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Nintendo unleashes DMCA takedown wave against open-source Switch modchip firmware, 144 tools disabled

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Nintendo unleashes DMCA takedown wave against open-source Switch modchip firmware, 144 tools disabled

Nintendo has set its famously litigious sights on the open-source firmware that powers hardware modchips on Nintendo Switch. Earlier this week, GitHub posted a DCMA request from Nintendo of America confirming that an entire network of 144 total repositories, including the parent repository, was taken down. Mod chip firmware for hardware including SX Core, SX Lite, Picofly, and HWFLY was targeted.

Early original Nintendo Switch consoles shipped with an unpatchable hardware exploit found in the device's recovery mode, which has since been patched in later units such as the Switch Lite and Switch OLED (the modchip hack doesn't work on Switch 2). As such, running custom software on patched Switches requires hardware modification, soldering a microchip like a Picofly, HWFLY, or SX Core to your Switch's motherboard. These chips require firmware, specifically code that can perform the voltage glitching required during boot to hack the Switch.

Rather than playing whack-a-mole with vendors of off-the-shelf microcontrollers, Nintendo has instead issued a DCMA takedown notice to the entire family of GitHub repos hosting this firmware. "The reported repositories offer, link to, or otherwise provide access to mod chip firmware including but not limited to SX Core, SX Lite, Picofly, or HWFLY," the DCMA request from Nintendo reads. "The firmware allows Nintendo Switch modchips to illegally circumvent Nintendo’s TPMs in order to run illegal copies of Nintendo Switch games. Specifically, during operation, the mod chip firmware at the reported repositories circumvents the technological protection measures put in place on the Nintendo Switch console by bypassing the boot sequence.


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