I want to get a second dock. Are third party options good?
I have one connected to my Television, but it's a hassle for games to unhook for games I want to play on the monitor for better latency like rhythm games.
I had heard of some third party ones potentially damaging switches back in the day, and wondered if they have improved since then.
My understanding after limited research is that it is still a thing to be concerned about, as the Switch is a bit unorthodox in its USB C power standards. Just FYI, Nintendo has refurb docks for a decent price. Even have the white OLED dock in stock if you want/need Ethernet.
It’s not about the adapter, but how the switch manages power in docked mode. So any power adapter is fine, but when docked is when you are concerned. Also, there are several dock cases out there that you can transplant the chip inside the official dock into if you really want a smaller one.
It helps mitigate that risk to a degree, yes, but why take the risk at all? There aren’t any really good alternatives out there, that I know of, and the official dock does it’s job just fine.
I would check out the Genki Covert Dock. It is a game changer when bringing the switch outside the house, but absolutely could be plugged in most of the time at home.
Its a wonderful grab and go dock, and they extensively tested switch compatibility - have had zero issues with mine.
Well it's a good thing the max draw of a switch is 18W, and this device has a specific 9V power profile for the switch. The 30W is there to support devices with a faster power delivery spec (such as the Steam Deck).
We've had success with this one, the kids love it and it travels great, we've used it all over the world and regularly at home. We are US based but bought it on vacation in the UK.
I like my genki covert deck personally I backed it in the UK got the global one and have taken it throughout the UK and to the US and it worked flawlessly.
Absolutely in love with the Skull & Go Jumpgate. The Core Drive lets me dock my phone to my TV, too. Also, come on, it's called a Jumpgate with ejectable Core Drive. How can you not want it based on name alone lol
No complaints with the jump gate except that one time at a hotel where it overheated my Switch. Been using it for a while now with no issues on an OG Switch.
I also habe an OG switch and mine does overheat, when I have an USB-LAN adapter connected. Is this just a normal dock, or does it have some other features?