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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Charging the Nintendo Switch

farlaff on 30 June 2017
torok said:

I would advise against using any cheap USB-C cable. It's a new standard and there are a lot of cheap cables outputting wrong currents and destroying electronics. Micro/mini USB is absolutely safe because it's an stabilished standard and the current is also lower. USB-C can charge a freaking notebook, so when a bad cable has a design issue, it's probably bye-bye Switch. In a few years, the USB-C situation will be figured out and everything will work as it should.

For now, it's better to stick to the default charger/cable or only use ones that came bundled with good electronic devices (like your phone). If you are using or buying a 3rd party cable, check on the web if it's good and safe.

Take a look at this article, it explains the situation and says how to get good cables and avoid damaging your devices: https://www.androidcentral.com/usb-c-problem-isnt-going-away-anytime-soon.

That's some good info. Thank you!



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VGPolyglot on 30 June 2017
Bristow9091 said:
I've never actually bought a second charger for my Switch, probably because I only really play it in docked mode anyway, and even if I'm in portable, I'm sat like 2ft away from the dock lol...

Yeah, I charge it myself by putting it into the dock. It works out well that way.



COKTOE on 30 June 2017

Try anything that fits the ports, and keep your face as close to the Switch as possible to make sure everything is working properly.



- "If you have the heart of a true winner, you can always get more pissed off than some other asshole."

farlaff on 01 July 2017
VGPolyglot said:
Bristow9091 said:
I've never actually bought a second charger for my Switch, probably because I only really play it in docked mode anyway, and even if I'm in portable, I'm sat like 2ft away from the dock lol...

Yeah, I charge it myself by putting it into the dock. It works out well that way.

But the AC Adapter that I lost is exactly the one that goes into the dock...



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nemo37 on 01 July 2017

It all depends on the power rating of the charger. If it is too low, then the Switch is not even going to let it charge. Although in some cases it will let you charge with the device in sleep mode or off but you will begin losing charge while playing and charging. If you charge with a charger that has similar power delivery to the Switch charger (or maybe even more) then you should not have any problems charging as well as charging and playing at the same time. I used the Motorola Turbopower charger (which has higher power delivery then that of the Switch) that came with my Moto Z for a while, and it worked fine. However, I stopped using it after hearing some horror stories on the internet about using USB-C chargers with devices not design for them. As such I would say if you are desperately in need of a charger try to look for one that meets the power specifications of the Switch charger (again the Moto Turbopower charger worked well for me, although it has a higher power rating than the Switch's charger, and it is fairly common); but, ideally, I think you should just get another Switch power adapter just to be on the safe side (in the end I just got another one, so that I can have one connected to the dock and one with me while I commute). Also, avoid cheap off-brand USB-C chargers, even if they do meet all the power delivery standards, I have heard more than a few stories where people ended up with dead devices because of badly designed cheap chargers.



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Fight-the-Streets on 01 July 2017

I have a third party AC-Adapter myself (from Speedlink, offically licensed by Nintendo), however it only works in mobilie mode, not when docked. If I use it docked, there's a beep sound and a message on the tablet that I don't use the original AC-Adapter and therefore it doesn't work. I got interested in the topic and did an internet research and the mutual conclusion was that this message will appear for virtually all non-orginal AC Adapters and that for the time being, only the original one should be used in dock mode.



farlaff on 01 July 2017
nemo37 said:
It all depends on the power rating of the charger. If it is too low, then the Switch is not even going to let it charge. Although in some cases it will let you charge with the device in sleep mode or off but you will begin losing charge while playing and charging. If you charge with a charger that has similar power delivery to the Switch charger (or maybe even more) then you should not have any problems charging as well as charging and playing at the same time. I used the Motorola Turbopower charger (which has higher power delivery then that of the Switch) that came with my Moto Z for a while, and it worked fine. However, I stopped using it after hearing some horror stories on the internet about using USB-C chargers with devices not design for them. As such I would say if you are desperately in need of a charger try to look for one that meets the power specifications of the Switch charger (again the Moto Turbopower charger worked well for me, although it has a higher power rating than the Switch's charger, and it is fairly common); but, ideally, I think you should just get another Switch power adapter just to be on the safe side (in the end I just got another one, so that I can have one connected to the dock and one with me while I commute). Also, avoid cheap off-brand USB-C chargers, even if they do meet all the power delivery standards, I have heard more than a few stories where people ended up with dead devices because of badly designed cheap chargers.

Hasn't your NS come with a separate C cable?



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farlaff on 01 July 2017
Fight-the-Streets said:
I have a third party AC-Adapter myself (from Speedlink, offically licensed by Nintendo), however it only works in mobilie mode, not when docked. If I use it docked, there's a beep sound and a message on the tablet that I don't use the original AC-Adapter and therefore it doesn't work. I got interested in the topic and did an internet research and the mutual conclusion was that this message will appear for virtually all non-orginal AC Adapters and that for the time being, only the original one should be used in dock mode.

So, no problems during mobile mode so far?



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Fight-the-Streets on 02 July 2017

No, mobile is no problem, from my research it seems virtually all third party AC-adapters work in mobile mode, although I would avoid self-made products from electronic shops.



d21lewis on 02 July 2017

I either use the dock or I use my Anker power bank. No issues, ever. My phone uses USB C, too. My bases are covered.