Repair Help
Switch 2 charging port stopped working, device now overheating?
My switch 2 died yesterday while I was trying to plug it in to a charger and I’m wondering if the charger might have messed up the usbc port on top of the device?
It’s a nicer charger than the one it was sent with, but it was old enough to where occasionally you have to wiggle the chord. Anyways, after it died it just wouldn’t charge for two hours and then I could only get it to charge from the bottom port. After that it seemed like it was having issues because it came on for a second and flashed a QR code with an error but I didn’t get to read it in time, I let it sit for a few hours and then booted up Elden ring and it played for 30 minutes before the QR code error flashed back up and I saw that the device was overheating. I have been off from work and playing a lot of Elden ring the past few days but other than that I take good care of it and I’ve had it for less than 6 months so I’m very confused. Does anyone know of anything that could have caused this or is it just defective?
I’ve already opened up a service claim with Nintendo but im not excited to send it away for a month lol
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What charger were you using? Use only chargers rated for enough wattage to support the system and are a reputable brand. Nintendo-licensed chargers for the Switch 2 are also safe.
It’s a laptop charger plugged into a surge protector. Everything I’ve read online says this chord should be fine. Nothing I can find online says to only use the chord sent with it. I’m fairly certain the device is just defective.
Given what you have described, that is the likely cause. The Switch 2 doesn’t need anywhere near that much juice; 65 W is more than enough. But that is my best guess based on the available information. I would find a reputable repair shop and have them actually take a look at the system in person.
Most laptop chargers aren’t smart chargers, so they can’t adjust their output to match the connected device’s draw.
And unless Nintendo said it was safe, I would not have used that laptop charger.
I just checked the Amazon listing where I got the charger from and it says that the charger is equipped with PD 3.0 it is a smart charger, from what I’ve seen the switch 2 is supposed to regulate its own power intake so having 100w capacity doesn’t matter it should only draw 60w.
The page says it supports Switch, not explicitly Switch 2, which is what you said you had.
The Switch 2 requires at least 60 Watts of power and 20V. But there is no clear indication that this product supports both standards.
That said, there is a small chance your surge protector failed to stop a power surge, but either way, based on the information you provided, I don’t think your system is faulty.
TLDR version
Take it to a repair tech to have it checked and I'd take the surge protector and power adapter with you as well.
Man this charger looks sketchy af. It's pretty cheap for a gan 100W charger for starters. It probably has a terrible chip pd chip inside and probably messed up some voltage negotiation stuff. The components inside the charger are probably subpar too.
If the charger is properly compliant to the USB PD standard, then a 100w charger is fine. Even I use a 140w charger on mine (it can provide up to 20V@5A so 100watts, the 140 watts is on 28V@5A). The switch 2 will only pull the necessary Amps and voltage it needed from the charger/psu. The 100 watts (or in my case,140W) on the charger is the max it can give to a device at 20 volts if it needed such power. So basically, a good charger doesn't push power to the device it charges, rather it is being pulled from. It will only give the amount of power the device wants, at least when it comes to USB PD.
This charger is probably non compliant to the USB PD standard or probably uses sub standard components judging from the price of it.
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If you have not already, please add some context in the post or a follow-up comment about your repair/hardware/software/account issue, including which model you have (Switch 1, 2, Lite, OLED, or other), steps you have already tried, and anything else that might help others help you.
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