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Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

lttlabs.com

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Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#81

Post by marcosscriven »

ShellfishMeme wrote: post #65
wickedsight wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that strange. USB-C is a plug, not everyone who implements the plug also implements it correctly. Some chargers with a USB-C Plug might just send a fixed voltage over the cable, rather then implementing the protocols. I'm not saying that's the case for you, but USB-C is a minefield and I've seen some weird things happen with USB-C plugs.

I've once received a USB-C charger with a portable breast milk warmer device that outputted 18V at 2A without doing PD negotiation. That fried another device when I plugged it in. This is non compliant in the EU, but when I reported it to the responsible authorities, they didn't feel like doing anything about it. We are talking about a charger that can fry any device and potentially cause a fire, coming with a produc…

I got a mini PC with such a charger (Mele Quieter). I was so shocked I immediately put a label on the USB end with a stark warning not to plug into anything.

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#82

Post by Kurtz79 »

blueflow wrote: post #77

I mean, we are already at the point where you have to put a colored tape on all your usb plugs and sockets to know which ones are compatible and which ones will brick your devices. Maybe its time to drop the "universal" aspect and go back to propietary ports?

That makes no sense. No one sane wants to go back to a time where all mobile electronics had separate chargers, especially since the number of mobile devices we use on a daily basis is higher than ever before.

If anything, manufacturers that are able to provide working, compatible solutions should be preferred by consumers to those that don't, and the laws of economics will take care of the rest.

But some of those manufacturers have large loyal customer bases that will find ways to justify them even if they were to employ child labor, so there is that.

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#83

Post by alpaca128 »

KeplerBoy wrote: post #42
alex_f_k wrote: post #18

From lttlabs: > The inability for most docks to support the Switch 2 may not be malicious from Nintendo. It might just be a poor or lazy implementation of the USB-C specification From the verge [0], 2 months ago: > When I analyze the conversation between the Nintendo Switch 2 and its dock, I can see the two devices begin speaking in Nintendo’s own flavor of “vendor defined” language early in the conversation, before…

Seems Nintendo has good reasons not to support it with 3rd party devices: Their own dock has active cooling, so with generic dongles the switch wouldn't be able to enter the docked performance mode (or have to throttle down pretty soon) and would have to output a blurry mess to 4k screens. Not a great user experience.

Would you rather have your phone refuse to charge for no apparent reason, or have it popup "slow USB charging" as it does when you connect it to a weaker charger?

Nintendo unnecessarily chose to make their device partially USB-C incompatible in an intransparent way. A lot of users will rely on this working (as it already did on the Switch 1) and then it just won't, and probably the user will just assume their third-party USB dongle is broken and maybe buy another one, which means Nintendo won't get anything out of it and the user will lose more money. Everyone loses but at least the pesky customer can't use a third-party product.

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#84

Post by Dennip »

gregoryl wrote: post #19
spartanatreyu wrote: post #3

Didn't know LTT's labs was already running. I'll be curious to see how their testing and data compares to gamersnexus testing and what their first catching a manufacturer's lies event will be.

I'm surprised it continues to exist at all. The main content ltt puts out these days is purely mass market entertainment. Physical products are still pretty good!

They still regularly reference labs sourced findings & data in the current videos.

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#85

Post by rsynnott »

hatsunearu wrote: post #71
yuiegi wrote: post #33

Back in COVID times, when I had all the time in the world, my Switch got bricked after I charged it using my laptop charger. Nintendo refused to honor its warranty, citing some mumbo jumbo about proprietary USB-C hardware. Fortunately, we have pretty good consumer protection laws here in Australia By the end of an entire two month saga, they sent me a brand new Switch. I always did think it was odd that a USB-C cable…

USB-C was really really really rough in the early years. The switch 1 was one of the first products to come out with USB-C IIRC.

Nah; Apple's notoriously not-very-good 12" MacBook and the Chromebook Pixel had it since 2015, and Apple's more mainstream laptops since 2016. Nintendo doesn't really have any excuse for the original Switch's problematic USB-C beyond laziness: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16706803

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#86

Post by alpaca128 »

KeplerBoy wrote: post #56
crote wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but what about 3rd party docks which do have adequate cooling? And how is it a good user experience to just silently refuse to work? If Nintendo genuinely cared about experience they'd just follow the standard and work with any dock, then pop up a notification if it notices that the device is overheating - perhaps even with a "We recommend the official dock" text. The current behaviour is completely unacceptabl…

I agree that their behavior is user-hostile, but doing it their way gets rid of all of the ambiguity involved with USB C. I kind of understand why they would rather break their USBC support intentionally and make it very clear that video out is only happening with their dock. Especially considering their audiences.

> make it very clear that video out is only happening with their dock

What about it is "very clear"? It worked on the Switch 1, it's expected to work as it's USB, there is no error message, it just will appear that maybe the USB dongle or HDMI cable or whatever is defective.

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#87

Post by consp »

ThatPlayer wrote: post #44
Gigachad wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Displayport would have been fairly useless. I've never once seen a TV with Displayport inputs. They really should have had 9v PD working but at least 5v worked.

While technically true, there's no devices that do HDMI protocol over USB-C. Most USB-C adapters to HDMI have a built-in DP > HDMI converter. There was a standard for HDMI over USB, but no devices used it and it died: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01/hdmi-to-usb-c-spec-a... Pretty sure the Switch (1) Dock used a similar HDMI adapter. Even the PS4 had a DP > HDMI adapter internally for some reason.

Isn't the reason dp has higher per pair throughout than hdmi giving you more bandwidth with less wires? (I'm not entirely sure though)

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#88

Post by alpaca128 »

iamtedd wrote: post #62
ffsm8 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, his point was that the lab isn't necessary for the content ltt is producing, so he expected them to stop the lab project to keep the profits higher

What? Labs is the source of all benchmark and performance data they show on the main channel productions. Labs is necessary for their content.

They had benchmarks before Labs as well and almost 100% of tech reviewers don't have this kind of equipment, so no, it's not necessary. But it definitely helps.

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#89

Post by pjerem »

alpaca128 wrote: post #83
KeplerBoy wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems Nintendo has good reasons not to support it with 3rd party devices: Their own dock has active cooling, so with generic dongles the switch wouldn't be able to enter the docked performance mode (or have to throttle down pretty soon) and would have to output a blurry mess to 4k screens. Not a great user experience.

Would you rather have your phone refuse to charge for no apparent reason, or have it popup "slow USB charging" as it does when you connect it to a weaker charger? Nintendo unnecessarily chose to make their device partially USB-C incompatible in an intransparent way. A lot of users will rely on this working (as it already did on the Switch 1) and then it just won't, and probably the user will just assume their third-p…

Aren’t we talking about video out from the dock ?

Because it wasn’t possible for Switch 1. After some time, some alternative USB-C hubs supported the Switch video output but it was basically reverse engineering and I totally remember this first "compatible" hub back in the early days of the console which happened to brick consoles.

Nintendo is like Apple they :

- Don’t want you tu use the Switch in unpredictable ways : with the switch on the dock the cooling is guaranteed to be efficient, even on Switch 1 because it meant that the console wasn’t lying on a blanket.

- Don’t want you to buy anything else than their expensive dock.

Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

#90

Post by divingdragon »

reactordev wrote: post #35

They did this to micro sd cards on the first switch. Looks like they found another way. Nintendo isn’t customer friendly. Gone are the days of the N64 and gone are the days of Nintendo pushing the boundaries of fun and entertainment. Now, they make underpowered handhelds for kids with proprietary dongles like Apple in hopes of trapping their customers to their platform. No thanks.

> They did this to micro sd cards on the first switch.

What do you mean? From what I know it was bog-standard microSD(HC/XC) with the maximum supported speed being UHS-I with nothing proprietary.

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