Table of Contents
Mig-Switch Flash Cartridge
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Flash cartridge Mig-Flash v.2 (Mig-Switch v.2)
The release of any Nintendo portable console has always been accompanied by the appearance of numerous flash cartridges. That's why it's surprising that the first such cartridge for Nintendo Switch appeared only after seven long years.
In 2024, the first flash cartridge for Nintendo Switch - Mig-Switch - went on sale.
Mig-Switch, like any flash cartridge, can be used both for piracy and legally, for example, to run ROM images of games copied from your original cartridges (specifically from cartridges - you cannot copy a game from eShop to this flash cartridge).
But using it for piracy is foolish, since Mig-Switch costs more than a modchip for Nintendo Switch and has far fewer features. Moreover, it will definitely lead to a ban if you use ROM images from the internet (without certificates and other things).
Therefore, only the second option remains - using it to run your own games. But here another problem arises. To dump a ROM image of your cartridge, you need either a modded console or a Mig-Switch Dumper.
In this article, we'll discuss both options and talk about their pros and cons.
Package Contents
Mig-Switch comes in a very beautiful but very small and strange box.
Frankly speaking, it's hard to even call this a box. It's just a cardboard wrapper around the flash cartridge.
And yes, nothing else is included in the package.
You can also separately purchase the Mig-Switch Dumper, which comes in a separate box.
And this is exactly the same strange wrapper.
Where to Buy?
You can buy Mig-Switch for Nintendo Switch on AliExpress.
But they won't work right out of the box. You'll need to purchase additional items.
For Mig-Switch:
1. Memory card (according to the developer, cards up to 1.5TB are supported, but I don't recommend getting more than 64-128GB);
2. Memory card reader.
For Mig-Switch Dumper:
1. USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable (any phone cable will work).
Setup
Since we'll be using Mig-Switch only legally, we need to start by updating the Mig-Switch Dumper firmware and creating a game dump (you can read about creating dumps later).
Go to the official website migflash.org and download the firmware file Version 1.1.8 (binary) and the Mig Updater program.
Extract all files. Connect the Mig-Switch Dumper to your computer and run the migupdater.exe program. This window will open:
First click the Check version button. If the version is lower than 1.1.8, it needs to be updated. For example, my Mig-Switch Dumper had firmware version 1.1.3 installed.
In Select drive, choose the drive labeled GameCard.
In the Select update file field, you need to select the firmware file (it's in the Version 1.1.8 (binary) firmware archive that you should have extracted earlier). The file is called update.s2.
Click the Update button and wait for completion. When the process is complete, this window will appear:
Now you can run the program again and check the firmware version (don't forget to select the reader in the first field again). It should now be 1.1.8.
At this stage, you can make your first dump of any original cartridge (see section: "How to Use Mig-Switch Dumper?").
Let's move on to updating the cartridge.
The first step is to format the Mig-Switch memory card to exFAT format.
Write the previously created game dump to the Mig-Switch memory card.
Run the flash cartridge on the console. After the game you wrote to the flash cartridge appears, you can turn off the console and remove the flash cartridge. Remove the memory card from it and insert it into your computer. There you'll find your game and a .nxindex file.
Open this file with Notepad and you'll see the cartridge version.
I initially had version 1.1.3. This means the flash cartridge needs to be updated. For this, we use the same file we used to update the Mig-Switch Dumper - Version 1.1.8 (binary).
Copy the update.s2 file to the root of the memory card.
Now we have three files there:
Insert the memory card into Mig-Switch, and then into the console. The cartridge itself will start blinking blue, and an error will appear on the console:
This is normal. The console really can't read the cartridge because it's currently being updated.
When the blue LED turns off, you need to remove the cartridge from the console and insert it back. Your game should launch. Now you can remove the memory card from the Mig-Switch flash cartridge again and check the .nxindex file. My file showed the new firmware version (1.1.8).
This completes the setup, and you can now play your games.
Mig-Switch
To start using Mig-Switch, you need to copy files to the cartridge's memory card. The folder name can be anything, but it must end with the ".xci" extension.
Inside each folder there should be five game files.
After this, you can insert the memory card into the cartridge and the Mig-Switch into the console.
Since the flash cartridge doesn't have any menu, all interaction with it essentially comes down to two actions:
1. Switching games - to switch games, you need to partially remove the cartridge and insert it back. A new game will appear.
2. Unlocking a game - after launching any game, it becomes "locked." You won't be able to switch to another game, and removing and reinserting the cartridge will always show that same game. This is so you don't have to search for the game you're playing each time. To disable this lock, remove the cartridge and insert it back. After a couple of moments, the green LED on the cartridge will light up. If you remove the cartridge at exactly this moment, the lock will be removed.
Since we're using dumps of our own games, we can safely update them (or download DLC) through eShop.
How to Use Mig-Switch Dumper?
Mig-Switch Dumper is a device for copying game files from a cartridge to a computer. It has two connectors: one for the cartridge and one for the cable (to connect to a computer).
After inserting the cartridge into Mig-Switch Dumper and connecting it to a computer, it will be recognized as a regular memory card or USB flash drive. There will be system files of the reader (System folder and 1.1.8 file) and game data (located in the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xci folder, in my case 17441139A20D9B1F.xci).
In the folder with your game (17441139A20D9B1F.xci) there will be five files:
ALL THESE FILES ARE NEEDED! If even one of these files is missing (or you mix them up and run them with another game), your console will be banned!!!
So just take THE ENTIRE 17441139A20D9B1F.xci folder and copy it to your hard drive. The folder itself can later be renamed, for example, to the name of the game - MetroidDread.xci (it should contain five files inside).
That's basically it. Mig-Switch Dumper has 100% completed its task. And you can start copying new games.
MigDumpTool
MigDumpTool is a homebrew application for modded Nintendo Switch consoles that allows dumping games just like Mig-Switch Dumper. Initially, this was the only way to make such game dumps, since Mig-Switch Dumper appeared on sale much later.
To run this application, you first need to download it from the official website Migflash.org. The current version is 0.0.2.
Then you need to write it to a memory card and run it using DBI. You will enter the menu (photo above).
There are three sections here:
1. Easy one click dump;
2. Output storage;
3. Advanced options.
Let's go in order.
If you select Easy one click dump, the game dumping process will begin.
After the dump is created, this window will appear:
Let's move to the next button. Output storage is where the game dump will be written.
Initially, there are two options available: writing to the console's memory card and writing directly to a computer.
But there is also a secret option. If you insert a card reader with a memory card into Nintendo Switch, a third option will appear.
I tried inserting a regular flash drive and nothing worked (despite the fact that DBI recognized and saw this flash drive). Why this option is only available for card readers, I don't know.
The option with the console's memory card is the simplest and most preferable. It literally requires no setup.
The option with connecting a card reader is not very complicated, but you need a card reader and an additional memory card, as well as an adapter for the USB Type-C port.
This option looks a bit strange. But perhaps it's intended for those who don't have a computer. You directly copy the game to the Mig-Switch memory card and can start playing immediately.
But the strangest option is writing directly to a computer. Initially, the developer's manual states that you need to use the NX Dump Tool host program on your computer. They even kindly provided a link to the NXdumpTool program (scroll down and click on the Assets button, download the archive nxdt_host.7z).
After downloading the program, it might seem that everything is very simple. There's literally one button Start Server and you can choose where the game dump will be made.
After clicking Start server, there's a request to connect Nintendo Switch with the nx dumptool program running (we're using the MigDumpTool program instead).
When you run this program on Nintendo Switch, there's a reciprocal request (to connect the console to a computer with the host program).
And when you connect these two lovebirds, you'll get absolutely nothing. I wasted an hour trying to figure out what was wrong. Eventually, I found information online that you need to use a third-party program Zadig to install drivers that will help them find each other.
Connect Nintendo Switch with the MigDumpTool program running to your computer.
Download the Zadig program from zadig.akeo.ie.
Run it. If you've connected Nintendo Switch to your computer (with MigDumpTool running), the Zadig program will immediately show nxdumptool.
If the window is empty, click Options - List All Devices.
Select nxdumptool.
In the small window, select libusbK (v3.1.0.0) and click Install Driver.
Wait for the process to complete. After seeing "The driver was installed successfully", you can run the NXDumpTool program. Immediately click Start server.
If you see the message "Client info: nxdumptool v0.0.2...", then everything is OK. You can start transferring the game dump to your computer.
And the last menu in the MigDumpTool program - advanced options.
Dump XCI - the main game file (without the unique data of your cartridge).
The other 4 sections are related to the unique data of your cartridge, various encryption codes, certificates, etc. We need all five files to run the game, so we don't disable anything.
Epilogue
The story with Mig-Switch turned out to be quite strange.
As practice shows, flash cartridges cannot compete with full-fledged custom firmware, as the latter provide a huge number of bonuses. Therefore, such cartridges are not particularly popular.
But in this case, everything was even worse.
The developers still notify all visitors to the site that this device should only be used legally. However, I think they're being very disingenuous, because at the time of Mig-Switch's appearance, it could only be used for piracy.
Mig-Switch Dumper simply didn't exist in nature, and to dump cartridges you needed to use a modded console. But if you already had a modded console, what's the point of using a flash cartridge?
Therefore, at that time, the most accessible way to use Mig-Switch was to run games downloaded from the internet.
