If you're worried about your precious - and expensive - Nintendo Switch system overheating, Game Tech has you covered with this new cooling fan, launching later this week.
It might look a bit ridiculous at first glance, but the product supposedly manages to dissipate heat from the console, cooling it down by "a maximum of 13 degrees". It attaches to the Switch via a series of suction cups so that it can be easily popped on and off, and is powered by batteries or by plugging it into the wall.
Those of us enjoying the UK's traditionally grey and miserable weather at the moment probably won't need such a thing, but the cooling fan is primarily being targeted at those living in Japan, where the summer months can be pretty brutal.
You can go ahead and pre-order one from Amazon Japan if you're interested; worldwide shipping is available, and it's scheduled to release tomorrow, 15th May.
Have you ever experienced any overheating problems with your Switch? Let us know if this fan sounds like a decent idea with a comment below.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
[source game.watch.impress.co.jp, via kotaku.com]
Comments (60)
I've been using the Switch primarily in handheld mode for hours every day since launch and I've never had a problem with it getting too hot or overheating so yeah, I think I'll pass...
Where is the proof that it works?
Not a fan of these things
Sorry... I'll get my coat...
It's a bit draughty
But it is just a thermal pad connected to a fan on the back of the Switch. This is NOT real cooling. It is not even close to being in touch with the heat spreaders on the chip.
I pity the people who would buy this and expect it to work.
@mesome713 These don't work.
All these fans for all consoles are useless, they do not cool and sometimes even make the console get hotter.
The only reason why they "work" on notebooks is because the notebook itsels stands higher on such pad, not because of the fan.
In other news, new Paper Mario announced by Nintendo their youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX6DTLcWUdY
I guess if I remove the back of my Switch it "could" work.
So there 's a new Paper Mario game, just announced
@Rayquaza2510 great news! Though I am slightly dissapointed Nintendo don't go with voice actors, that tinkle tinkle text was a bit of a turn off. If they picked the right VA they could add more personality and magic to the usually very solid scripts these games have.
This is a stupid idea. Never had my Switch get hot to the point it needs a cooler even plugged in after hours of playing in handheld. This looks awful as well and doesn't cool inside the machine where it actually matters. From the outside in you are better off playing in a cold room lol.
@AFernandes03 whaaaaaaaaaat?
I have a feeling this won't sell well.
I really doubt this is effective, since the thermal conduction of the plastic casing is basically zero. Besides, the suction cups prevent it from making perfect contact. So it's a whole load of nonsense. Please don't report on scams like this. They don't need more attention than they already get.
A fan on the outside of a plastic case?
Fools and their money....
@Zuljaras Yup. I used to get these small fans for my computer and they were not worth it.
I live in Scotland. What we need is a switch heater to keep it warm.
@bLiNdSiDe82 which means itll be one of these obscure collectables in 30 years.
lol The giant thermal pad.
Is it April the 1st?
@sarethums Collect away my friend, collect away.
@brunojenso
Reminds me, I used to really like tractors when I was younger. When I got married to the missus I was given an ultimatum... them or her. So here I am, an extractor fan.
Hey!!! That's my coat!
I mean...yeah it can get hot, but I imagine it's designed to withstand whatever games it plays, I hope? Same for the other consoles, I never understood attaching something the console should be designed to do anyway. If it doesn't, then you need to clean out the dust because something is wrong.
I'm having to replace the internal fan on my Switch. Fan makes loud humming noises when switched on, sometimes for several minutes.
didn't they make this type of fan for the GameCube? from my experience, the Wii U needs this fan more than the Nintendo switch.
Nice try but April Fools was last month.
Huh, if they claim it goes down by "a maximum of 13°C", then it could be similar to the Black Shark FunCooler Pro which uses a chip that displaces heat from one side to the other so their statement could hold.
However, a Switch Lite is meant for portability. I don't see anyone bringing a powerbank to power this whilst holding their Switch Lite. Kind of defeats the purpose and it doesn't overheat.
Do these people not have air conditioning?
I'm more worried about getting my Switch's "toxins" flushed, and Copper Fit compression socks, and healing crystals (whatever pseudo science ailments you can think of )
https://www.amazon.com/Copper-Compression-Full-Leg-Sleeve/dp/B07C2CFKXN/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=copper+fit+compression&qid=1589469758&sr=8-5
https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Healing-Crystals-Wooden-Book/dp/B07WJHMWRQ/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=healing+crystals&qid=1589469718&sr=8-5
Dubious looking product. But an entertaining thing to see. Just having fun in the comments.
I remember someone running a little test not long after the switch was released.
he got it to overheat, "docked"(dock internal wiring plugged into the switch, no plastic shell), with the cooling fan unplugged, wrapped in a towel.
even then it took a few minutes of mario kart to get it to overheat(or rather, trigger overheating protection turning off the switch).
just blocking the vents, or just unplugging the fan wasn't enough, he really had to sabotage all cooling to get it close enough that the overheat protection got triggered.
so the switch could operate purely on passive cooling, active cooling is just a precaution.
Ummm, pretty sure the switch runs hotter in docked mode. Soooo isn't the fan basic useless if you ever decide to use your switch docked?
With all these great console out I just cannot see being a fan of only one.
I'm surprised it took so long. For a while it seemed like every console got one of these. I got tricked into wasting my money in high school on one for my Xbox 360. All it did was make the thing louder.
So I play my switch mostly in handheld, and it gets so hot that i actually had warping. Not like terrible but its noticeable if you look. If I can save up the funds for it I would certainly get this.
One of my favorite things about the Switch lite is it's lack of a fan, this also seems like it would probably not even work.
I got a switch lite is to avoid wire when I play ( if I want wire, I'll play on the standard )
After three years of constant use, my Switch has started overheating quite a bit. To the point where it shuts itself off to cool down after half an hour playing certain games. It happens to me every time I play Civ6 with the expansions and every time I play DQ11. But it gets hot while playing other games, too, just not to the same extent.
It seems like some of the newer releases demand a lot from the Switch, and most likely my Switch also needs internal cleaning and maybe new thermal paste. (Which I'll do, but I don't have the screwdriver for it).
Not going to buy this as I think it's a silly gimmick, but yes, the Switch can definitely overheat. Saying "the Switch never overheats" doesn't help the people whose Switches are overheating.
This looks about as usful as the nyko one for the dock a few years back
I don’t understand this at all. It’s not even doing anything. If your legs get hot while playing your Switch I guess that’s cool. Otherwise it’s, pretty clunky and useless.
Lol, the best way to avoid overheating probably is avoiding nonsense games like Fortnite. I heard that game makes the Switch pretty hot.
But seriously, it depends on the game. If its a "heavy" game (Doom Eternal may also become a problem) or a game that is badly made your Switch may become very hot. Personally my Switch gets hot sometimes, but nothing to the extreme.
My son has resorted to having to play his undocked most of the time as it shuts down due to overheating when docked. Think the fan needs replacing as it does run very loud compared to my Switch. I have removed the case and given it a good clean out, but didn't really make any difference.
If I play a graphic-intensive game like Doom for a certain period of time docked, the first minute I undock the Switch to continue handheld, the fan power increase to 10. During this, the Switch is effectively hot, but only for 2-3 minutes I would say. No use for me then.
Imagine getting scammed with that garbage.
LOL. 13 degrees. LOL. Someone should explain to these clowns that plastic does not conduct thermal energy.
Imagine having to pay for a thing that probably should have already come included in the item itself. -_-
A Gimmick just like Laptop Cooling pad. Doesn't work since it will damage your system fan if it push too hard. Think about people push the fan past it's RPM and it dies whom will pay to fix or replace that. YOU not NIN nor the cooler company they will say that was User Cause aka Abused. Now imagine you have a Gripcase or similar protector how would this work???????
@SwitchForce what are you on about? This thing doesn't push your switch's internal fan. It relies on a thermal spreader cooling the switch's case which is stupid and doesn't work.
Lets create an answer to a problem that doesn't exist. "Are you tired of lighting yourself on fire? Well we got a product for you!!!"
As someone who builds PCs this design is so frustrating to look at...
@BigLarry missing the fact it's not a cooler to start with.
@BenAV exactly. I’ve had a little warmth now and then but this is just a solution looking for a problem, typical old school capitalism move, but hey, good luck to them.
Does it at least come with a bottle of snake oil, or do you have to buy that separately?
Has ANYONE had issues with the switch overheating ? They're so many videos showing the switch basically only overheats if you cover it with a blanket and it will turn itself off if/when it gets too hot.
Edit:
There are also known issues where older switches are getting hot from dust/dirt build up so it cannot actively cool as it should. A new fan won't keep it clean
@brunojenso,
Ba boom, don't forget to try the veal.
But seriously I had no need for a Switch fan over Christmas, as I was living in an advent calendar, it was bloody freezing because all the windows were open.
Wii needed this. I've bought many wiis with broken fans. If only it had a red ring when it overheat and shut down.
Really need to stop posting stuff like this nonsense, if Ryan craddock wants to be taken seriously really needs to look at articles they put their names to. "does your switch overheat? Here is a fan that doesn't even come near any of the 3 heat extraction points. Now, has your unicorns horn lost it's sheen? We have your answers". I'm sorry but for them to think anyone would believe this stuff they must think we are all window licking morons and I'm insulted.
@Naoiko really hope you are joking, if this product is in fact real it's a scam designed to rip off those with zero brain cells and shouldn't be encouraged. If you are indeed getting warping then you are (no 2 ways about it) covering the heat vents top and bottom of the console and if you want a product to cool it faster you should use either a bucket of water or an extraction fan that ACTUALLY goes over the vents rather than sticking to the back.
I can tell you that one does not simply overheat the Switch.
I often play mine outside while I'm baking in the sun. The sun will obviously heat up that black Switch metal as well. Pretty aggressively so in fact. But still, even when I do this while playing taxing games like XC2, Skyrim or TW3, the thing never overheats. I'll hear the fan blowing like crazy, much faster than it usually would in handheld mode, but it never overheats. This is a system designed to get hot and handle that heat pretty magnificently. If it can handle taxing games + sun heat, it can definitely handle being played outside of the sun/inside, which is still 90% of the time.
Hard pass for me.
That's odd I never had any issues with overheating. I mean after hours its little warm but for its compact size it runs cool. No it's not a lite its regular switch but is 2.0 so maybe that's why it runs cooler.
@johnvboy Ha, I'm ashamed to say I had to look up the 'don't forget to try the veal' reference - but I've got it now.
@brunojenso,
I find myself looking things up from time to time, although I do have to delete my browser history after.
Tap here to load 60 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...