I have owned a Switch since Feb. I have logged about 105 hours in BotW, and about 3 in Mario Odyssey. 98 percent of that time I have spent playing the device in handheld mode. The issue with the power cord happened a few days after I bought Odyssey. Being that Odyssey unlike BotW looks clearly much more fantastic in docked mode, I decided to play it on the big screen. 

To my surprise and disappointment my HDTV didn’t receive any signal from the docking station. After trying different solutions for the problem I decided to test the power cord on the tablet device in order to charge it. The Switch didn’t charge, so I tried using a spare USB-C cell phone charger and the tablet began to charge. I tried playing docked again with the cell phone charger but this time I got a message on the tablet's screen telling me that the docking station was receiving “insufficient power”  or something along those lines. 

Being that I have no patience for online shopping and the subsequent wait for the items to arrive; I drove my self to Walmart. I found the official Nintendo power cord for 32 dollars (expensive), but right beside it I saw Balckweb's (Walmart brand) own power cord for the Switch for just 14.99. I carefully read the specifications and found that both cords have the same voltage and specs. So I bought the cheapest one. I have been playing docked since (1 day). 

My questions are: has anyone’s official Nintendo Switch power cord died on them for no apparent reason? Has anyone’s Switch received damage from using a third party power cord?  

Nintendo has a rep for building Tonka tough hardware ( My N64 runs like a dream) and accessories but I am frankly disappointed at this situation especially since I barely used the power cord for anything other than charging the switch while it was off or on rest mode. There most have been a power fluctuation in the house or something while I was charging the switch the night before but my PS4 was also on at the time and it still works fine.

Sounds like you just got a faulty one. First time Ive heard about it, but that doesn't really mean much.lol

you're looking at such a small sample pool here on VGchartz that you're not really going to be getting a proper slice of the near 20m switch consoles sold, google suggests some people have had issues with them along with people bringing up the fact that a single youtuber suggested that 3rd party accessories can be programed to brick your Switch by Nintendo... I would take both with a grain of sensationalised salt.

Obviously things like older phone chargers won't work well with the Dock for the Switch as they generally don't give the same power, but I cheap phone charger next to my bed as my portable mode charger while my official one stays plugged into the dock, not had any issues with it and a few thousand hours of gaming.

The one thing I will say though, and this is true of all electronic devices, do not ever use your Switch console while you are charging it in handheld mode, the same goes for tablets and phones, the charging ports on these devices and the cable connectors are not designed to be used while you are flexing them back and forth and those charger ports/cables can easily be damaged if you are resting the systems weight on the cable on your chest or so while playing, generally plug the device in to charge, then when you're using it plug it out, doesn't matter so much nowadays if it hasn't charged fully, you'll do a whole lot more damage to a piece of equipment by using it while the cable is connected than you will charging it 50% then playing a few games then charging it again when you're done.

Very informative post. I agree I only charged the device on rest mode or when it was off. Again maybe I got a faulty one as the other poster said. The Walmart brand one has the same specs as the official one so perhaps it is safe for the dock long term. I do hope it lasts longer than the official one though.

I agree seems like I was just unlucky.

The cool thing is, more and more devices are using USB-C for charging now because of its quick charging ability compared to Micro USB so in the next few years those chargers will be cheaper and cheaper so if you get another year out of this one, by the time you're replacing it again you'll find the cost is down even more again.

If you look around now even you see cables (not the complete plug so you would still need a USB-C compatible charging port) for buttons on places like Amazon, https://www.amazon.co.uk/BrexLink-Certified-Charger-Charging-Nintendo-Gray/dp/B0722DMYTN/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1536037222&sr=8-4&keywords=switch+charging+cable 2 pack there for £7 would almost pick up a pack myself just to have one stuck onto my PC if I wanted to charge the Switch from that heh.

If it's working fine now in the dock it will likely work perfectly with it long term, my phone cable just immediately brings up that "this cable is trash" message if I try to use it with the dock, but does work for portable like I said.

Have mine since May last year, doesn't have any issues with the cord, but the joycons have the dust problems where the character just moves on its own, don't know how to clean it even after watching videos, but my daughter doesn't seem to be bothered by it so I guess it's fine, I'll just buy a new set if I get the chance.

if you google, "Nintendo Switch power cable issues" you'll find a few results for systems having problems, but it doesn't seem to be anything massively widespread, especially when keeping in mind there are 20million Switches out there and a lot of them are going to be in the hands of younger users who are likely to have tried such things as... chewing the cables or putting it into bowls of cereal to try to charge up their milk etc.

Might want to check in with Nintendo’s support forums. They may help on what third party products are tested and approved. I’m no expert but I believe the cable should be fine, it is more the adaptor/dock that has been giving people issues due to not regulating the current or something.

Speaking of bad luck. I got one of the Switches with a faulty screen where if you rage throw it into the fireplace then it will suffer dents and heat damage.

Yeah unlike the 3DS there are plenty of options with USB-C. Other than the power cord mishap I am quite happy with The Switch and my first two buys. BotW is everything the critics scores said it was and Mario is looking like my fave in the series since Mario 64. The portability is a huge plus since I have a toddler in the house I can't play on the TV as much as I used to.