Nintendo Switch Repairs (And PSA)
First, let me clarify, this is an isn’t about sending in my Nintendo Switch for repairs. Only part of it. I’ll explain.
So, remember a few weeks back how I had a power surge that blew my TV and other electric components? And how I said my Nintendo Switch had survived.
Well, it did but it didn’t.
I ended up replacing my TV with a larger PC monitor that had an extra HDMI input and speakers, so that I can plug in my Switch (or other HDMI device) and play on my monitor. My thought behind this was that though it’s not as large as a full TV, I honestly only used my TV for Netflix and gaming.
I could buy a nice monitor, which I use all the time, and do the same. So, I did. Maybe one day, I’ll get another TV. But for now, I’m happy with my choice.
Switch Sadness
When I got the monitor all set up, I tried to connect the Switch to it. I got no video.
I changed HDMI cords. No joy.
Took it to the old TV in the back and tried it there. Nothing.
Uh oh.
That’s when I noticed that the AC adapter was also not charging my Switch at all.
Double uh oh.
The system itself was fine, but something had blown the Switch dock or the AC adapter… or both. The other issue is that you can’t buy a replacement dock and AC adapter anywhere yet. They don’t go on sale until May 18.
And, I had no way to charge my slowly draining Switch since the AC adapter was dead.
AC Adapter PSA
I did some research and found that you can buy AC adapters on Amazon. I thought that if I did that, I could test to make sure nothing was wrong with the Switch itself — could it still charge? Also, I could test to see if the dock was busted or if it was just the adapter that needed replacing.
The particular AC adapter I bought said that it was compatible with the dock and could be used as a replacement adapter. So I picked it up and put it on fast shipping.
When I got the new adapter and plugged it in, I was relieved to see that my Switch was still charging. However, when I went to use it with the dock, I got nothing but this on my Switch screen:
Hm… that’s not what the description on the product said. I don’t often leave feedback on Amazon purchases but I did here… that’s a whole nother story, though.
Lesson Learned: You can only use the original AC adapter, or an official Nintendo brand replacement, with your Switch dock. 3rd party adapters may not work with the dock!
Nintendo Support
So, I had to get a hold of Nintendo Support. I tried going through their website, but every page that was supposed to take me to Switch support took me to a 404 or a dead end page. Instead, I ended up having to call them.
I really don’t like getting on the phone for any reason, but the guy at support was really nice. He did make me go through the troubleshooting steps, despite the fact I was already light years ahead of him on things like unplugging, rebooting, plugging things back in.
In the end, he opened a repair ticket for me, and asked me to send in my AC adapter and Switch dock. He said that the team is trying to expedite Switch repairs, so hopefully I’ll see it returned this week. I did get an email that told me that my components did arrive at their repair facility today. Hopefully they’ll just send me a new dock and adapter and be done with it.
I’d love it back in time to play Mario Kart, which is releasing next week. I’m not a fan of the idea of trying to play it on the hand held mode — this is part of the reason why I’ve also made no progress on Zelda lately. I much prefer to experience these on the bigger screen.
Crossing my fingers that all goes well! I want to get back on my Switch game again!