Latest news with #SwitchTools
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Switch 2 owners using Mig Flash cartridges say Nintendo is bricking their new consoles, even if they're only using the carts for their own ROMs rather than pirated games
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Believe it or not, Nintendo apparently isn't taking too kindly to Switch 2 owners using cartridges on their new consoles that can be used to play pirated Switch games, as some users claim that inserting a certain flash cart has led to their new hardware getting banned. The MIG Switch (or MIG Flash) is a physical cartridge that can be inserted into Switch consoles to load and play Switch games which have been downloaded onto it – be that via files dumped from games purchased by the user, or pirated copies found online. Think of the R4 cards that could be used on the Nintendo DS systems, and it's basically the same idea. With Nintendo's strong anti-piracy stance, which it has really doubled down on in recent years with the various legal battles it's engaged in, you can understand why the company might not be particularly happy about people using these flash carts, and it seems like it might be taking action. "My Switch 2 test has been banned, after using the MIG Switch with perfectly legal dumps of my own cartridges, so it would seem that Nintendo can detect something," Twitter user @SwitchTools writes, sharing an image of their console displaying error code 2124-4508, with a message explaining that "the use of online services on this console is currently restricted by Nintendo." As per Nintendo's support page, this error "indicates that the Nintendo Switch console you are using has been permanently banned from connecting to the internet due to a breach of the user agreements." SwitchTools adds: "I strongly recommend that you do not use the MIG Switch, it was already very risky to use but it is even more so on Switch 2." Others on Reddit have also reported bans after using the cartridge, with one writing: "Just wanted to let everyone know to refrain from using their MIG Flash on the Switch 2 online for now. My Switch 2 was just banned (my account is fine for now). Only games I had were my backed up games. Must be some new detection Nintendo has on these MIG Switches." Another, confused over why their console had been banned, notes: "The only thing I can think what has happened is that I tried my MIG Switch in my NS2 once. It didn't work. It just showed the game title and refused to load. It tried to download a title update for it and that was it. Maybe it downloaded a flag for the console to be banned? This was over a week ago this happened though. I've been playing with a legitimate cartridge ever since though." They also clarify: "I don't pirate games, I back-up my legitimate games I own on cartridges. Piracy is shit." It's worth noting that it was only as of a few days ago that the MIG Switch actually became usable on Switch 2 at all, as a result of a new firmware update for the cartridge. These ban reports all appear to have happened in the last 24 hours, after this MIG Switch firmware update was rolled out. We'll have to watch this space to see if this continues to affect more users – it's not clear how Nintendo might be able to detect the use of the cartridges. Be sure to check out our Switch 2 review, as well as our roundup of the best Switch 2 games you can play now.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Nintendo's Crackdown On Switch 2 Piracy Has Already Begun
It took hackers over a year to jailbreak the original Switch, but the Switch 2 has one vulnerability its predecessor didn't: backwards compatibility. Some new console owners have already tried to use a type of flash cartridge associated with the piracy of Switch 1 games on their Switch 2 consoles, and were promptly banned by Nintendo. The device in question is called the MIG Switch and it's a cartridge that users can load up with games—either ones backed up from legally purchased copies or files pirated online. Nintendo started suing people who sell the MIG Switch last year and designed the Switch 2 so the carts wouldn't work with it. The makers of MIG Switch, however, recently released a firmware update that made it possible to use the devices to load Switch 1 games on the Switch 2. Nintendo has responded by banning any Switch 2 that it's seemingly found to have run one of the illicit flash cartridges at some point. 'My NS2 has been console banned and I have absolutely no idea why!' wrote SquareSphere on the Switch 2 subreddit earlier today. 'The only thing I can think what has happened is that I tried my Mig switch in my NS2 once.' Someone else reported something similar. 'Just wanted to let everyone know to refrain from using their mig flash on the Switch 2 online for now,' wrote givemeupvote on the Switch Hacks subreddit. 'My switch 2 was just banned (my account is fine for now).' They shared a picture of the error message on their Switch 2. 'The use of online services on this console is currently restricted by Nintendo,' it read. X user SwitchTools said they used a MIG Switch with ROM dumps of their own games and were also banned at the console level, writing that they suspect Nintendo has a new method for detecting its presence. 'I strongly recommend that you do not use the mig switch, it was already very risky to use but it is even more so on Switch 2,' they wrote. Some players use MIG Switch and competing clones to create backups of their gaming libraries, though the proliferation of tools like it also threatens to make piracy on Switch 2 even worse than its predecessor. While Nintendo has been banning these users from online services, it doesn't yet appear to be using its nuclear option. Back before launch, Nintendo updated its terms of service to give itself the option of bricking entire consoles if they violated the agreement. 'You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with the foregoing restrictions Nintendo may render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part,' it read. Hackers have already started trying to reverse engineer the Switch 2. Early signs don't give much sense of how rapidly the hardware vulnerabilities might be discovered and exploited, but it seems likely that Nintendo has taken every precaution available to keep the Switch 2 as locked down as possible. Unlike at the start of last generation, however, the company is already on the legal warpath. Last month, it filed a lawsuit against accessory maker Genki who flaunted an early 3D-printed mock-up of the Switch 2 at a trade show earlier this year. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
