picture by SwitchTools
A bit of news from these past few weeks, on the Nintendo Switch side of the (hacking) Force. UnlockSwitch have started sending their test units to several reviewers. Although the hardware is here as promised, it shipped with no Firmware, meaning that in their current state, the flashcarts are unusable. In parallel, MIG Switch have renamed their website from migswitchru.com to migflash.com, in a futile attempt to dodge the lawsuit that will eventually be coming to knock at their door.
UnlockSwitch review units
UnlockSwitch is still a “vapor adjacent” product, but the team have started delivering: test units have been shipping to multiple youtubers and other reviewers in July. Earlier this month, DeadSpecimen did a quick showcase of their unit on Nick Moses’ channel (video below)
Other reviewers started receiving their UnlockSwitch unit, and they all have a point in common: the received units are technically unusable.
That is because they ship without a firmware. I won’t pretend I’m a hardware expert, but crafting a small PCB that fits in the Nintendo Switch and can interact with the Switch cart slot is not the difficult part. Hacking the Switch’s internal security via this communication channel is the actual problem to solve, and without any software, the UnlockSwitch (in its current state) doesn’t do that.
I personally completely fail to see the point of sending review units that do not work. On the one hand, it can be seen as proof that they have the manufacturing means to deliver their product, which is good, but it also demonstrates that they do not have a working product yet, which is… worse
Picture by TheWizWiki
Now, don’t get me wrong. Reading between the lines, UnlockSwitch have always been somewhat clear that they would not deliver the Firmware immediately. There were lots of talks about a “community based” or “open source” solution and the like. I personally understood it as “we’ll provide the hardware, and we’ll rely on someone clever to dump the MIG Switch firmware to upload onto our devices”. As far as I know, nobody has (publicly) done that yet, not to mention the dangers of tempering with MIG Switch’s stuff: Team Xecuter (whom are suspected by some to be behind the MIG Switch) are known to include brickers in their stuff.
According to UnlockSwitch, a firmware is coming out “soon” for their device, but the proof will be in the pudding.
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MIG Switch renamed to MIG Flash
What is this trademark thing you lawyers are talking about? Waaaa!
Meanwhile, MIG Switch, although they haven’t been sued yet, have been in the crossfire of some lawsuits initiated by Nintendo against professional modding shops that were (among other things) reselling the MIG Switch products. It seems in the process, the migswitch.com domain name got seized, which at the time forced MIG Switch to move their site to migswitchru.com.
Demonstrating their poor understanding of the laws that govern the “.com” domain names, at the time they threw a tantrum of how Nintendo were unfairly attacking them. Showing that they still don’t get how this works, they have now renamed their product (and their website) to MIG Flash (migflash.com) in order to avoid any association with the Switch trademark. Their poor understanding of trademarks shows in their latest message on the topic, which is really tone deaf (we’re getting used to disingenuity from them at this point):
We become Mig Flash. Reason is again the powerful lobbying (corruption in most case) between large companies and lawmakers in certain powerful countries (we won’t give any name, everyone knows :).
For some reason, the word ‘Switch’ now can’t be used without the consent from the company Nintendo©. Even if it is just to explain a product is made for (or compatible with) a device made by another company.
To us, it is scandalous. But that is the way it is, and although we are not located in the USA, since they seem to control ICANN and a few other institutions we need to operate with, we decided to change our name to Mig Flash.
Please note there is no other change beside this cosmetic one. Product is the same and work the same, new or old.
Sorry about this, and we will keep bringing you good surprises in the future.
As I’ve mentioned back then, if the folks behind MIG Switch were truly Russian, they would get a domain name in .ru to avoid all of these legal shenanigans. the .com domain names being governed by US laws, they apparently chose to keep that nice little target on their back. I’m convinced that the name change will be used as evidence, to demonstrate attempts to avoid prosecution, when the lawsuit inevitably strikes. Just my opinion, of course.