How to Back Up and Restore Your EmuMMC (Partition-Based)

by

Your EmuMMC is the foundation of your modded Switch setup. If it ever gets corrupted, a failed update bricks something, or you just want a clean restore point, having a full backup means you can recover in minutes instead of starting over from scratch.

This guide covers how to back up and restore a partition-based EmuMMC using Hekate.

Important: Store your backup on your PC or an external drive — not just on the SD card. If your SD card fails, you’d lose both your EmuMMC and its backup.

What You’ll Need

  • A modded Nintendo Switch with a partition-based EmuMMC
  • Hekate bootloader
  • Enough free space on your SD card to temporarily hold the backup (roughly 29GB for a full NAND dump for V1/V2/Lite consoles, or 58gb for OLED)
  • A PC or external drive to store the backup long-term

Part 1: Backing Up Your EmuMMC

1. Open Hekate Tools

Launch Hekate and select Tools from the main menu.

2. Select Backup eMMC

Tap Backup eMMC.

3. Enable SD emuMMC Raw Partition

Tap SD emuMMC Raw Partition to switch it to ON. This tells Hekate to back up your EmuMMC partition instead of your SysNAND.

4. Back Up Boot0 & Boot1

Tap SD emuMMC Boot0 & Boot1. This backs up the critical boot partitions. It completes quickly.

Tap Close when finished.

5. Back Up RAW GPP

Tap SD emuMMC RAW GPP. This is the main NAND dump and is the large one — expect it to take around 10–15 minutes depending on your SD card speed. For reference, a Samsung Pro Plus completes in about 13 minutes.

Wait for it to finish completely.

6. Copy the Backup to Your PC

Access your SD card (either by removing it or mounting it through Hekate) and navigate to:

SD:/backup/<your console ID>

Copy the entire emummc folder to a safe location on your PC or external storage.

Part 2: Restoring Your EmuMMC

1. Place the Backup in the Restore Folder

Copy your emummc folder back to the SD card at this location:

SD:/backup/<your console ID>/restore/emummc/

Make sure the folder structure is correct — the emummc folder should be inside the restore folder.

2. Open Hekate Tools

Launch Hekate and select Tools from the main menu.

3. Select Restore eMMC

Tap Restore eMMC.

4. Enable SD emuMMC Raw Partition

Tap SD emuMMC Raw Partition to switch it to ON.

5. Restore Boot0 & Boot1

Tap SD emuMMC BOOT0 and BOOT1. A countdown warning will appear — press the power button to confirm and continue.

Tap Close when finished.

6. Restore RAW GPP

Tap SD emuMMC RAW GPP. Confirm the countdown warning again by pressing the power button. This is the larger restore and will take significantly longer than the boot partitions.

Wait for it to complete, and you’re done — your EmuMMC is restored to the state it was in when you made the backup.

Tips

  • Back up after initial setup — once your EmuMMC is configured with all your homebrew, settings, and games installed, make a backup. This gives you a perfect restore point.
  • Back up before major changes — updating Atmosphère, changing system settings, or installing new sigpatches are all good reasons to make a fresh backup first.
  • Label your backups — when you copy the emummc folder to your PC, rename it with the date (like emummc-backup-2026-04-02) so you know which backup is which.
  • SD card speed matters — a faster SD card significantly reduces backup and restore times.

Related Guides

Was this guide helpful? Consider donating to support our development of new content, software, and guides.

Support This Guide

Need a modchip installed? Place an order or learn how to ship your console.

Leave a Comment