to launch and then select the stock option and see if it boots normally

[@AcornElectron]

Keeping those shite build quality devices alive. Good man! Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.

[@borisdg]

FInally back to FIXING Switches. :D

[@falloutguy8878]

Vince dude what a shame about your eBay buy? But well done for getting it working you will definitely get it working properly with time? Keep safe dude

[@empty7488]

just like ekens said, i've seen alot of broken eMMC chips, but i think it can be rescued since you're using it right now as an android. I don't know much but i've heard alot from repair guys that the eMMC chip would fail in alot of phones, most noticeably in samsung's note 2

[@randomcro24]

best videos are the switch ones

[@Jdbye]

I guess I can't post links so I can't link you the guide, but if you buy a replacement eMMC module (they are cheap from China) there is a guide to rebuild the NAND. It requires hacking the console though, and it won't work online anymore because the console unique data that is needed to go online is lost now. But it can still work perfectly as a hacked console with CFW. It uses a second (working) Switch as a donor to take the NAND files from, though there's a pack online with the needed files that skips that requirement.

[@Trught]

I find some articles under title "[GUIDE] NAND Rebuilding (for no backup / broken eMMC)"

[@chriswilliams9734]

I cant wait until someone breaks their oled switch. I would like to see you repair one of those.

[@TheGlitchyMario]

I knew the switch was lying!

[@DocIdaho]

On your upcoming snooker challenge… are you doing bonuses for 147s? You should… probably harder on a virtual game than the actual table

[@aidenmallinson3837]

I believe you have rebuild the Emmc… when jail breaking certain files can’t be deleted.. And if deleted it’s gets bricked

[@rayproductionsbackupchanne3862]

hey vince. how much would you charge for this switch without joycons charger or anything., just console? i can run ubuntu on it. and that can eventually be installed on the main emmc with some mod chips. i'd be interested to use this switch as a engineering test for hardware mods. because how it is rightnow. without a working original emmc. the switch is bricked

[@grahamprout2843]

you can buy a replacement emmc and rebuild the system but you wopuld need to contact the person and ask for the backup of the flash from the sd card they had in it to re-flash back to the new emmc with out that its toast

[@RobertDickens2002]

I recently learned when these things are completely dead a chargers will not turn the on until they sit on charge for about an hour we had one that I thought was broken for about 6 months.

[@IslamicTalksPodcast]

Hi Vince, Would you like to fix my MacBook Pro 2017 model (I think, maybe 2018). Which had water damage as I poured gravy down it while at work 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@rudybernasconi8528]

Hey Vince you have a bad m92t36 chip. Ive come accross nintendo switches that are stuck in5 volts charge. The m92t36 chip can go bad without a short circuit.

[@rwdplz1]

"Son, did your Nintendo break because you tried to hax0r it?"

[@Gubalicious]

Get some lovely stock firmware back on there. Back to nice and normal! 😁

[@brycehenson4345]

Winner at the end I think that it's homebrew lunch channel if the person who installed it doesn't do it right Nintendo company will see it and ban. It called a soft brick or hard brick you have to look it up on line on how to unbrick it and with out the memory card make it harder to fixed it the software is installed in the memory of the switch good luck Bryce

[@jamesgillre]

I think the reflection on the ebay listing on screen, was probably the seller just editing out their face or hands or something

[@killertruth186]

You could ask Mr.Mario about Nintendo Switch hack and any type of hacks, jailbreak even mods.

[@itsaiducio]

19:30 i was litterly screaming at my phone "get the f***ing heat spreader off!!!"

[@RBKing80]

New Retro Repair might be able to help you with this one Vince

[@jochenwuerfel]

Could be a (switched off) ceiling lamp😁

[@stoptheplanetiwantoff6906]

I was wondering if you could help me I have a PlayStation 3 60 gig and it's exhaust temperature is 45 degrees C could you tell me if that's too hot or is that normal thank you.

[@geoffwilson7572]

Hi Vince, Genuine question, would you be risking the amounts of money you do on busted eBay stuff if you were self-funding rather than your Patreons donations. I appreciate you are doing this for entertainment value for your channel. Enjoying the channel. Geoff

[@user-vo3ps2oz7h]

I think what happened is the emmc chip failed and that forces the switch to go to rcm/recovery mode because it couldn’t find the os but there is still a possibility it was a failed modding attempt that bricked it i could be wrong though

[@richardflint1274]

If you want me to take a look i did one yesterday simlar had died in cfw and wouldn't turn on i may even be able to rebuild your nand etc from a spare board and have you turned off auto rcm etc ??

[@kanongdl3766]

try to run atmophere, put the last version atmophere cfw on a microsd and send the payload, if it get in the cfw, it works ok, juts maybe the old microsd get corrupted and thats why dosnt work

[@DanPottas]

In options on the screen options top right turn off auto rcm and power off switch fully and turn on should come on failing that load up atmosphere see if that helps

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Dan 👍

[@GinandTronics]

I haven't watched all the video, but I believe the seller in this case. i believe the nand has malfunctioned. a switch will always boot into rcm if no nand is present, even if you don't have a jig in. you can use cfw on the switch with a different nand, but you can never get it working properly as you don't have the backup keys for your original nand on one I have ATM. i can feel the nand, getting slightly warm. but like you, I'm not really a software guy.

[@stevespeck3586]

It's handy that the person at your front door had a working Switch battery...

[@Tim-944]

The round thingy on the screen is the reflection from a lamp on the sealing

[@tankzilla6785]

Ceiling

[@Tim-944]

@@tankzilla6785 im proud of you!!

[@kadorna1]

for anyone reading this, any ARM device that has recovery mode enabled in the silicon will trigger recovery mode (RCM) if the bootloader can't keep normal functionality (ie: loading more loaders from flash). If the eMMC is dead this is exactly what will happen. In this case, you'd need a new eMMC to rebuild your nand using the cpu keys. This also happens to any device using flash memory, i've had early smartphones going the same way because the internal storage just goes bad over time. Shouldn't happen this quickly on a relatively modern device unless it's been used 24/7 nonstop since release and constantly writing data to it, and even so i'm not sure you'd spend the memorie's writing cycles this fast.

[@kjellrni]

Can anyone tell me the name of the Windows tablet Vince uses in this video?