For the last few months, fans have been clamoring about an unpatchable hardware exploit that allows people to jailbreak the Nintendo Switch. The excitement around being able to do nearly anything on the console is less theoretical now: people are messing with online games, getting banned by Nintendo, and even locking each other's consoles over piracy.
As hackers push what the Switch is capable of, they're running into some of the safety measures Nintendo has in place to stop further tampering.
According to established Nintendo hacker SciresM, the Switch's online network can pinpoint specific hardware, thereby allowing it to make console bans permanent.
But the biggest change from Nintendo's previous consoles is that Switch game cartridges are signed with certificates at the factory, and these are used to verify if a game is legit. Similarly, digital games also contain data that tie them to specific consoles and Nintendo accounts. This means that pirated copies of Switch games should be easily identified by Nintendo, as the network can pinpoint a discrepancy between the software and your hardware.
While Nintendo has built a system that allows it to identify pirated software, players who are getting their consoles banned aren't necessarily pirates: they are often just modders. On hacking hubs like GBA Temp, fans are rallying to
identify common denominators between different banned Switch users. There's no clear consensus, other than apparently Nintendo has gotten a bit better about identifying some forms of console modification.
Meanwhile, the people who make some console modifications possible are sparking controversy of their own. The developers of SX Pro, a purchasable dongle that can be plugged into the Nintendo Switch to jailbreak the console, also sell firmware called SX OX, which can be used for homebrew. While the firmware is not explicitly made for the purpose of piracy, it can be used in that way. Ironically, the firmware that opens the door for piracy has people trying to crack it, too, but it seems that Team Xecutters anticipated this.
According to users like vulnerability researcher Mike Heskin, the firmware has code that bricks consoles that tamper with program, thereby preventing piracy of software that can be used for piracy. When contacted by
The Verge, the team behind SX Pro disputed the specifics of the accusation, but admitted that their software has anti-tampering measures.
