9 ms·

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 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.
  - mikepurvis 6y ago
    It depends, though. In all likelihood it would end up thrown back on the consumer— "Did you use a licensed/approved/certified charger? Sounds like you need to take this up with whoever made the charger that fried our product." It might help resolve certain really common cases like compatibility between the chargers and devices of the mainstream entities. I guess I'd argue that that should be happening on its own, but Nintendo definitely dropped the ball with releasing a USB-C product in 2017 that was interoperable with Apple and other name-brand chargers which had been in existence for two years previously at that point.
    - dheera 6y ago
      The chargers that use standard plugs should also be made to support the standard or they should be held legally responsible. In this particular case I think even well-known name brand chargers which follow standards (Apple, Anker) are breaking the Nintendo, and that's unacceptable.
      - floatingatoll 6y ago
        Nintendo’s Switch plug happens to physically and electrically seem to accept USB-C charger connectors, but it’s not a USB-C plug, and the Switch should not be considered compatible just because it uses a similar plug. Nintendo should have taken more steps with their charger to restrict the Switch to authorized chargers only, rather than permitting unsupported chargers (such as standard USB-C ones) from being able to power it. Or even just outright used a proprietary connector! None of this is any fault of the chargers. They’re the ones adhering to the standards correctly. The Switch is at fault.
        danhor 6y ago
- jaypeg25 6y ago
  what about the switch pro controller? I'll sometimes charge it on whatever usb-c cable is nearby when I'm gaming and the controller starts to die. Is that OK?
  - danhor 6y ago
    The pro controller doesn't use PD, so there's very little risk to destroy anything with a somewhat compliant charger. (There are some out there that repurpose normal USB-A for higher voltages, but they're very rare)
- danhor 6y ago
  The Brick-Gate issue, where many switches where bricked, was not an issue with generic chargers, but specifically 3rd party docks. And, as it turns out, the issue in that case wasn't on the switch side, but the manufacturers of the 3rd party docks, that used 9v on a normal signal pin (cc) [very much not spec compliant], which destroyed the pd chip inside the switch: https://hackaday.com/2019/08/04/the-not-quite-usb-c-of-nintendo-switch-accessories/ https://hackaday.com/2019/08/04/the-not-quite-usb-c-of-ninte.... There have been few -if any- reports of switches being destroyed otherwise.
  - floatingatoll 6y ago
    That is excellent news!
  - ender341341 6y ago
    This is really good to hear. I hadn't heard this follow up and besides joysticks (going back to the n64 era) Nintendo's traditionally had an insanely good hardware QA so I was surprised to hear about the issues initially.
- hobofan 6y ago
  How are there multiple people here in the thread that say that the port on the Switch is not a USB-C port, when it says so in the official specs _right on their website_? https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs
  - floatingatoll 6y ago
    I think I'm wrong, honestly, given the two replies to my two comments on the matter. It's too late to edit them but I am upvoting those replies anyways! I do think there's still the matter of "Not all USB-PD adapters provide the specific electrical demands of a Switch or Switch Dock" to contend with — and that does tie back to the original article's point about USB-C being kind of a nightmare. EDIT: There are still reports of someone frying a Switch with an Apple USB-C power adapter (which is USB-C compliant), no dock or anything involved. Whatever else does or doesn't work, Nintendo won't cover damage under warranty if you used a third-party charger.
  - brigade 6y ago
    Probably a corruption of the fact that the protocol to get HDMI out of the Switch is a proprietary alt-mode, which is why standard docks and USB-C to HDMI adapters don't work. But USB-PD chargers are very much intended to work. The docks that do work generally reversed-engineered the proprietary protocol, and some have damaged Switches because they got details wrong.
    - ascagnel_ 6y ago
      The protocol to get video-out isn’t proprietary, just rare —they’re using Mobility DisplayPort from the Switch, and converting DP to HDMI in the dock. Of course, had they used the native HDMI side-channel (which I’m not sure had been finalized at the time), they would have been able to skip this step.
  - aspaceman 6y ago
    The port is USB-C but the power and data follow a custom protocol.
- vr46 6y ago
  They're not but the tech specs have the words USB-C right there. https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs/ https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs/ It is very annoying.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- martinve 6y ago
  I have been using Switch in both docked and handheld mode with my Thinkpad charger without any issues. Maybe I am the lucky one.
- qwerty456127 6y ago
  > The Switch and Switch Dock are not USB-C devices. Why? Why was it so hard for them to implement USB-C the proper way? Why were they allowed (and why did they want) to use patented USB-C plugs if they didn't want to actually implement USB-C? The only explanation I can come up with is they intended to earn money from repairing.
  - QuercusMax 6y ago
    Simpler than that - they don't want others to produce Switch-compliant accessories which compete with their own.
    - qwerty456127 6y ago
      Why use a standard connector then? Why not use a proprietary one? The USB-C connector itself is far from perfect and I can see no reason to use it if actual compatibility is not what you seek.
      - hobofan 6y ago
        Because with a standard connector they could use existing cheap suppliers for that part? And apparently one that was too cheap to properly implement the standard.
        qwerty456127 6y ago
        Why choose the USB-C connector standard then? There are many alternatives which can be cheaper, better and less confusing this way.
- Khaine 6y ago
  I thought it wasn't USB compliant, based on this google plus post[1] and hacker news discussion [2] If it is true that third party charging devices is fine, then that is great news. [1] https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/2CUPZ5yVTRT https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/2CUPZ5yV... [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16706803 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16706803
  - waterhouse 6y ago
    Archive link because Google Plus is dead: http://web.archive.org/web/20180330003039/https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/2CUPZ5yVTRT http://web.archive.org/web/20180330003039/https://plus.googl...
smarx007 6y ago
I am also a cheapskate but afraid of using noname power supplies and have been very happy with the HP charger that works on all my devices including a Macbook: https://www.amazon.ca/HP-3PN48UT-USB-C-Slim-Elitebook/dp/B07R8PCTQQ/ https://www.amazon.ca/HP-3PN48UT-USB-C-Slim-Elitebook/dp/B07... It even includes a handy USB-A port for non-USB-C cables.

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.
- mikepurvis 6y ago
  It depends, though. In all likelihood it would end up thrown back on the consumer— "Did you use a licensed/approved/certified charger? Sounds like you need to take this up with whoever made the charger that fried our product." It might help resolve certain really common cases like compatibility between the chargers and devices of the mainstream entities. I guess I'd argue that that should be happening on its own, but Nintendo definitely dropped the ball with releasing a USB-C product in 2017 that was interoperable with Apple and other name-brand chargers which had been in existence for two years previously at that point.
  - dheera 6y ago
    The chargers that use standard plugs should also be made to support the standard or they should be held legally responsible. In this particular case I think even well-known name brand chargers which follow standards (Apple, Anker) are breaking the Nintendo, and that's unacceptable.
    - floatingatoll 6y ago
      Nintendo’s Switch plug happens to physically and electrically seem to accept USB-C charger connectors, but it’s not a USB-C plug, and the Switch should not be considered compatible just because it uses a similar plug. Nintendo should have taken more steps with their charger to restrict the Switch to authorized chargers only, rather than permitting unsupported chargers (such as standard USB-C ones) from being able to power it. Or even just outright used a proprietary connector! None of this is any fault of the chargers. They’re the ones adhering to the standards correctly. The Switch is at fault.
      - danhor 6y ago
jaypeg25 6y ago
what about the switch pro controller? I'll sometimes charge it on whatever usb-c cable is nearby when I'm gaming and the controller starts to die. Is that OK?
- danhor 6y ago
  The pro controller doesn't use PD, so there's very little risk to destroy anything with a somewhat compliant charger. (There are some out there that repurpose normal USB-A for higher voltages, but they're very rare)
danhor 6y ago
The Brick-Gate issue, where many switches where bricked, was not an issue with generic chargers, but specifically 3rd party docks. And, as it turns out, the issue in that case wasn't on the switch side, but the manufacturers of the 3rd party docks, that used 9v on a normal signal pin (cc) [very much not spec compliant], which destroyed the pd chip inside the switch: https://hackaday.com/2019/08/04/the-not-quite-usb-c-of-nintendo-switch-accessories/ https://hackaday.com/2019/08/04/the-not-quite-usb-c-of-ninte.... There have been few -if any- reports of switches being destroyed otherwise.
- floatingatoll 6y ago
  That is excellent news!
- ender341341 6y ago
  This is really good to hear. I hadn't heard this follow up and besides joysticks (going back to the n64 era) Nintendo's traditionally had an insanely good hardware QA so I was surprised to hear about the issues initially.
hobofan 6y ago
How are there multiple people here in the thread that say that the port on the Switch is not a USB-C port, when it says so in the official specs _right on their website_? https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs
- floatingatoll 6y ago
  I think I'm wrong, honestly, given the two replies to my two comments on the matter. It's too late to edit them but I am upvoting those replies anyways! I do think there's still the matter of "Not all USB-PD adapters provide the specific electrical demands of a Switch or Switch Dock" to contend with — and that does tie back to the original article's point about USB-C being kind of a nightmare. EDIT: There are still reports of someone frying a Switch with an Apple USB-C power adapter (which is USB-C compliant), no dock or anything involved. Whatever else does or doesn't work, Nintendo won't cover damage under warranty if you used a third-party charger.
- brigade 6y ago
  Probably a corruption of the fact that the protocol to get HDMI out of the Switch is a proprietary alt-mode, which is why standard docks and USB-C to HDMI adapters don't work. But USB-PD chargers are very much intended to work. The docks that do work generally reversed-engineered the proprietary protocol, and some have damaged Switches because they got details wrong.
  - ascagnel_ 6y ago
    The protocol to get video-out isn’t proprietary, just rare —they’re using Mobility DisplayPort from the Switch, and converting DP to HDMI in the dock. Of course, had they used the native HDMI side-channel (which I’m not sure had been finalized at the time), they would have been able to skip this step.
- aspaceman 6y ago
  The port is USB-C but the power and data follow a custom protocol.
vr46 6y ago
They're not but the tech specs have the words USB-C right there. https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs/ https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs/ It is very annoying.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
martinve 6y ago
I have been using Switch in both docked and handheld mode with my Thinkpad charger without any issues. Maybe I am the lucky one.
qwerty456127 6y ago
> The Switch and Switch Dock are not USB-C devices. Why? Why was it so hard for them to implement USB-C the proper way? Why were they allowed (and why did they want) to use patented USB-C plugs if they didn't want to actually implement USB-C? The only explanation I can come up with is they intended to earn money from repairing.
- QuercusMax 6y ago
  Simpler than that - they don't want others to produce Switch-compliant accessories which compete with their own.
  - qwerty456127 6y ago
    Why use a standard connector then? Why not use a proprietary one? The USB-C connector itself is far from perfect and I can see no reason to use it if actual compatibility is not what you seek.
    - hobofan 6y ago
      Because with a standard connector they could use existing cheap suppliers for that part? And apparently one that was too cheap to properly implement the standard.
      - qwerty456127 6y ago
        Why choose the USB-C connector standard then? There are many alternatives which can be cheaper, better and less confusing this way.
Khaine 6y ago
I thought it wasn't USB compliant, based on this google plus post[1] and hacker news discussion [2] If it is true that third party charging devices is fine, then that is great news. [1] https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/2CUPZ5yVTRT https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/2CUPZ5yV... [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16706803 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16706803
- waterhouse 6y ago
  Archive link because Google Plus is dead: http://web.archive.org/web/20180330003039/https://plus.google.com/102612254593917101378/posts/2CUPZ5yVTRT http://web.archive.org/web/20180330003039/https://plus.googl...

smarx007 6y ago

I am also a cheapskate but afraid of using noname power supplies and have been very happy with the HP charger that works on all my devices including a Macbook: https://www.amazon.ca/HP-3PN48UT-USB-C-Slim-Elitebook/dp/B07R8PCTQQ/ https://www.amazon.ca/HP-3PN48UT-USB-C-Slim-Elitebook/dp/B07... It even includes a handy USB-A port for non-USB-C cables.