Meet The 'SwitchGuard', An Accessory That Aims To Keep Your Switch From Being Stolen

why would you ever need that? the only thing i can think of is maybe a smash tournament

I could see this being in wide use at Smash tournaments, as it should!

you can't exactly play in portable mode with that thing.

@TheDonutGamer Hence you just answered your own curiosity question.

Huh... Well can't say it wouldn't be effective in most cases.

Erm, one flaw, the box doesnt fix to anything, so someone can still just walk away with it and then try and prize it open later

@CharlieSmile No one is stealing my Switch when it’s in my mitts!!

@Bunkerneath From the article.

... and slot lower down to prevent the entire SwitchGuard from being taken....

@TheDonutGamer yep. States that right there in the sub header.

@bunkerneath I wouldn’t even say “try to open” it’s plastic. It will break with minimal force. It would have to be like you said mounted to something with steel construction. I hear money grab!!!!!!

@Bunkerneath it’s says it’s compatible with cable locks. Ya know, those things you can virtually bite through.

Well, not directly related but it amazes me the fact that I cannot (at least didn't find the option yet) add a "pin to unlock" my Switch when undocked.
I mean, it would be great to have it locked while taking it somewhere, I would have time to go online and block my Nintendo account or something.
For a next Gen maybe a GPS and option to erase the whole console remotely would be good too.

Makes sense though. Of all the precious things in my house, the only thing that would devastate me is if my switch was taken.

This isn't stopping anyone. Nothing is securing it to the surface. There is enough clearance to allow cables to be unplugged and slipped out with a nice tug. that can be fixed. Ultimately I could have this out in 10 seconds with the right tools on site. I can also clip the existing cables if they are wrapped from right to left since the power supply and HDMI are a cheap replacement. Ventilation is a concern here as well in an era of warpped switches.

@NotSoCryptic do you usually go to a game tournament with a bunch of tools though?

Lol why is there so much useless/superfluous accessory for the Switch?

@tourjeff that would make the thing even more expensive and that probably wont fly here. its a console not a phone after all

The words 'chocolat' and 'fireguard' spring to mind.

If only someone thought of a way to make stealing portable tech much more inconvenient to the theif. Like having a pin code or such to unlock it...

Isn't this just a retail secure display box?

@Vertigoat I saw 'acrylic' and sighed. At the least you'd want thick polycarbonate.

@Bunkerneath "Erm, one flaw, the box doesnt fix to anything, so someone can still just walk away with it and then try and prize it open later"

Didn't you read the article?

"It has two locks - one on top to stop thieves from taking the console itself, as well as a cable lock and slot lower down to prevent the entire SwitchGuard from being taken..."

@Vertigoat
Sure, it could be broken into with sufficient effort, but that will draw a heck of a lot more attention than someone simply picking up your console and walking away. Not to mention that acrylic can be an extraordinarily tough material that tends to bend rather than break.

@Mountain_Man Yes, and a cable lock is so strong you couldnt just jank it off the table or whatever surface it is stuck to. Why don't then have holes in the bottom of the case to screw it down and actually secure it to a table or a solid imovable object?

...it can still EASILY be stolen.........

So you just nick the switch and dock in this handy plastic take away case

@Bunkerneath agree, there's nothing stopping a thief from taking the whole thing. Maybe if there was a way to cable the box to a secure fixture (not around a table leg as a their could just lift up the table).

Just like that VGA grading crap, prevents your console from being played, either.

@DarkLloyd Make the SWITCH more expensive? or the switchguard?

What you really need is one of the security systems they have at Best Buy.... Imagine going into the store and asking "can I buy your security setup for the switch" 😁

I wish security was my problem, because then I could do something about it.
Too bad I got the so-called "blinking green light of death" today. On my Smash dock. I don't know what to do.

Not a bad idea for a very specific need, but at the same time I would feel really reluctant to keep my Switch in that because it seems like it could easily cause it to overheat.

@AlexSora89 Is that a real thing? What happened? Did your Switch go Xbox on you???

Would be a guard if it weighs over 1000 pounds XD

(just goofing around)

@MattFox
Basically the dock gets kind of bricked. Not the Switch itself, mind you; the dock alone. It simultaneously stops charging the Switch and giving the TV its video output, while the light at the dock's bottom - hence the issue's epithet that it's known as - flashing instead of being turned on only when it should (which is when the video output is successfully redirected to the TV, something that obviously isn't happening anymore now). Thankfully, by sheer luck I have a spare dock; this doesn't help however given the one dock that got the issue is a limited edition one.

@CharlieSmile Depends on the tournament. For fighting games, it isn't uncommon for me to bring a kit to replace faulty parts in my stick which I do bring with me. Nothing worse than getting to the finals and finding one of your switches isn't working. I bring spare controllers and even parts too for things like smash tournaments. There are even smash fans who literally tot around a particular glitchy smash controller. If it isn't broken in the right way, they can't use it. It's weird. However yes, I always have some kind of tool with me at tournaments or in general. It isn't that hard to pocket what I need to get into those cases. Tournaments would be better off with lockable docks that have one of those kingston locks on them. Wire cutters for that are not easily concealable and an alarm mechanism could also be fitted. If your goal is to secure a switch, a transparent display box won't do it.

@AlexSora89 could just swap the internals from the functional dock into the limited edition one

It is basically a modern version of this
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homework_First

That thing ain't preventing nobody from stealing it's contents.
I'm seriously crying from laughing so hard.
They even went the extra mile and made it out of acrylic.
So, the only tool you'll need is gravity. :0

@NEStalgia reminds me of a thermostat lock more tbh

@CharlieSmile A bunch of tools are usually already somewhere at the tournament 😂

@JackEatsSparrows
I am deceased

@AlexSora89 Did you contact Nintendo? That seems like the kind of thing that should be repaired under warranty.

The main reason why your typical thief steals things is that he can just grab it and go. Target of opportunity, be gone before anyone can notice. This box is a barrier, and requires actual effort or noise to get past. This isn't going to stop someone who goes somewhere wanting to steal a Switch, but that's not the majority of thieves.

Buglars in your home is a different story, of course. Lockpicks will get that thing open in seconds.

I could see this being useful for something like a video game bar or at a tournament, but that is it.

I got news for you, if you can't trust your college roommate to not steal your electronics, then you probably should be looking for a new roommate.

I think I'll just buy a small safe box to place my Switch in when I'm at work or out of home.

Hi Everyone! We're the makers of the SwitchGuard, we wanted to stop in and answer a couple of questions that came up in the comments! The main purpose of the SwitchGuard is to be a deterrent, and is mostly targeted at tournaments, expos, etc where staff is still on hand keeping an eye on units, and as such is not a way to completely prevent a Switch from being stolen. As a deterrent, it's going to stop thieves from just snagging a console quick and easy by pulling it out of the dock. As for picking the whole SwitchGuard up and walking away, there's an included cable lock and security slot you can connect to a table, tv, etc to make it that much harder for the whole unit to go anywhere. Also, big thanks to NintendoLife for featuring us! If you have any other questions feel free to send them our way~

Good to hear it's use is at tournaments and the cable tether will stop the gab and go option. But that could've been earlier in the posting rather then a after thought since the posting went rampent. This if it didn't mention before was damage control PR.

Unfortunately we didn't get to catch the discussion early enough, we didn't realize it was unclear that the cable lock was included, our mistake on that. We've been trying to monitor post comments more closely now!

@AlexSora89 Man, that really sucks. The only problem I`ve had with the Switch is it`s motherFing Joy Con drifting like crazy. It becomes unplayable. At least I got a cheap PowerA controller for now...

@smithpa01
Actually, what ultimately happened is that Nintendo repaired it, scott-free given its warranty. Too bad I'm now entirely paranoid about the possibility of this happening again in the future.

@kirbygirl
That's what we ultimately did!

@MattFox
Anyway, we solved the problem, so it's all cool! Thanks to everyone who chimed in at the time!

@AlexSora89 ah lucky it was in warranty still

@smithpa01
Well, it couldn't have been otherwise. It's the Smash dock.

@AlexSora89 Glad it worked out!

@AlexSora89 i missed the first comment where you said it was the smash dock lol

@smithpa01
Nevermind. It's the kind of thing that happens to me all the time.

@kirbygirl
Glad it did indeed. I'm still keeping my older, regular dock as my "travel dock", but I'm ever so glad things worked out.