Is your Nintendo Switch frozen? Do not worry. It might not be the end of your Switch. All consoles and devices, the Nintendo Switch included, will randomly freeze at some point in their lifespans—sometimes at the worst moments possible. Fortunately, there are a ton of fixes you can try to defrost that frozen Nintendo Switch of yours, allowing you to get back to gaming quickly. Here they are:
1. Charge it back up
Sometimes, the most complicated problems are caused by simple issues. The same can be said about frozen Switches, where the simple problem of not having enough battery can cause the console to freeze up.
The solution to this is to charge the Nintendo Switch back up! Connect it to a power source and leave it there for a few hours before trying to use it again. Note that third-party chargers may not work as well, so try and buy an OEM charger to give the Switch the juice needed to run.
2. Force the console to shut down
There is a reason experts tell people to restart the device. It can reboot the Switch to its original state, solving any problem it might have faced. As such, forcing your console to shut down and powering it back on is something you can definitely try out.
To do this, hold the Switch's power button down for around 12 seconds. After it powers off, leave it for a few seconds to make sure everything is powered down. Power the Switch back on, and hopefully, the console will no longer be frozen!
Note that this will not solve the issue permanently if something in the Switch is frequently causing the problem. However, this can still solve many problems.
3. Restart the game you are playing
If you were playing a game when your Nintendo switch froze, try and press the home button to exit and re-enter the game. If that works, great! If it is still frozen, exit the game and press the X button to close the game. You may lose any unsaved data, but that is a sacrifice you may have to make to unfreeze your device.
4. Reconnect or remove it from the dock
If you are using a Nintendo Switch Lite, this tip will not work for you. However, if you are using the original Switch, you can try switching the console's mode. For instance, if you were originally in TV mode, switch it to handheld mode. If you were on handheld mode, switch it to TV mode. This sudden change can kickstart the Switch back to life and can work on some occasions.
Conclusion
If any of the above solutions have addressed your frozen Switch issue, that is great to hear. Now, you can simply sit back, relax, and keep playing.
If it did not work, then you may have to send the console to a repair store. Although you can send it to Nintendo's official store, we highly recommend looking for trustworthy third-party solutions. The repair services there are just on par if not better than what the official store can offer—also faster! The best part is that you may even get a standalone warranty for the repair itself and pay much less for the fix!
Gamer Tech is an established repair company in the UK, offering quality repair services to fix faulty devices. If you are running into Nintendo Switch issues such as freezing, send your device to us today for a fix!