Context: logged on my Switch OLED a few days ago to find the error code 2124-4508. After some googling I found this was a ban from online services for breaking TOS. After speaking with Nintendo Customer Support, they confirmed this was a permanent ban from online services for fraudulent activity and asked for my proof of purchase. I provided proof of purchase, including the serial number of the device on the receipt. Nintendo accepted this and then informed me the fraud took place before I owned the device, however, the ban will not be lifted.
The device was bought from a reputable second hand seller (a company, not an individual) in the UK back in August 2022. I’m now having to go back to them to try get a refund/replacement. Nintendo have been no help at all, even after I pointed out the risk of me losing my save data as the save data transfer tool relies on Nintendo Online Services. I have also lost out on using Nintendo Online in the meantime (through no fault of my own) even though this is a service I’ve paid for. I’ve pointed out multiple times I am not the one who caused “financial damage”, nor am I risk to do so in future but they still will not lift the ban.
Nintendo say they have no responsibility to me as I’m not the original owner and have washed their hands of the matter, even though they’ve banned the device months after the fraud was committed. I’m incredibly disappointed in Nintendo as I’ve pointed out I’m arguably a victim in this as I am losing years worth of data (transferred from a previous switch) but there is no acknowledgement on their side.
I wanted to share as a warning for any other second hand switch owners.
Screenshot of email where Nintendo Customer Support confirm I am not the one who committed “fraudulent activity” but they are still upholding the ban:
[https://imgur.com/NnMfgR9](https://imgur.com/NnMfgR9)
EDIT FOR CLARITY:
The switch is not hacked/jailbroken, nor have I ever attempted to do so.
I get it’s weird the ban is so late, it was a shock to me to, exactly why I’m posting to let others know and I included proof of Nintendo admitting they know I’m the one who didn’t commit fraud.
I’m not asking for Nintendo to give me a new console or anything, I’m asking them to release the permanent ban on the console as they themselves admit I am the current legal owner and NOT the one who committed fraud.
Buying second hand doesn’t mean Nintendo has a right to ban me when they admit I’m not the one who broke TOS and I’ve proven I’m the legal owner.
SECOND EDIT:
Thank you for everyone for your support, I wasn’t expecting this post to get so much traction. Obviously some people do not believe me or say this is my fault, it’s the internet so that’s bound to happen. Nintendo have had proof of purchase from me including a receipt with the SERIAL NUMBER and a bank statement.
I have raised the case with their complaints department and am waiting a response. The seller has asked for more details of ban, such as dates, which I am waiting on Nintendo to provide as they would not at first. I do not know what the fraud is, just “fraudulent activity”. Nintendo have been pretty vague but as far as I know the device is not stolen, if it was I imagine they’d want to get the police involved. I have been a Nintendo customer since the original DS so I’m pretty upset by this, mainly due to their lack of care or unwillingness to help me with my data.
THIRD EDIT:
I forgot to mention in my original post that this is a Switch OLED, not an original. I have updated this now as there’s been a lot of talk about it being a hackable model and something to do with the serial number and versions. I don’t want a hacked switch, I use Nintendo Online a lot to play with friends. Nintendo have said my Nintendo Account is “active” but I’m most upset about the data loss. Even if I CAN get a new switch, my Animal Crossing and Pokémon data is tied to the old one and without the transfer save data tool, it’s stuck there.
Please feel free to share this around if you so wish. If anything comes out of my case, I want it to at least be a warning to others.
by maeday101
41 Comments
You’re probably not going to get a refund from the seller either, this is a shitty situation overall
Can’t believe they’re taking action months after they detected the activity? Can’t believe they even said you are innocent but then say they can’t do anything about the issue. You are 100% the victim in this situation :/
Bizarre that they ban the console and not just the account.
The risk of buying as is.
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This is why buying stuff secondhand is a risk, especially consoles or digital game codes for places like G2A or CDKeys
Sounds an awful lot like Ninty telling you to hack the shit out of it and download what you want instead.
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It looks like the “reputable” second hand seller didn’t properly test out the switch when they aquired it from the origional owner.. but here’s the thing.. they never do.. but honestly all console companies won’t unban a console that was banned. Regardless if the console changed hands.l
I’d keep calling Nintendo (call don’t chat or e-mail) and keep asking for managers or to discuss with higher positions. This really seems unacceptable from a customer service standpoint.
Edit: Be courteous but firm, and don’t be a dick. I spent 20 years doing customer support, and dicks got fuck all from me as a result, and I imagine that’s a standard lol.
The ban so late is the real problem here imo. Nintendo confirmed the offense happened before his purchase so OP is in no way in the wrong here.
One of the main reasons I never buy used or refurbished on most items. You just never know what the previous owner has done. Not worth the potential savings. My time is more valuable if/when an issue develops.
If the seller will allow, you could use the system data transfer. However if you have animal crossing you’re SOL as you need to download specific animal crossing data transfer.
CEX are notorious for selling dodgy and stolen goods.
It’s a good thing my Switch was only involved in arson, manslaughter, and jaywalking.
There is always risk in buying second hand. That sucks.
FYI this is the same for Xbox and PlayStation, there’s always a chance you’re buying a banned console second hand
This has been the case for second hand consoles for the past 15 years or more. There’s always the risk of buying a console that has been targeted for a ban or banned itself. Hell, you could buy a refurbished console and it could be banned as well (people used to return their banned consoles to the stores).
Your account should be fine (unless I’m misreading something here). So the only thing you’ll need to do is go back to the store where you bought it, tell them your NS was banned because of whatever the previous owner did (show them the nintendo email) and ask for a refund/replacement.
The only really stupid thing about the whole thing is that they have their transfer tool locked to their servers (which means your save files are gone unless you have a NSO subscription where you uploaded your data). There should be a way to transfer YOUR save files without internet. That’s some major DRM shenanigans.
I bought a WiiU from eBay several years back. I had to go up several chains at Nintendo to get the console unbanned so that I could utilize the app store. Explained “look, I don’t know what happened, but I have the receipts, and I’m sorry for whatever happened from the previous owner, but that has nothing to do with me.”
After about a month of correspondence, they actually did end up unbanning the console after seeing my receipts, checking how long it was offline prior to the sale, etc etc. It was wild.
Which would suggest it’s an exploitable serial, which makes it worth decent resale money.
Well that’s a little disconcerting. I bought a used Switch from a reseller and I hope this doesn’t happen to me (don’t have it yet, had to get it shipped)
I will never buy a used console ever again.
My last second hand consoles were a GameCube and a PSP.
I’m also buying physical for anything with any kind of longevity/replayability.
Not a fan of losing access to the things I’m buying with my money.
This will probably be buried but here’s some info on how a switch is identified and banned digitally. Every switch has it’s own unique identifiable certificate, this file can be extracted and swapped relatively easily on a jailbroken unit. In the very early days of switch piracy a cert file was used to directly download switch game install files using a windows program, these cert file were eventually banned within hours after nintendo caught on. Malware was also created to remotely upload and steal a cert file from jailbroken switches.
As such, it is possible for OP to have purchased a used switch that had a compromised certificate.
This can also apply to gamecarts as every cart also has a unique certificate that can be banned if the cart was used for a dump. So it’s possible (but incredibly unlikely) to buy a used game and have it be banned for online use.
I would be fully on Nintendo’s side if they had banned the console within a 3 month timeline of the fraud.
In this case you’re saying it has been banned AT LEAST 6 months after you bought it (and the fraud was before the system was ever traded in).
To me this is unacceptable. Especially with the charge of fraudulent activity.
I don’t expect you’ll get any actual relief, but I agree with you- Nintendo fucked up.
I really hope this policy runs a foul of some country’s laws and they get hammered for it. Complete scumbag move
Breaking news: a AAA game company doesn’t give a shit about you.
I mean, it’s no different from many other electronics that have unique identifiers for network connections. Laptops, cellphones, tablets, other gaming platforms, etc., can all be blacklisted due to theft/fraud, and only the original owner can do anything about it. That’s always been the gamble with second-hand purchases of this sort for a long time.
It’s the reseller’s responsibility to have a clause in place for stuff like this, not the manufacturer who blacklisted the device. In this case, Nintendo is doing what they should do, perfectly in line with common anti-theft practices.
Additionally, adding serial numbers, IMEIs, etc., to a blacklist doesn’t mean that that device will show as blacklisted, day one of entry. Most of the time, it goes to a backlogged department that handles the actual blacklisting process, as it has to be validated on another level, so, in the case of cellphones, in can be upwards of 6 months before it actually happens on a network level. For consoles and other devices, who knows?
Nintendo is probably the least consumer friendly company in gaming. And the competition is huge.
I like their products, but they can f off hard with their policies and practices.
Similar things happened to my husband 3DS. Nintendo? “🤷🏼♀️”. Such a piss off
“Necessary to prevent further financial damages to the disadvantage of Nintendo” – Nintendo, the multi-billion dollar company
Might as well hack it now. Fuck em.
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Remember in No Country For Old Men when Brolin’s character says “at what point would you stop looking for 10 million dollars?” Or whatever the amount was. That’s how I’d be here. At no point would I let Nintendo off the hook here.
Wtf is fraudulent switch activity?
Get on social media and gaslight Nintendo to the heavens for this. If you have a receipt and Nin confirms that the fraud was before that date then they look like ass. It also makes it obvious why the demonic clown troll who sold the device knew what they’d done and passed the problem onto someone else. While its shameful all around, this is the price of buying used hardware. A little credit to Nin is at least they talked to you, Sony probably would give you any info. Hope you can get some positive results
A refund should be given as its not fit for purpose.
I worked as a rep for Xbox Live 10 years ago. It’s not just Nintendo. Microsoft has various levels of “kill switches”.
First level is the profile.
When too many profiles have been banned on the same system, they permanently disable online features.
Finally, if they detect modding on the console, it gets bricked. Permanently.
I had a coworker who had to deal with a few customers who bought disabled or bricked systems from resellers. Microsoft will not lift the restrictions once they’ve been placed.
Fun fact! They also keep a dossier on every profile. Every dime you spent, game played, which systems it was loaded on, they know.
Shitty on Nintendo’s part, that’s for sure. On the other hand (and no offense meant to you OP), this is why I rarely ever buy anything secondhand unless I know the seller personally.
So basically their stance is to punish someone actually giving them money and potentially encouraging them to then use the system the only way possible now which is cracked and then not pay for shit anymore? Brilliant
Sounds like you need to take that up with The seller you said was reputable since he didn’t tell you it was banned before you purchased it, this should be what the receipt Is for.
Once they’re banned they do not remove it, it’s always been that way since 3ds etc They do not care who did it or what receipt you have, if it’s secondhand that’s not their problem.