'Why won't my Nintendo Switch turn on?': How to troubleshoot an unresponsive Switch

Steven John

Oct 1, 2019, 03:10 IST

'Why won't my Nintendo Switch turn on?': How to troubleshoot an unresponsive Switch

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

There are several reasons why your Switch might not turn on.

If your Nintendo Switch console won't turn on, chances are that you just have a drained battery.
The Switch could also be frozen, in which case you can perform a hard reset by holding the power button down for at least 12 seconds.
When performing a forced reset, make sure the Switch is connected to a power source.
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So your beloved Nintendo Switch isn't turning on? Don't panic, it's probably a very small issue.

There are a few reasons why your Nintendo Switch might not turn on, and most of them aren't serious. Here's how to quickly troubleshoot a Nintendo Switch that won't start.

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How to fix a Switch that won't turn on

Charge it

Most of the time, when a Switch refuses to turn on, it's simply out of battery. Place it into its dock or plug the charging cable in directly and wait a few hours for it to charge back up. The Switch should soon be operational, and will be fully charged in about three hours.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

An unresponsive Nintendo Switch likely just needs some time to charge.

For more info on how to charge your Nintendo Switch, check out our article, "How to charge a Nintendo Switch console in 2 ways, and keep playing while it charges."

Hard reset it

If your Switch remains unresponsive, even after a decent charging session, or if you can see a faint light coming from the blank screen, it's time to force a shutdown instead. Don't worry, your saved data won't be lost.

To shut the Switch off manually:

1. Hold down the little circular power button on top of the Switch for between 12 and 15 seconds.