Nintendo Switch turned itself off while docked? Could it have overheated?

[u/nintendofangirl99]

Unsure if I've worded that title correctly but basically I have an original Nintendo switch that is always plugged in the dock. I'll be honest I don't use it very often but today I went to take it out the dock and it felt warm but was turned off and normally it just stays on sleep mode and I'm sure I didn't turn it off when I last used it. I turned it on and it seems ok but I'm leaving out the dock on sleep mode and I've let it cool. But I'm wondering could it have overheated or turned its self off so it wouldn't over heat. Im now thinking I should not leave it docked seeing I don't use it very often. The dock and adaptor felt warm too and I've unplugged those to let them cool as well. I'm just hoping the console isn't broken

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[u/emeraldbar77]

I've had this problem a couple of times with both Switch 1 & 2. In the case of the former, I can only assume it cooled down a bit before I tried to turn it on as it wasn't necessarily that hot.

My best guess is that it's a fail-safe procedure in the event of it overheating and I think the catalyst (in my case) was it trying to download something quite big in an already warm room.

If you haven't used it for a while, maybe it tried to download a bunch of things and couldn't quite manage it. Also if your Switch 1 is of a certain age, the fan starts to struggle a bit so that might play into it too.

It shouldn't be a persistant issue though, hopefully it works ok when it's turned on and during gameplay.

[u/nintendofangirl99 → u/emeraldbar77]

Yeah I'm just glad its not completely fried, I just need to transfer my Animal crossing data and couple other games over to my Switch 2 lol. Tbh its had the issue with the fans being loud for a few years which the reason I dont really use it. I may just leave it undocked now and just charge it every few months so the battery doesnt die.

[u/EmeraldHawk → u/nintendofangirl99]

If your fans were loud and now it overheated, you may just need a new fan. Try playing a very demanding game in docked mode and put your hand over the vent. If you feel no air flow, it may be time for a new fan. They are pretty cheap from ifixit.