Nintendo Switch Consoles Are Reportedly Warping When Docked (independent.co.uk)

When the Nintendo Switch was launched in early March, some users complained about dead or stuck pixels, which Nintendo later dismissed as being "normal." We're now approaching the one-month mark and some users are reporting that the console can warp when it's been docked for an extended period of gaming. The Independent reports: [Reddit] User _NSR has posted a picture of a bent Switch online, alongside a message reading, "The Nintendo Switch is starting to warp while only being in dock mode." _NSR expanded on the issue in further comments, explaining, "It does get very hot, considering how small the system is and it is outputting Breath of the Wild for long periods of time on a big screen, it may be too much for it to handle. I'm wondering if it being docked is the problem though, most of my time has been on the dock, and it has to work harder to output to a larger screen. Luckily it hasn't affected the way that it plays, the lack of disc drive is definitely a good thing here." Fellow Reddit users have offered multiple possible explanations for the warp, with battery issues and thermal expansion being suggested. Another Switch user, Magnaha23, backed up _NSR's claim, commenting, "I actually checked my Switch after seeing this. It's starting to do the exact same thing just not as bad as yours yet. I called Nintendo and got a repair set up in like 10 minutes. "I got a prepaid label for overnight shipping. Once they get it it takes a few days to process and repair. If they can repair the unit, which if the whole thing is warped they probably can't, they will send back. Otherwise, they will transfer my data over to a new unit and send that back. They said 6-8 business days once they get my Switch. We shall see..." Other people on the thread, however, say they haven't noticed any warping despite using it for lengthy gaming sessions while docked.

Comments

Re: Misreading titles is fun

[Kkloe]

I wonder what warp speed they can achieve

Be careful of your data

[PhunkySchtuff]

Be careful of your data. Other people have reported having to get their Switch repaired and their savegames getting wiped.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming...

Re: Be careful of your data

[LordKronos]

That's pointless advise, because there's no way to be careful with your data. You can't copy save games to a flash card, and there is no online save functionality either. So the person who is "careful" with their data is equally as susceptible as the person who doesn't give it a single thought.

Re: Be careful of your data

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly right. Nintendo is so concerned about save file hacking that they made it outright impossible to back up your save data, something that the humble, unpopular PC as well as every major console has been able to do for quite some time now. Judging by the people who have lost their save data sending the Switch in for repairs, Nintendo themselves can't even back the save data up. For a company that I usually associate with quality hardware at least, that's a mind-numbing, stupid design decision.

I think better advise at this point would be more like, "don't be an early adopter of a Nintendo product," as much as I know I'll be modded down by fanboys for saying it. There's ALWAYS a hardware revision of their mobile products...there's always several of them for that matter. They're not even necessarily backward-compatible with one another, though Nintendo does a good job of that in general. In either case, instead of hopping on the artificial shortage bandwagon and paying hundreds for a system that warps from excessive heat when its docked...maybe wait a year for the "XL" edition and all the hardware fixes to be rolled out, if you're that insistent.

Not too surprising

[wierd_w]

The console outputs fewer pixels in handheld mode (720p) than in docked mode (1080P), so the system SHOULD generate less heat.

ABS, which is most likely what the shell is made of, has a melting point someplace around 220C, but gets kinda flexible/bendy much lower than that. The heat of the system running balls to the walls for extended periods could well be sufficient for things to get saggier than titties at a 5th wave bra burning convention.

Sounds like there is a market for aftermarket clip on turbofan coolers, like there was for original build XBOX 360s. (the ones that got so hot due to poor ventilation design that they would spontaneously delaminate their surface mount chips.)

Better get that Nintendo seal of approval though. They are about as bitchy about aftermarket devices as Apple is.

Re:Not too surprising

[AmiMoJo]

People used to wrap their XBOX 360s in towels to make them fail and get them replaced under warranty until Microsoft sent them a properly fixed unit. Nintendo needs to be careful - if they just swap units out for identical ones which will fail in the same way the return rate could shoot up.

Re:Not too surprising

[_merlin]

Turbofans? Fans driven by turbines? And whatever the gas generator for the turbine is won't melt the console in ten seconds flat?

Re:Not too surprising

[drinkypoo]

ABS, which is most likely what the shell is made of, has a melting point someplace around 220C, but gets kinda flexible/bendy much lower than that.

Yes, and if your case design doesn't take into account what the material will do when hot, that's amateur hour. It's inexplicable, because Nintendo has in the past had some of the best case design in gaming.

Re:Not too surprising

[stealth_finger]

People used to wrap their XBOX 360s in towels to make them fail and get them replaced under warranty until Microsoft sent them a properly fixed unit. Nintendo needs to be careful - if they just swap units out for identical ones which will fail in the same way the return rate could shoot up.

That was also a temp cure after it had failed, wrap it up and let it run for a while and it got so hot the solder kinda reset itself then you could run it for a little bit before it gave you the red ring of doom again.

Re:Not too surprising

[jimbolauski]

The switch should have no problem with 1080p, it is using the Tegra X1 chip, which is capable of 4k at 60fps. Using 1/4 or an 1/8th of the GPU capability would not be causing overheating. I suspect something else, Nintendo released a patch a few days ago which seemed to fix frame rates dropping below 20, the details of the patch were "Adjustments have been made to make for a more pleasant gaming experience." so I can only speculate. My guess is that there were severe inefficiencies in how the GPU was rendering which the patch fixed causing the GPU to run much cooler.

Re: Not too surprising

[Bartles]

Either that or framerates were dropping due to thermal throttling. Maybe all Nintendo did was "fix it" by changing the throttling setpoints.

Re:Not too surprising

[wierd_w]

There is such a thing as an electric turbo fan.

Here, let me Google it for you.

https://www.google.com/#q=Elec...

Re: Not too surprising

[jeepies]

You're really jumping the gun based on editorialized title. There is one known instance of this ocurring. One! Out of millions of Nintendo Switches. Even if there are a handful of units that do this, it's certainly not wide spread.

Myself and a number of friends got a Switch on launch day. None of them are bent, scratched, or melted into a pile of good. None of them have wifi or joycon connection issues. And certainly that seems to be the case for most people.

While it sucks to be the guy to get a defective one, it does seem to be isolated. You can tell because this photo keeps getting reposted over and over, but never followed but a bunch of other people posting photos of theirs doing the same thing. It's a non story, and I'm sure Nintendo will fix/replace it.

Re:Not too surprising

[omnichad]

The number of pixels differs only by a factor of 2.25

This may not be true. If the docked mode uses Antialiasing (render larger, then scale down) and the handheld doesn't it could be a factor of 4 or more.

Re:Not too surprising

[DrXym]

I expect all the Switch does when docked is run at a higher clock rate. The extra heat combined with the confined space interfering with dissipation could potentially warp the case if the software is not monitoring the temperature properly and taking measures to avoid it. Maybe they can resolve the issue in firmware by cranking up the fan more aggressively. Maybe people are just stuck with the problem and it can be added to all the rest.

Re:Not too surprising

[Immerman]

Being capable of updating the screen at 4k and 60fps is a world apart from being able to render complex 3D scenes at that speed. The former just requires bandwidth, while the latter requires extensive processing power as well. Displaying a spreadsheet at 4k&60fps is nothing special.

 

Re: Not too surprising

[jimbolauski]

I wouldn't expect warping to occur so fast due to heat, the patch has been out for 4 days.

Re:Not too surprising

[Immerman]

True, but then Nintendo has never really dealt with high-performance components before, much less in a small form factor. I mean the N64 is probably about as close as they ever previously got to being "cutting edge. Performance-wise the Wii and Wii U were simply small incremental upgrades to the gamecube, in fact judged in comparison to the high-end consumer CPU and GPUs available at the time of their respective releases, you could even argue that they actually backslid.

Re:Not too surprising

[wonkey_monkey]

Isn't screen-space (i.e. not by oversampling) anti-aliasing the vogue these days?

I'm pretty sure that's what the Switch uses, anyway, both handheld and docked.

Re: Not too surprising

[wonkey_monkey]

There is one known instance of this ocurring. One!

In which case it miight just as easily be down to leaving the Switch where the Sun can shine on it.

Re:Not too surprising

[omnichad]

I think it's still done by oversampling, but limited to object edges to save computation. Which I'm not sure how that helps with texture aliasing, but this is not my area of expertise.

I do know that the original Wii (at least Super Mario Wii) had no anti-aliasing active at all, which is pretty sad for being a 480p console. The Wii U didn't seem to use it either.

Given that Nintendo doesn't use expensive graphics chips, it wouldn't surprise me if they would save computation by disabling it on the switch in handheld mode.

Re:Not too surprising

[EndlessNameless]

The switch should have no problem with 1080p, it is using the Tegra X1 chip, which is capable of 4k at 60fps.

This is so painfully wrong that I have to correct it. The Tegra has a hardware decoder that can handle 4K video. It specifically supports the H.265 and VP9 codecs, which are widely used for streaming.

I would be absolutely shocked if the Tegra can render 3D scenes at 4K and 60 Hz, given that high end desktop GPUs pulling 200W have trouble with it. In fact, the Tegra X1 has only 40% of the power of an outdated mid-level GeForce card. The Tegra X1 has 256 CUDA cores compared to the 640 cores in the GeForce 750 Ti.

And Nintendo's patch notes are so vague as to be meaningless. You can speculate on what they did all you want. But based on your gross misunderstanding of the SOC's capabilities, I do not assign much credibility to your speculation.

Re:Not too surprising

[EndlessNameless]

The Tegra X1 specs call for dual 4K @ 60 Hz outputs, but this applies to streams using H.265 and VP9 only. I assume he did not understand the specs.

Re:Not too surprising

[byornski]

It would either fix it or make it so broken that you could send it back :D

Re:Not too surprising

[_merlin]

If it isn't driven by a turbine, it isn't a turbofan. Words have meanings, yo. The "turbo-" prefix means "turbine-driven" as in turbojet (turbine-driven jet), turbofan (turbine-driven fan), turboshaft (gas turbine driving shaft output rather than generating trust like in a helicopter or ship), turboprop (turbine-driven propellor), turbogenerator (turbine-driven generator, like in a coal or nuclear powerplant), turbocharger (supercharger driven by a turbine in the exhaust), and so on. "Turbo-" has a specific meaning, it doesn't just mean "fast", "powerful" or "awesome". I hate this degeneration of the language.

Really?

[UncleRage]

I have no horse in this race; beyond setting up a RetroPie build that includes a few NES/SNES games, Nintendo hasn't been on my radar in over twenty years.

That said... A Reddit post from yesterday consisting of a "Hey, Reddit... look at this shit!" with a "Yeah, me too!" in the comments now constitutes a discussion on Slashdot? Is this really where we're going?

Fuck the signal, let's just pump noise! Good job, BeauHD.

Re:Really?

[telchine]

The word you are looking for in that sentence would probably be "warrants".

You're welcome.

No because that would change the context entirely. He's not saying that the post is warranting a discussion on Slashdot. He's suggesting that, on Slashdot, the bar set for a definition of "a discussion" is set so low as to include a post which consists only of a few "I agree posts".

Re:Really?

[bgrahambo]

This story is, unfortunately, making the rounds on the internet even though it was started by just one reddit post. If anyone had looked at the post in detail, they would see a couple more examples of user's switches with different degrees of slightly warped plastic, but there's plenty of skeptics who believe that it wasn't warped due to heat (and that the switch doesn't get hot enough for that), just that the initial mold injection process was flawed and the switches were always slightly warped and it just took awhile for someone to notice. It's a good enough explanation that everbody shouldn't just immediatly jump to the overheating conclusion until the matter is explored more thouroughly.

So you're saying...

[magusxxx]

The console is moving to the left? Or moving to the right? Which makes you impatiently move your hips. As you hold the unit out with both hands tight. And you give it to the repairman with a thrust As his confused look really drives you insane...

Had to sell it

[cerberusss]

I'm sure there are some problems but in general, the Switch is freaking awesome. I bought it with Zelda, and it's the first time in FIFTEEN years that I'm at work and then think to myself: "oh boy, in an hour or two I can go home and play Zelda!" It's that amazing.

I did have to sell it though. My RSI started acting up and I really really can't risk any problems since I'm self-employed. Damn shame.

Re:Had to sell it

[RogueyWon]

The Switch is an ergonomic nightmare. I've got mild RSI and I have to be very, very careful about using it undocked, or via the joycons attached to the grip. Fortunately, the Pro Controller, while expensive, is fine in terms of its ergonomics (though the lack of analogue shoulder triggers reduces its quality as a controller).

But the Switch itself is about as bad as you can get. In undocked mode, the control inputs are right on the very outer edge of the unit. If you have normal-sized hands, the only way to hold it is via "pinching" the edges. Your hand is entirely unsupported and will slip into a cramped posture by default. The same problem is also present with the joycons when using them undocked.

Modern video game controllers have "wings" for a reason, even though they are generally just hollow plastic. They fill the palm of your hand during play and prevent you from cramping up your hand. This is both more comfortable in immediate terms, and less likely to lead to problems with your hands over prolonged use. Nintendo have completely ignored two decades of ergonomic progress with the Switch. A lot of people will be happily using their units right now and not (yet) feeling any ill effects, but storing up all kinds of problems with their hands for later in life.

If you want to play Zelda, then go ahead. It's not really my cup of tea, but some people seem to like it a lot. But for the love of god, get a Pro Controller if you're going to do so. No game is worth inflicting long-term pain on yourself.

Re:Had to sell it

[aristofeles]

I'm sure there are some problems but in general, the Switch is freaking awesome. I bought it with Zelda, and it's the first time in FIFTEEN years that I'm at work and then think to myself: "oh boy, in an hour or two I can go home and play Zelda!" It's that amazing.

I did have to sell it though. My RSI started acting up and I really really can't risk any problems since I'm self-employed. Damn shame.

THIS! Last time I felt like this I was a teenager, playing Super Mario 64.

Re:Had to sell it

[stealth_finger]

I'm sure there are some problems but in general, the Switch is freaking awesome. I bought it with Zelda, and it's the first time in FIFTEEN years that I'm at work and then think to myself: "oh boy, in an hour or two I can go home and play Zelda!" It's that amazing.

I did have to sell it though. My RSI started acting up and I really really can't risk any problems since I'm self-employed. Damn shame.

THIS! Last time I felt like this I was a teenager, playing Super Mario 64.

I'm not sure but I think the N64 pad was designed with an Octopus in mind.

Re:Had to sell it

[jaymemaurice]

If I want to play Zelda on a TV, I found it was just as good* on the Wii-U with the pro-controller.

Re:Had to sell it

[PRMan]

Not really. The most immersive aspect of Zelda is in the JoyCons. Every different combination of weapon and what you hit with it has a different feel. Even the amount of contact changes it. The JoyCons IMO are the key to making Breath of the Wild so immersive.

Re:Had to sell it

[PRMan]

I'm 47 and I'm addicted to Breath of the Wild. But the last time I was like this wasn't that far back. Arkham City for me.

Re:Had to sell it

[GuB-42]

It is not the console, it's the game, and it is also available on the WiiU.
It is slightly less beautiful and slightly less fluid but it doesn't affect the gameplay.

As for RSI, I don't know how the Switch controllers compare to the WiiU controllers. Being the older system, you have more choice on the WiiU so it may be the better option.

Re: Misreading titles is fun

[Anonymous Coward]

The Federation requests that starships undock before attempting warp speed.

Nintendo, please read

[zifn4b]

I won't buy one of your new consoles until you fix the launch issues. These are design flaws and/or failure rate issues with parts from other distributors. If you want me to buy a Switch, fix it. I can play Breath of the Wild on the WiiU until then. Marketing spin doesn't make products better. k thx bai.

Re:Nintendo, please read

[PrescriptionWarning]

I'm sure Nintendo reps scan the internet all day for comments just like yours to motivate them to make you happy.

Re:Nintendo, please read

[zifn4b]

I'm sure Nintendo reps scan the internet all day for comments just like yours to motivate them to make you happy.

Excuse me? I thought Nintendo was trying to sell a product to try to compel me and other consumers to spend $300 for a console and then $60 a pop for each game. Did I miss something? It's my choice about what to spend my hard-earned money on. I have no obligation to buy anything and I do in fact vote with my wallet. If you can't grasp the concept then I feel very sorry for you.

Re:Nintendo, please read

[chispito]

I won't buy one of your new consoles until you fix the launch issues.

I fear they will manage without your sale keep them afloat.

Re:Nintendo, please read

[zifn4b]

Cause Nintendo just jumps on /. to listen to whining all day. You figured it out. Congrats.

Incorrect. You assume I care whether Nintendo reads this or not. I don't. I also don't give a shit what you think either. I have as much right to post here as you do. Quit being a thread shitter.

Re:Nintendo, please read

[DigiShaman]

Product rev 2.0 (or something might be due out in time for Christmas. Who knows, but I'm with you. The screen needs to be sourced for another vendor using current fab; near-guaranteed dead pixels for each unit on a 720p screen is not acceptable. In addition, the design flaws need to be addressed. There's so much rookie fail here at so many levels. Where was the QC and testing? How many product designs changes have they made? The product launch feels rushed and half-baked. Yeah, kinda pissed about it actually.

Re:Nintendo, please read

[chispito]

Did I miss something?

You missed the sarcasm. Completely.

Re:Nintendo, please read

[thegarbz]

These are design flaws

Shit if one random reddit post constitutes are design flaw then frankly we should go back to living off the land Amish style. Even then I'm sure some reddit idiot will comment on his butter churner not churning to his liking.

Adios, nintendo

[drinkypoo]

Nintendo built their reputation on quality. Now they're just throwing that away? You could beat all the old consoles and their controllers up all day and have them still work. What's this fragile garbage?

Re:Adios, nintendo

[thegarbz]

The core problem is people. Nintendo is suffering like a lot of corporations with quality control issues that are primarily caused by one post on reddit being considered as a representative sample of millions of users.

What's this fragile garbage?

To answer that you first need to submit to an MRI. Only then can we tell why the average person's brain is so fragile.

Re:Adios, nintendo

[ausekilis]

I'm no EE, but given that many NES's, SNES's and N64's are still working today, I'd say Nintendo did a pretty good job in designing a spec that was affordable and durable. Sure, there may be cheap components and some manufacturing issues that caused some to die prematurely, but that's always the case with any mass production.

What we are seeing here is a handful of units out of the thousands that have been sold. Like most things on the internet, a very vocal minority is speaking up.

Re:Adios, nintendo

[Waccoon]

This has been going on for a while. During the N64/Gamecube era, Nintendo had an impeccable reputation for build quality. You could literally throw a Gamecube out of a building window and it would survive. Then the Wii came out, and the system was suffering from flimsy construction, major overheating problems, and disc read errors (despite being built on conservative tech). At some point, they bowed to investor pressure and decided to stop making decent hardware, resulting in many QA issues despite not pushing any envelopes.

Even if the Switch puts Nintendo back on the map, they aren't what they used to be, which is a real shame.

Re:Adios, nintendo

[drinkypoo]

Yes, I would agree that the Wii was the point at which it all went downhill. I just don't know what they are thinking. Gamers are still mad about RRoD and Nintendo is pulling this low-quality crap? Some of the Wii peripherals were still built like tanks, too bad that didn't include the Wiimote itself.

Headline sounds a lot better

[Chrisq]

Nintendo Switch Consoles Are Reportedly Warping When Docked

The headline sounds a lot better if you replace "Nintendo Switch Consoles" with "Federation Starships

Federation Starships Are Reportedly Warping When Docked

Re:Headline sounds a lot better

[DontBeAMoran]

I hate to break it to you, but you're still in the holodeck.

Re:Headline sounds a lot better

[freeze128]

Picard: "The economics of the future are somewhat different."

Since people are no longer concerned with money, there is no need to hire bottom-dollar programmers. Programming is a matter of pride and self-advancement, so stupid mistakes don't happen as frequently as they do today.

Re: Misreading titles is fun

[HumanWiki]

That's nothing new. Consoles and PCs have been warping time and reality for decades.

Re: Misreading titles is fun

[puddingebola]

I was headed straight for this joke but you were already there when I arrived.

Bras and Sagging

[naubol]

... could well be sufficient for things to get saggier than titties at a 5th wave bra burning convention.

There is empirical evidence that bras actually increase sagginess.

Re: Misreading titles is fun

[Eloking]

I wonder what warp speed they can achieve

Funny,

Seriously though, is "warping" correct english? Because I don't get it.

Re:It's an HDMI cable, not a garden hose

[freeze128]

The GPU is doing more work to render 1080p on an external monitor than it is rendering 720p on the internal one. More work=more heat.

It gets warped and then what?

[fahrbot-bot]

Does the unit fail or keep working? If it keeps working as designed, then so what? Not being argumentative, just curious about the hubbub. Phone manufactures are working on curved phones, so why not a curved Switch?

Andecodtal at best

[jxander]

One instance does not constitute data.

That said, I do think Nintendo screwed up by making a lightweight tablet console. Nintendo consoles and peripherals have always been built sturdy. I grew up with an NES and SNES; the console and controllers were drop-tested thoroughly and never missed a beat. There are legends of people dropping TVs (full sized old CRT monstrosities) on their N64, and the console shrugged it off. My gamecube got kicked and tossed around, and never suffered for it. The Wii-motes came with protective sleeves, not for their own protection but for yours.

The fact that this story about a single bent console seems even reasonable ... that's a problem. People have reported scratched screens, joycons getting stuck, and the dock itself is absolute garbage: a nickel's-worth of cheap hollow plastic.

Nintendo skimped on build quality here, and they're paying the price.

Re:Andecodtal at best

[PRMan]

My Wii DVD drive failed, but it didn't matter that much since I had a Wii U already and I could play all the old games on there.

Re: Misreading titles is fun

[Lead Butthead]

That's nothing new. Consoles and PCs have been warping time and reality for decades.

That's nuttin', St. Jobs has warped reality for decades.
The residual field is still being felt years after he expired.

This is why i wait

[jediborg]

To buy the "NEW! Super Nintendo Switch Lite Color SP XL" that they will start selling in about 6 months. I bet you the dock for that model will have fans in it.