Cybergadget's Slim Switch Dock Offers LAN Play - Releases This December

I won't be satisfied until there is a drone dock that lets my Switch hover in front of me as I play.

Anything's better than the ugly, overpriced official dock. It's about €30 cheaper too.

@JHDK I'd be down for real

As a guy who drags setups to play Pokken in a local tournament scene, this is a must have. Really hope it comes stateside.

There's so much that Nintendo will change when they release the new improved Switch model and I'm 99% sure the dock will be changed too.

Nintendo should follow suite! This looks great and the built-in LAN is a no-brainer!

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I take it you won't be getting a Switch until this revised model is released in about 2 yrs? You've mentioned your a Ninty gamer only, by choice I suppose so will the Wii U hold u over for that long? Or maybe finally you'll get a PS4 at a cheap price and get down on some of those 3rd party's Ninty misses out on? I'm so curious when it comes to u for some reason lol.

I’m thinking of the LAN and possibly why it’s not on the switch.
How fluid would it be to go from docked LAN, to portable WiFi when you “switch” mid play? Say you were in splatoon online on LAN.... and you go to undocked mid game would you get booted while the switch changes over to WiFi? We all know of the weak WiFi signal and it’s kinda slow to find it when it initially connects... perhaps this is why because all the systems would drop connection during the fluid switch... just a thought.

Oh look, its the dock Nintendo should have made, and probably would have made, if they weren't so focused on covering up the screen so people didnt confuse it w/ a Wii U Gamepad.

Important question - does it come with a plug? As overpriced as the $90 Switch dock is, those USB-C chargers aren't cheap. Anybody can sell a cheap piece of plastic, official dock does come with everything you need I believe.

So, does anybody have a USB -to -ethernet adaptor on their Switch dock? I'm thinking of moving over my Wii adaptor currently on my Wii U, it still calls home every hour, not sure what for but hopefuly someday soon it will be downloading Champions Ballad so I keep it on. Once I get a Switch Wii U is going wifi.

@Mjoen That was always my guess, I dont think it's possible to have a seamless transition from LAN to Wifi during a match, wther its Splatoon, MK8D or ARMS, so Nintindo made it Wifi all the time. Im making a rule in my house, Switch doesn't move while it's on, end of discussion. I mean on on, not sleeping hibernation standby on.

Looks nice.
But if only not Black color.
DIY Time !

It actually looks awesome!! Love that it can be used as a stand too.

@MaSSiVeRiCaN Having very recently gone hands-on with the Switch, I feel I've little choice but to wait for a revision. I've never bought a rival console and I never will. I've enough games as it is to last a lifetime on all of Nintendo's hardware except the 3DS.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE how come you don't have a 3DS mate, is it just that handheld gaming doesn't appeal to you? I can appreciate that, but knowing you're a massive fan of Nintendo games you're missing out on some seriously good stuff not having a 3DS.

Why don’t you review the Titan One by consoletuner? It allows cross console controller compatibility.

Ethernet, awesome.

@rjejr Not sure what you mean. It has a USB Type-C port.

Sweet, LAN port built in. I'd love to get my hands on one.

@rjejr I have one, the original Datel one for the Wii. I checked the speed at some point and it was about 47Mbps down/38Mbps up on my current service (Spectrum). I'm thinking about buying the official Switch version from Nintendo so i can put it back on the WiiU.

I've had one issue in the past with a LAN adapter. At one time, it just stopped working, but just before I contacted Nintendo thinking it was a Switch/dock issue, it started working again, and worked ever since. I really wish that Nyko dock had an ethernet port on it. That would have been a no-brainer to get, and that is small enough to put into a carry case.

I'd feel silly using this dock without any actual multi-screen support. Sure does seem slicker than the official one though.

USB to LAN to adapters are very cheap (got one from China recently). Router's port 4 (I suppose it's bridged) works fine (Switch Connection Test: NAT C), but others (1-3) works badly as WiFi connection (Switch: NAT D). Mario Kart Deluxe is only online game I have, but I can tell it works much better with LAN adapter(and NAT C).

The pictures actually show two USB-A 2.0 and one USB-A 3.0 ports, in addition to the power-only USB-C port.

"The third-party dock will come ready with two USB ports (2.0 & 3.0) along with the normal connections needed for setup."

@BornInNorway81 So, there's one USB to LAN-adapter plugged in. Shady pictures looked like they were made with Windows Paint. Sure official dock is hugely overpriced, so is this one.

Great dock alternative! Def looks better than Nintendo’s. I hate how hot the Switch gets, this should allow the heat to dissipate much better.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE My Switch is perfect! What's wrong with yours?

I like it because it doesn't make you slide the Switch into such a deep slot. Thankfully I haven't scratched my screen, but I am always a little worried about that with the official dock. Since I live in Japan, I will probably pick one of these up if I can find one.

None of these dock alternatives have swayed from the dock provided with the Switch. These mock-docks appear flimsy and unstable, over exaggerating the heat dissipation like the Switch has a steam engine inside. And I have no confidence in the docks that have the Switch sitting on a tiny footprint or exposing the screen. I'd rather have my Switch in a block that is stationary and free from wobbling.

@masterLEON 47Mbps down/38Mbps

I get 50 down wired but my old wireless B router is still chugging along at 11 which is why I prefer wired.

@NinNin "It has a USB Type-C port."

Yes, but does it have a plug that plugs into an electrical outlet, or just a USB-C to USB-A wire?

@electrolite77 "I do. Works well,"

Thanks. I'm not planning on playing much online either, but paying $380 for a Switch and I have to download Mario before I can play it, well I know from experience that will go better over wire than wifi.

I learned my lesion about lan on a portable...sure its nice sometimes.. but leaving my surface on wifi makes it far more worth it to leave on the wifi.. but tempted just to get it for an extra dock

Nice. Anyone know if the built in lan is a Gigabyte Ethernet?

I've seen maybe 10 Chinese versions of docks and especially the dongle type docks. The build quality of those seem very cheap. This version seems ok I think. The LAN port is a welcome addition. Still, I'm waiting for the Nyko version, which should be available by the end of this month. First in the U.S. but hopefully in Europe not long after.

I still don’t get why the official dock has both sides closed, if the side the screen is on was open it would be so much better. I can’t even have my dock under my TV stand as there’s not enough room without possibly damaging my Switch. The Switch is great, but whoever designed the dock needs talking to.

This is hot

Still about £15 too expensive for my liking, though this one including the LAN port does make it more appealing than those others.

A big question - or the big question - is whether the Switch will run as fast clocked in this dock as it does in the official one. If the Switch does not recognizes being docked thus not running at the higher speed in this third party device then this would make this dock almost obsolete, at least at home.

This dock has the same connectors as the original dock, so no surprises here.
The two key differences though - LAN port and being able to use the display while docked - are actually interesting. Especially the last part is worth considering for me, maybe I'll buy it some day down the road.
Right now I'm really happy with my own portable dock (those affordable ones for ~20€ where you put the PCB of the original dock in), it's small, it's working perfectly and it looks just like a dock should look like.

@Ambermoon I don't think you have to worry about that. As long as the Switch transmits the screen content via HDMI (when HDMI is connected), it should also run at full speed. Because that 'feature' is probably not implemented in the dock but in the Switch. I assume whenever it detects a HDMI connection, it will run at full speed.

@JHDK I actually had the same idea last week, because it would solve the discomfort that comes with playing in portable mode for a longer period of time.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE It will also use pascal technology so it will technically be as powerful as the base xbox one when docked since they are around 40% more efficient.

@electrolite77 Wired all the way. Though my wife at breakfast was wondering why I was paying $380 for a Switch and $60 game that I needed to download when I could buy the Switch for $300 and the game for $48 on Amazon w/ Prime and have it on cartridge. She wasn't swayed by the $20 case and red Joycon like I was.

@Hughesy I don't understand what you mean. If one side is open, how does that enable you to put it under your TV stand?

@NinNin Because if one side is open you won’t need to slide it from the top. There’s room, but because I have to go above the dock it’s impossible. With it open I wouldn’t need to go directly about the dock, you’d only need to go above the USB-C connector. Hope you understand now.

The dock itself seems like a big improvement over the original except for one thing: The USB 3.0. The original dock doesn't support 3.0 yet but it will with an update. So if the og dock can't support 3.0, can Cybergadget list their port as a 3.0?

@Hughesy I still don't understand, but that's okay. You don't need to explain it to me.

@NinNin I will anyway, as I have nothing better to do. Just look at the picture at the top of the article, it’s only a few inches tall. The standard dock is pretty much the same height as the Switch, with the controller attached you can’t slide it through, you have to go above the dock to then slot it in. I’m not actually sure why that’s hard for you to grasp. With the type of dock above you’d have plenty of room to slot it in under a tv stand shelf. 😜

@Hughesy Thanks for the explanation. I like the design of the official dock, though, because it prevents accidentally knocking the console off the dock. That could be serious.

It also causes scratches even when you go careful with it. I have a tiny scratch on the screen and some at the back, because there’s no padding inside. To put that into perspective, my phone is 3 years old and looks new, same with my Wii U pad, so I take care of my stuff. It doesn’t take long to find similar posts, it would have cost them next to nothing to add rubber risers like laptops often have which stops that sort of thing. But if you haven’t had an issue you’ve been extremely lucky😬

Knocking it off is nowhere near as likely as causing scratches by simply docking it. I shudder to think what Switches owned by kids look like now. But maybe the docks differ slightly, so some of us get scratches and some don’t, as Im certainly not reckless when docking mine.

Compare to this one http://3ds-flashcard.com/home/68-cheap-portable-dock-for-nintendo-switch-with-tv-adapter.html, is it be better to buy?