Hardware Nintendo switch warranty issues :-(

[3dsbaby16]

Times in 47 Posts

Nintendo Switch warranty issue
Hi guys

Bought a brand new Switch off ebay on 07/06/18 and it had started to overheat so off it went to nintendo for reapir.
They are now asking for repair cost before they attempt a repair as it was bought from ebay.
They are asking me to contact the original buyer/shop to get invoice as they say for all they know it could be stolen.
I have read nintendo are really bad with helping when things mess up up with their stuff and it looks like its true.
When trying to raise a complaint they are saying it has to be done by post and have provided a PO Box bin!!!
Would appreciate it if you guys could advise if there is anything else I can do before stumping up the cost of the repair

First they asked for payment as they said it was an operating system error and they don’t cover this. Three phone calls later they changed their story.

Any help would be greatly appreciated on what you guys think we should do.

 

[Ericthegreat]

First off why do you think its overheating, did it actually give you the message? Secondly, this is what happens when you buy stuff from a place like ebay >.<(or any store the company doesnt approve of selling its products) I love ebay, but i mostly use it for cheap electronics unless its an amazing deal, try and contact the seller you never know, they might be able to give you somthing just to get you pass that check, but it then depends on how long ago they bought it. But while you wait fior that, maybe someone can help you with a fix.

I would also like to know the temperature of your home, and if it's docked, where is it at? Is it in a cabinet/entertainment center?

Someone else might come by with a better fix for you, but if there is no other way, and if nintendo wants the same price as a new switch(I dunno, what are they asking?), then maybe consider replaceing the fan/thermal compound, im not sure if these fixes are very hard though.

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+Switch+Fan+Replacement/113058

Now asI guess you know this might not be your problem at all, it could be something completely different wrong with the board itself, probably with someone who knows the board much better then me, they could perhaps ask you to test a few points with a multimeter.

I'm sorry you ran into this issue, hope it works out well.

Remember, ask the seller first maybe theyll give you what you need. Could it maybe just need a good blowing out with canned air?

 

[linuxares]

Aight let's not do any sending to Nintendo if it's RCM.

One major fault I noticed is the thermal paste is gobshit, it need to be replaced.

If you have the tools. You need 3 screwbits, a pair of pliers, thermal paste (I used MX-4), isopropyl alcohol and papertowels, and time. Don't stress. This is easy to do, just fiddly!
1 triwing 00, 1 philips 00 and 1 philips 000.


I recommend a plectrum to use for opening one part of metal sheild around the GPU.

Opening a Switch is Super easy, and anyone can do it. There is two connectors you need to be careful with, and one of them you can use the plectrum to slowly lift it, or a pair of small pliers. It's the SD Card Reader. After that it's smooth sailing.

This is a good guide for visual, remember to follow max to 12:04, rest is overkill for your thermal needs. But you see the big silver thing after the took of the heatpipe? That's the most important part to change thermal paste under. Mine they had cheated with a lot! Be care fo lifting it of. It's super annoying and fiddling, but if it bends a tiny bit, you can just bend it back to shape with your fingers



Remember to use the plectrum also to spread the thermal paste to a thin layer. I recommend spreading it since then you know you covered all sides. I also did overkill and put thermal paste all over my copper tubes as well, for best thermals possible!


I wish you good luck and ask away (and use pictures) if you need help during the process!

 

[3dsbaby16]

Many thanks for the posts guys.
It does post a message it is overheating and then shuts down, only when in the crammed dock.

The other issue is the joycona don’t charge while connected to the switch, could this be related?

Watching the guide, it doesn’t look to bad and defo worth doing instead of paying them £98.50

It’s just a shame they want ££ instead of trying to help.

As for buying, bought it off an eBay seller who sells
Loads of new electronic items and is down as a Ltd company.

While on the phone I mentioned Argos as a name and was told by the muppets they don’t cover if bought from
Them even as Ebay is involved. What a joke of a company.

 

[plexo]

did you put thermal paste the whole way along the thermal pipes?

you shouldn't spread the paste either, allow the heatsink to do that

 

[3dsbaby16]

did you put thermal paste the whole way along the thermal pipes?

you shouldn't spread the paste either, allow the heatsink to do that

They still have the console, I am going to request they send it back and try the above. Hoping that will sort the joycon charge issue too

 

[plexo]

repasting it wont repair the joy con charging issue.. id suggest checking theres no physical damage on the joycon rail as its most likely the issue

 

[Deathscreton]

did you put thermal paste the whole way along the thermal pipes?

you shouldn't spread the paste either, allow the heatsink to do that

You should specify which part of the heatsink you're referring to. If you're referring to the point of contact where the copper heatpipe touches the heat shield, then yea, the pressure should do the spreading.

However, if you're talking about where the die package touches the bottom of the heatpipe, you definitely should spread it, and it doesn't really matter how much you use when going from die to heatpipe/sink. You want to make sure every part of it is covered since there's no IHS.

 

[plexo]

you should never "need" to spread it, providing you put enough on it will spread edge to edge on its own.. heatsink never really touches the actual die either, its got the copper tape over it first

 

[3dsbaby16]

I asked what the fault was and received this reply today:

Thank you for getting back to us regarding your repair,

The fault found was in your Nintendo Switch. This is an operating system problem, which is covered by the warranty.

As you know, in order to activate the warranty we need to have a valid proof of purchase, otherwise the repair will have a cost associated.

Have a good day.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards,

 

[MUDD_BR]

I asked what the fault was and received this reply today:

Thank you for getting back to us regarding your repair,

The fault found was in your Nintendo Switch. This is an operating system problem, which is covered by the warranty.

As you know, in order to activate the warranty we need to have a valid proof of purchase, otherwise the repair will have a cost associated.

Have a good day.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best Regards,

“Valid proof of purchase”... why don’t repair when confirm its a new console, mother of god... do your think your ebay purchase will work with it? Hope they won’t send you a patched one.

 

[Glyptofane]

You don't necessarily get a message for overheating. It just shuts off. This once happened with my Wii U. It would play for several minutes then turned off. I finally decided to look closely and there was a gigantic fucking spider crushed in the fan blades, preventing it from spinning. Got the bitch out with some skinny tweezers without disassembling the console. Most likely not your issue, but it does happen and did to me.

 

[PIXeL_92]

Depending how long you have had it I would just ask for it to be returned and then send it back to the seller for a refund. I think Paypal gives you 6 months worth of cover.

 

[3dsbaby16]

Depending how long you have had it I would just ask for it to be returned and then send it back to the seller for a refund. I think Paypal gives you 6 months worth of cover.

Thanks for the advice. Didn’t know Paypal offered 6 months.
This was 11 months though

Anyway for info managed to fix both issues by replacing the fan

Thanks Ericthegreat - you were spot on. Much better than tendo customer support robots saying it’s an OS issue lol.

Looks like it was dead so was not running at all.
I found it was shorting the joycon power as they share the same line so that’s why they didn’t charge too.

Oh and as linuxares said, the thermal paste was non existent so applied mx4 while it was open.

Much cheaper than paying craptendo £80 and I know it’s beeb done properly, guessing they would have just swapped the fan and posted back.