Hardware New Dock Recommendations

[bluedart]

I may be in the market for a new dock very soon, so I was just wondering if the temp has any recommendations for affordable Nintendo Switch Docks. I know the original retails for around 90 USD, and I definitely cannot swing that right now. I remember a brief "scare" about bricking when firmware 5.0.0 was released a while ago, but that has definitely died down and has a very "one guy" feel to it. I was wondering if you guys knew of any working third party docks that are cheap but work properly.

Here's the current one I'm thinking about, any suggestions?

 

[KiiWii]

I reviewed the C-Force ones here: https://gbatemp.net/review/c-force-cf300s-cf800-docks.1271/

In all honesty they’re superb, but just lack the stand. Depends on your preference

 

[Germania]

You should not get any other dock than the original one from Nintendo. While not everyone was affected at that time, the issue still persists. It is really dangerous, so I do not recommend to buy a dock from a different company to save money. Nintendo uses specific voltage settings that will fry the Switch's voltage control chips in case a different dock is used.

 

[Clydefrosch]

used ones are about 60$ on amazon and though you don't hear too much about 3rd party ones these days, i feel like i wouldn't risk it

 

[GBADWB]

You should not get any other dock than the original one from Nintendo. While not everyone was affected at that time, the issue still persists. It is really dangerous, so I do not recommend to buy a dock from a different company to save money. Nintendo uses specific voltage settings that will fry the Switch's voltage control chips in case a different dock is used.

I don't believe this is true anymore. the most important component is the PD controller on the charging side, which bad docks tried to mimic(but not have the actual device) causing burns to happen because the switch's microcontroller can only take 6V max and received 9V. Standard USB-C devices can take 9V but the switch cannot.

It's a game of knowing which docks have a dedicated PD controller and which ones dont. The ones that do generally will note in its specifications or marketing that it has explicitly been tested to not be of the former category.

Of course, the safest route is just going the official route, but not all docks will burn the switch. It's just to most people, finding ones that don't is too much effort because they're lazy.

 

[Germania]

Of course, the safest route is just going the official route, but not all docks will burn the switch. It's just to most people, finding ones that don't is too much effort because they're lazy.

You may be right. I only use the official one, so I may be biased, but the risk is otherwise too high for me. Spending 40 € more for a good product is way safer than having a broken Switch. My Switch is unpatched and works just so good that I do not think I will ever find a similar good working Switch. However, let us be honest, the official dock is way too expensive. Especially if you look at the used materials.

 

[bluedart]

As it turns out I got lucky and didn't need anything more than some proprietary screwdrivers. Once they came, I took the whole dock down, got a good look into the connector and found a giant fuzzball covering a number of pins. I already tried pressurized air, but I tried it again to no avail. I got in there with tweezers and removed the blighter. After putting it back together (which took a while) it works again. Thanks for your recommendations; I got lucky and didn't need them yet. Now I have a dock for Animal Crossing. Sweet!