Topic: Docked - intermittent HDMI dropout / black screen / signal loss

Well this past week I had to return my Switch2 for another as I was having Dock issues of it not connecting with ethernet. The other Dock worked fine with ethernet for both Switch2. So it seems that I might have also got that bug for one Dock itself. So this Dock story might not be a isolated issue.

Ethernet issues seem widespread too, moreso thank this one, glad you have a working one now!

Has anyone seen a change after the last patch?

@Misima I got the update but haven't Docked game yet been too buy but if there is a issue of those with DOCK it won't be long if we hear back or not.

The issue persists for me if I turn back on match power state.

I've had this intermittent signal loss problem for years, not with Switch 2, but with my launch PS5. Originally, I was using a 65" Samsung QLED TV. I forget the exact model, but it had two hdmi 2.1 ports, and the second generation One Connect box. The signal drop-outs drove me crazy, and I couldn't fix the issue, no matter how much I searched online, and messed with the settings on both the tv and the console. I switched to a TCL 65", also with two hdmi ports, quite a nice TV, which I still have, and the problem still persisted. I then moved my PS5 to my sim rig, and used it with a 4k AOC monitor. The problem still persisted. I changed to a 32" Samsung Neo G7 monitor a few months back, also with two hdmi 2.1 ports, and the problem is gone. I'm guessing that there is a problem with settling on a standard within the display industry, and some incompatibility between the hdmi controllers in the displays, and the device being used. The industry themselves need to solve this issue, but before that, there needs to be acceptance within the industry that the problem is widespread, and that it is actually happening.

Contact Nintendo Support....I think this will become a issue....with Dock....

I have the same issue, but it's with a Sony Bravia 4K TV. Oddly I have never seen the problem happen when I use my Samsung G9 49" monitor for the Switch 2.

What works for me when this happens is to launch it with the controller (holding down home button) and keep pressing right over and over on the d-pad as it comes alive. For some reason having some kind of movement on the screen seems to stop it dying.

@Suketoudara Switching to another hdmi cable works for me. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I believe that the cable that came with my Switch may be faulty.

@PenguinX that's a good point... But it's not a slam dunk. Cables are very hard to be certain you have the right levels of shielding and protocols. Buy something on Amazon and you might not get what is expected due to bad listings and bad actors. The Nintendo cables used to be the highest quality and built to exact speciations.

The problem is the dock is designed to fail if it falls outside of specifics to prevent 3rd party tampering. So honestly, having to get new socks or cables is somewhat unacceptable. Even worse is it's not a given it will fix the problem.

I believe it's the type of thing that may happen because of a bad connection at any of the HDMI or AC connections. It's one of the worst quality issues I've seen with a Nintendo product at launch.

@Misima Do you know if Nintendo even replaces the HDMI cable that comes with the system? I'm not sure about anyone else, but mines was just a generic high speed HDMI cable.

@PenguinX Do you mean if they will replace it via warranty? Probably, but you have to send it in.

If you mean do they make it... I have no idea.

All I know is when I search the keywords for the HDMI that's needed I am never 100% confident I am getting what I need.

I actually bought Nintendo branded USB and HDMI cables because of their quality. The prices are sky high and I don't see the quality anymore. No idea what the problem is, and honestly I think most TVs make the HDMI 1 plug high quality and the others low quality.

@Misima I wasn't expecting that you might have to send the old cable in first. For HDMI cables, I believe club3d makes good cables. I've never had any issues with them. I was hoping that the cable that came with the system was actually high quality.

@PenguinX I also have a Bravia and also had this issue with Switch 2. I also had an issue where sometimes the TV wouldn't get a signal when turning on the Switch 2. However, I disabled "Match TV Power State" in the Switch 2's system settings and haven't run into either issue since. Strangely, this was never an issue for me with Switch 1.

@topsekret If you saw my list of suggestions, you may be able to end the issue and I think I'm with you that the match state is the key.

@Misima I mean, I already worked around the issue by disabling "Match TV Power State." Unless you found an alternative way to fix it while maintaining that feature?

I looked at some of your past comments and saw you mention things like using HDMI 1 input and not using Game Mode.

I definitely don't wanna give up Game Mode cause modern TVs add a ton of input lag outside of Game Mode.

But I'll try HDMI 1 and see if that makes a difference. I believe that's the input my Switch 1 is using, which never had this issue.

For those of you who have the charging limitation to 90% enabled, try disabling it.
I'm not saying this is 100% related, but it fixed this situation for at least one guy on reddit, so, worth trying if nothing else works

I'm thinking the issue may happen when the Switch 2 can't successfully handshake with the TVs HDMI CECs settings. In the case of my Bravia TV, this happened when the Switch 2 wasn't recognized under the Bravia Sync device list. It might be why disabling match power tv setting on the Switch 2 stops it from happening.

I have a switch 2 and a TCL TV. I get black screen drop out (usually early in playing) and I tried switching input to HDMI 1 and turning off TVs game mode…but I also have a computer hooked up to the TV with HDMI 2 port and the same thing happens when the computer is the input watching a movie.
Is there a chance this is a problem with smart TVs that have their own “computer” running the screen? Frustrating to play with this video signal drop.