Console modding
Console modding guides for various consoles.
Last edited: April 20, 2026.
⚠️ Warning: I am not responsible for any potential bricks or bans that might occur from following these guides! Please always read the guides carefully and double-check everything to make sure you did not miss anything.
⚠️ Warning: Piracy is illegal and safety cannot be guaranteed! If you are going to resort to piracy, it is at your own risk. I am not responsible for malware or other consequences that might result from it. If security is a priority, stay away from piracy and buy the games from an official publisher.
❗ Important: I do not promote piracy! This is only for educational purposes and a reaction on the many harmful and poorly written guides on this topic. Please buy the games if you can, whether physically or digitally, to support the developers.
This article simply links to various guides that explain step-by-step how to mod or hack your console, whether that be installing custom firmware, homebrew or emulators. With it, you will be able to extend the capabilities of the device and will be able to do things like:
- Customize your HOME Menu with user-created themes and splash screens.
- Add support for third-party controllers.
- Install mods, cheats or patches for games.
- Backup, edit, and restore saves for games.
- Backup and/or restore owned or pirated games.
- Play out-of-region games.
- Play online using alternative networks.
- Install third-party software with homebrew.
- Install different operating systems like Android or Linux.
- Play games for older systems with various emulators (like RetroArch).
ℹ️ Note: Not all consoles will be able to do all of the things listed above, especially older consoles.
Many consoles will require something like a secondary device (preferably a Windows machine), a (micro)SD card (including a reader for it) or USB drive, and a USB cable capable of data transfer in order to properly (soft)mod it.
It is in my opinion not worth it to go out of your way and buy a console just to mod it, as a similarly priced computer is likely way more capable and you will always have the option to install an emulator anyway. This is mostly meant for consoles you already own, as it would be a waste to not use a console you own to its full potential.
# Links
❗ Important: None of these projects endorse piracy and they are not going to help you with it! Please refer to sites like Reddit or GBAtemp for such cases.
- ConsoleMods Wiki
- Hacks.Guide
- CFW Guide (only the DSi guide)
# Piracy
Recommended sites for downloading ROMs include r/ROMs Megathread, hShop, WiiUDownloader, and notUltraNX. Please also see "Game Piracy".
❗ Important: Avoid torrents! If you must use them (for the MiNERVA Archive for instance), please connect to a VPN first and make sure to bind the VPN to your BitTorrent client.
The guides listed above already cover ways to install game "backups" (pirated games in our case) for most consoles. For the Switch specifically though, you will need to install sigpatches (or simply install "sys-patch") and a game installer like Awoo Installer.