If you don't dabble in Switch modding or anything like that, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about...
I shouldn't be worried that Nintendo can remotely brick my $500 console. For any reason. Or accidentally.
this post was submitted on 09 May 2025
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This kind of stuff should be highly illegal, regardless of supposed copyright arguments.
Nintendo can fuck off
Can't brick what I'm not gonna buy in the first place.
Seriously. I don't even glance at the titles I would've bought on a good day otherwise. Fuck all that.
So Nintendo just rapid firing bad PR now or what?
Bad PR isn't new for Nintendo
This is the same company that doesn't allow bad reviews on YouTube
They're just taking notes from the US tech companies.
Now ima hack my switch even harder
Worry not, Japan has terrible developers. Whatever system is in place likely has thousands of attack vectors to prevent it from ever happening.
It's because they all drink instead of going home at night.
Ahh, the life of a salaryman
Wasn't that already true?
Many of you live in a state with right to repair laws. If you are one of those people make sure you study what your local laws say you can do. Different areas have different laws, and some of you will have a lawyer begging to represent you for legal fees if you win....
We could also just not buy the new Switch
OK let's clarify it Nintendo, whose console it is really? Mine?
No, it’s theirs. You agree to be bricked when you buy it!
Your switch has always been in danger of being bricked if you mod it. This isn't new. You just don't go online with it.
Sure the risk of brick has already been there for self ignorance.
Not intentional malfeasance to destroy from the manufacturer
Edit: holy shit where did that word salad come from
intentional malfeasance
Just found a name for my band.
With small smile. That's pretty cool.
Huh?
Hacked switch has always had a risk of bricking from user error
.... Not from a company intentionally bricking
No. Nintendo will brick your switch if they notice it's modded. This is old news.
Is this news? I've been modding consoles for over a decade and this has always been part of it. Just because Nintendo has historically been really bad at it in the past doesn't mean this hasn't always been the name of the game.
Any benefit to even doing that rather than getting a Steam Deck and modding that?
I have both a v1 Switch I've home brewed and a Steam Deck OLED. I never really use the switch anymore
one reason I got a deck is long term it can work as a mini linux machine even when I upgrade to something better eventually.
Makes sense, the Steam Deck does give me UMPC vibes
Playing the handful of Switch 2 exclusive games.
The switch does play certain games better, switch 2 games won't emulate as well until a steamdeck 2 in assuming.
Imo not worth having the switch unless you like the small size and portability. Switch 2 is just stupid to me, too big and non-oled. It's not sure whether it wants to be a console or a handheld so it decided to just suck at both.
If I were getting into Switches, I'd get a Switch too. It's more powerful, so it'd probably run older games better, and new games will likely be Switch 2 exclusive, at least at some point. If I need portability on-the-go, I'd probably get a Switch Lite, which is available at extremely reasonable prices these days.
No one has reported anyone actually getting this as an update so likely they stealth updated this for switch 2 release
I think they've done this with the WIi? I think they've bricked mine the day I had it lol
They didn't have that ability at the time, if your wii bricked (in my experience) its because you installed bootmii over boot2 and didn't have a gamecube controller to control the device on that interface, leading you to believe it was a brick. I did that a few times back in the day.
Buggy code from Waninkoko bricked a lot of Wiis and PS3s back in the day. So, you could have followed the mod directions exactly and still bricked.
I don't think so as the Wii was considered unbackable.
The Wii's security systems are actually pretty tight. Nintendo made the mistake of assuming that their code had no security issues. (I don't think defense in depth was a thing yet)
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It has to do with their online services; not the switch itself.
There's nothing in here about bricking your console if you mod it.
This is clearly them saying they'll ban your switch from Nintendo Online services if they notice something fishy. If your Switch requires online services for something, that something may not work any longer.
It has to do with their online services; not the switch itself.
Just wrong
Literally from the terms:
"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."
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(9 replies)
Isn't the new switch internet tied? I thought the carriages for the Switch 2 were just digital licenses.
There are digital license versions from what I understand, and then there are full-fat versions. Unless something has changed.
That STILL doesn't make the "they'll brick your switch!" thing true. If the hardware can be hacked, then it's still usable.
"Bricked" has a very special, specific meaning - generally that the lowest level firmware is completely unworkable, and you cannot use the system at all - no screen, no buttons, no lights, nothing.
If you can fire the thing up, and it log into a network, and then tell you that you've been banned from Nintendo Online and refuse certain functionality -- You've been banned, not bricked.
They've long since done this, that's why the prevailing advice for those who could afford it was "Get one Switch for piracy and one for everything you want to do online"
I suppose they're just officially covering their bases in legal talk now
Yup. Anyone thinking this is even remotely new has never simply glanced at switch modding.
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