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I charge my Switch with various USB PD chargers (mostly Anker but also Apple, Google and others) and haven't had a problem so far. I was trying to find some in

I charge my Switch with various USB PD chargers (mostly Anker but also Apple, Google and others) and haven't had a problem so far. I was trying to find some information about what would cause PD-compliant chargers to fry the Switch. It appears that while the switch is PD-compliant itself, they used a slightly non-standard connector that reduces tolerances and could, in some situations (most likely worn cables) cause some pins to electrically bridge and fry the port. To be honest, this doesn't seem like an issue with USB C, just Nintendo intentionally implementing it wrong. They should have either used a proprietary port for the docking mechanism rather than modifying USB C in an unsafe way then saying only to use their proprietary charger.

JAlexoid 6y ago
I found that Switch cannot use Apple's charger with the dock. It literally complains about the cable being wrong.
- ulucs 6y ago
  The dock is a special case and requires some specific voltage/amperage support. But the switch itself abides by EU regulations.
  - JAlexoid 6y ago
    65W Apple charger.... My Lenovo 65W USB-C charger had no issues at all.
    - novok 6y ago
      A USB-C PD brink specifies which voltage and amp combos it supports charging, and the one that the dock & switch ask for as their 'optimal' power profiles most apple USB-C bricks do not deliver, despite having the wattage capability for them.
    - univerio 6y ago
      The Switch dock requires the 15V PD profile, which the (old) 61W adapter from 2016 did not support, but the newer 61W adapter from 2018 does.
  - CamperBob2 6y ago
    Yeah, there's always a "special case" with USB-C, isn't there.
- floatingatoll 6y ago
  Which of Apple’s chargers? Each of them has different power capabilities.
- jonny_eh 6y ago
  There's this third party portable dock that can help https://www.genkithings.com/products/covert-dock https://www.genkithings.com/products/covert-dock
- ehsankia 6y ago
  That's a slightly different problem. Charging the device vs the dock working. I almost never used the dock, but I charge my device all the time with other USB-C cables.
mikepurvis 6y ago
I don't actually own a Switch, but my partner and I both charge our laptops (mine a Dell XPS, hers a MacBook) from the same after-market USB-C charging bricks. I don't love that it's like this, but basically the product page just lists every known-to-work device, including Nintendo Switch: https://www.amazon.ca/Charger-Adapter-Replacement-Thinkpad-MacBook/dp/B07SXH337S https://www.amazon.ca/Charger-Adapter-Replacement-Thinkpad-M... Now, I'm a cheapskate, so most of my electronics are older devices, and as a consequence we still also have various other cables kicking around— Lightning for both our iPhones and wireless earbuds, Micro USB for Kindle and PS4 controllers, even Mini USB for a few random devices. But as far as USB-C, I would attribute the current mess to growing pains. For a few more years, charger pages will explicit list the products they work with, and eventually it will settle down to a list of must-work-with products for all chargers, and any new products with be tested to ensure that they work in the same ways as one or more of the items on that list of known-working products. Didn't HDMI have pretty much this exact issue with EDID and other chaos, until everyone basically agreed that whatever Sony was doing was the right thing and they'd copy them? The main losers here are people trying to do new ground-up implementations, since they can't just work from the standard; they also need expensive consultants to tell them the precise subset of the standard is the actual part they can depend on. But for end users, the trend is toward an overall state of reasonable compatibility, with non-working devices quickly acquiring a reputation as such and being shunned out of the marketplace.
- floatingatoll 6y ago
  Word of warning, for those reading this far: The Switch and Switch Dock are not USB-C devices. That you’re able to plug in a USB-C charger or USB-C device and see it supposedly work just means that you haven’t yet encountered the scenario(s) that can electronically damage the Switch. Nintendo’s warranty does not cover this damage when it occurs, requiring a full-cost repair or replacement as you connected unlicensed and unauthorized hardware to it.
  - dheera 6y ago
    I wish there were legal protections around this. Using a standard plug means it should accept the standard for that plug.
Causality1 6y ago
The Switch is absolutely not PD compliant. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301015818/https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/2CUPZ5yVTRT https://web.archive.org/web/20190301015818/https://plus.goog...
Dylan16807 6y ago
> It appears that while the switch is PD-compliant itself, they used a slightly non-standard connector that reduces tolerances and could, in some situations (most likely worn cables) cause some pins to electrically bridge and fry the port. I'm pretty sure that's the dock that has a slightly nonstandard plug, not the switch itself.

JAlexoid 6y ago

I found that Switch cannot use Apple's charger with the dock. It literally complains about the cable being wrong.

ulucs 6y ago
The dock is a special case and requires some specific voltage/amperage support. But the switch itself abides by EU regulations.
- JAlexoid 6y ago
  65W Apple charger.... My Lenovo 65W USB-C charger had no issues at all.
  - novok 6y ago
    A USB-C PD brink specifies which voltage and amp combos it supports charging, and the one that the dock & switch ask for as their 'optimal' power profiles most apple USB-C bricks do not deliver, despite having the wattage capability for them.
  - univerio 6y ago
    The Switch dock requires the 15V PD profile, which the (old) 61W adapter from 2016 did not support, but the newer 61W adapter from 2018 does.
- CamperBob2 6y ago
  Yeah, there's always a "special case" with USB-C, isn't there.
floatingatoll 6y ago
Which of Apple’s chargers? Each of them has different power capabilities.
jonny_eh 6y ago
There's this third party portable dock that can help https://www.genkithings.com/products/covert-dock https://www.genkithings.com/products/covert-dock
ehsankia 6y ago
That's a slightly different problem. Charging the device vs the dock working. I almost never used the dock, but I charge my device all the time with other USB-C cables.

mikepurvis 6y ago

I don't actually own a Switch, but my partner and I both charge our laptops (mine a Dell XPS, hers a MacBook) from the same after-market USB-C charging bricks. I don't love that it's like this, but basically the product page just lists every known-to-work device, including Nintendo Switch: https://www.amazon.ca/Charger-Adapter-Replacement-Thinkpad-MacBook/dp/B07SXH337S https://www.amazon.ca/Charger-Adapter-Replacement-Thinkpad-M... Now, I'm a cheapskate, so most of my electronics are older devices, and as a consequence we still also have various other cables kicking around— Lightning for both our iPhones and wireless earbuds, Micro USB for Kindle and PS4 controllers, even Mini USB for a few random devices. But as far as USB-C, I would attribute the current mess to growing pains. For a few more years, charger pages will explicit list the products they work with, and eventually it will settle down to a list of must-work-with products for all chargers, and any new products with be tested to ensure that they work in the same ways as one or more of the items on that list of known-working products. Didn't HDMI have pretty much this exact issue with EDID and other chaos, until everyone basically agreed that whatever Sony was doing was the right thing and they'd copy them? The main losers here are people trying to do new ground-up implementations, since they can't just work from the standard; they also need expensive consultants to tell them the precise subset of the standard is the actual part they can depend on. But for end users, the trend is toward an overall state of reasonable compatibility, with non-working devices quickly acquiring a reputation as such and being shunned out of the marketplace.

floatingatoll 6y ago
Word of warning, for those reading this far: The Switch and Switch Dock are not USB-C devices. That you’re able to plug in a USB-C charger or USB-C device and see it supposedly work just means that you haven’t yet encountered the scenario(s) that can electronically damage the Switch. Nintendo’s warranty does not cover this damage when it occurs, requiring a full-cost repair or replacement as you connected unlicensed and unauthorized hardware to it.
- dheera 6y ago
  I wish there were legal protections around this. Using a standard plug means it should accept the standard for that plug.

Causality1 6y ago

The Switch is absolutely not PD compliant. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301015818/https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/2CUPZ5yVTRT https://web.archive.org/web/20190301015818/https://plus.goog...

Dylan16807 6y ago

> It appears that while the switch is PD-compliant itself, they used a slightly non-standard connector that reduces tolerances and could, in some situations (most likely worn cables) cause some pins to electrically bridge and fry the port. I'm pretty sure that's the dock that has a slightly nonstandard plug, not the switch itself.