The Basics
- Check Software Updates: Ensure that your Nintendo Switch runs the latest software. Updates may include optimizations that improve battery life.
- Adjust Screen Brightness: If the screen brightness is set too high, lower it. High brightness levels can significantly impact battery life. You can change your Switch's screen brightness by going into Settings, System Settings, then Screen Brightness, and adjusting the slider.
- Ensure your Battery is Getting a Full Charge: If your Switch's battery drains faster than usual, it might not get a full charge. Ensure that your Nintendo Switch properly connects to its charger and reaches 100% when charging is finished.
- Consider what You're Playing: Some graphically intense titles, like Breath of the Wild, will deplete a healthy battery in just 4.5 hours. Other less graphically intense games can stretch your battery life to 9 hours.
- Third-Party Accessories: Some third-party accessories, especially chargers, may not be optimized for the Switch, leading to inefficient charging and potential battery drain. Ensure that your chargers are reliable and are meant to work with the Nintendo Switch.
Causes
Like most electronic devices, your Nintendo Switch has a recommended operating temperature. If the air temperature around your Nintendo switch is too warm, then your console will work harder to cool itself, and will drain more battery.
- Temperature: Extreme temperatures can affect battery performance. Avoid using your Switch in excessively hot or cold conditions. Ideally, your Switch's operating environment should be between 41° and 95 ° Fahrenheit (9° and 63° Celsius).
Settings, including screen brightness, can significantly impact your Swtich's battery life. While reducing screen brightness can significantly improve your battery life, there are additional settings you can change to improve your battery life.
- Auto-Sleep: Adjusting your Switch's Sleep Mode can help conserve your console's battery life when unused. To change your console's system settings, open System Settings > Sleep Mode > Auto-Sleep (Playing on Console Screen). From here, you can set the period of inactivity that would need to pass before your console enters sleep mode. Ideally, the lower the number, the quicker your console will enter sleep mode.
- Airplane Mode: Your console's Wi-Fi capabilities eat up battery life. When Wi-Fi is on, your console constantly sends out pings looking for familiar networks to connect to, and it will eat up battery life if left to run in the background. You can turn off Wi-Fi by heading into System Settings > Flight Mode and turning on Flight Mode. You can turn off Wi-Fi from there without affecting other features, like Bluetooth or NFC.
If your battery drains faster than expected, the issue might be caused by a build-up of dirt and debris inside your device, preventing air from adequately cooling it. If you system gets too hot, then then your system will work harder, and use more battery to cool your system.
- Ensure that no dirt or debris is inside your device, and check that your Switch's cooling fan can spin without issue and that your Switch's Heat Sink is dust-free.
- If needed, replace the malfunctioning fan with a new one.
- If needed, replace the heatsink with a new one.
- While at it, you may want to apply some fresh thermal paste to that CPU.
- 30 minutes - 1 hourModerate
- 20 - 45 minutesModerate
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The Nintendo Switch is especially prone to battery issues as a result of its duality as a console and a handheld. Extended use in docked mode, or playing and charging at the same time can shorten your batteries longevity.
- A faulty battery may manifest as a non-responsive unit, or one which only gives the battery charging logo on screen, but never powers on.
- Check for any signs of battery swelling. Separation of the enclosure, localized discoloration of the screen, or unexplained bowing of the housing are indications the battery may be swollen.
- Replacing the battery is a good first step if you've ruled out power supply issues and a hard power reset didn't work.
- 45 minutes - 2 hoursModerate
- 1 - 2 hoursModerate
- 45 minutes - 1 hourModerate
8 common problems
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