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Mig Flash V2 shown working on Nintendo Switch 2 — could pave the way for Switch 1 games on latest console

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Just days after initial reports of them not working.

Nintendo switch 2 package
(Image credit: Bloomberg / Getty)

The MIG Flash (formerly MIG-Switch) flash cart has been demonstrated to be compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2, backed by a small teaser from the team at X and the official listing explicitly stating: "Compatible with Switch 2". The company hasn't detailed how they got the flash cart working despite initial failures, but a firmware update is the likely enabler.

The MIG Flash was unveiled last year, serving as a flash cart that allows Nintendo Switch owners to play game backups from a microSD card. It effectively cosplays as an official Nintendo Switch game cartridge, tricking the console into recognizing and running dumped ROMs stored on the microSD card. Though intended for legitimate owners to easily maintain personal game backups, or for aspiring game developers hoping to make games for the Switch 2, the MIG Flash has, one way or another, found its way into the hands of pirates as well.

While the MIG Flash was initially deemed incompatible at launch, it now seemingly works with the Switch 2, suggesting the team has somehow cracked Nintendo's built-in protections for the new system. In a recent demo on X, they managed to boot The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, directly from the MIG Flash, though the load time was painfully slow. Better yet, the company now advertises the MIG Flash V2 to be compatible with the Switch 2 on their official website, touting a seamless experience: "Simply plug & play!"

This was likely achieved through a firmware update, allowing it to circumvent new checks introduced by Nintendo for the Switch 2 that prevented it from booting or loading games previously. Still, don't expect it to run backups for Switch 2 games as dumping those ROMs is currently not possible, not to mention the illegality of such an act. There have been whispers of a userland exploit on the Switch 2, but its functionality and scope are extremely limited.

Let's address the elephant in the room. While the MIG Flash can theoretically enable pirates to play titles from the original Switch on Switch 2 hardware, it carries a very high risk of getting your console banned. Each Switch cartridge carries a unique identifier. Nintendo has sophisticated systems in place to detect if multiple consoles share the same cartridge ID and flag this as piracy, leading to an account ban, a console ban, or, at worst, a bricked console.

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Hassam Nasir
Hassam Nasir
Contributing Writer

Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • coolitic
    Last I checked, dumping ROMs is not strictly illegal in the US, if you aren't redistributing copies.

    If it was illegal, the product would've been taken down, on account of it having no legitimate legal usages.

    Hopefully Switch 2 emulation progresses quickly (and legally), as I have no intention of buying an entire Switch 2 console just to play Metroid Prime 4, especially when I already have a Steam Deck.
    Reply
  • wiscovitch
    coolitic said:
    Last I checked, dumping ROMs is not strictly illegal in the US, if you aren't redistributing copies.

    If it was illegal, the product would've been taken down, on account of it having no legitimate legal usages.

    Hopefully Switch 2 emulation progresses quickly (and legally), as I have no intention of buying an entire Switch 2 console just to play Metroid Prime 4, especially when I already have a Steam Deck.
    They will have an OG Switch version, but probably won't be as good as Switch 2 version (Although with emulation you can crank up res/fps).
    Reply
  • John Nemesh
    Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to just get a SteamDeck and emulate? No hacking required.
    Reply
  • wiscovitch
    John Nemesh said:
    Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to just get a SteamDeck and emulate? No hacking required.
    OG Switch emulation is pretty slick, but there's still little pain points that can be enough to drive you to official gear. I've got a 12c/24t AMD, 32GB RAM and a 3060 Ti and still get performance issues in some situations (Plus the shader compiling is super annoying).

    Plus while the Steamdeck (Day1 customer) is more flexible it's still only $50 cheaper than a Switch 2.

    All that is to say there isn't a perfect answer either way. Best solution would be Nintendo releasing first-party games on PC, but that's never gonna happen.
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    coolitic said:
    Last I checked, dumping ROMs is not strictly illegal in the US, if you aren't redistributing copies.

    If it was illegal, the product would've been taken down, on account of it having no legitimate legal usages.

    Hopefully Switch 2 emulation progresses quickly (and legally), as I have no intention of buying an entire Switch 2 console just to play Metroid Prime 4, especially when I already have a Steam Deck.
    The switch roms are encrypted and the decryption keys are IP, while dumping the roms might be legal to make them run you need to decrypt them with the keys and that's illegal because, even if you make the argument that you bough the game and it belongs to you, you do not own the keys.

    This is also what makes switch emulation illegal since the emulation would have to decrypt the roms as well.
    Reply
  • GrapTops
    I'm interested, but not about to gamble with the pricey new thing while Nintendo is actively threatening to brick consoles. I hope the techs keep working and get better, Nintendo won't improve without pressure.
    Reply
  • coolitic
    TerryLaze said:
    The switch roms are encrypted and the decryption keys are IP, while dumping the roms might be legal to make them run you need to decrypt them with the keys and that's illegal because, even if you make the argument that you bough the game and it belongs to you, you do not own the keys.

    This is also what makes switch emulation illegal since the emulation would have to decrypt the roms as well.
    Actually, Nintendo was only able to go after the Yuzu devs in court because one of the devs bragged about making optimizations for an unreleased game, which is an obv indication of piracy.

    Nintendo knows that the encryption argument is shaky in court, and that's why they didn't do anything until then.
    Reply