Hacking Question Is Gamestop preventing jigs? (Used Switch)

[linuxares]

Hi!

I tried today to buy a used Switch. The guy, a student had originally bought a used Switch from Gamestop 3 months prior.
The Switch was in pretty scratched shape on the screen, but joycons and everything worked fine. Touch, sound and everything. But when I tried to use my TX jig in the right rail, it refused to enter. Kind of sponged and went out again. Odd I thought for myself, I must have managed to press it out by mistake. I tried putting it down again and noticed a very odd resistance. So I tried the left rail and it worked perfectly fine.

So I tried holding the jig down on the rightside and boot TX, no dice, I could still see the metal parts of the jig so it didn't make contact.
Then I looked down in the rail, it was some odd tiny white part in it. Like a bit of tape or such, I didn't have any tools or real interest after seeing the screen to continue, but it was a hackable switch serial (3.0 firmware release console) and this is the first time I ever heard/seen it. I of course didn't take any pictures because I was a totally idiot and I had parked illegally outside so I was already stressing.


Have anyone heard about this? Or is it someone who had it before that tried to fix a wiggling joycon or something? Or was it really gamestop that have implemented an anti-hack thing?

 

[CWaffles]

Gamestop wouldnt be modding the hardware to prevent a jig from going in (I'm a former GS employee). My guess is, based on the rough shape of the switch as you described, this was something the precious owner did. Buy it and use tweezers to see if you can get out whatever is stopping the jig from going in. If not, then just return it to Gamestop. It's used so they shouldn't give you any hassle about the return.

 

[Xellos2099]

interesting... but if u are only going to explot it once and run auto rcm, do the one time tine foil process

 

[EmanueleBGN]

It's understandable, and if I work in a store like GameStop, I wouldn't allow to someone to try to hack a console he want to buy.
What if you were a mystery client from Nintendo? Or if you had ruined my console, or made something that will cause a ban for one of my future client? In all of these cases the responsibility would be mine so, I think, they are preventing any problem.
Would be interesting to know if they check if an used console is banned or was modified before they buy it

 

[Wheth]

It's understandable, and if I work in a store like GameStop, I wouldn't allow to someone to try to hack a console he want to buy.

That's a good way to ensure you'll get fired by about every used goods reseller, including GameStop, as most of them allow a no-questions-asked refund within a time window and you're just causing a loss in sales for the company.

 

[EmanueleBGN]

That's a good way to ensure you'll get fired by about every used goods reseller, including GameStop, as most of them allow a no-questions-asked refund within a time window and you're just causing a loss in sales for the company.

I don't know how it works in your Country, but I cannot give you any refound (neither in the first 14 days) if you apply any unauthorised modifications to a console. And I wouldn't let you to try any hack in my store on my products

 

[FAST6191]

I don't know how it works in your Country, but I cannot give you any refound (neither in the first 14 days) if you apply any unauthorised modifications to a console. And I wouldn't let you to try any hack in my store on my products

Many other places (many of which are the result of European directives so if you are in Italy then might have some reading to do there) opt for more of a "if the mod did not cause the problem" for warranty stuff and that might extend to no quibble returns. As such things might factor into the ability of the product to be resold (someone does a hackjob resoldering things vs a simple drop in externally applied hardware hack that physically you might never be able to tell) it gets a bit grey.

As for "wouldn't let" then that might be your prerogative, however many others would see a sale made either way.
Relevant link
http://www.actsofgord.com/Annoy/chapter07.php

If they asked you to mod it or to sell them a mod chip a hostile response might be more reasonable.

 

[CameronCataclysm]

It's understandable, and if I work in a store like GameStop, I wouldn't allow to someone to try to hack a console he want to buy.
What if you were a mystery client from Nintendo? Or if you had ruined my console, or made something that will cause a ban for one of my future client? In all of these cases the responsibility would be mine so, I think, they are preventing any problem.
Would be interesting to know if they check if an used console is banned or was modified before they buy it

If you buy a piece of technology you should be able to whatever you see fit. Big corporations have swindled you my friend.

 

[Wheth]

I don't know how it works in your Country, but I cannot give you any refound (neither in the first 14 days) if you apply any unauthorised modifications to a console. And I wouldn't let you to try any hack in my store on my products

Considering we're from the same country, if your info is to be believed, I have the right to obtain a refund for an used console if I want to. I'll try the jig at home, and if it doesn't fit I'll ask for a refund and change store. Checking if the joycon rail is damaged, or reading serials doesn't qualify as "trying any hack in my store".

 

[Vieela]

I think i saw someone with the absolute same problem today. Nothing recognized it as RCM if i'm not mistaken, but i do not remember the details of the post any further. Certainly weird.

 

[MasterJ360]

Could be a bad coincidence that the previous owner of the Switch fked up the rail and ended up selling it to Gamestop. I mean gamestop isn't going to look inside these rails.
I don't think they are that keen on console hacking

 

[linuxares]

Could be a bad coincidence that the previous owner of the Switch fked up the rail and ended up selling it to Gamestop. I mean gamestop isn't going to look inside these rails.
I don't think they are that keen on console hacking

I thought so too. But since the joycon works fine it doesn't seem to be an issue. But then again the fix might be for that but for some reason it fixed the jig then as well.

 

[proffk]

Gamestop are known to modify hardware or mod consoles that have been traded in to them while going through refurbishment. Check out spawn wave videos on youtube. He has shown that gamestop modified a xbox 360, PS1 & PS3.

 

[thorasgar]

I have three Switches: a launch day, 06/17 and 7/18(hacked). For the life of me I cannot get the 6/17 one to enter RCM. My jig works perfectly on the other two but not this one and the joycons work just fine. I messed with it maybe a dozen times and just gave up as I don’t really want to hack it, just though a Nand backup would be handy to have.

 

[zoogie]

Could be a bad coincidence that the previous owner of the Switch fked up the rail and ended up selling it to Gamestop. I mean gamestop isn't going to look inside these rails.
I don't think they are that keen on console hacking

This is the same company that ordered a second run of Cubic Ninja. This was when CN could get you into a cfw chain.
I don't think they care about hacking as long as they make the sale.

 

[MasterJ360]

This is the same company that ordered a second run of Cubic Ninja. This was when CN could get you into a cfw chain.
I don't think they care about hacking as long as they make the sale.

Yeah theres a greater chance that the previous owner was trying to hack the Switch or did it too often improperly. Like a piece of a broken jig got stuck in there or whatever the foreign object he/she used. I can see Gamestop updating a used console, but hardware modification to prevent hacking is abit too extreme. Hackers will just ask for a refund claiming there something stuck in the rails.