The Nintendo Switch 2 is barely a week old, and we’ve been having a blast. Others, maybe not so much. Users haven’t reported any game-breaking bug that’ll keep you from using the console, but a smaller, more irksome bug does appear to have slipped through. A small handful of users are reporting that their Switch 2 displays a lower battery level than is actually available. This leads to fewer hours spent in Mario Kart, and nobody wants that.
Bitten by the Switch 2 battery bug
It’s not as though the Switch 2 has hours upon hours of charge to fall back on, either. Fortunately, Nintendo has a fix, or so it says. A new support document offers “steps for when the battery amount displayed and the actual remaining battery use don’t match. For example, you are able to continue using your Nintendo Switch 2 console for a few hours even though the battery charge indicator displays the battery is almost depleted.”
The fix is as simple as putting your Switch 2 into recovery mode. Not factory resetting it, not rolling back to a previous update, but just by turning on recovery mode, Nintendo reckons this will “reset the battery level meter.” If this fix doesn’t work… let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. First, you’ll need:
- Your Nintendo Switch 2 (duh)
- Your Nintendo Switch 2 AC adapter (Model NGN-01) or
- Your Nintendo Switch 1 adapter (Model HAC-002)
- An active internet connection
Read More: Nintendo Switch 2 first impressions – Bigger, brighter, better (but not yet essential)
Next, make sure that the console is fully up to date (System Settings > System > System Update). Once complete, power down the console properly (hold Power Button for three seconds > Power Options > Power Off). Then, plug either Nintendo Switch adapter into the console directly (we used the bottom USB-C port), hold down both volume buttons (+,-) at the same time, and hit the power button.
This will put the Nintendo Switch 2 into recovery mode. You’ll see options to check for a system update, restore all settings, and restore the console to its factory settings. Avoid all of these, and simply hold the power button again until the screen goes black. Turn it back on like usual, and check that the issue has been resolved.
If you’ve tried putting your console into recovery mode several times to no avail, you may have a faulty console, and it will need to be sent to Nintendo for repair, which can be organised here.
