Introduction
A new, updated version of Android for the Nintendo Switch. Now based off of Android 10 (Q) (LineageOS 17.1 with Shield TV trees) it's faster, more responsive and has many new features over the previous release, including deep sleep and an Android TV build.
Features
Known Bugs:
Downloads
Hekate - Extract zip to root of SD Card.
ROM zip - choose one of these and extract to root of SD Card using 7-zip, not the built in windows extractor:
Flashable Zips, don't extract but instead install in TWRP:
Installing
OTA 12/02/2021:
Stay in touch
Discord: https://discord.gg/9d66FYg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/switchroot_org
Website: https://switchroot.org/
Sources
https://gitlab.com/switchroot/android
https://gitlab.com/switchroot
See manifest repo for build instructions.
Credits
Ave - Handling hosting of OTAs and the switchroot website. Check out her patreon!
CTCaer - Fixing a lot of things in the kernel - charging, dock, touch etc - and adding Android install support for nyx. Donate to his patreon here!
Langerhans - Figuring out the majority of stuff for deep sleep and helping massively with initial bringup.
Steel01 - Maintaining the Shield TV Lineage trees which ours are heavily based on.
Nvidia + Nintendo -
Everyone else who contributed!
A new, updated version of Android for the Nintendo Switch. Now based off of Android 10 (Q) (LineageOS 17.1 with Shield TV trees) it's faster, more responsive and has many new features over the previous release, including deep sleep and an Android TV build.
Features
- Android 10 based on Lineage 17.1
- Significantly improved UI smoothness compared to Oreo.
- OTA updates (bugfixes and new features without a reinstall).
- Deep sleep that can last for weeks compared to hours in the previous version.
- Full Joy-Con and Pro Controller support with analog sticks and rails.
- Hori Joy-Con support.
- Uses Joy-Con HOS Bluetooth paring data.
- Both Android TV and Android Tablet builds.
- Reworked fan profiles for quieter operation.
- Optimized dock support with resolution scaling.
- OTG support including DisplayPort or HDMI output (no power supply necessary).
- 3rd party dock/hub support including DisplayPort or HDMI output.
- Rewritten charging driver to properly support USB-PD.
- Optimized touch screen driver.
- Easier install via hekate partition tool.
- Reworked, simpler, power profiles.
- Much improved WiFi driver with less dropouts.
- Shield TV remote app support for easy docked control.
- Reboot to payload support.
- Improved Bluetooth accessory support.
- Auto rotation support.
Known Bugs:
- Shield games are broken, DO NOT BUY THEM.
- Joycons do not turn off in sleep automatically, make sure to turn them off by tapping the 'sync' button on side.
- Default keyboard can't be used with a controller.
- Some apps don't like the Joy-Con D-Pad.
Downloads
Hekate - Extract zip to root of SD Card.
ROM zip - choose one of these and extract to root of SD Card using 7-zip, not the built in windows extractor:
Tablet - Works best undocked and has the full Android app library.
Android TV - Provides a great docked and undocked experience for media but may not support all apps and games.
Flashable Zips, don't extract but instead install in TWRP:
Gapps - Use arm64 pico for tablet and arm64 tvmini for Android TV.
Alarm Disable Zip - disables alarms and notifications in sleep in order to dramatically improve sleep time and avoid some SoDs.
Xbox Joycon Layout Zip - Swaps a/b and x/y to match an xbox controller.
Installing
Changelog:What you will need:
Steps:
- An RCM exploitable Switch console. Check here to see if your device is exploitable. If you have a newer device an exploit may be possible on older firmwares, but if you haven't already set it up you probably updated to a too new version already. Read more here. (for non-RCM exploitable devices)
- A jig or other method of triggering RCM. Here's a few methods. Premade jigs can be found online.
- A computer.
- A good USB-C cable that can connect to your PC and Switch.
- A high quality, high speed microSD card of at least 16GB.
- A way to read microSD cards on your PC.
Updating:
- Be aware that if you have any previous Android Oreo installs on your SD card your old Android data will be wiped, so back it up. This cannot be avoided!
- If you have an existing Q install make sure it was created with hekate v5.5.3 or newer, anything else will have broken OTAs due to a missing MSC partition.
- Ensure your SD Card is FAT32 formatted, this guide will not work with EXFAT SD cards.
- Grab the files you want from the Download section and place on your SD. Extract only the hekate zip and the ROM zip once, use 7-zip, not the built in windows extractor.
- Overwrite any existing existing files and keep any flashable zips compressed.
- Boot into the normal switch firmware with your joycons docked to the console, this will pair them.
- Now boot your switch into hekate, dock your Joy-Cons and select the 'Nyx Options' menu then select 'Dump Joy-Con BT' in the top right.
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- Ensure the message looks as follows, if not then re-pair Joy-Cons in normal FW.
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- Now return to the hekate main menu and select 'Tools' then 'Partition SD Card' in the top right.
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- Drag the Android slider to assign the amount of space you want for Android, the HOS slider shows how much space the normal Switch OS can use.
- Now press next step, follow the instructions, if requested, backup your files with UMS to your PC and restore them afterwards with the UMS option.
- Select the 'Flash Android' option and follow the steps, then press continue to reboot to recovery.
- If you miss the opportunity to reboot to recovery go to 'More Configs' and select 'switchroot Android 10' while holding volume up, keep holding till the TWRP logo shows.
- Once you're in TWRP swipe the bar to allow modifications and press 'Install'.
- Press 'Select Storage' in the bottom right and choose 'Micro SD Card'
- First install the Lineage zip, ignore any errors that come up, they are expected.
- Then install any other zips you want to install, do not install zips meant for O, they will not work!
- After you're done installing zips, press reboot to system in TWRP.
- Enjoy your new Android install! To launch it in the future use the 'More Configs' -> 'switchroot Android 10' option in hekate.
- If setup gets stuck on voice detection go back to the wifi config page in the setup and select "Skip for now"
- Checkout the Tips & Tricks section below for some things to do.
- Updates will be pushed through OTAs and you will get a notification when they are available - just install through there. Your data will be unharmed.
OTA 12/02/2021:
- Fixes deep sleep crashes on most devices.
- Fixes BT audio lag and stutter in most apps.
- Fixes bluetooth crash issues that affected some devices.
- Fixes joycon LEDs not being turned off when docked.
- To enable Performance Mode and change resolution go to Settings -> Scroll Down -> System -> Scroll Down -> Display and Performance configuration.
- If you don't need notifications or alarms you should grab the alarm disable zip in downloads, it increases sleep time by several orders of magnitude.
- The Nvidia Shield TV app is a must have for docked usage, allowing keyboard and mouse control from a phone.
- If you don't set a password the switch will auto-unlock after being docked.
- The capture button on the Joy-Cons is mapped to Play/Pause media.
- You can enable desktop mode to have a slightly better docked experience by going to Developer Options and scrolling down to 'Force Desktop Mode' enable that and reboot.
- To see battery percentage on ATV follow this guide.
- If you want to use a controller to type on tablet then install this keyboard.
- To run tablet apps on ATV use this launcher.
- For root the latest magisk can be flashed in TWRP
- To transfer files to Android you can use MTP over USB.
Stay in touch
Discord: https://discord.gg/9d66FYg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/switchroot_org
Website: https://switchroot.org/
Sources
https://gitlab.com/switchroot/android
https://gitlab.com/switchroot
See manifest repo for build instructions.
Credits
Ave - Handling hosting of OTAs and the switchroot website. Check out her patreon!
CTCaer - Fixing a lot of things in the kernel - charging, dock, touch etc - and adding Android install support for nyx. Donate to his patreon here!
Langerhans - Figuring out the majority of stuff for deep sleep and helping massively with initial bringup.
Steel01 - Maintaining the Shield TV Lineage trees which ours are heavily based on.
Nvidia + Nintendo -

Everyone else who contributed!
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