Nintendo Confirms Switch 2 Battery Bug And Here's The Official Fix
Okay, here's the situation, your parents went away on a week's vacation and...wait, my brain went elsewhere for a moment and it's not even throwback Thursday! The actual situation (which as nothing to do with DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince) is that you managed to snag a Switch 2 console (contributing to it setting a launch day sales record), either by way of a preorder or by beating the mad rush at launch, and something seems off about the battery charge indicator. If so, take solace in knowing you are not alone—this is a known issue.
In a support document, Nintendo confirmed that the battery amount displayed on your Switch 2 console may not match the actual remaining battery life. "For example, you are able to continue using your Nintendo Switch 2 console for a few hours even though the battery charger indicator displays the battery is almost depleted," Nintendo points out in a support document.
According to the official specifications, the battery inside the Switch 2 should keep the handheld humming for anywhere between 2 to 6.5 hours. Those figures are "rough estimates" and obviously your mileage will vary, depending in large part on what types of games you play. Meanwhile, it takes around 3 hours to fully charge the battery, Nintendo says.
To be clear, Nintendo's fix for the battery charge indicator not matching the actual remaining battery life will not improve the Switch 2's run time. That's a bit of a bummer, as short battery life has been one of chief complaints with Nintendo's newest-generation handheld.
However, it is helpful to know the real status of the battery, and if you find things are not matching up, Nintendo has laid out a series of steps to address the issue.
To apply the fix, you need your Switch 2 console (naturally), your Switch 2's AC adapter (model NGN-01), and access to the internet. Note that if you're using the original Switch's AC adapter (model HAC-002), it can charge your Switch 2 when plugged in directly, but won't charge it while the handheld is docked.
Once you have those items in place, follow these steps to reset the battery life meter...
- Make sure your Switch 2 is fully up to date.
- Power off the Switch 2.
- Press and hold both volume up (+) and volume down (-) buttons, and press the Power button one time to turn it on.
- Keep holding the volume up/down buttons while the Switch 2 boots until you see the menu for Recovery Mode.
- Navigate to Recovery Mode to reset the battery level meter.
- Power off the Switch 2 again (press the Power button until it turns off).
- Turn the Switch 2 on as you normally would.
- Pat yourself on the back (our recommendation, not Nintendo's).
Resetting the battery life meter should solve the issue. If not, Nintendo says to try the above steps several more times and if the issue still remains, "the console will need to be sent in for service." You can do that by heading to Nintendo's service request page.
