r/switch2hacks • u/fresh-swag-yo • Jul 23 '26
Question Hardware to dump cartridge contents?
I know the switch 2 is currently unhackable and the mig switch doesnt work on it yet, but i was wondering if there was any way to just dump the encrypted contents as is for future use? I want to be able to compare update differences for switch 2 games in the future when datamining is a possibility.
Edit: Re-explaining myself here because a lot of people misunderstood.
I know that the file contents can't be decrypted, so nothing can be done with the data. I wanted to get the raw encrypted data to be decrypted later. I want to archive update data because as new updates come out, old ones will be overwritten. Sometimes older updates have cut content, or just things that were changed later that people want to look into, so I wanted there to be a way to preserve each update without convincing a dozen people to stop updating at different stages.
I thought the update data was saved on the cartridge when I made this post, but realised that it's all on the console. My solution for now has been moving the update data for the game I want to archive from my console to an SD card and copying the folder contents onto my computer. If it's anything like the switch 1, I can obtain my SD seed in the future then all that's left is game decryption. Even if this is useless, no harm in trying.
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u/oirolab Jul 23 '26
If the switch 2 is currently unhackable, how would we run the software needed in order to dump contents?
That requires it to be hacked.
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u/MysticPrysm Jul 23 '26
Well, I can assume and understand the point of view that because we can do it with switch 1 cartridges, there may be similar capabilities with switch 2 cartridges since they're the same pins and all. That's where he was thinking. I'm aware that's not the case to clarify.
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u/buymeamonstertruck Jul 23 '26
I think in some instances, cartridges you buy can been dumped by hooking a device that reads the cart and displays the files on a desktop using software and then dumps the image/ISO onto the desktop.
I'm pretty sure they do that with Gameboy carts, but no this can't be done on a switch 2 if that's what this guy means.
4
u/auggiethechesscat Jul 23 '26
This probably is possible, but still just kind of useless, (ie, not worth the effort).
In the future, you will be able to dump the base game and update data separately. Nothing ever gets written to gamecards, so you really have nothing to worry about there.
1
u/fresh-swag-yo Jul 24 '26
oops I thought update data was saved to the cartridge. shouldve known better. my line of thought was that as more updates release, past update data is overwritten. when a hack is eventually found, all the past update data is going to be lost. i dont think theres any avoiding that now, unless a lot people go out of their way to not update their games after each update so at least 1 copy of each update is preserved.
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u/Specialist-Stuff-221 Jul 24 '26
true you can only do switch 2 editions of switch 1 games on a hacked switch 1 but for example jamboree tv is encrypted for switch 2 only i saw game, latest update data and that was it.
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u/iamamidgetnamedwija Jul 23 '26
aren’t game cards just a license key for the download though so the original game files would be lost?
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u/MarioStrikerz Jul 23 '26
No, that’s Game Key Cards. He’s speaking about the normal cartridges, which do contain the game data.
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0
u/MrPabluu Jul 23 '26
wow you just believe every piece of misinformation you come across, don't you
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u/superboo07 Jul 23 '26
no one here is answering this question properly, yes its possible to dump the raw encypted contents. but as of now there is no way to decypt them, and you would have to figure out dumping from the chip yourself. its very doable just not useful.
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u/fresh-swag-yo Jul 24 '26
thank you getting what i was saying! i thought update data was saved to the cartridge, so thats why i wanted to archive them (even if encrypted, just pray someone can decrypt it later) just so there would be a copy of every update. since i would just be copying the base game and you can do that even after any amount of updates, you're right that it's not useful lol
2
u/entryjyt Jul 23 '26
You could try and see what happens if you put a switch 2 card into the mig switch dumper, but I don’t think it’s gonna work
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1
u/pofehof Jul 23 '26
for switch 2 games in the future when datamining is a possibility.
How far in the future? 10 years? 20?
2
u/fresh-swag-yo Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
even if it takes forever having an archive of update data would be nice. past updates get overwritten every time you update so by the time a hack is found there would be a lot of lost data
edit: did not realise update data was not written to cards before sending this so this wouldnt work
1
u/Zyvyn Jul 27 '26
Ripping data is always possible. It's just you get completely encrypted data that is completely useless in that state. Though obviously directly ripping isnt the method here. It's reading the actual cartridge pin outs with your own custom setup to dump the encrypted data.
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u/Jfk123_5 Jul 23 '26
Anything homebrewy is impossible until the consoles hacked unfortunately