Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 crypto mining limiter has been hacked

The graphics card hasn’t even been out for a month, but the crypto mining limiter in the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 has already been beat. The irony of it all is Nvidia is the one to offer the hack on the card.

The company recently released a new driver for the GeForce RTX 3060 which allows the limiter to be shut down quite easily. In fact, it’s so easy that a caveman can do it (bad joke, I know).

Throughout the buildup to the release of the GeForce RTX 3060, Nvidia was adamant that the anti-mining algorithm couldn’t be compromised in any way. With what they said was a “handshake” between the driver, the BIOS, and the RTX 3060 silicon, end users weren’t going to be able to remove the limiter. Either Nvidia broke that handshake or their claims were never really true in the first place.

Nvidia sets its crypto mining limiter aside

This simple workaround requires a clean install of Nvidia’s GeForce 3070.5 Beta driver. With the driver installed, flashing the GPU with a hacked vBIOS will allegedly open up the card to full mining capability. The hacked vBIOS was built originally for the MSI GeForce RTX 3060, though it could work on different AIB cards. However, there are some reports that claim a modified vBIOS isn’t even necessary.

According to German outlet Hardwareluxx, the GeForce 3070.5 Beta driver is enough to remove the limiter. Right now, the only way to get access to the driver is being a member of the Nvidia Developer Program.

Even if, and when, Nvidia puts out a new driver to fix the problem, it’s going to be too late. There are certainly people out there with a GeForce RTX 3060 that simply won’t update the drivers again because they got what they wanted out of it. And if Nvidia removes the drivers so future consumers don’t download it, it won’t stop those who want the crypto mining limiter removed. Chances are, people have already saved the beta file locally and will offer it up online for those looking to remove the limiter.

Nvidia better hope that something like this doesn’t happen again when the RTX 3080 Ti launches later this spring. If it does, it could open another Pandora’s Box for the Santa Clara-based company.