Topic: Thinking I might return switch...

Yep. Just got my son a switch for his b-day with splatoon 2. All was well for a few days then we got him mario odyssey. When we put the new game in the console will not work on the TV. I googled this of course and its a known issue with possibly the dock or the adapter. Tried all the fixes posted by both Nintendo and other forums to no avail. Also found out during the course of my research how nintendo still does not have a function to save data. I'm still in the window to return the switch for a full refund and think I'm just going to get my son the ps4. He doesn't have a lot of save data yet since he's only had it for less than a week but having to lose that save data is an eye opener to me. It is unbelievable to me that a console doesn't have a way to back up data. What was the last console that wouldn't back up data? Atari?

Yeah it's really bad and there is no excuse anyone can make.

If my switch was lost or broken I honestly would be distraught. Losing all that saved game data

Does it still work in portable mode? Maybe you can try another dock or send it back for repairs. It'll be under warranty and the Nintendo technicians should be able to recover the data (this is why this service exists)

Yes it works in portable mode. I'm just really not too keen on having these issues after a few days with a $300 console. I could see if the dock went out after a year or so from the console being plugged in/out of the dock but having seen this is a known issue and isn't fixed yet is a problem to me. Switch has been out now over a year. It's not just me either. Many people are having issues with the dock/adapter not working properly. Then top it off with no way to save game data(well unless you have another switch I guess you can transfer data over to it). Crazy!

Data transfer is handled via the USB Type-C port at the bottom of the Switch - if that connection is damaged, Nintendo will be unable to retrieve the data (for some reason)

IGN's Brian Altano had a Switch that developed a fault with that specific port - he sent it in for repair, but they were unable to salvage any of his data/saves. It sucks - if there's one thing that you don't want to go wrong on the Switch (as of now), it's that USB connection.

Fingers crossed that's not the issue with @rferoni's sons Switch.

_{EDIT: What I can say though is that Nintendo's Support Service is otherwise, in my experience, excellent. The console will be covered in its first year by the manufacturers warranty - and Nintendo themselves will cover all of the costs (even postage) ..thankfully, by the sounds of things, your son doesn't have too much data to lose - and it'd be extremely unlikely that he'd experience the same fault twice - so I'd still recommend contacting Nintendo Support first just to see what they say (so long as you'd still be eligible for a refund if you're unsatisfied with the repairs, which it might be worth checking just in case)}

Obviously nobody should try to convince you to keep it, I agree not having a backup option is odd

I have a PS4 so all I can say is that is also a great console

If I understand it right only Nintendo can retrieve game data at this point, OR you can transfer the data to another switch. You can also save profile data now, but not game data. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

you are not wrong

Maybe you could try asking your son for his opinion instead of us.

I mean, this kinda concerns him more than us.

Actually something is quiet wrong here. The story of the Dock issue is just that a whole lot of myth and if warranty why are you not doing RMA or taking it back to where you bought to get it replaced. That right there makes this story very odd. And if you have a memory card you can move the data to the Memory card. But if you didn't try to contact Nintendo support online for data transfer then this is very suspect thread by itself. Also to use Nintendo you need a Nintendo account so they would have your data on your NS with them already. So again this thread is doesn't seem to pass the smell test here.

That was suppose to be up to the user to backup their data - Nintendo is the party at fault here. This is what is called Read your Instructions not doing so is the user fault. PS4 great but then again you can't portable it so that "great" isn't so great now.

We're all annoyed at the lack of backup feature. Speculation says the backup will be part of cloud saves and thus part of the paid online that was intended to have released last July or so. But yeah, there's no excuse for that and it's definitely an annoyance/problem.

OTOH, Getting a PS4 because your preferred Switch doesn't have save backups is kind of like buying a gas grill because your microwave doesn't sear well. Your steaks will definitely be better, but your Cup-O-Noodles isn't going to turn out so well.....

Or, translated: Getting a totally different machine that does something entirely differently with a largely different game library just because you want save game backups seems like a silly idea. I presume you bought a Switch instead of a PS4 because you liked it's features and/or library, and a PS4, while giving you one feature your switch doesn't have doesn't help you with the features/games you originally bought the Switch for.

I love Switch. I love PS4. But they're two different machines.

Lol its always interesting to see where forum discussions go. To answer some of your questions...

The dock issue is real. Google it. The adapter issue is real. Google it. These are things from Nintendos own website to check if the console works but doesn't play on T.V. Yes I know I can contact Nintendo and send in my less than one week old unit to have it 'fixed'. Thats crap. Yes I know I can exchange it. Probably will just return it. As for the gaming systems we are not huge gamers in my house. We have an Xbox 360 we bought AFTER the Xbox One came out and thats it. My son is 10 and showed interest in the switch. He plays more PC Games than anything. I did decide on the switch for the family gaming aspect of nintendo games.

If anyone here or elsewhere bought a switch and never had and issue then they may not even know the issues exist. A coworker of mine bought two last year and has had zero issues. He has multiple docks hooked up to multiple tvs and no issues whatsoever. Again, these issues are known and posted on Nintendo's support site.

I will say this was probably the wrong forum to post my gripe, so I apologize for that.

@NEStalgia

The game save data isn't the only reason. I just don't want to have to worry about having issues 1 day out of warranty. The system has been out just over a year now and the issues I'm having date back to summer last year. Should have already been fixed in a firmware update IMO. Also FWIW I think I could make a mean Cup-O-Noodles on the grill!

@rferoni well, hardware defects are universal. Ps4s have known defects too. Check ps4 pro and the rottr test. Not sure if slim had known issues, but og ps4 had video card issues for the early batches, and controller issues that took a hardware revision to fix.

I'm passing on the grilled noodles

> owns an XBox 360
> complains about Switch launch issues and doesn't contact customer service

I think we're done here.

Agreed