Topic: Switch Console Battery Issues?

[Seacor]

Anyone else experiencing battery issues with the Switch console?  I am trying to figure out if I have a defective battery.  I having some odd intermittent issues with charge levels and playtime.

• I left the console plugged in to A/C power, but turned it off (held down power button for a few seconds and chose "Turn off."  Multiple hours later when I turned the switch back on the battery was at 74% charge.  So, it stopped charging for some reason.
• I completely charged my switch to 100% battery charge, turned it off (held down power button for a few seconds and chose "Turn off," and unplugged it from A/C power. 10 hours later when I turned it back on it was at 67%. It didn't hold the charge when it was turned off?
• 100% battery charge, unplugged from power and played Zelda for 2 hours 25 minutes when the Switch reported that the battery was critically low (1%) and I turned it off. I had airplane mode on, so I would have expected a longer playtime (based on reports).
• 100% battery charge, unplugged from power and played Zelda for 1 hour 49 minutes when the Switch reported that the battery was critically low (1%) and I turned it off. I had airplane mode on. 35 minutes less playtime then the last time I fully charged it?

[ShyGuy]

I've only taken my Switch out of the dock a few times, but it sounds like you have a battery issue.

[ThePerm]

In one of those situations try holding the power button down for 10 or 20 seconds.

[Seacor]

In one of those situations try holding the power button down for 10 or 20 seconds.

Does this do something different than holding down the power button for three seconds and choosing Power Options and Turn Off?

[ShyGuy]

Holding power down for 10-20 completely powers it off instead of just sleep mode. Keep in mind that putting the Switch in the dock will wake it up from power off and put it in sleep mode.

[ThePerm]

In one of those situations try holding the power button down for 10 or 20 seconds.

Does this do something different than holding down the power button for three seconds and choosing Power Options and Turn Off?

I had this android based tablet that we thought was completely dead. Turns out the fix was to hold the button down for 20 seconds. The device would not charge, but once we did this it was completely fixed. The standard for most devices is 5 seconds, but 20 seconds turned out did the job. I still don't have a Switch, but this might work.

[KeyBilly]

Charging is actually surprisingly good for me, even from a standard (not high Amperage) supply.  Battery life is significantly longer than you are getting, but not fantastic.  Basically, like 3DS.  If the full power cycle doesn't work, maybe contact Nintendo and see if they can do a repair without losing your save data.

[Seacor]

Just an update - Well after more testing, I've discovered that the battery is providing more charge than what the Switch OS is reporting.

100% battery charge, airplane mode on I played power Zelda for 1 hour 40 minutes when the console notified me that the battery was low (15%).  I continued to play and it notified me that the battery was critically low and would go into sleep mode (1%).  This time instead of turning it off (like I previously did as I thought it was drained), I continued to play Zelda and I kept checking the battery level (stayed at 1%).  It finally completely drained (the Switch shutdown) after a total of 3 hours and 23 minutes of play time.

So, this appears to be an operating system or firmware issue with it not communicating properly with the battery.


I will be contacting Nintendo to see if they have other reports of this issue.