Nintendo Switch 2 update breaks cheap docks

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Nintendo just rolled out a shiny new Switch 2 system update, and somehow managed to accidentally (or accidentally on purpose, depending on who you ask) nuke a bunch of third-party docks in the process. 

Update 21.0.0 was supposed to be a cheerful quality-of-life patch: no more autoplay videos in the eShop, clearer icons about whether your game is digital or physical, all the nice little conveniences fans actually want. 

Instead, Switch 2 owners are reporting that their off-brand docks have gone from “perfectly fine” to “very expensive paperweights.”

The issue first began bubbling up across Reddit, Discord, and social feeds before being amplified by Kotaku. 

Users say some docks simply stopped working entirely, while others now behave like grumpy old televisions, functional only after a few unplug-plug-restart rituals. (Via: Engadget)

YouTuber AustinJohnPlays tested two different third-party Switch 2 dongle-docks and found both were utterly “borked” after the update, confirming the chaos.

Naturally, everyone wants to know: Did Nintendo do this on purpose?

And, well, it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing the company has done lately.

Nintendo has been on a bit of an anti-consumer heater these past few months. Mario Kart World costs $80. A tutorial minigame collection goes for ten bucks. 

Donkey Kong Bananza charges $20 for DLC that fans swear could’ve been an email.

In that context, pushing users toward the official $80 Switch 2 dock, instead of the perfectly functional $30 alternatives, doesn’t feel entirely out of character.

But it’s also entirely possible Nintendo didn’t intend any of this.

Firmware updates break peripherals all the time, sometimes for security reasons, sometimes because someone wrote an overly aggressive USB-C handshake check. 

Until the company comments, nobody knows whether this was strategic ecosystem policing or just whoops, bad QA.

For now, Switch 2 owners with third-party docks are stuck waiting for a fix or shelling out Nintendo’s famously premium prices. 

If future updates unbrick the docks, great. If not? Well, the message will be loud and clear: welcome to the hardware-walled garden, please swipe your credit card at the entrance.