Common Nintendo Switch Problems and Solutions

Since its launch in 2017, the Nintendo Switch has become incredibly popular with serious and casual gamers alike. Lauded for its top-shelf games from Nintendo brands people love, the Switch isn’t going anywhere for a while.

But like any piece of new tech – especially one that invents an entirely new form factor – there are plenty of things that can go wrong. Outlined below are some of the top problems that owners encounter with their Nintendo Switch, plus solutions where appropriate.

Worried about encountering one or more of these common Nintendo Switch problems? An extended console warranty could be just what you’re looking for to keep you protected from all sorts of problems and defects, including accident protection from spills and drops (More on that later.)

Easily one of the most frustrating issues, Joy-Con controller drift is something many Switch owners have experienced. If your Joy-Con analog sticks seem to register phantom inputs, moving your cursor or character even when you’re not touching the sticks, then you have controller drift.

The Verge reports that the causes of this problem are unclear, but every model and version of the Switch console is affected – even the 2019 refresh.

The good news here is that Nintendo admits the issue and will repair malfunctioning Joy-Cons for free, regardless of warranty status.

The Switch can be used with your TV like other consoles, and it can also be used in handheld mode. But in handheld mode, some users have encountered a problem with dead pixels. A dead pixel is one that fails to change color and just stays black at all times.

Unfortunately, dead pixels are just a fact of life for LCD screens. Nintendo won’t do anything about a few dead pixels, which is a similar position to most other companies using LCD technology. (Now, if more than a handful of pixels die, that’s another story.)

If you plan to protect your Switch with an extended console warranty, contact the warranty company to find out their policy on dead pixels.

Some Switch owners report issues with their battery or battery indicators. One potential culprit is using 3rd-party chargers not approved by Nintendo, so it is recommended to not do that. Nintendo points out that there is an issue affecting the battery indicator, not the battery itself.

If your indicator seems to behave erratically but you can still get 3 to 4 hours of play time on a full charge, your battery is fine. Try the steps outlined here to reset the battery indicator.

If your battery isn’t lasting anywhere near that long, you may need a repair. Just remember that rechargeable batteries do lose some effectiveness over time. If your Switch is a couple years old, the battery may have degraded to around 80% of original capacity (so, 2 to 3 hours play time). This is considered normal.

If your battery problems aren’t what we’ve described above, then warranty coverage is your best bet for a solution.

A decent number of Switch owners have experienced cracks in the casing, often near the vents and power circuitry. The going theory is that this is related to heat, as the Switch can tend to get pretty hot, especially when docked.

The good news is that most of these cracks don’t affect performance or usability at all. But if they do begin to affect use, an Upsie extended console warranty will take care of them as either accidental damage or structural defect.

The Switch comes with a cradle or dock for use when outputting to your TV. But sliding the switch into this cradle puts a small amount of friction on the Switch’s LCD screen. If you’re not careful (or if your cradle gets dirty), you can scratch the LCD just by sliding the device into the cradle.

Of course, there are a dozen other ways to scratch the screen, too. Kids, pets, roommates and others might not treat your Switch as carefully as you would.

The solution here, besides being careful or applying a 3rd-party screen protector, is an extended warranty that provides screen and accidental damage coverage.

After all this talk about the Nintendo Switch problems, you might be feeling a little worried. But there’s good news: with an extended console warranty from Upsie, you don’t have to live in fear about encountering a big problem with your Nintendo Switch. For a very reasonable cost, you can protect your Nintendo Switch for 2 or even 3 years from all these threats:

Ready to protect your Switch? Get an extended warranty for Nintendo Switch today.