While you may always utilize the Switch with its power cable plugged in, one of its most appealing features is its portability. When the battery is working well and holding a charge, you can play for hours with nary a wall outlet in sight. However, the efficiency of any battery drains over time, and any seasoned Switch player can attest that it happens on the console too.
Even though it’s inevitable that the battery will not hold a charge as well after hours of playing and charging, there are still a few fixes that can help when you feel like your Switch has experienced a sharp decrease in how long it can stay away from the plug.
Why is My Switch Battery Draining So Fast?
Understanding why batteries lose their ability to hold a charge over time can help you better react to what’s happening with your Switch.
Batteries aren’t designed to last forever. There are many factors at play, but one of the most important is that the chemicals inside the battery simply can’t constantly be recharged at the same rate. They lose that ability the more they’re used. Each charge and discharge make the battery cycle a bit shorter.
Sometimes the battery looks charged but isn’t holding anything near its total charging amount. For example, a battery with 4100 mAH might only charge as much as a 1000 mAH battery and deliver a similar performance. It isn’t necessarily possible to tell by looking at the battery itself or an electric charge indicator since the battery might consider itself fully charged once it can no longer hold a charge.
The Switch uses Lithium-ion batteries. It can hold a charge for anywhere from 2.5 to 9 hours, depending on what you’re doing with it. After about 800 power cycles, Nintendo says the battery will start to operate at about 80 percent of its original efficiency. you may use that to judge your use of your Switch and whether having a lower battery charge time is expected with how long you’ve used it.
However, this expected degradation isn’t always the cause of why the Switch battery is draining so fast.
Of course, it could always be that the Switch is at the end of its battery life and needs a replacement.
How to Fix a Switch with a Battery that Drains Too Fast?
If your Switch battery is draining too fast, updating your console and then checking each of the peripherals you use with it is your best course of action.
After each solution, try using the Switch to see whether the battery drains more slowly. If it isn’t, go on to the next solution to see whether that’s the one to fix it.
The first thing you should do when you run into problems with your Switch is update the console’s software. Issues with battery drain are no different.
If nothing new is available, it won’t update. If it is, the Switch will begin downloading and installing the update. Wait until the process is done before using your Switch again.
Let the Switch run until it shuts down due to lack of power, and then charge it to full overnight. The next day, check to see whether the battery is working again. This could recalibrate its charge potential and make it start working better.
