Topic: Nintendo switch glitches

I have purchased the Animal Crossing Special edition switch back in May 2021. When I play the switch in hand held mode then put the switch in dock mode while turned on the switch will play a weird loud sound and I will have to turn the console off (full shut down) and back on to fix it.

It happened 2-4 times since I purchased it.

If I change out the thermal paste will that fix the issue?

I refuse to send it to Nintendo for repair and only getting a replacement device that's not the Special edition I had sent in.

I will like to be able to fix this myself instead even if I have to take it to a 3rd party repair center.

Any ideas if the original thermal paste is what's causing the issue?

Your best bet is to contact Nintendo and ask them,. You can even set up a repair with them. Doing it yourself will void any warranty you have plus if you further damage it yourself Nintendo will more then likely charge you to repair it.

@Tay205 Since you mention thermal paste, I'm going to assume the problematic sound is the fan. With my 2017 launch switch, and my OLED, both started incrementally increasing the fan speed & sound. Around 6-12 months, occasionally, the fan seems to go into a noticeable boost mode - for me it usually happens after booting up a game that connects to the internet (splatoon & rocket league).

I've guessed it's thermal paste drying out/degrading. With my 2017 switch, the fan started getting an audible, slight whirring sound at about 2-3 years old, maybe because of dust accumulation in the fan, maybe because the fan is spinning faster. For the life of my switch, I kept it a drawer when not being played to keep it away from dust.

Maybe thermal paste will solve it. But if your fan develops a slight audible oscillating/wobble, perhaps a new fan will be in order.

I gave my 2017 switch to my friend. He replaced the fan, and I'm pretty sure he re-did the thermal paste. He said it was silent after he did the job.

@Rambler I did that and it did nothing, if anything it made it worse.

@WoomyNNYes the problem is the sound is coming from the TV. The TV is fine but when it makes the loud weird noise I had to remove the switch from the dock and it was still sounding the weird noise and I had to shut it down and turn it back on. So I believe the fan is fine

@Tay205 Oh!? Now that's different. Forgive my tangent rambling, then.

I can only make a couple general points. Make sure you using nintendo branded AC adapter & dock. Try using a different hdmi port on the tv. (Not all hdmi ports on tvs are created equal. They should be, but some tv companies cut corners on the second or third hdmi ports.) Or, if you can, try a different tv, to see if the problem persists. If the problem persists, that might mean something is wrong with your nintendo hardware somewhere.

Edit: Maybe try a different hdmi cable, for the heck of it. Just trying to rule everything out.

@WoomyNNYes I am thinking of trying my other dock.

The good news is the issue doesn't always happen.

I purchased the switch in May 2021 and I had this problem occurred maybe 4 times (once or twice a year)

I was wanting to see if anyone else has the issue and see if they fixed it permanently

I will have to replace the thermal paste anyway but it's been getting a little hotter than normal

But I wanted to see if the thermal paste will fix the issue

@Tay205 I don't see how thermal paste would be relevant to a sound/display issue. To me, that sounds like something interfering the switch video/audio output, like with the dock, or switch usb C port, or possibly the tv/hdmi port, but these are just guesses without seeing your issue first hand.

@WoomyNNYes do you think the Video chip that's shouldered onto the motherboard could be causing the issue?

Sadly this switch is the Animal crossing edition and I'm really afraid to get it repaired by Nintendo.

I was wondering if anyone had this issue where they put the switch in the dock while the console is on and had the audio being loud buzzing or might can tell me if they know how to fix it

@Tay205 The only internal parts I've heard of going bad have been the Switch's wifi, card reader, or cartridge reader.

I've only seen couple people here say the switch had a display problem on their TV. It turned out the Switch worked fine when they tried a different HDMI port on their TV.

I'm think a less-complicated solution is more likely your issue, like a bad dock, or damaged usb C plug, or a ribbon cable in the switch isn't seated well. (I'm assuming you've tried a different HDMI cable to rule that out)

When you have no clue what it is, that's when I try to rule out all the things you can. If possible, try another hdmi port on the TV, try another TV, try another hdmi cable, try another dock. If it's not any of those things, then you know it's the switch. (Disregard if you've tried all those things already.)

@WoomyNNYes do you think a factory reset would fix this?

As long as this glitch will not damage the switch to the point if will never work again (short circuit the CPU) and fixes the issue when I shut it down I'm OK with it glitching.

I have had bad luck with Nintendo switch consoles and bad experience with Nintendo repairing them. I have to say other than the glitch this Nintendo switch console is the best switch I had in a very long time.

Luckily I only had this glitch to occur less than 5 times since I brought it (may 2021) so it's not a big issue but I don't want the CPU to short circuit where it's unrepairable.

So I have no idea if a factory reset will fix it

@Tay205 As far as I've seen, I don't think your issue is a glitch. I don't think a factory reset will solve your issue. This is just my guess, though, based on what I've seen. I wouldn't do a factory reset unless it's a last resort & you contact nintendo and they recommend it.

Since switch launch, as far as I've seen, if nintendo support troubleshooting pages can't solve something, that's been a VERY good indication of hardware failure somewhere. Forgive me if that sounds corny, but since I joined here in 2017, it seems to be true.

Not recommended unless you want to burn-out the fan bearing out over spinning it. Compressed air spins the blade faster then specs. Same goes for laptop fans compressed air is not recommended to blow into the vents in either directions that will push dust into the interior not want one thinks it would do. Take out the fan and put something between the blade from spinning then use compressed air to blow out the particles-that's the smart way to clean the fan.

@Rambler... That explains why just going to the settings page makes it sound crazy...