v3.1.0 — play-timer fixes, bedtime alarm, PIN check

v3.1.0 — play-timer fixes, bedtime alarm, launch PIN check.

Fixes for every open issue, a bedtime alarm, and a PlayTimerSettings layout confirmed by reversing the fw 22.5.0 pctl sysmodule (see docs/pctl-reverse-engineering.md).

Many thanks to @puppywang, who contributed the fixes and features in this release (#8).

Fixes

• The limit now applies right after writing it (#3, #6, #7). v3.0.0 unlocked parental controls temporarily (cmd 1201) and never re-locked them. Every write now ends with cmd 1007 RevertRestrictionTemporaryUnlocked. The "Turn off & write" prompt is gone.
• The timer counts down on offline consoles (#2). pctl only enables the timer when the NetworkSystemClock is valid, and a console that can't reach Nintendo never sets it. The app now detects this at launch and offers to set the network clock from the system clock. The main menu has the same option.
• Error 0x1088E when writing (#5). This is pctl's "no PIN registered" result. A PIN is now required before any play-timer write; without one, pctl silently discards the settings anyway.
• Removing the limit goes through the same guarded write. In v3.0.0, removing it while the "time's up" screen was up could crash Atmosphère.
• Per-day editor: a day can be set back to "no limit".
• Play-timer reads and writes are refused below fw 21.0.0, where the struct has a different size.
• Fixed a start-up crash on fw 22.x. borealis rejects the multiline Label attribute, and the uncaught exception left its task thread running after exit (2168-0001).

New

• Bedtime alarm (#4). Set a start time and the next-morning end time, applied to every day. The app reads the values back through pctl's own getters to confirm the write.
• When time is up: suspend the software (default) or notify only.
• Launch-time PIN check. The tool can lift every restriction, so it now asks for the console's parental-control PIN first.
• Diagnostic report. A read-only dump of firmware, clocks, the raw and decoded settings, and the bedtime getters is saved to sd:/switch/nx_pctl_dump.txt.
• Logs on the SD card. Writes go to sd:/switch/nx_pctl_manager.log and borealis output to sd:/switch/nx_pctl_borealis.log.
• Simplified Chinese translation.
• The PROBE build option was removed. Its diagnostic dump is now always available.

Tested on fw 22.5.0 / Atmosphère 1.12.0 (emuMMC).

Before you upgrade

• Firmware 21.0.0 or newer is required for the play-timer features.
• A parental-control PIN is required to write any play-time setting, and the app asks for it at launch. It can no longer be used to recover a forgotten PIN.
• Offline consoles: accept the prompt to set the network clock, or the timer won't count down.

See CHANGELOG.md for the full history.

Install

Drop nx_pctl_manager.nro into /switch/ on the SD card and launch it from hbmenu. Or download nx_pctl_manager.zip and unzip it onto the SD card root (it places the .nro into /switch/ for you).

v3.0.0 — borealis UI rewrite

v3.0.0 — UI rewrite onto borealis (Horizon-system-style graphical UI).

Same features as v2.x — every action and flow maps one-to-one to the v2 menus, verified on real hardware (fw 22.1.0 / Atmosphère 1.11.1).

What's new

• Main menu and sub-menus rendered via borealis (Apache-2.0): rounded cards, focus animations, native footer button hints, auto dark/light theme.
• Hbmenu launcher label and in-app title are now "Pctl Manager" (the repo / package name NX-Pctl-Manager is unchanged).

What's unchanged

• All pctl actions: set / change PIN, delete all parental controls, unlink companion app, and the play-timer flows (daily limit, per-day staging + Save, remove play-time limit) — including the write-before-temporary-unlock gate that turns parental controls off briefly when the timer is active.
• Tested on firmware 22.1.0 / Atmosphère 1.11.1.

Size

.nro grew from 265 KB → ~8.2 MB (borealis library + Material icon font + built-in widget resources).

See CHANGELOG.md for the full breakdown.

Install

Drop nx_pctl_manager.nro into /switch/ on the SD card and launch it from hbmenu. Or download nx_pctl_manager.zip and unzip it onto the SD card root (it places the .nro into /switch/ for you).

NX-Pctl-Manager v2.0.0

Offline Nintendo Switch parental-controls tool — set the daily play-time limit, change / delete the PIN, unlink the companion app, and view status, all directly on the console. Requires CFW (Atmosphère recommended). It doesn't bypass any account or online check; it just brings the parental-controls settings that are otherwise buried in the phone app onto the console, offline.

Verified on fw 22.1.0 / Atmosphère 1.11.1.

Install

Drop nx_pctl_manager.nro into /switch/ on the SD card and launch it from hbmenu. (Or unzip nx_pctl_manager.zip straight onto the SD card root — same thing.)