After the first experiments shared earlier this year, the folks at Switchroot managed to publicly release the first Android ROM for the Nintendo Switch, with the additional help of LineageOS Tegra developers.

　　Unsurprisingly, it is based on the NVIDIA Shield TV, which shares the Tegra X1 chip with the Nintendo Switch. According to the Switchroot team, this is a 'powerful' Android experience that can be experienced in both handheld and docked mode, though of course there are still some bugs with this initial release.

　　The main draw of installing Android on your Nintendo Switch (which will have to be one of the earlier, hackable models) is, of course, to access many more applications and games. One is Netflix, though sadly as the device isn't officially recognized by the app you'll be stuck with 540p instead of 720p.

　　Additionally, with the LineageOS ROM you'll be able to play all kinds of Android games and even stream PC games through the likes of Moonlight, Steam Link, GeForce NOW and NVIDIA GameStream. Take a look below at examples like Overwatch, Tomb Raider, and Grand Theft Auto V.

　　Why wait for console ports? ? pic.twitter.com/efNeCJ0EAj

　　— switchroot (@switchroot_org) June 16, 2019

　　In case someone was wondering about GeForce Now pic.twitter.com/tKbK1kxbvc

　　— switchroot (@switchroot_org) June 16, 2019

　　? @Shadow_France @switchroot_org pic.twitter.com/4HfLKCEIkR

　　— Micode (@Micode) July 28, 2019

　　Downloads for the Switchroot LineageOS ROM are available on their official website.

　　Switchroot ROM installation instructions

　　Pick the image that corresponds to the size of your SD card. You can use an image that is smaller than your card. You’ll end up with the remaining space unused on your card.Write the image to your SD card with e.g. balenaEtcher Do not extract the image, Etcher can handle the compressed image just fine! WARNING: This will overwrite any contents on your card! The progress bar/percentage might go haywire in Etcher, but you can ignore that. The flashing will still work and Etcher will let you know when it’s done. It can take up to an hour depending on your SD card’s speed. Also make sure not to format any of the partitions when Windows prompts you to after flashing.Download GApps for Android 8.1. from OpenGApps, use ARM64. Put the file on the first partition of your new SD cardIf desired download the "Shield-ifier" zip and place it also on the SD card. This will make your Switch identify as Nvidia Shield TV and install the Nvidia app.Load hekate and boot to TWRP by holding VOL+ when you select the Android config.Make sure to mount /system first in TWRP. Flash GApps zip, optionally flash other zips. Also after installing GApps wipe cache/dalvik as offered by TWRP. Video that shows how to access and flash zips in TWRP: https://youtu.be/3F6WgAb44ykReboot to hekate and boot into AndroidComplete the inital setup. For the Nvidia app to work make sure to update it from Play Store!

　　Features

　　LineageOS 15.1 - Android 8.1 OreoBased on the Nvidia Shield TV treesTWRP pre-installedCPU and GPU performance profilesWorks in handheld and docked modeAudio is supportedJoycons connect via Bluetooth, also in handheld modeKnown bugs:

　　Deep sleep, so battery life is not greatAuto rotation as we haven't figured out how to talk to the sensor yetScreen off in dockCharging is not detected, but console still chargesSome apps don't handle joycon inputs correctlyThe touchscreen sometimes detects touches even when your finger is just floating over the screenThere is a system process ANR on boot. Just click „Wait“ and it won’t happen again until next bootScreenshots do not workWiFi may randomly stop working. If this happens just rebootIf TV looks odd and grainy when docking then redock a few times.No TV keyboard that can be used with gamepadSELinux is disabledYou can’t access the FAT32 partition of the SD card on macOS. Windows and Linux works.