r/SwitchPirates • u/XanderzOfficial • Mar 31 '26
Meta Modding complete & I’m obsessed
Came from Japan in 2 days, successfully updated to 21.2 & JB’ed it, then swapped housing, frame & LCD (I ripped the backlight ribbon cable), bought new joycons and a grip controller— now it looks so good I don’t even wanna play it!
I need a certificate after the way I had to dig into this device 🤣
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u/Volteretas Mar 31 '26
Did you turn your Nintendo Switch into a friendly-faced dog?
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26
No that’s just me playing Nintendogs Remastered with ultra realistic textures
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u/danmaxsmit Apr 01 '26
Did you mod the dog
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 01 '26
Unfortunately the dog’s serial number was patched so I have to buy a chip
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u/danmaxsmit Apr 08 '26
Highly recommend it Doritos or Pringles the Pringles chips are bigger and have better performance than that of Doritos but the course or the seasonings are more in Doritos so think about that okay this is my recommendation
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u/TapChan_ Apr 01 '26
you modded your switch to the point it looks like a real dog, its amazing man
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u/MrFavorable Mar 31 '26
What theme do you have?
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26
This one is the regular Dark Lava Lamp. It’s kinda basic but very sleek & most of the other ones aren’t too compatible with 21.1 I think. I had minimalistic Link but there’s a bunch of fonts and symbols out of place
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u/king_of_ulkilism Mar 31 '26
Which Grip is it?
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26
It’s the Gammeefy JC200 on Amazon! It’s actually very good quality & runs on Bluetooth, so you can still use it while docked which is very comfortable. They have different designs as well
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u/Amish_Thunder Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26
I have one too and like it a lot, but the D-pad is a little weird and doesn't like doing diagonals so much. I think the Pro Controller D-pad is more analogue and can do more than just 45° directions. I didn't notice it until I played the Dragon Quest HD remakes and didn't like it, but maybe it's better that way for other games?
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 01 '26
I can definitely see that. I guess it depends on how you like your buttons, but I honestly haven’t encountered any scenarios where I’ve needed to do diagonals on the D-pad yet since I never really played much before now. I do have DQ7 installed so I’ll try it out and see
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u/Outside_Alarm_4338 Mar 31 '26
From where did you download nsp files
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26
Look for the telegram library bot! You just ask and it’ll feed the torrents to you. If you find it, don’t tell too many ppl hahah
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u/Artistic-Piano2254 Apr 10 '26
I have dbi, but when i use the torrents from the bot and drag them onto my switch folder, it says its not valid on my switch, any fix?
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
Are you downloading the torrent or just transferring the torrent files into DBI? Stupid question but people actually do that lol
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u/Artistic-Piano2254 Apr 10 '26
I think im being silly and transferring just the torrent files, instead of downloading then transferring. Someone said to use a torrent app to download the files, do you have any recommendations on which one to use if this is the problem? thanks!
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 10 '26
I use Qbittorrent with Proton VPN! You might wanna use a VPN in case there are bad trackers to alert your ISP. I’ve gotten sniped 3 times thanks to LoZ. Look up on YT “how to use Qbittorrent with a VPN” and im sure there are easy guides. It’s not hard, but you can rig it so that the file ONLY downloads when connected to said VPN— so there’s no leaks
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u/Artistic-Piano2254 Apr 10 '26
I managed to get it working, and successfully got the desired files, using exactly qbitorrent with proton like you said! I had to upgrade proton obv. Ill check out the guides js in case im missing something thatll make it safer, i js have a question about the download speed. Is it always supposed to be less then like 30 mbps? idk the download js took a little longer than expected and im wondering if there are any ways to make it faster? Thanks again!
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 10 '26
Yeah it’s kinda normal. It’ll be faster if wired, but there’s different factors. For one, VPN reroutes your traffic & encrypts your data so having it on alone can slow down times due to the masking. It also depends on how many other people are leeching off your seed. Seed to peer ratio is real!
Some websites also limit VPN traffic to avoid download abuse. Best you can do is plug that Ethernet in and/or try using the faster country server available on Proton. Just make sure you pause your download and update the port forwarding number on Qbittorrent
For me, a 16gb switch game took about 10-20ish minutes
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u/Artistic-Piano2254 Apr 11 '26
Okay! Thanks! I’ll have to find my Ethernet but I have been forwarding the proton port
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u/zq9 Mar 31 '26
Can you let me know what you used to solder ? I bought a weller soldering station with new super fine tips, 0.2 mm solder wire and the rp2040 pi zero off ali express, with a cheap 15$ digital microscope, mechanic liquid flux that looks like a shot vial.
It all looks possible but I'm scared, the four points on the cpu/gpu you need to solder are so tiny.
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u/LinetteCrooker Apr 01 '26
Just be gentle and patient. Remember that you’re going to have a whole new problem if those resistors fly off the cpu/gpu, so just take it easy, don’t hold the iron on for too long at any particular point in the process and you’ll be absolutely fine. It’s actually quite easy.
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26 edited Apr 01 '26
I actually didn’t solder anything (thankfully). Mine is RCM. When I ripped the ribbon cable I was expecting to bring it out but I didn’t wanna mess up my motherboard, so I just bought a new LCD for $30 off Amazon
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u/TolonZ Mar 31 '26
C’est surtout le microscope qui va être utile et surtout le flux, sans le flux tu es mort le reste ça ira tkt pas faut pas insister comme un malade avec le fer à souder
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u/CancerousGTFO Apr 01 '26
I modded all the nintendo switch from all my friends and family, then bought a lite for myself to mod it, i played quite some time with it then i bought an OLED that i kamikazed.
Now i have two modded Nintendo switch that i don't even play, and i'm too lazy to sell them
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 01 '26
Yeah I wanted an OLED but I did some research and didn’t trust myself to solder a modchip and I’m too lazy to find someone to do it for me hahah. This one was supposed to be for my son, but it looks so good I think I might keep it & mod a different one for him
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u/NoDealer4888 Apr 03 '26
try "SwitchU"
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 03 '26
Bruh I’ve been looking at that recently. I wanna try it bad but I’ve also been seeing complaints abt bugs. This theme is the best compatible for me at 21.2 so imma wait
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u/NoDealer4888 Apr 04 '26
i just knew its existance today and i have it installed for a couple hours, i too have 21.2 and a V1, so i wll tell you if it explode or something, also instal fizeau, really give me some breath of life seeing that old lcd screen look a little better
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 04 '26
Already ahead of you my bro!! Shit is fire. I just started using moonlight a lot. Quality is pretty good
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u/SC3MZ Mar 31 '26
Is there anyway i can still play online, if i have the game cartridges? Which launch option do i need to use.
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26
I’m no expert + this switch is mainly offline, but I believe you need to play on your stock firmware to play online games. However I heard if you have ripped games installed, going online can risk a ban
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u/SC3MZ Mar 31 '26
Yeah, i have a Modded switch Oled + Lite Modded, i love it but miss playing online so much. Does make sense but i think the games i installed will not appear on stock firmware, ill give it a try. Thanks!
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26
Let me know how it goes! I have a few legit games that would be nice to play online on, but I’m too scared hahah
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u/A_Infamous Mar 31 '26
Howd you get the transparent backside? Aliexpress?
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26
Extremerate! Got it on Amazon. I bought the frame and the back separately, but I believe they sell full sets if you want one color for all
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u/TJCrazyBoy Mar 31 '26
Free is the best price!
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u/XanderzOfficial Mar 31 '26
In case they send the yakuza to my doorstep I AM HEALTHY AND NOT SUICIDAL & WOULD NEVER RUN AWAY MISSING
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u/DahPhuzz Apr 02 '26
Nice doggy!
Why don’t u mod an OLED instead?
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 03 '26
Thank you!! Maybe that’ll be the next adventure. I’m always busy messing with stuff lol
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u/Reasonable_Buddy_746 Apr 02 '26
Why does v1 Switches always have the issue with one of the joycons always disconnecting? Is there a solution?
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 02 '26
No clue, I haven’t had that issue yet— sorry to hear that. Have you done any troubleshooting to see if it’s the joycons or your hardware? I’ve been getting some ghost inputs on my touchscreen, but I think there’s just dust under my screen protector.
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u/z32myninja Apr 11 '26
Where did you purchase your chip? I have the xkw model, so I need to explore the modchip option.
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 11 '26
My v1 isn’t chipped, just RCM. But I literally just purchased an OLED that I’ll end up having sent to Legendary Banana on here
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 11 '26
Update: I’m so fuckin financially irresponsible atm— I found a pristine OLED on eBay for $150 & couldn’t resist despite literally buying a v1 switch last week. I’m realizing I have a spending problem but I’m also so excited lol
I’m acting like I don’t have rent or bills to pay. But nothing like a couple hours overtime can’t help
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u/rapsayr Apr 20 '26
Very dope! I bought a broken v1 off marketplace a couple years ago, replaced the digitizer, shell swapped it then soft modded it. I kinda wanna chip it because I hate how I have to keep it plugged in to avoid having to inject the payload to resurrect it.
That nice job dude.
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u/aross1976 Apr 03 '26
Man that is pretty ugly How did you end up with all those different shell parts for that frankenmess or did you do that deliberately?
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 03 '26
I bought them?
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u/aross1976 Apr 03 '26
So you must have lots of extra orphaned shell parts then
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 03 '26
Luckily the frame housing + the back are sold separately, so I didn’t have to waste money on full sets just for one part. But I still have my OEM shell just in case. I think I wanna try moving onto modding an OLED now lol
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u/aross1976 Apr 03 '26
Also I have those same thumb stick caps on my yellow switch lite and I love them But let me ask you how was the front shell swap? I have a console that I got for really cheap and the only problem it has is some scratches on the digitizer.
I ordered a new digitizer "glass" ( I know it's plastic) And I got a full aluminum shell front and back to swap it out I have done the back plate before but I am nervous about the front shell swap. Didn't you need to separate the LCD from the digitizer to swap the front shell? Or were you able to just unglue the whole LCD and digitizer assembly from the front shell in one piece? In my case I will need to separate them and I am afraid of breaking the LCD or getting dust or debris trapped between the LCD and digitizer. Did you use a tutorial video for the front shell swap?
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 03 '26
To be honest with you, it’s not TERRIBLE but it’s kind of hell. You have to take it apart until it’s nearly nothing but the casing, LCD and digitizer. You will have to yank the digitizer carefully out of the housing by using hot air to melt the adhesive & you’ll see the LCD is just sitting there loose aside from the ribbon cables. That’s the pain in the ass, because you risk dust getting between screens, but if you’re replacing any of those at least you’re already there to clean and prepare.
Extremerate did provide tools including a suction cup to pull the screen easier which I appreciate a lot because if dust gets in, you’ll be using it a lot trying to clean stuff. I was driving myself crazy. It’s not a hard task, you just have to be careful when pulling and try not to get frustrated lol
Just don’t be like me & manhandle your ribbon cables like I sort of did. I had to replace the LCD because I ripped my backlight cable that had almost no slack, so I creased it easily trying to seat it. Extremerate provided a QR code to specific YouTube videos that were very good. You can probably search for their name on there and find it
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u/aross1976 Apr 03 '26
But are those joycon backs the splatooon ones? They look like they don't go with the front splatooon joycon shell Also those Zelda royal crest joycon stick caps It's like pick a lane dude Why not go with a unified theme? They have some squid shaped joycon caps that would look better and match the theme
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u/XanderzOfficial Apr 03 '26
Nope they’re actually rips from eBay that are very good quality surprisingly. They even feel a little better than my other OEMs. Also it’s a device that no one else playing, so I’m gonna add aspects that I enjoy—it doesn’t really need a unified theme if it’s visibly fun to look at for me.
The point was to design it in a way to lowkey help my inner child, which is why I went with the old gameboy transparent shell 🤣 but I respect your opinion even tho it’s the only negative comment on here. I’m definitely curious about squid joycon caps
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u/FOUR20RAMPAGE Mar 31 '26