: The warning is likely harmless—check if your extraction is working correctly. If not, verify your keys file is complete and up-to-date for your firmware version.
: If you are trying to decrypt a newer game or a system file from a higher firmware version than your dumped keys, you will get decryption failures. You need to dump fresh keys from a console updated to the same (or a higher) firmware version as the file you are trying to decrypt. The Lockpick_RCM payload is your tool for this. hactool prod.keys does not exist
When you run a command to decrypt a game file, hactool searches your local directories for a text file containing these cryptographic definitions. By default, it looks for a file named prod.keys (production keys). If that file is missing, misnamed, or placed in the wrong folder, the program halts and displays the error. Step 1: Dump Your Keys Legally : The warning is likely harmless—check if your
: Boot your Switch into RCM (Recovery Mode), inject the Hekate payload using a device or your computer, and then launch Hekate. You need to dump fresh keys from a
By default, hactool looks for prod.keys in:
One community member summed it up perfectly: "It's a harmless warning. Those keys exist in your prod.keys file but hactool has no use for them."
Without these keys, hactool cannot decrypt the encrypted data on Switch games or system files. When hactool cannot find the prod.keys file in the expected location, it throws the error: