Scene developer Zecoxao might be known for their contributions to the PlayStation hacking world, but this time around, they've got something major for the Nintendo scene. The longtime scener teased the existence of what they claim to be a $3 modchip for the Nintendo Switch, and which is said to work with Mariko and OLED systems, though not patched Erista consoles. A teaser video was also uploaded, where the modchip itself was revealed to be a Raspberry Pi--specifically, a RP2040 Zero unit, soldered into the Switch board, demonstrating Hekate launching on an OLED unit.

Given the tease of "coming soon", we can expect to see more details about the exploit eventually.

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[Sono]

Considering all modchips so far required an fpga, not even a microcontroller is fast enough it seems.

Gotta love it.

Yeah, considering I barely know the details of how Switch modchips work, I'd be surprised if they could actually pull it off overclocked to at least 250MHz. There is no way they could pull this off at stock 125MHz...
Definitely possible, but also definitely needs a lot of engineering, and a good understanding of the RP2040.

Post automatically merged: Dec 12, 2022

and single Waveshare RP2040-Zero is also not $3. It's more like $4.49 + shipping. So at least twice as much as $3. And even more likely all 10$.
but 10 doesn't seem to sound as dramatic as 3.

That's because its price got hiked. Like a month or so ago 5+ bulk price was slightly below 4$ (afaik 3.89$ ?).

 

[Dionicio3]

and single Waveshare RP2040-Zero is also not $3. It's more like $4.49 + shipping. So at least twice as much as $3. And even more likely all 10$.
but 10 doesn't seem to sound as dramatic as 3.

I'm sure the $3 figure comes from the price of the bare RP2040, which can be obtained for that price (and sometimes even cheaper).

 

[T0biasCZe]

and need no chip really

Later v1/Erista consoles are patched

 

[linuxares]

Later v1/Erista consoles are patched

True forgot about the I patched

 

[r1vver]

I'm sure the $3 figure comes from the price of the bare RP2040, which can be obtained for that price (and sometimes even cheaper).

You mean RP2040 IC (w/o PCB) and not devboard?
So it will be custom PCB for RP240 IC then. With additional kryptochip (tm) and other bells and whistles.

 

[Dionicio3]

You mean RP2040 IC (w/o PCB) and not devboard?

Yes

So it will be custom PCB for RP240 IC then.

Most likely yes. The RP2040-Zero appears to be too large to fit in the console. I doubt anyone would buy the board just to modify it to make it smaller, when designing a custom board would be much easier and more cost effective.

With additional kryptochip (tm) and other bells and whistles.

lol no

 

[r1vver]

lol no

w/o additional kryptochip (tm) it will be hard to sell this "3 dollars modchip" for 99.99$ + shipping

 

[Dionicio3]

w/o additional kryptochip (tm) it will be hard to sell this "3 dollars modchip" for 99.99$ + shipping

Stop being so cynical. Not everyone who makes modchips for console are doing so for profit. Some people genuinely just want to improve the console modding scene by making parts easily accessible

 

[Duo8]

Yeah, considering I barely know the details of how Switch modchips work, I'd be surprised if they could actually pull it off overclocked to at least 250MHz. There is no way they could pull this off at stock 125MHz...
Definitely possible, but also definitely needs a lot of engineering, and a good understanding of the RP2040.

Post automatically merged: Dec 12, 2022

That's because its price got hiked. Like a month or so ago 5+ bulk price was slightly below 4$ (afaik 3.89$ ?).

The rp2040 (and its PIO) has been used to make a modchip before: https://github.com/KULeuven-COSIC/Starlink-FI/
Also I think it used to be $1.5 for a bare chip, in singles volume. If mass produced it could be <$3.

 

[Dionicio3]

The rp2040 (and its PIO) has been used to make a modchip before: https://github.com/KULeuven-COSIC/Starlink-FI/

While not a modchip based on glitching, the RP2040 is used on the GameCube for PicoBoot.

Also I think it used to be $1.5 for a bare chip, in singles volume. If mass produced it could be <$3.

Currently on a few official resellers, the chip is actually $1, though there is unfortunately limits on how many you can buy

 

[Duo8]

While not a modchip based on glitching, the RP2040 is used on the GameCube for PicoBoot.
Currently on a few official resellers, the chip is actually $1, though there is unfortunately limits on how many you can buy

Yeah it's just $1 not $1.5

From the blogpost:

The single-unit price of RP2040 is $1, giving you a lot of bang for your (literal) buck. We’re still figuring out what reel-scale pricing will look like in the autumn, but we expect it to be significantly lower than that.

 

[r1vver]

Stop being so cynical. Not everyone who makes modchips for console are doing so for profit. Some people genuinely just want to improve the console modding scene by making parts easily accessible

I would be glad to be not cynical here. But this whole story with requests for deletions of topics regarding "leaks"... leaves no reason for this.

 

[Dionicio3]

I would be glad to be not cynical here. But this whole story with requests for deletions of topics regarding "leaks"... leaves no reason for this.

Like I said, they're probably just trying to avoid a C&D. Leaks pose a huge threat in terms of this, so it's perfectly reasonable for wanting information regarding leaks to be removed

 

[Adran_Marit]

I would be glad to be not cynical here. But this whole story with requests for deletions of topics regarding "leaks"... leaves no reason for this.

Like I said, they're probably just trying to avoid a C&D. Leaks pose a huge threat in terms of this, so it's perfectly reasonable for wanting information regarding leaks to be removed

Basically from what I'm aware this is what it came down to. So they could finish working on it before they could get a C/D notice

Edit: See this

https://gbatemp.net/threads/scene-d...-involves-a-raspberry-pi.623082/post-10022297

 

[SonyUSA]

hoping for a solderless method in the near future, anyway this is will be a good alternative for the hwfly chip.

Won't happen, the points are too small so there is nothing to 'clip' to

 

[Dionicio3]

Won't happen, the points are too small so there is nothing to 'clip' to

Too small and, in the case of the OLED, too obscured

 

[Menacer]

RP2040 Pico boards are cheaper but the PCB seems to be larger than the Waveshare RP2040-Zero.
I wonder if a "normal" pico board is too large to fit into the switch...

 

[Jayro]

Waveshare RP2040-Zero

I'm so happy this is small, and comes with a USB C port on it. So tired of people using Micro USB (claiming it's cheaper when it's not, IT'S THE SAME FUCKING PRICE).

 

[Dionicio3]

I'm so happy this is small, and comes with a USB C port on it. So tired of people using Micro USB (claiming it's cheaper when it's not, IT'S THE SAME FUCKING PRICE).

The only valid argument for using microUSB over USB-C is the fact that microUSB is technically smaller. But like, the size difference is so negligible that it doesn't matter at all. Also, the final board probably won't be what's shown, it'll probably be something custom

 

[Sono]

I'm so happy this is small, and comes with a USB C port on it. So tired of people using Micro USB (claiming it's cheaper when it's not, IT'S THE SAME FUCKING PRICE).

Achsually, the reason it's the same price is because microUSB connectors should be becoming ever so slightly more expensive due to being put into less products now, and USB-C connectors going down in price due to being mass-produced to meet demand.

In all seriousness though, I guess it only bothers me that it's USB-C now, because I have like nine microUSB cables, but only a single USB-C cable I bought for my GBxCart. Even for my RP2040-Zero, I use a microUSB to USB-C adapter, so I can plug it into my laptop

Basically everything I have is microUSB, so having to get more USB-C cables is just a hassle for me.

Post automatically merged: Dec 12, 2022

RP2040 Pico boards are cheaper but the PCB seems to be larger than the Waveshare RP2040-Zero.
I wonder if a "normal" pico board is too large to fit into the switch...

There is a -H variant (H-eaderless), you could probably desolder the microUSB to get the thickness down.

Although basically what @Dionicio3 has said, I'm too slow with my replies. These usually get custom boards for the ease of installation, but also to actually fit into the damn thing!