How to fix blinking green light on your Nintendo Switch dock

Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch (Image credit: iMore)

So one moment everything was fine. You were playing with your Switch and having a grand ol' time. Next thing you know, something has gone terribly wrong. You put your Nintendo Switch in its dock and suddenly the green LED on the front of your dock starts blinking. Even worse, your Switch doesn't seem to be outputting a signal to your TV or even charging while in the dock.

It seems that you have encountered what is beginning to be colloquially known as the blinking green light of death. Well, before you throw your Switch down the garbage disposal and sit down for a nice long cry, there are a few things you can try to get your Switch back in working order. Don't worry, in no time at all you'll be able to get back to the best Nintendo Switch games you've been playing!

Check for updates

  1. Undock your Switch
  2. Go to the Settings menu to ensure that there are no updates available for your Switch.
  3. Once you are certain that you are up to date, restart your Switch by holding the Power button for three seconds, selecting Power Options, and choosing Restart.

Power Cycle

  1. Unplug the HDMI cable from your dock.
  2. Unplug your power cable from the wall and your dock and wait for 30 seconds.
  3. While you are waiting the 30 seconds, take this opportunity to inspect your power cable to ensure that it is not damaged in any way.
  4. Plug everything back in and see if that resolved the issue.

Skip the middleman

If none of these things so far have worked for you, plug the power cable directly into your Switch. If it begins to charge, the dock is the likely culprit.

If you have a faulty or malfunctioning dock, you're unfortunately going to have to send it in to Nintendo for repair. If you're not under warranty, you're going to have to pick up a new one. New Switch docks are still a little pricey, but you can find them for a little over $100 from various retailers. It's worth noting that you can now get the Nintendo Switch OLED dock separately, so if you want to upgrade and get a LAN port, that's the way to go.

Hopefully, you were able to get your dock back in working order. If not, I wish you all the best and I hope that everything will come to a quick and simple resolution. You can always contact Nintendo to get assistance with the issue.

Samuel Tolbert
Contributor

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance gaming writer who started working for iMore and its sister sites Windows Central and Android Central in July 2019. He handles news, previews, reviews, and exclusive original reporting, and has also been featured on TechRadar.

With a background studying engineering before he shifted his focus to gaming journalism, he's skilled at identifying technical advantages and disadvantages provided by different hardware. If he’s not writing something, he’s off playing video games, spending time with his pets, exercising, or reading. He's also fond of trying to draw things with his iPad.