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Switch dock not working properly. Is there a way to fix it without having to buy a new one?


Anacybele
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So yeah, my Switch's dock stopped working right all of a sudden. The green light keeps blinking every second and a half or so. I've tried unplugging it for awhile and then plugging it back in (like 30+ seconds). The Switch itself doesn't properly charge if I plug the cable directly into it either.

But it still blinks and nothing appears on the TV screen when I dock the Switch. If I can't at least charge the Switch when the battery is low, I can't use it anymore. And a new dock is way too expensive. As far as I know, the cheapest I can get one is $90. Yeah. Completely overpriced.

So someone PLEASE tell me if there's a way to fix mine. I've read that I could possibly have to send it to Nintendo for a repair, but that they wipe your game data when they do this. I'm at the endgame of a FE Three Houses Blue Lions run. If that data is wiped now, then all that progress is completely gone! I also still haven't done everything I wanted in Hyrule Warriors or FE Warriors and there's a lot of content in those.

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Can you transfer your save data to a SD card?  The problem sounds like it's the Switch charging port, and that's definitely on Nintendo!

The alternative is to keep the Switch plugged in, finish the BL run, and THEN hand it over to Nintendo.

Sucks?  Yes.  Can it be helped?  Nope.

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1 minute ago, eclipse said:

Can you transfer your save data to a SD card?  The problem sounds like it's the Switch charging port, and that's definitely on Nintendo!

The alternative is to keep the Switch plugged in, finish the BL run, and THEN hand it over to Nintendo.

Sucks?  Yes.  Can it be helped?  Nope.

I don't have an SD card for the Switch, so no. I've tried to get one, but I keep only finding big expensive ones.

Well, I've had this dock for about three years now since I got my Switch at launch. Maybe it's just lived its lifespan too, and that's not totally on Nintendo. But we can't know for sure, so...

I don't want to try playing on the Switch's small screen though. My eyesight isn't the best for it because I'm farsighted and things on even this screen are a bit blurry or hard to see at times. This is pretty much the reason I've always preferred home console gaming over handheld, actually.

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1 minute ago, Anacybele said:

I don't have an SD card for the Switch, so no. I've tried to get one, but I keep only finding big expensive ones.

Well, I've had this dock for about three years now since I got my Switch at launch. Maybe it's just lived its lifespan too, and that's not totally on Nintendo. But we can't know for sure, so...

I don't want to try playing on the Switch's small screen though. My eyesight isn't the best for it because I'm farsighted and things on even this screen are a bit blurry or hard to see at times. This is pretty much the reason I've always preferred home console gaming over handheld, actually.

It's a microSD card, so as long as you're not getting something ridiculously huge, it shouldn't be too bad.  I think you can grab a 128GB card and it'll do its job.

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1 minute ago, eclipse said:

It's a microSD card, so as long as you're not getting something ridiculously huge, it shouldn't be too bad.  I think you can grab a 128GB card and it'll do its job.

The one Dcat linked is about $20... I don't know if I need THAT much space, but I guess it wouldn't hurt just in case. $20 isn't that much.

But then I also wonder how much it will cost to get the dock repaired by Nintendo. I highly doubt this thing is still under warranty after three years.

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Just now, Zemuria said:

A 32 GB micro SD card - which costs 10 $ at max - would be already enough for the file size of Three Houses

Except I have a lot more games than just that one. And like I said, I don't know how much I'd be paying Nintendo to repair the dock.

Edited by Anacybele
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6 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

But then I also wonder how much it will cost to get the dock repaired by Nintendo. I highly doubt this thing is still under warranty after three years.

Best thing to do is ask Nintendo before sending it in.  They should give you some sort of answer.  I suspect it'll be pretty cheap.

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2 minutes ago, Zemuria said:

System tells how much capacity of the Switch is taken, so accordingly the SD card must meet this size at least to transfer everything over.

Okay, but that still doesn't tell me how much Nintendo would make me pay to repair the dock, so I still have to find that out first.

1 minute ago, eclipse said:

Best thing to do is ask Nintendo before sending it in.  They should give you some sort of answer.  I suspect it'll be pretty cheap.

I should hope it is.

Edited by Anacybele
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Sorry for the double post, but it turns out a repair would cost me nearly $120. That's fucking ridiculous. Even buying a new dock is a lot cheaper than that. I guess I have no choice but to buy one now.

This still fucking sucks though. I just needed to point this out.

Edited by Anacybele
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17 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Sorry for the double post, but it turns out a repair would cost me nearly $120. That's fucking ridiculous. Even buying a new dock is a lot cheaper than that. I guess I have no choice but to buy one now.

This still fucking sucks though. I just needed to point this out.

Yes.  Yes, it does.  Maybe the Switch Lite, or whatever it's called?  But I'm not sure if it'll be any good, given your vision issues.

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Just now, eclipse said:

Yes.  Yes, it does.  Maybe the Switch Lite, or whatever it's called?  But I'm not sure if it'll be any good, given your vision issues.

Yeah, no. As cool as I think it is that the Switch Lite actually comes in my favorite color (turquoise), as well as my second favorite color (yellow), it would be hard to play games like FE that have small text and stuff on that little screen. And besides that, my Switch itself still works. I just can't use the dock or TV or charging cable.

Only problem is, anywhere I look for a new dock set either has it too expensive or out of stock. Mostly out of stock. How can nobody sell them anymore already? This console is only three years old and still going on very strong.

 

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3 hours ago, Anacybele said:

And besides that, my Switch itself still works. I just can't use the dock or TV or charging cable.

Not sure if you've tried it but, have you tried using another Switch Charging cable with the dock?

Because if the cable itself isn't working properly and providing enough charge, then the dock won't be sufficiently powerered enough for the Switch to dock.

5 hours ago, eclipse said:

Can you transfer your save data to a SD card?

Just a heads up: Do not get an SD card in the hopes of transferring Switch save files.

Save data for Switch games are never kept on an SD card, only on the system memory, and you can't transfer it to an SD card either. The only way* to transfer Switch saves is to either transfer them (and your profile) to another Switch system, or use Cloud Saves with Nintendo Switch Online (which certain tiles don't support - Pokémon Go can't, and I think Sword/Shield can't either).

*/Unless there's a homebrew way to do it, but I wouldn't know seeing as Switch homebrew isn't something I've looked into.

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@Anacybele

Like @Tactician_Iris said, you can't backup saves on an SD Card (system doesn't even have an option to move your saves and games around), so in this case buying an SD card won't do any good. You need the Switch Online Pass to backup saves on the cloud.

If the repairing and/or official replacement are too expensive for you (which I agree they are), then the only other option is to buy a 3rd party dock. There are several on Amazon but I can't vouch for any of them. If you decide to go that route you're on your own, I'm not taking any responsibility if something happens to your Switch after that.

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I would lay off on going for a third-party dock, though.

https://www.techradar.com/news/heres-why-nintendo-switch-third-party-docks-could-brick-your-console

The following is a snip of the article above, explaining how exactly some third-party docks would render the Nintendo Switch unplayable.

Quote

A Reddit engineer going by the name Vectordriver explains that the implementation of USB-C connections on third party docks could be frying the systems.

In an analysis of bricked Switch systems, Vectordriver notes that it's the Power Delivery (PD) chip that's being burnt out by gadgets from accessory makers like Nyko. 

The Switch’s chip can only handle a maximum of 6 volts on the Configuration Channel (CC) pin, but some Nyko docks send out 9 volts, causing the PD chips to malfunction and the console to stop charging altogether. Design flaws by other manufacturers see them trying to ape the design of Nintendo's USB-C plug, but inadvertently resulting in the 15 volt VBus pin crossing with the CC pin.

While Nintendo's unique design may mean that its PD controllers aren't working with standard PD chip compliancy, it's more likely that the third party docks are cutting corners with their own PD controllers, or are using poor quality USB-C connectors.

So unless that dock you're eyeing sends 6 volts or less, or is not manufactured in such a way that the VBus and CC pins don't cross, you're really better off buying a genuine Switch dock.

Oh, and here are a few FAQs on the matter: https://switchchargers.com/nintendo-switch-bricking-faq/

Edited by Karimlan
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6 hours ago, Tactician_Iris said:

Not sure if you've tried it but, have you tried using another Switch Charging cable with the dock?

Because if the cable itself isn't working properly and providing enough charge, then the dock won't be sufficiently powerered enough for the Switch to dock.

I don't have another one, no. But because the Switch doesn't charge even when it needs more battery, I should just get a new cable first and wait on buying a dock. The cable is at least part of the problem.

Thanks to those who brought it up for letting me know about that save file thing. I don't have Switch Online at the moment, so yeah.

As for third party docks, yeah, I read about the system bricking thing already, that's why I wasn't looking at those, but thanks for the warning.

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