Switch users report battery and overheating issues following firmware update 19.0.0

At the beginning of October 2024, Nintendo rolled out the firmware version 19.0.0 for the Nintendo Switch. The update was intended to optimize system stability and improve the general user experience. However, there are now an increasing number of reports from users who are experiencing technical problems after installing the update.

On Reddit, many Switch owners are reporting significantly reduced battery life. The console remains warm even in sleep mode, which means that the battery problem could possibly be due to the fact that it does not fully switch to energy-saving mode. As a result, some users are now fully powering off their Switch instead of using sleep mode.

Alongside battery issues, some users are also reporting increased overheating during active use. There have also been reports of issues with downloading content from the Nintendo eShop. However, it is not clear which of the problems are actually due to the software update. Some Redditors point out that similar issues have already occurred with previous updates, such as firmware version 14.0.0 from 2022.

Possible solutions

Downgrading the firmware is unlikely to be an option for many users, as version update 19.0.0 is required for the online modes of many games. If you're experiencing these issues with your Nintendo Switch, you can try the following solutions, which have been helpful for some Reddit users:

• Switch off the console completely instead of putting it into sleep mode
• Disable notifications and automatic updates
• Manually updating the dock
• Switch to 2.4 GHz WLAN
• Activate flight mode

It is currently unclear how many users are affected

The extent of these issues remains unclear. After reaching out to Nintendo support, one user reported that the representative was unaware of any similar cases, suggesting that the problems might only affect a small group of users. An official statement from Nintendo has yet to be released.