How to connect your Nintendo Switch to the TV
How do your play with your Nintendo Switch?
While this year's Steam Deck gained praise for being both a handheld gaming device and a home TV gaming device, don't forget that the Switch did it first! Released back in 2017, it was clearly ahead of its time.
However, if you're thinking of buying one (or if you've only just grabbed one), you might be wondering exactly how to utilise this dual-identity console.
Connect a Switch to a TV is a simple process, but we're here to help you out if you've got stuck! Keep reading to find out exactly how to connect your Switch to your TV - and we'll also address the rumours of there being a way to connect the Switch Lite...
Read on for every nugget of information there is about connecting the Switch to the TV.
How to connect Nintendo Switch to TV
As shown in the image above, taken from the Nintendo website, connecting your Switch to the TV is quite simple. You'll need to plug the Switch dock into the wall, connect the dock to your TV with the included HDMI cable, and slot your Switch into the dock itself.
We've also got some steps for you, if that isn't making sense, so check out these tips on how to connect your Nintendo Switch to your TV:
- Open up the back cover of the Nintendo Switch Dock.
- Connect the USB plug from the Nintendo Switch AC adapter to the top terminal of the dock (it is labelled as AC ADAPTER, just so you know what to look for)
- Now connect the other end of the AC adapter to the wall outlet.
- Connect the HDMI cable to the bottom terminal of the Dock that is labelled HDMI OUT
- Now you will need to connect the other end of the HDMI cable to the HDMI port of your TV or monitor of choice
- Close the Nintendo Switch dock’s back cover.
- Remove the Joy-Con controllers
- Insert the console into the dock but the LCD screen needs to face the front. The LCD screen will turn off after getting docked so you know you're on the right track.
- Now turn on your TV, head to the correct HDMI source and you're good to go!
Note: the steps above will work for the original Nintendo Switch and the newer Nintendo Switch OLED Model, but you cannot connect a Switch Lite to a TV in this way (or any other official way).
Read more on Nintendo:
- Nintendo Switch OLED review - handheld gaming levels up
- The very best Nintendo Switch games
- Nintendo Switch Pro release date - the latest rumours
- Best Nintendo Switch games for kids
- Best Nintendo Switch micro SD cards to buy
- The best Nintendo Switch Lite games - take these on the go
- How to charge Nintendo Switch controllers
Can you connect a Nintendo Switch Lite to your TV?
No, you cannot connect your Nintendo Switch Lite to a TV in any official capacity. There's no beating around the bush needed here. The Nintendo Switch Lite is not designed to be played on your TV and it actually does not even have the hardware in there to make it happen.
Over on Reddit, however, of course fans are sharing their unique ways to circumvent the hardware in the Switch Lite to (sort of) get it running on a TV.
To make that method work, you'll need a phone-to-TV cable, a tripod for your phone, a 3mm audio cable to output your Switch sounds into some headphones or speakers, a spare controller to connect to your Switch Lite, and the patience to set all of that up! And even then, you'll have to put up with some lag between the console and the display. Not worth the hassle, we'd say, but you've got to admire the effort.
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