So a while back I was reading about Dead Pixels on the Switch. At the time I didn’t have one. But I came across this little conversation over on /r/nintendoswitch
Now this was NOT the only occurences of this being said, it almost seemed to be a consensus that this was simply “Nintendo’s public statement” and that they would make good on any repairs distracting the players.
Sure enough, a few days ago, long outside the STORE return-window, but easily inside Nintendo’s service-window, I got a dead pixel, straight in the middle of my screen, insanely distracting. So I thought back to that comment I saw and figured I’d give it a shot. I’ll be honest with them, let them know how distracting it is, and maybe these “outstanding support” comments I keep hearing have some merit.
Not too surprising, but no, if your Switch develops a dead pixel or two outside of the store warranty, you’re screwed. Again, I’m NOT surprised, but, those that are worried about that their switch developing an issue like this, be advised, you may have no recourse.
Here’s the conversation, I only edited out names, personal details, and serial numbers, and also the 5 minute “troubleshooting” they put me through adjusting brightness.
https://clyp.it/ff3wtd3f?token=f1d1ecbf7a258fcd49b0949fdfeec294
Take this however you want, this isn’t some trolly attempt to take a jab at Nintendo, I still love their games and the Switch is a great console. Just maybe someone that Googles for “Switch Dead Pixel” in the future like I did will get the confirmation that this is more than some press release, it’s policy, Nintendo doesn’t consider one or two dead pixels a problem at all.
Again, I’ve seen multiple comments stating contrary to this, don’t believe them. If dead pixels bother you like they do me, this could be a risky purchase.
And again, my Switch DEVELOPED this dead-pixel outside of the store warranty, my only recourse here was Nintendo, Wal-Mart isn’t taking it back after 6 months.
Nothing but love for the actual person on the phone, not his fault. I may have been a little hard on him, but I was just frustrated at the sudden realization that I’m never going to get this thing fixed.
In the future I’ll probably wait a solid year to buy Nintendo consoles featuring LCDs to offset my chance of getting surprised by this.
by [deleted]
10 Comments
How does waiting a solid year prevent dead pixels? Will happen either way, but yeah sucks that they don’t replace the screen for you as this is a handheld with a smaller screen …
I had a stuck red pixel on a $8,000 laptop. This was back in the days of MS-DOS as well so it wasn’t exactly inconspicuous. I never really cared.
I don’t think it’s a fair policy for them to refuse a repair unless there are multiple dead pixels, especially for something that costs $300; as you mentioned to the representative. Even if they won’t cover it under warranty, I’m sure there are people (such as myself) that would gladly pay for the screen’s replacement just to stop that nuisance.
Return it to the store! They should take it back within the 2 years of customer warranty as it is law by EU. (I believe it is 1 yr in US right? Wallmart cant Make their own rules?)
They probably wont Make a deal out of it and replace the unit. (Nintendo Didnt repair a faulty joycon, But the store swapped them for a pro controller for me giving me 10€ store credit for the difference in price)
I was denied after having (I counted) 13 dead pixels on my New 3DS XL’s bottom screen. I called twice, and was told both times that unless I have dead pixels covering at least 1% of my screen, they won’t even look at it and that it’s within “acceptable” range.
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1 year warranties are so dumb. Like after a year if you have a problem cause of Nintendo then youre shit of luck.
Sorry to hear that… That’s a bummer. It might sound minor but a dead pixel can really kill the vibe and the experience.
I posted about my Nintendo Customer Service experience last night but my post was removed… But I was also disappointed in the answer I got last night regarding my yellow Joy-Cons, which I bought last summer. The right one sometimes requires me to press the button a few times for it to take. The CS rep told me that it fell outside of their 90-day warranty and that it would cost me $30 to fix, plus $10 to ship. (Keep in mind Joy-Cons are $80 for a pair.)
I never noticed it until Super Mario Odyssey, though, because I didn’t really use Joy-Cons wirelessly… I’d use my Pro-Controller when docked.
I love Nintendo and I’m trying to be fair… I know they can’t just give every person who complains free service but it just feels like they’re not standing behind their products. Just kind of disappointed after reading about so many awesome CS experiences on this Reddit.
That’s pretty sucky. I had a small light leekage problem that I got denied for too. It’s not so bad unless the screen is mostly black at the time, but still a little bothersome knowing I have the problem imo.
What you’re describing in the audio clip is a hot or stuck pixel, a dead pixel would be full black. Sometimes you can fix a hot pixel by flooding the screen with rapidly changing colors for several minutes at a time. There are YouTube videos for that (which you can’t get to on the Switch yet unless you want to do the workaround involving Facebook account linking). Another option that could work when the Switch finally gets a web browser is [JScreenFix](http://www.jscreenfix.com/index.html). It’s works on the same principle as the YouTube videos, but can be focused on just the are the hot pixels are in, instead of the full screen.
That said, the support guy wasn’t wrong if there are only 1 or 2 of them, the display manufacturer won’t warranty replace them for that. Most display manufacturers consider 1-2 actual dead pixels, or up to about 5 hot/stuck pixels as the threshold before they’ll warranty them. I know it sucks and is annoying as shit, but it is unfortunately true. And waiting for a v2 design revision isn’t going to help, the screen in the Switch isn’t some cutting edge 6″ 4K display, it’s not even a somewhat new 6″ 1080p display, it’s a pretty bog standard 6″ 720p display that has been in production for about a decade or more, by now, the mass production kinks have been worked out already. Nintendo doesn’t actually manufacture them, they’re sourced from Japan Display Inc. (I think they may also be being sourced from additional manufactures now to keep up with the demand). So whether you buy a Switch on day one, or 2 years down the line, you’re not going to have a better chance of this not happening.