Overview

TL;DR and recommendations at the end!

If you're like me, you like bringing your brand new Nintendo Switch 2 to your friends' houses to play Mario Kart World with them. However, if you're like me, you also think the dock that comes with the Switch 2 is large, cumbersome, and annoying to cart around (heh). You'd much rather leave it at home on your TV console or in the cabinet with all the cables plugged in and routed perfectly.

This means you need another dock or some sort of adapter to pipe the Switch 2's video out onto the big screen. Buying another OEM dock could work, but for the reasons mentioned above, you'd rather not. So you're left with the 3rd party options, and boy is it the wild west out there.

Nintendo's always had a penchant for making things more difficult than it needs to be, and it's no different with the Switch 2.

TL;DR, the Switch 2 uses a wacky handshake to determine if the video out device you're using is one it likes. If not, no video.

I'll leave the in depth explanation for this excellent Verge article to cover, but suffice to say, it's convoluted.

So now you need a 3rd party dock. But which ones work, which ones sorta work, which ones claim to work but don't work at all? To find that out, you'd have to spend hundreds of dollars, hours messing around with shoddy firmware updaters, and even more hours researching.

Except me! I did it all for you so you don't have to!

My findings cover the really expensive options to the really cheap options. There should be something for everyone here, and there are major caveats with most options.

So let's dive in.

Misconceptions

By far the biggest misconception with the OEM Switch 2 dock is that the fan cools the Switch while it's in the dock.

It does not.

While it is true the OEM dock has vents on the bottom, the fan is only there to cool the dock hardware itself. If the video out hardware runs cool to begin with, a fan is not needed. This is the case for every 3rd party dock in this list. The Switch 2, laying flat on a table, has more than enough cooling built in to keep itself within safe operating temperatures.

Ok. Now that that's out of the way…

The Hardware

There are a variety of hardware styles out there. I'm going to start with the cheapest style: the USB-C to HDMI cable with integrated dock and separate USB C PD power requirements.

The ones I've tested are as follows:

Integrated USB-C to HDMI Cable w/ PD

Name	Brand	HWID	Link	Update Needed?	Result	Image Proof
USB C to HDMI Cable Adapter, Upgrades 8K@60Hz C to HDMI Cable with 100W PD Fast Charging Adapter	YOUGO LEE		https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZTCHD7W	Yes, Instructions	SUCCESS with caveats. See 1
4K@60Hz USB C to HDMI Dock Cable with PD100W Charging Port, Portable Switch to TV Connector Adapter Only	JEMDO		https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DG2JNNW3	Yes, Instructions	SUCCESS with caveats. See 1
Hagibis SWC10 Switch Dock for Nintendo Switch OLED, USB C to HDMI Cable Adapter with 4K@60Hz HDMI, 100W Power Delivery	Hagibis		https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJHHQ4VG	Yes, Instructions	FAIL Update failed. See 2	None
Anker Nano USB C to HDMI Cable Adapter with 140W PD Fast Charging Port, 4K@60Hz	Anker		https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DMDTXRJF	Yes	FAIL Update failed. Likely not compatible. See 3	None
UGREEN USB C to HDMI Cable with 100W PD Fast Charging Adapter 4K@60Hz 2-in-1 Thunderbolt Unidirectional Type C to HDMI	UGREEN	N/A	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL5JC6HP	Yes	FAIL Not inspectable. Unrecognized by computer. See 3	None

Ok… so results are all over the place. Let's dive into the caveats

1. While these cables do accept the update and output video, there is weirdness.

The JEMDO cable is labeled for 4K60, while the YOUGO LEE cable is labeled for 8K60 + HDR. After the update, both these cables identify themselves as HDR capable. However, NEITHER CABLE OUTPUTS 4K.

Take a look at the images below:

JEMDO/YOUGO LEE	AverMedia Core Go

Notice the fuzziness around the text on the left pictures vs the sharpness on the right pictures.

In real life, the JEMDO/YOUGO LEE cable outputs look even worse. It seems to me like they're outputting somewhere around 1080p effectively. However, my TV still says it is receiving a 2160p signal.

In addition, there is weird color banding happening everywhere. Most visible on images with gradients, such as the test image in the HDR paper white adjustment view.

Weird stuff.

You could blame it on the firmware update actually being meant for an 8K capable device. However, I must remind you that the YOUGO LEE is supposed to be an 8K/HDR capable device, yet exhibits the same problem. Very curious.

In actual usage though, these cables both work fine with no other noticeable issues beyond what I mentioned above.

2. You might notice that the upgrade instructions I used on the other cables are from Hagibis. This cable is also from Hagibis. However, it is the 4K60 variant, not the 8K variant they mentioned was required. I'd originally thought that if the JEMDO 4K60 cable could take the update, then surely this Hagbis one could too, right? Wrong. They use different chip variants. That being said, I've also heard other people who got the supposedly appropriate 8K variant of this cable and had the firmware update fail on them too. So I hesitate to say it's actually because I have the incorrect model of cable. Either way, whenever flakiness abound, best to stay away. Unless you're a risk taker I guess.

3. I got these cables for testing completeness even though I did not have high hope that they would actually work.

   1. I broke the Anker cable by forcing the updater to try to update it. It didn't show up when plugged in via the PD port like the rest of the cables, but it did recognize when plugged in via its built in type C cable. That should have been the first clue that it's not just some cable that Anker ODM'd from some random factory. Nobody tell Amazon… it arrived defective ok? 😅

   2. The UGREEN cable refused to even be seen by the computer at all.

All In One Power Bricks (AverMedia Core Go, Elite Go, X’tra Go)

Firmware update guide here

I only tested the Core Go model for these, because they're basically the same. The Elite and X'tra have added recording capabilities, and the X'tra Go comes in a dock shape vs a brick shape. None of them support HDR at 4K60.

I'm happy to report that these were very easy to get working… of course, with a caveat. AverMedia says in their firmware upgrade instructions that you should use the original USB C-C cable provided in the box to update them.

I found this to not be the case.

I had to use a USB A to C cable on a USB A 3.0 port for the updater to recognize my device.

Viture Pro Mobile Dock

Firmware update guide here

This was also fairly easy to update… but of course there's a caveat. After updating the dock, you will be unable to use your Switch 1 with it. Viture has said they will fix this eventually, but for now that's just something to note.

Another thing to note is the USB-C cable Viture provides with the dock DOES NOT WORK with the Switch 2. Additionally, the dock doesn't have an HDMI output, only an HDMI input. You will need to bring your own USB C Gen 2 or above cable AND a USB C to HDMI cable.

This dock is also the only one that runs on battery power. This would be fine, except there's no way to have the dock plugged into power while your Switch is also plugged in. This means you essentially have a cap on your playtime if you use this dock. I haven't done a full battery test (nor do I want to) but it could be the case that you can only achieve less than ideal playtime.

SIWIQU TV Dock Station for Nintendo Switch 2

This is also the same dock sold by Antank.

Firmware update guide here

To my knowledge, this is the first purpose built Switch 2 dock.

SIWIQU is no stranger to Switch docks. They also make Switch 1 docks using the exact same housing, so DON'T GET CONFUSED AND BUY THE WRONG ONE.

I personally had several issues with this dock.

The dock doesn't work with cases. I had to take my hard shell off whenever I wanted to use it in its standard casing. I ended up 3d printing a new case to rehouse it, and got a USB C extender to make things easier (make sure to get a 40Gpbs one if you go this route).

My dock also arrived on an in-between firmware where colors were really blown out. They did release a firmware update to fix the issue, but when I updated the firmware, it bricked the dock, so now I'm waiting for a replacement one.

Besides the color issue, it did work well while it was still alive. I played some 4 hours of Mario Kart World straight with three other people, and the system felt cooler to the touch afterwards than when it is in the OEM dock. Go figure.

My Recommendations

So where does all this testing leave us?

Well, as expected, no one dock is perfect, so it depends on what you want to prioritize.

If you want the cheapest setup and DON'T care about picture quality:

Go with the YOUGO LEE or JEMDO integrated dock cable. If you want to hedge your bets that a new firmware will come out and fix the resolution issue, get the YOUGO LEE so you can maybe retain HDR support.

The downside here is you'll need to get a 60W 20V PD capable power supply (Switch 2 needs 20V to kick into TV mode) so you'll still effectively carry the same total volume as the Core Go + cables setup. You also lose the extra USB A port that comes on the AverMedia bricks so you won't be able to plug in your gamecube controller adapter when playing Smash Ultimate, for example.

My personal setup for this style is:

• YOUGO LEE dock cable

• TORRAS FlexLine Retractable 67W USB C Charger

If you want max flexibility and DON'T care about having HDR on the go:

This is my personal position. Honestly you're going to be plugging into a whole range of random TVs that most likely won't have decent HDR support. You'll be lucky if they even support 4K. HDR support really isn't the priority. What should be the priority is a solid, flexible, all-in-one dock that minimizes the separate pieces you carry. Dang AverMedia should sponsor me lmao

Of course, the downside here is lack of HDR support as mentioned above. It's also much more expensive of a complete solution. I personally think it's worth it though…

And before anybody says, yes, I'm aware Genki has similar AIO bricks. However they seem to currently be in some hot water with Nintendo, so it's unclear when/if they want to start reverse engineering more stuff to update their AIO bricks.

My personal setup for this style is:

• AverMedia Core Go

• Cable Matters 8K/60 + HDR Retractable HDMI Cable

• MOKiN Thunderbolt 4 Cable, 3.3 ft (Yes, I did test Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 cables, they both work)

You'll probably need a small bag to carry all this in. I'm a fan of the Tomtoc Slim Switch 2 case, so I got their electronics organizer travel case to pair with it.

Why I'm not recommending the other stuff

The SIWIQU/Antank dock is way too annoying to use. If you're here, you likely have a case on your Switch 2. Having to take that case on/off just to use the dock sucks. Yes, you can rehouse it, but that's extra steps, and you end up with a bulkier box than the other options above. Why bother?

The Viture dock can't be plugged in while in use. Enough said. Realistically you're not going to be in a place where you can't find power for the dock but you have power for a TV.

Super TL;DR

Get the AverMedia Core Go and associated accessories mentioned above.

Hope this was helpful for you! I am now in crippling debt.