Is the Switch unreliable?

[dumpster]

I barely used my Switch, having found it not as powerful as other TV based consoles and too big to especially carry around.  It stays connected to my TV all the time, kind of defeating the point of a hybrid handheld.  However, this year Mr Driller and Deadly Premonition 2 have had me playing it a fair bit, and Night Trap, Virtua Racing and Outrun made it my console of choice for about the last 2 months.  And now, it won't turn on.  

I've had it a year and in this time it's been back to Nintendo 3 times, the controllers break and drift, the console gets stuck on the Switch Logo screen when you switch on. And googling suggests that I'm not alone.  

What's your experience?  Is the Switch inherently faulty with the controller drift, screen bricking etc? Or has it been all perfect for you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fry Crayola]

Betteridge's Law strikes again.

[dfq23]

If the battery is totally dead you need to plug the charger in directly for a good while before it comes back to life and then hold down the power button for about ten seconds to do a soft reset

[Eighthours]

The only issue I've had is with Joy-Con drift, which I have to say I can't believe Nintendo haven't fixed yet. It's criminal that they're still selling those controllers with the original design and charge so much for them.

 

I've had no other problems with the Switch at all - I just wish they'd gone Tegra X2, as it did seem to be available in time and would have substantially bumped the console's power. Looking forward to a Switch Pro next year!

[moosegrinder]

Mines been fine except for one Joycon that drifted and they fixed. The drifting absolutely is an inherent flaw in the design of the controllers and Nintendo need to own that shit.

 

 I keep it docked 99% of the time. If you buy a switch expecting an Xbox One or PS4 experience that's on you. The only reason to by a Switch version of multiformat games is if you're willing to take the hit in fidelity for portability OR if you don't have a PS4 or Xbox One. I've always seen it as a companion console, plus you're never going to get the good shit like Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 et al on anything else.

[therearerules]

If I let the battery go completely dead it's a bugger to restart, and I've switched to exclusively using the hori split pro pads to avoid joycon drift. But I forgive it all for Dark Souls in bed, or Civ VI on the toilet.

[dumpster]

Mine, for the second time, switches on, displays the Switch logo and stays there for ever. Googling suggests this can happen when used with 3rd party docks (I've never done this) but something on the board is fried and it has to go back to Nintendo. Luckily I have a warranty because they extend it each time I send the joycons back for repair. But for £280 I expect better reliability than that.

[Nobuo's Organ]

Just the Joy-Con sticks drifting and face buttons sticking. I sent 2 pairs to their service centre a full year out of warranty and they sent me back 2 brand new pairs, no questions asked, which was nice.

 

It took me getting a Pro Controller in the meantime to realise the Joy-Con sticks are why most 3D games have felt "off" to me on the Switch.  They're not as diabolical as the 3DS 'Circle Pad, but still pretty bad compared to the Pro.

[Robo_1]

When I first got the console last year, I had a devil of a time with the joycons disconnecting and randomly moving hard left. I'm assuming one of the numerous software updates fixed things as that doesn't happen anymore.

 

Touch wood I've not even had the dreaded drift. Is that still a problem on new consoles? Surely they must have fixed it for the hand held variant?

[therearerules]

8 minutes ago, Robo_1 said:

When I first got the console last year, I had a devil of a time with the joycons disconnecting and randomly moving hard left. I'm assuming one of the numerous software updates fixed things as that doesn't happen anymore.

 

Touch wood I've not even had the dreaded drift. Is that still a problem on new consoles? Surely they must have fixed it for the hand held variant?

 

I thought randomly moving in a direction was the dreaded drift?

[wretcherd]

That sounds more like the Bluetooth issue with the left joycon.

[Jei]

I guess I've been lucky this time around, have had no issues at all with any of the current gen consoles.

 

Previous gen though......eeek!

[gospvg]

Touch wood so far so good. Purchased in 2018 and have not had any issues at all. Kids use it more, I tend to play mainly on the PS4. Although I have gotten into Animal Crossing & Tetris Battle Royale game and not noticed any issues yet with any of the joycons we own.

 

Spoiler

I'll be pissed if I have given it the kiss of death now!

 

[RaoulSilva]

I've had zero problems and best of all system updates take about 60 seconds, great interface, minimum of faffing and adverts. 

[Stanley]

Had mine since launch day 2017 and it’s been pretty reliable, might have had to reset it once or twice but nothing major, it’s probably the best console I’ve ever owned. No issues with our Switch Lite either although obviously that’s newer. 

[Hello Goaty ♥]

no problems since launch day!  

 

i use mine weirdly though i suppose. - i never have the Joycons physically connected to it. 

I always use them as a Joypad with the adapter thingy. Not the standard one, the Nintendo one that lets you charge it.

 

Just waiting for a brand new model to be released now and i will get it,

[rafaqat]

zero problems with mine.

[Jg15]

Joy con drift but otherwise a good experience for me. The drift did piss me off though, barely 18 months old, but it is obviously a widespread problem.

[rgraves]

I had the joy-con disconnect issue, but sent the controller back and had the foam inserted (under warranty). No other issues at all so far, and given I carry it about a lot (especially when travelling for work) it's done well. I'm not certain how well either of the other two would take to being chucked into a rucksack quite so often lol

[The Mighty Ash]

It has a shocking level of build quality:

 

Joycon disconnect

Joycon drift

Poor screen uniformity 

Warped console

Screen lifting 

 

I'm on my 6th or 7th unit 

[Don Rosco]

We just got a switch recently and the hardware is holding up so far. I was surprised at how poor fortnite looked and ran compared to the ps4, but my daughter doesn't give a shit and prefers it on the switch to the ps4. I don't care either, Mario Odyssey looked and played amazing, and I just finished Super Ghouls and Ghosts with ample of use of the rewind feature. That game is so fuckin hard, my god. 

[the_debaser]

Mine has been as rock solid as any other Nintendo console. Hasn’t missed a beat. 

[metallicfrodo]

Left joycon drift after about a year of ownership. Nintendo fixed for free though, however It’s now starting to drift again. The newer ones that I bought while that was in for fixing the first time seem to be okay though. The actual machine has been solid as a rock.

 

If it’s docked though I now use a PS4 controller as in general I find the joycons in the adaptor uncomfortable and the sticks not great even when they work. However willing to put up with then when using it hand held.

[MattyP]

Never had any problems with mine whilst I owned it for a couple of years. My Son had controller drift on his.

 

Sold my Switch though a month or so ago as it was plugged in most of the time and hardly used. Decided to recoup some money. 

 

Don't think it's the best made Nintendo console in terms of quality and the price. Feels a bit flimsy especially noticed this in comparison to the GameCube and controllers and the Wii which I've recently been hammering to death again and its around its 14 birthday this year!

[HarryBizzle]

Main problem I had was the joycons popping off all the time. Apparently one of the pins or something gets worn down or bent or something. Then there's the fact that the signal on the left joycon is just rubbish. 

 

At least you can replace the joycons on the main Switch. If you've got a lite and and you get stick drift, you're a bit stuck, I think.

[smac]

Pro controller has drift on the left stick. That could be 1000s of hours of Splatoon 2, but it makes a couple of games impossible to control, depending on the dead zone.

 

Rarely use joycons but I've seen some drift/sticking issues there.

 

My screen/console does look slightly curved, to the point of minor scratches on the bezel. The screen is fractionally proud of the switch body on one side.

[MattyP]

2 hours ago, dumpster said:

.  It stays connected to my TV all the time, kind of defeating the point of a hybrid handheld

Well we didn't get a choice this time around unfortunately. Would have much preferred a console without a screen or joycons and supplied with a Pro controller. Hardly use or have a need for consoles on the move.

 

[SozzlyJoe]

I got the Joycon drift on two different Joycons. I also had a less common issue - the SD card slot failed!

[gospvg]

28 minutes ago, metallicfrodo said:

If it’s docked though I now use a PS4 controller as in general I find the joycons in the adaptor uncomfortable and the sticks not great even when they work. However willing to put up with then when using it hand held.

 

Huh?! How?

[metallicfrodo]

49 minutes ago, gospvg said:

 

Huh?! How?

https://www.8bitdo.com/wireless-usb-adapter/
 

Also supports the newer Bluetooth enabled Xbox controllers.