Ultimate guide to upgrade your firmware/Atmosphère (2025)

DO NOT UPDATE YOUR CONSOLE TO 20.0.0 UNTIL A NEW VERSION OF ATMOSPHÈRE BE RELEASED

Sometimes you need to upgrade your console, upgrade the firmware or upgrade Atmosphère, using the @l7777 's guide (https://gbatemp.net/threads/updating-hekate-atmosphere-and-hos.631739/) as base I hope to create a list of necessary steps to successful upgrade your console.

This guide uses Hekate, if you don't want to use Hekate skip the steps about it. You may loose some features.

Make a backup.​

Always make a full backup of your console, so if something goes wrong you have a know working restore point.

If you are going to update your SysNAND you can create a backup using Hekate's NYX, It's the easy way.

For your EmuNAND there are two paths:

• If your EmuNAND is RAW based, you can use a tool like EmuTool (EmuTool GitHub) to backup the RAW partition to a set of files on your PC. That backup can be used later to restore the RAW partition or you can convert your setup to File based EmuNAND using that files.
• If your EmuNAND is file based, making a backup is so easy as copying the SDMC:/emuMMC folder to your PC.

Also is advisable to backup all files on your SD Card, You can Use Hekate's UMS for that task, so you don't remove the SD from Console and avoid the problem associated to manipulating the SD card.

Preparation.​

Before you start the process you need some steps:

• Download latest Atmosphère files, download again from the GitHub repo no matters if you think you have it, sometimes the repo is silent updated.
• Download latest Hekate files, download again from the GitHub repo no matters if you think you have it, sometimes the repo is silent updated.
• Download latest Sigpatches from the GBATemp Thread no matters if you think you have the newest, they might be upgraded.
• Download latest Sys-Patch Sysmodule some people tells is redundant but is better be safe than sorry
• If you are going to upgrade your firmware, remove any theme you have installed! NX-Themeinstaller now have a option to remove all installed themes.
• You can get a legally acquired firmware files:
  • By example dumping them from another console using homebrew like: Switch Firmware Dumper, The most recent version can be downloaded from:
    • https://gbatemp.net/download/switch-firmware-dumper.38830/
    • https://gbatemp.net/download/switch-firmware-dumper.38829/ (Chinese language).
  • Or DBI
  • Also a search engine can help you to find a correct backup, by example Firmware 18.1.0 rebootless have an ID of e7e2b68

Starting the process.​

Restart your console to Hekate's NYX and load UMS tool, or remove the card and put on your PC, is up to you, Hakate may be a little bit slower but you do not risk physically your console.

• Delete SDMC:/atmosphere/contents or SDMC:/atmosphere/titles, you should have backed up this folder before.
• Delete the next folders, that's because the first time you load new Atmosphère that folders will emptied and that can take a lot of time so you could think your console got frozen, so in order to avoid that false alarm it's better to delete them before start console.
  • SDMC:/atmosphere/crash_reports
  • SDMC:/atmosphere/erpt_reports
  • SDMC:/atmosphere/fatal_reports
• If you had used INCOGNITO_RCM, is advisable to remove incognito from yours *NAND, having PRODINFO blanked via Incognito RCM can create problems on the new firmware/atmosphère versions.
• Extract Atmosphère zip file and copy to the root of your SD, overwrite all files.
• Edit your SDMC:/exosphere.ini file and add/change the next values to «1» in order to enable Atmosphère incognito on telemetry:

blank_prodinfo_sysmmc=1​

blank_prodinfo_emummc=1​

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[*]Enable DNSMiTM, by editing the SDMC:/atmosphere/config/system_settings.ini and be sure the parameter enable_dns_mitm have the value u8!0x1:​

[/LIST]​

enable_dns_mitm = u8!0x1​

Be sure you remove the «;» at start of the line.​

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Testing the console​

Put the card or turn off the console, then start your console as usual and let the HOS to load.​

If everything load fine you can now upgrade your firmware or go to next step.​

In order to upgrade your firmware, load Homebrew Loader (HBmenu) and run Daybreak. it's better to select «install (FAT32 + exFAT)» option, on this way if anytime you insert a SD card formatted on exFAT you will avoid an error. This option only install additional drivers but DO NOT modify your card. Be sure of select «Preserve settings» if you like to preserve your games and configuration.​

Your console will restart once the process end.​

Test your installed titles and verify some games to run OK.​

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Finishing the setup.​

After you know your console boots correctly and everything is fine now you can reinstall SYSMODULES, cheats, and modifications. you can choose restore them from your SDMC:/atmosphere/contents backup or I do recommend to look if there is any newer version.​

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Other common SYSmodules are, Emuiibo, Mission Control, FTPD, etc.​

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Remember to restart your console once you upgraded any SYSMODULE​

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Take a time and look for updated version of your Homebrew.​

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If you use themes look if there are new versions of NXThemesInstaller and the patches needed to install them, after update all components, reinstall your themes.​

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Important note for Mac Users:​

Macintosh OSes and IOS have a disgusting tendency to no adhere to standards so if you handle your card on a Mac, be sure to boot in to NYX and on tools tab select «Unset archive bit» AND «Fix archive bit - Nintendo»​

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More information about the upgrade process:​

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