Switch 2 owners report being unable to reliably reconnect third-party console docks following the release of Nintendo’s version 21.0.0 console update earlier this week.
Officially, Nintendo has made no mention of any change to the Switch 2’s compatibility with third-party dock hardware, and there’s nothing referring to the move in the company’s official patch notes for the firmware update.
Now, there’s confusion among fans over why the third-party hardware they’ve bought has seemingly, and suddenly, been blocked from working without warning. And there’s also fear, too, that Nintendo could block support for more third-party accessories without notice. IGN has contacted Nintendo for comment.
Kotaku has reported on the numerous threads on reddit and social media posts from fans complaining that third third-party Switch 2 dock was now unreliable, or totally broken. At least one manufacturer has already updated the firmware for their dock to fight back against Nintendo’s move, though it’s unclear if this will be possible for other third-party alternatives.
Some of these devices are created to provide extra design flexibility that Nintendo does not, such as squeezing the dock’s hardware into a simple cable, or making it into a smaller, folding unit. And many are sold for far cheaper than Nintendo’s own official Switch 2 dock (which retails for $124.99).
“I finally got around to ordering a dock cable for travel, it arrived today,” wrote reddit user eschatonik, who bought an unofficial Switch 2 JEMDO 4k/60hz cable dock (which Amazon sells for around $20). “Plugged it in, happy it worked right out of the box. Launched a game, update alert, update, cable’s borked.”
Nintendo has never officially supported third-party Switch docks, but such a move — if deliberate — has once again sparked discussion among fans of what knobs and levers it is able to pull when looking to shut off access to things it may disapprove of.
Earlier this year, Nintendo was seen to be deliberately bricking the consoles of players it detected as having inserted the piracy-enabling MIG Switch device. While there’s no suggestion that Nintendo will do similar here for simply using a third-party dock, there are calls once again for greater transparency from Nintendo — especially on the usage of simple third-party alternatives.
Earlier this month, Nintendo raised its profit forecast for the year after announcing that Switch 2 had already sold an astonishing 10.36 million units, up to September 30. It’s a record-breaking amount that sees Switch 2 continue its run as the fastest-selling console ever.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social