Switch hacking group Switchroot will be releasing Android for the Switch in the next 5 days

[Master Disaster]

Switch hacking has gone from strength to strength, most recently we've had full blown Ubuntu, we've got retroarch, lakka and a list of homebrew so big I couldn't list it all even if I wanted to but the holy grail for lots of people is Android.

 

As the Nintendo Switch homebrew scene continues to develop at a rapid pace, one of the biggest feats has been the possibility of running Android OS on your Nintendo Switch console. Since the system runs on the Tegra X1 chipset, which coincidentally also powers the Nvidia Shield tablet, scene developers have decided to invest their time into getting a form of Android working on the Nintendo Switch. Back in June, we got our first major tease as to just what that would mean for the community, with amazing possibilities such as watching media apps not normally available on the Switch's OS, using it as a comic reader, playing mobile games and apps, getting solid performance in emulators like DraStic, or playing games through remote play

 

Hacking group Switchroot to the rescue, announced on Twitter the group hope to have Android out on switch within the next few days, albeit in beta form.

 

According to the team behind the project, they're looking at hopefully releasing their first public beta within the next five days. So, as excitement and anticipation builds, make sure to go grab an extra micro SD card, as the installation will require you to dedicate the entire contents of the micro SD to the installation. You can be certain that the moment the release drops, an informative news post here will quickly follow. For now, let us know what feature you're most excited to test out by using Android on your Switch!

 

Source - https://gbatemp.net/threads/switchroot-plans-to-release-android-on-the-nintendo-switch-within-the-next-five-days.544283/

 

*Insert It's Happening meme here*

 

I personally can't wait to try this out, the Switch is a good console but it's an amazing homebrew device and having access to a full suite of Android apps? Count me in.

[bcredeur97]

it would be funny if someone makes a switch emulator and it runs on android on a switch

[kelvinhall05]

42 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

it would be funny if someone makes a switch emulator and it runs on android on a switch

I mean, you can run Android on Linux on Android, so it's possible lol

[ZXR]

1 hour ago, Master Disaster said:

Switch hacking has gone from strength to strength, most recently we've had full blown Ubuntu, we've got retroarch, lakka and a list of homebrew so big I couldn't list it all even if I wanted to but the holy grail for lots of people is Android.

 

 

 

 

Hacking group Switchroot to the rescue, announced on Twitter the group hope to have Android out on switch within the next few days, albeit in beta form.

 

 

 

 

Source - https://gbatemp.net/threads/switchroot-plans-to-release-android-on-the-nintendo-switch-within-the-next-five-days.544283/

 

*Insert It's Happening meme here*

 

I personally can't wait to try this out, the Switch is a good console but it's an amazing homebrew device and having access to a full suite of Android apps? Count me in.

Maybe im being stupid but why android on the switch? isnt it better to use an android phone with a controller grip (e.g rog phone (expensive ik)). You get a better screen, batt life, etc?

[rcmaehl]

As someone who's in a discord with the SwitchRoot team, there's a LOT of caveats and features still MIA

 

• Only certain serial numbers are compatible
• Deep sleep is not implemented and full shutdown may re-require a bootloader payload
• Various other incomplete features, not fully functional features, and unknown bugs

It should be noted that this is an UNOFFICIAL Lineage release. Be ready to jump through a TON of hoops to get it working once and possibly all over again if you power the console off or the battery dies. This isn't for the faint of heart.

[The King of the Undead]

Just now, Zeddex said:

Maybe im being stupid but why android on the switch? isnt it better to use an android phone with a controller grip (e.g rog phone (expensive ik)). You get a better screen, batt life, etc?

mostly price. Also if you really like joycons or there pro-controller

[The King of the Undead]

1 minute ago, rcmaehl said:

As someone who's in a discord with the SwitchRoot team, there's a LOT of caveats and features still MIA

 

• Only certain serial numbers are compatible
• Deep sleep is not implemented and full shutdown may re-require a bootloader payload
• Various other incomplete features, not fully functional features, and unknown bugs

It should be noted that this is an UNOFFICIAL Lineage release. Be ready to jump through a TON of hoops to get it working once and possibly all over again if you power the console off or the battery dies. This isn't for the faint of heart.

wait could they make a gamecard of linux?

[ZXR]

2 minutes ago, will4623 said:

mostly price. Also if you really like joycons or there pro-controller

No offense, but does anyone really like the joycons over a proper grip (aka rog grip). Just curious

[kelvinhall05]

3 minutes ago, Zeddex said:

Maybe im being stupid but why android on the switch? isnt it better to use an android phone with a controller grip (e.g rog phone (expensive ik)). You get a better screen, batt life, etc?

1. It's cooler

2. I think you can still play Switch games, not sure tho

3. You can dock the Switch and use it as a desktop (at least with Ubuntu on it)

[ZXR]

1 minute ago, kelvinhall05 said:

1. It's cooler

2. I think you can still play Switch games, not sure tho

3. You can dock the Switch and use it as a desktop (at least with Ubuntu on it)

ahhh ok that is cool. Especially if you can play switch games, i might try it.

[The King of the Undead]

1 minute ago, Zeddex said:

No offense, but does anyone really like the joycons over a proper grip (aka rog grip). Just curious

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[That Franc]

Now let's wait for the HD2 community to come up with a Switch OS port.

[Levent]

1 hour ago, rcmaehl said:

• Only certain serial numbers are compatible
• Deep sleep is not implemented and full shutdown may re-require a bootloader payload
• Various other incomplete features, not fully functional features, and unknown bugs

is there a particular reason why it only works on some devices rather than all?

[Zando_]

1 hour ago, Zeddex said:

Maybe im being stupid but why android on the switch? isnt it better to use an android phone with a controller grip (e.g rog phone (expensive ik)). You get a better screen, batt life, etc?

I think a lot of the time it's just because you can. People love to tinker with their devices just to see what will run and what kind of goofy stuff you can do. I don't see a real reason to run Android on a Switch other than to mess around with it and see what the hardware can do. 

[rcmaehl]

7 minutes ago, Levent said:

is there a particular reason why it only works on some devices rather than all?

Because Nintendo found out about the exploit being used in the earlier models and patched it during manufacturing.

 

https://gbatemp.net/threads/switch-informations-by-serial-number-read-the-first-post-before-asking-questions.481215/

[Master Disaster]

2 hours ago, rcmaehl said:

As someone who's in a discord with the SwitchRoot team, there's a LOT of caveats and features still MIA

 

• Only certain serial numbers are compatible
• Deep sleep is not implemented and full shutdown may re-require a bootloader payload
• Various other incomplete features, not fully functional features, and unknown bugs

It should be noted that this is an UNOFFICIAL Lineage release. Be ready to jump through a TON of hoops to get it working once and possibly all over again if you power the console off or the battery dies. This isn't for the faint of heart.

My heart is strong, my knowledge is limited and my switch is ready.

 

Seriously though, I'm not scared of a little work or maintenance, in fact I enjoy it.

 

50 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

I think a lot of the time it's just because you can. People love to tinker with their devices just to see what will run and what kind of goofy stuff you can do. I don't see a real reason to run Android on a Switch other than to mess around with it and see what the hardware can do. 

Yep, that's it for me. I love understanding how things work and making them do things they weren't intended to do. I also love getting down into the nitty gritty, stuff like reading through config files looking for that one value that is stopping your idea from working.

 

It's so rewarding when you beat the software and get it doing what you want.

[Master Disaster]

54 minutes ago, rcmaehl said:

Because Nintendo found out about the exploit being used in the earlier models and patched it during manufacturing.

 

https://gbatemp.net/threads/switch-informations-by-serial-number-read-the-first-post-before-asking-questions.481215/

Well technically Nvidia patched it and afaik the exploit was known about in a different form long before the Switch launched.

[Zando_]

Just now, Master Disaster said:

Yep, that's it for me. I love understanding how things work and making them do things they weren't intended to do. I also love getting down into the nitty gritty, stuff like reading through config files looking for that one value that is stopping your idea from working.

 

It's so rewarding when you beat the software and get it doing what you want.

Hell yeah! I don't have the technical knowledge to do that, but I do enjoy tinkering with stuff. I've piled zillions of mods in games, investigated out of map glitches into areas not officially open yet (real curious boi hours), and on the hardware side I've pushed my X58 hardware to near the limit. Need to try and push it farther, I think I've got my RAM as fast as it'll go but the CPU can go higher. Similar to going through the config files, X58 has a lot of settings and there can be one multiplier holding you back. A lot of trial and error, but getting the perfect combo and a higher bench score is incredibly rewarding. 

[PlayStation 2]

Here's a throwback to anyone who had a PS3 before 2010: remember the "Install Other OS" feature?

[Master Disaster]

1 hour ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

Here's a throwback to anyone who had a PS3 before 2010: remember the "Install Other OS" feature?

Yellow Dog Linux

[BigDamn]

Sadly I don't see any real purpose for this. CFW's, Ubuntu, and Lakka all have purposes that make the Switch pretty damn cool. But Android? My phone already has it and will perform far better than the Switch.

 

That said, it's also pretty damn cool so I'm totally gonna try it. Running Windows 95 on my Wii back in the day also served no purpose, but boy was it damn cool.

[Salv8 (sam)]

i'm just waiting for an untethered exploit that doesn't require another device to homebrew my switch...

it's extremely annoying that you have to reapply it every time you reboot the switch.

also that fact that you have to dump my entire switch NAND says that switch hacking will be awhile before it's just: run an app, switch hacked!

seriously this guide goes over how to hack the switch: https://nh-server.github.io/switch-guide/

the amount of information that it goes over gets overwhelming very quickly...

[vanished]

Now let's see the opposite - switch os or whatever it is on normal phones.  Any semi-recent flagship has as much or more performance, and you already have it with you at all times anyway.  Sounds good to me.

[rcmaehl]

7 hours ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

Now let's see the opposite - switch os or whatever it is on normal phones.  Any semi-recent flagship has as much or more performance, and you already have it with you at all times anyway.  Sounds good to me.

Easiest device to port it to would be Nvidia shield. Switch OS assumes a lot about installed hardware (Tegra graphics).

 

Switch emulation on the other hand, probably will happen sooner than the OS.

[vorticalbox]

On 7/25/2019 at 3:03 PM, Levent said:

is there a particular reason why it only works on some devices rather than all?

Probably a hardware vulnerability Thats only exists on some chipsets.