What Can A Hacked Switch Do?

The Nintendo Switch is a wonderful console that is part home console and part mobile handheld, selling more Nintendo consoles other than the Nintendo DS, Gameboy and Color portables. We know that the Switch will eventually be replaced with a new console to date, it's only a guess whether Nintendo replaces the Switch with a full home console or goes the semi portable route similar to the Wii U.

Given the ability to mod a Nintendo Switch (otherwise known as installing a custom firmware CFW or jailbreaking the device). The Nintendo Switch is a fantastic device to install this on given it's powerful hardware and excellent library of games to choose from.

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This is by no means a Nintendo Switch modding guide. This is solely for educational purposes as to what the Switch can do when hacked. If you're interested in purchasing a Nintendo Switch, we recommend finding one with an older one with a build date of older than August 2019 in order to make hacking incredibly easy being an unpatched Nintendo Switch. These units are incredibly sought after given the ease of hacking.

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So if you're wondering what the potential of a hacked Nintendo Switch can do after it's been unlocked, here are the key features we will be covering in this article:

• Running Homebrew Applications
• Running Emulators
• Running Backup Copies of Switch Games
• Installing Custom Themes
• Run Android
• Installing Cheats

So without further ado, let's dive right into the details around what can a hacked Switch do.

Running Homebrew Applications

The term homebrew is meant to run fan made ports of games that weren't meant to be played on the Nintendo Switch as Nintendo intended. This leaves the door wide open for a variety of different games to choose from such as the Super Mario 64 that actually runs better than the licensed Nintendo product. The team of developers have brought true widescreen and high resolution to the product. Can you imagine a world where the developers in their spare time can release a superior product than what Nintendo can?

Another few key examples of fan made ports are Grand Theft Auto 3, Half Life, Duke Nukem, Tomb Raider and many more. These games are running natively as if they came straight from Nintendo. You won't have to worry about any bugs in the code or weird glitches that you might encounter with fan made games.

Running Emulators

The Nintendo Switch Online platform does give you a variety of NES and Super NES games that you can choose from that run on the Nintendo Switch console. These games are a good variety of platformers, sports, adventure, even some of the best fledged RPGs have been released for the platform.

While Nintendo does offer a great product for playing your retro games on the go or on the big screen TV, some great titles have been excluded and may never see the light of day through Nintendo due to licensing issues or we simply may never see the full library of SNES or NES games as part of a subscription model. This is where the world of emulation comes into play. Imagine being able to play your favorite games that you wish were available on the Nintendo Switch Online platform.

The use of the RetroArch emulator is the main way you can experience your favorite retro gaming console emulators right on the Nintendo Switch. RetroArch to put it simply, is a multi console emulator capable of playing all of your favorites such as Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System and even portables such as Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS and many more!

There's also a fantastic PSP emulator that goes by the name of PPSSPP. That's right, you can even play your favorite games from other consoles such as Sony and explore the best PSP games such as Metal Gear Solid, God of War or Daxter. The games run absolutely flawless on the Switch hardware and this is a fantastic way to bring your PSP games on the go.

Running Backup Copies of Switch Games

Did you also know that when you hack a Nintendo Switch you unlock the full potential of playing backup games directly from the SD card? That's right, imagine enjoying your favorite Mario or Zelda game without having to carry around the game cards all the time. This also includes games that were such excluded from online stores and are no longer produced such as Super Mario 3D All Stars that left a poor taste in so many Nintendo fans hearts when it was pulled from the online store.

All you need is a USB C cable and a SD card along with a PC. This involves booting into the custom firmware (CFW) called Atmosphere and making use of the Homebrew Channel in order to boot up the best Switch games all done straight from the console without even having a game in the cartridge slot.

We would suggest avoiding playing online when using a backup game in order to not risk getting your console banned from online play. It would be such a shame if you launched your favorite online Switch game and to all of a sudden not be allowed to join your friends in a multiplayer game.

Installing Custom Themes

Themes really improve the look and feel of that bland home screen you're used to seeing all the time whenever you boot up your Nintendo Switch. You can choose from hundreds of themes that make the home screen much more appealing to what Nintendo currently offers.

You can choose from your favorite villain such as The Joker or TV shows like Stranger Things along with many other game themes you wouldn't think were possible such as Resident Evil 4 or Persona 5 based themes.

Run Android

One of the coolest, most overlooked aspect of modding your Nintendo Switch is the ability to run native Android on the device. That's right, everything is here from Youtube, Netflix, Prime Video, TikTok. This is fantastic if you want to have a movie playing in the background while still being able to use your phone to browse the web or listen to your favorite podcast.

Running Android also unlocks a flurry of Android games like Call of Duty, Grid, Apex Legends, Stardew Valley, Among Us and many more. You can also use the Nintendo Switch to play Xbox games via the Xbox app!

Installing Cheats

With the use of the app EdiZon, you can install various cheats for over 600+ supported Switch games. Let's say your playing Zelda and somehow ran out of arrows and don't feel like farming for more. All you have to do is pull up your cheat menu and enable the infinite arrow cheat to max out the amount of arrows you can carry!

We hoped you found this information helpful relating to what can a hacked Switch do. Please let us know on Twitter if you found this article helpful!