Switch dead battery

[zenersting]

Hi, I'm here to share my problem. It may have been discussed here before, but since no solution has worked for me, I'm wondering if anyone has any other ideas. My Switch with autoRCM has dropped to 0% battery, and now I can't turn it on. At first, when I injected the payload, it reach the Atmosphere screen and shut off, but now it doesn't do anything. At most, it shows the battery symbol at 0% in the corner, but not everytime. I've tried leaving it charging for several hours, even days, all possible button combinations for 20-30 seconds, doing it with Tegra (the first time my PC detected it, now it doesn't), charging it without the joy-cons... If anyone has any ideas about how to revive it, I'd greatly appreciate it. Best regards.

 

[slimeinacloak]

Most likely going to be a internal issue, either the M92 (usb power management) or BQ24193 (battery charging). If you dont have experience with motherboard repairs the easiest first step you could do is to order a new battery and see if that changes anything. Also if it has some charge will let you see in hekate under the battery info screen to see some information about the M92 (labelled as USB-PW IC in hekate).
A usb power meter also a good idea to know what the console is doing (ie negotiating above 5v or amount of current its drawing).

 

[l7777]

1. Hold power button for 20 seconds.
2. Insert jig
3. While holding volume + Plug in USB Cable and see if TegraRCMGUI will detect it in RCM mode.

If that doesn't work, your next troubleshooting steps involve a USB Power meter or disassembly and a multi meter.

 

[zenersting]

1. Hold power button for 20 seconds.
2. Insert jig
3. While holding volume + Plug in USB Cable and see if TegraRCMGUI will detect it in RCM mode.

If that doesn't work, your next troubleshooting steps involve a USB Power meter or disassembly and a multi meter.

Ok, but I have a doubt. After inserting the jig, do I need to hold any button? Or just insert the jig, unplug and then plug the USB?

 

[l7777]

You want the Switch to be powered off before you try to connect the USB cable. So I guess I'll update the sequence:

1. Disconnect the USB cable if connected.
2. Hold power button for 20 seconds then release
3. Insert Jig
4. While holding volume +, connect the USB Cable and see if TegraRCMGUI will detect it in RCM mode.

Connecting the USB cable or charging cable will trigger the Switch to power on if it is powered off.

The problem I've encountered many times is that the Switch is on with no display but not in RCM mode. To get it into RCM mode you have to first power it off (holding the power button) and then use the Jig and volume + button. This can typically be verified by using a USB power meter. If the PD charger goes to 12vdc or 15vdc it is communicating with the Switch properly and likely charging the battery but it could be stuck in the weird boot state of blank screen but not in RCM.

 

[zenersting]

You want the Switch to be powered off before you try to connect the USB cable. So I guess I'll update the sequence:

1. Disconnect the USB cable if connected.
2. Hold power button for 20 seconds then release
3. Insert Jig
4. While holding volume +, connect the USB Cable and see if TegraRCMGUI will detect it in RCM mode.

Connecting the USB cable or charging cable will trigger the Switch to power on if it is powered off.

The problem I've encountered many times is that the Switch is on with no display but not in RCM mode. To get it into RCM mode you have to first power it off (holding the power button) and then use the Jig and volume + button. This can typically be verified by using a USB power meter. If the PD charger goes to 12vdc or 15vdc it is communicating with the Switch properly and likely charging the battery but it could be stuck in the weird boot state of blank screen but not in RCM.

I'll try it when I get home, I hope it works since I don't own a power meter. Just in case, what should I do after that?
Btw, several months ago I had a similar issue and my Switch started working again after a week by itself, I have no idea about Switch scene but it sounds weird to me.

 

[l7777]

After a week the battery will die and assure the unit is powered off. If you have the jig inserted and connect it with the volume + button pressed you should be in RCM mode.

If you don't want to disassemble to do further troubleshooting, you'll want to get a usb tester/meter, they aren't terribly expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=usb+power+meter

 

[zenersting]

You want the Switch to be powered off before you try to connect the USB cable. So I guess I'll update the sequence:

1. Disconnect the USB cable if connected.
2. Hold power button for 20 seconds then release
3. Insert Jig
4. While holding volume +, connect the USB Cable and see if TegraRCMGUI will detect it in RCM mode.

Connecting the USB cable or charging cable will trigger the Switch to power on if it is powered off.

The problem I've encountered many times is that the Switch is on with no display but not in RCM mode. To get it into RCM mode you have to first power it off (holding the power button) and then use the Jig and volume + button. This can typically be verified by using a USB power meter. If the PD charger goes to 12vdc or 15vdc it is communicating with the Switch properly and likely charging the battery but it could be stuck in the weird boot state of blank screen but not in RCM.

After a week the battery will die and assure the unit is powered off. If you have the jig inserted and connect it with the volume + button pressed you should be in RCM mode.

If you don't want to disassemble to do further troubleshooting, you'll want to get a usb tester/meter, they aren't terribly expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=usb+power+meter

Ok, I did that and I have an update. After letting the switch charge all night, I managed to turn it on again and I reached the hekate menu. It shows 3.7% battery. I launched CFW and it shows just 1%. I let it charge half an hour and still 1%, so I turned it off and launch hekate, but this time it showed 2% battery. I tried to launch OFW but I got a black screen with the battery symbol in the corner. What should I do next?
Also, pressing the power button alone or the power + volume up, it seems to be exactly the same for me, it goes to hekate menu in both cases.

 

[thesjaakspoiler]

Your battery should have charged to 10% ~ 20% after half an hour.
It is time to replace it because there is no way to do something that will make it hold a decent charge again.
Once lithum batteries go bad, it's game over.

Afaik, the Switch does have some safety features in the battery management chip that won't allow you to boot into the OFW if it thinks your battery is broken.
That is to prevent your Switch from catching fire or exploding because of a bad battery.
So that might be the issue that you're running into.

 

[l7777]

Ok, I did that and I have an update. After letting the switch charge all night, I managed to turn it on again and I reached the hekate menu. It shows 3.7% battery. I launched CFW and it shows just 1%. I let it charge half an hour and still 1%, so I turned it off and launch hekate, but this time it showed 2% battery. I tried to launch OFW but I got a black screen with the battery symbol in the corner. What should I do next?
Also, pressing the power button alone or the power + volume up, it seems to be exactly the same for me, it goes to hekate menu in both cases.

The next time you get it into Hekate go to the console info and battery section. Connect it to the Nintendo charger or another quality PD charger and see how much charge it is taking. The current charging state will be shown in the bottom right with the battery percentage. It should be green with a few hundred mA until it gets some charge and then it should fast charge at around 1000 mA until it gets closer to being full. Also see what the Capacity full number is in comparison to the Capacity (design) number is. Let it get to full charge without trying to launch HOS and you should have a better idea of what's happening.

 

[zenersting]

The next time you get it into Hekate go to the console info and battery section. Connect it to the Nintendo charger or another quality PD charger and see how much charge it is taking. The current charging state will be shown in the bottom right with the battery percentage. It should be green with a few hundred mA until it gets some charge and then it should fast charge at around 1000 mA until it gets closer to being full. Also see what the Capacity full number is in comparison to the Capacity (design) number is. Let it get to full charge without trying to launch HOS and you should have a better idea of what's happening.

Ok here is the result:
The current charging state shows red numbers, -400/500 mA, and by the side of those numbers there are some others numbers, 3673 mV, and the percentage is 20%

 

[l7777]

Ok here is the result:
The current charging state shows red numbers, -400/500 mA, and by the side of those numbers there are some others numbers, 3673 mV, and the percentage is 20%

Try a different charger. Perhaps your Switch charger had died. You should have a green number to indicate charging is happening. You can charge with the computer USB cable but it will be very slow.

 

[zenersting]

Try a different charger. Perhaps your Switch charger had died. You should have a green number to indicate charging is happening. You can charge with the computer USB cable but it will be very slow.

My charger is original, and I tried another original one and it is the same result. Maybe one can be broken but two... I don't think so

 

[l7777]

Anything different if connected to your computer? Post a photo of the battery info when connected to your official charger and computer.

 

[zenersting]

Anything different if connected to your computer? Post a photo of the battery info when connected to your official charger and computer.

I think my Switch got fixed by itself. After several hours stuck at 20%, it reached 36% in just 20 min or less. I'm keeping an eye on it and post if something goes wrong again.

 

[zenersting]

UPDATE: I played with my Switch until the battery dropped at 10%, then I proceded to charge it but again the same result, very slow charge and red negative numbers in the hekate menu. After all afternoon, my Switch reached 15% battery, the other time it became faster after reaching 20%. Any solution or it is time to remplace the battery?

 

[l7777]

What does hekate report for "Capacity full: XXXX mAh"? Could certainly be a dying battery. A USB power meter would again help you troubleshoot.

 

[slimeinacloak]

Yes buying a usb power meter is a good idea to see what the console is drawing, also posting a photo of the battery info screen both when you dont have a charger plugged in and when you do.

 

[zenersting]

Yes buying a usb power meter is a good idea to see what the console is drawing, also posting a photo of the battery info screen both when you dont have a charger plugged in and when you do.

At this moment I can't post any imagen since I can't power on the switch right now. I let It charge all night but it seems the battery is complety empty. I will let it charge a whole day and see what happen.

 

[l7777]

Yes buying a usb power meter is a good idea to see what the console is drawing, also posting a photo of the battery info screen both when you dont have a charger plugged in and when you do.

Screen shots would help yes. A note on this, you should exit and re-enter the battery info screen when you switch between charger connected and disconnected. It doesn't automatically refresh some pieces of info.