Earlier this month, Nintendo announced and released Alarmo, an alarm clock themed with sounds and pictures from some of the company’s fan-favorite video game franchises. And while only Nintendo Switch games are currently available as themes, a hacker has already found a way to run custom code on the Alarmo.
A user who goes by GaryOderNichts–who is known for his ability to reverse-engineer and hack the Wii U–demonstrated his Alarmo hack on X by showing the alarm clock using a picture of a cat instead of one of Nintendo’s chosen themes.
It’s possible to run custom code on the Nintendo Alarmo via USB – without opening it up!
More details in the blog post here: https://t.co/a0YBiwCVpj pic.twitter.com/NWJwHVvZcD
— Gary (@GaryOderNichts) October 30, 2024
GaryOderNichts also posted a lengthy explanation about how he pulled off the hack on his blog. The short version is that before he could get into the inner workings of the Alarmo, the firmware had to be decrypted and uploaded to an external USB. Removing the firmware file from the Alarmo allows users to get it to accept customized code via a USB. There may be limits as to what can be put on an Alarmo, since it wasn’t designed to play games. But this could be an important first step for allowing users to upload custom themes of their own, assuming Nintendo doesn’t find a way to prevent it from happening with future Alarmo firmware updates.
Alarmo is currently available through Nintendo stores and for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. However, the wide release of Alarmo won’t arrive until next year. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s new music app has already dropped. which gives fans something to listen to as we await word about the Switch 2.
