Hardware what the hell happened to my switch?

[Pluupy]

We did it gang! We saved the world!

 

[Xzi]

That's not how it works. There would have to be a recess going all the way from the vents to the bottom so air can get in through the sides. Putting it on a completely flat surface will still block 90%+ of air flow.

The seal between Switch and a flat surface is not air tight, even without the joy cons attached (which provide plenty of extra breathing room). It doesn't block enough of the airflow to make Switch overheat, so the exact percentage is irrelevant. A number of videos have done testing on this, and to actually get it to overheat you have to double wrap it in towels.

 

[XxShalevElimelechxX]

Welp, I really don't know if this os relevant, but the back of the switch has 2 holes for airflow, maybe the housing got overheated?
Don't forget that the color black contains more heat than other colors.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

@LiveLatios Considering it's most likely the nail polish remover, I don't think you'll get it fixed under warranty.
So there is nothing holding you back from installing a replacement shell. I've seen some cool ones online.
I would do it sooner rather than later, the acetone might still be eating away at the insides of the Switch and who knows how long before it stops working completely.

I give it about a 50/50 chance that some of the acetone got inside. It won't harm metal I believe, but it could be eating away at any plastic components on the board, or worse, the battery.

It might be a good idea to take the guts out of it ASAP, look for acetone residue and give it a good cleaning with some rubbing alcohol (or maybe contact cleaner?) to get any residue off. Chuck the damaged shell in the bin and wait for your replacement shell to arrive. Best not give the acetone a chance to eat away at the internals if there's any residue left. If you're lucky, then none of the acetone actually got inside the shell, but since it even managed to get underneath the stand it could have gotten inside as well.

The seal between Switch and a flat surface is not air tight, even without the joy cons attached (which provide plenty of extra breathing room). It doesn't block enough of the airflow to make Switch overheat, so the exact percentage is irrelevant. A number of videos have done testing on this, and to actually get it to overheat you have to double wrap it in towels.

It might not overheat, but the heat might still be bad for the battery.

I guess everyone has their reasons but this feature is useless to me. How long is the boot time for the switch? It shouldn't be that long.

I don't use sleep mode a lot but it does come in handy. If the Switch is completely off you can't power it on with the controller even when it's docked, it needs to maintain at least some sort of low power state in order to read the controller inputs.
And if you're in the middle of a game, you need to stop playing and don't have time to go to a save point sleep mode is a lifesaver.

 

[Xzi]

It might not overheat, but the heat might still be bad for the battery.

Meh, the battery has to be faulty in the first place to do what OP's did. I doubt it was like 100 degrees in Canada in December, so heat ultimately had little to do with it I'm guessing. They told him this was the first case reported and I believe it, a small percentage of batteries will be faulty regardless of the device.

 

[SexiestManAlive]

@LiveLatios
I don't use sleep mode a lot but it does come in handy. If the Switch is completely off you can't power it on with the controller even when it's docked

you actually can turn it on when its off and docked, just hold the home button, then it will turn on, and depending on the tv you have it will also automatically turn on the tv or change the input, its pretty neat.

 

[Kioku]

Sleep or suspending is a waste of electric and shortens the life of your product. How I wish I had an actual off button for my tv, I miss that feature.

Only if the sleep function doesn't do its job..

 

[Deleted User]

yeah, looking into it it's most definitely acetone, and i'm not gonna risk paying a ludicrous amount and risk losing all my saves, i'll look into getting a replacement case ASAP

 

[ov3rkill]

Could someone volunteer and experiment if acetone harm the plastic housing of the Switch. Maybe someone has extra housing.
I'm just curious at the plastic build. FWIW, at least the console is still working. It just looks aesthetically weird which is fixable by replacing the housing.

 

[Xzi]

Could someone volunteer and experiment if acetone harm the plastic housing of the Switch. Maybe someone has extra housing.
I'm just curious at the plastic build. FWIW, at least the console is still working. It just looks aesthetically weird which is fixable by replacing the housing.

Acetone does a pretty good job at wearing away most things.

Question then is did somebody spill a bunch of nail polish remover or paint thinner on the table OP set his Switch on. If so, mystery solved. Nothing to do with internal components.

 

[Deleted User]

Acetone does a pretty good job at wearing away most things.

Question then is did somebody spill a bunch of nail polish remover or paint thinner on the table OP set his Switch on. If so, mystery solved. Nothing to do with internal components.

there was a bottle on the table, but nothing was spilled on purpose, a cat probably tipped it over and then sat on it, therefor adding pressure and making the bottle leak onto the table

 

[The Real Jdbye]

you actually can turn it on when its off and docked, just hold the home button, then it will turn on, and depending on the tv you have it will also automatically turn on the tv or change the input, its pretty neat.

You can't actually turn it off completely when it's docked, likely for that exact reason.

 

[phalk]

Third photo, at the top, that nail polish remover you have laying on it's side leaked (probably loose cap) and got under the Switch, where it sat for 2 days (see chat log) and ate away at the plastic. The white'ish color and flecks of white are from the dissolved paint from the lettering and plastic mixed together. If it was the battery it would have leaked out from the vent under the battery, but that side of the Switch is totally fine. Liquid got into the kickstand area from capillary action. Case closed, my dear Watson.

Impressive. Seriously, I like you.

 

[Jayro]

Acetone is an electronics killer. Just the fumes alone killed my watch and a nearby cheap calculator from the dollar store. MERE FUMES!!!!!

 

[dpad_5678]

 

[Deleted User]

i'm confused