←back to thread

Nintendo Switch 2 Dock USB-C Compatibility

(www.lttlabs.com)
298 points croes | 5 comments | 31 Aug 25 23:21 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
alex_f_k ◴[01 Sep 25 03:57 UTC] No.45089306[source]▶
From lttlabs:

> The inability for most docks to support the Switch 2 may not be malicious from Nintendo. It might just be a poor or lazy implementation of the USB-C specification

From the verge [0], 2 months ago:

> When I analyze the conversation between the Nintendo Switch 2 and its dock, I can see the two devices begin speaking in Nintendo’s own flavor of “vendor defined” language early in the conversation, before they sign off on any video output. And then, seemingly before the dock confirms that it’s engaged video-out, they send over 30 proprietary “unstructured” messages to one another.

> […]

> According to Antank, which says it checked with its chip supplier, that hexadecimal string “is indeed the current key being used by Nintendo.” My other sources are less sure.

I'm pretty sure lttl's conclusion is plain wrong. It is not JUST lazy USB-C implementation, but a purposefully designed special proprietary protocol on top of USB-C

[0] https://www.theverge.com/report/695915/switch-2-usb-c-third-...

replies(9): >>45089407 #>>45090090 #>>45090873 #>>45091094 #>>45091140 #>>45092225 #>>45093299 #>>45095096 #>>45101685 #
KeplerBoy ◴[01 Sep 25 06:39 UTC] No.45090090[source]▶
Seems Nintendo has good reasons not to support it with 3rd party devices: Their own dock has active cooling, so with generic dongles the switch wouldn't be able to enter the docked performance mode (or have to throttle down pretty soon) and would have to output a blurry mess to 4k screens.

Not a great user experience.

replies(8): >>45090176 #>>45090205 #>>45090300 #>>45090323 #>>45090730 #>>45090942 #>>45092839 #>>45095121 #
alpaca128 ◴[01 Sep 25 09:08 UTC] No.45090942[source]▶
Would you rather have your phone refuse to charge for no apparent reason, or have it popup "slow USB charging" as it does when you connect it to a weaker charger?

Nintendo unnecessarily chose to make their device partially USB-C incompatible in an intransparent way. A lot of users will rely on this working (as it already did on the Switch 1) and then it just won't, and probably the user will just assume their third-party USB dongle is broken and maybe buy another one, which means Nintendo won't get anything out of it and the user will lose more money. Everyone loses but at least the pesky customer can't use a third-party product.

replies(1): >>45091065 #
1. pjerem ◴[01 Sep 25 09:30 UTC] No.45091065[source]▶
Aren’t we talking about video out from the dock ?

Because it wasn’t possible for Switch 1. After some time, some alternative USB-C hubs supported the Switch video output but it was basically reverse engineering and I totally remember this first "compatible" hub back in the early days of the console which happened to brick consoles.

Nintendo is like Apple they :

- Don’t want you tu use the Switch in unpredictable ways : with the switch on the dock the cooling is guaranteed to be efficient, even on Switch 1 because it meant that the console wasn’t lying on a blanket.

- Don’t want you to buy anything else than their expensive dock.

replies(2): >>45091297 #>>45093265 #
2. alpaca128 ◴[01 Sep 25 10:09 UTC] No.45091297[source]▶
Apple devices work near flawlessly with third-party periphery in my experience, what are you talking about? They have some questionable limitations at times (like iPads supporting Thunderbolt but not being able to safely eject USB drives), but I don't buy Apple cables & adapters and that's because they're not needed. I can charge a Macbook with a random USB-C charger on my desk, I can turn on my third-party BT headphones and they're connected within two seconds, I can connect a screen with a third-party USB-C adapter and the only possible issue is that not all USB ports go up to 240Hz. I cannot say some of these things about my PC on which Bluetooth audio simply is not usable at all and some other basics need janky workarounds or ironically only work on Linux.

I have many reasons to be pissed at Apple but connectivity is not one of them.

replies(1): >>45093263 #
3. goosedragons ◴[01 Sep 25 15:07 UTC] No.45093263[source]▶
Lightning was pretty limited. Third party companies either had to be blessed by Apple or clone them some how. For some accessories like video out this was a big limitation.
4. Xss3 ◴[01 Sep 25 15:07 UTC] No.45093265[source]▶
Again you're just excusing the lack of engineering time put into an onscreen message.

'Overheating detected, reducing video resolution'.

Nintendo will earn millions by keeping it proprietary. Lets stop pretending this is about technical ability or 'protecting' the consumer from a bad ux.

replies(1): >>45098538 #
5. exidy ◴[02 Sep 25 02:32 UTC] No.45098538[source]▶
> Nintendo will earn millions by keeping it proprietary. Lets stop pretending this is about technical ability or 'protecting' the consumer from a bad ux.

Nintendo ships a dock with every Switch 2. How big is the market for people buying aftermarket docks? Nintendo has always aimed very squarely at the mass market.