Austin Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 Just wanted to let people know that there is another alternative Switch dock on the market now (hell, it's probably been available for a while and I just didn't know, but I don't see people talking about it). I picked one up today as the price was right--just $35 as opposed to $60 for the official Nintendo dock. This one doesn't have an Ethernet port and lacks a second USB port, but it still does everything else. All accessories come included in the box too, including a HDMI cable and AC adapter. For the last couple of months I've been moving my official dock from room to room and now I won't have to do that anymore. Based on my use with it, the Insignia dock seems pretty decent. It has some heft to it yet has a lower profile and doesn't take up as much space. Link: https://www.insigniaproducts.com/pdp/NS-GNSTD19/6065700 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 IIRC, the aftermarket docks did cause some problems... something about the switches rejecting them? Or making the scratched screens more likely? Can we confirm the insignia dock is free from such issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 Look at the pictures -- it seems like the sides don't really touch the screen. I'd buy one if I didn't already have two docks. I wonder how the AC adapter compares with the original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 Yeah, it doesn't even touch the main screen itself. It's a tight fit on the bottom portion, but you can see here the lip in the front doesn't come up very high. As far as the power brick, it's comparable to the official Nintendo one in size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Is that your place? You're a dust bunny!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 IIRC, the aftermarket docks did cause some problems... something about the switches rejecting them? Or making the scratched screens more likely? Can we confirm the insignia dock is free from such issues? The issues were docks bricking the Switch due to the nonstandard way the Switch draws current from the USB-C port. It does not follow standard specification, but rather Nintendo's own proprietary model. I would probably recommend to cease using that dock right away and stick with the official dock....or take the risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 The issues were docks bricking the Switch due to the nonstandard way the Switch draws current from the USB-C port. It does not follow standard specification, but rather Nintendo's own proprietary model. I would probably recommend to cease using that dock right away and stick with the official dock....or take the risk. I knew it was something weird, couldn't remember the specifics. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 (edited) The issues were docks bricking the Switch due to the nonstandard way the Switch draws current from the USB-C port. It does not follow standard specification, but rather Nintendo's own proprietary model. I would probably recommend to cease using that dock right away and stick with the official dock....or take the risk. The Nyko dock (as well as a few other third party docks) were incompatible with a system update available earlier in the year, so this is probably what you are thinking of. Based on forum threads I am reading, the Insignia model didn't have those issues and overall it appears to review well with folks that have it. Is that your place? You're a dust bunny!! My phone's camera and flash makes things look worse than it is, haha. It seems to really make my cat's shedding all the more noticeable. Edited October 7, 2018 by Austin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Here's at least one person who believes no third party dock out there is safe and explains why....and I have to agree with him: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 That's my beef with it, what the history is with system updates and them taking the third party docks to task causing them in cases to cause meltdowns on the hardware unfortunately through the USB-C connector. Nintendo was never really into anything malicious, but people went in trying to make a buck blindly without checking out how that port was used entirely and just sought the cheapest chinese parts to supply unfettered power to the Switch at a cheaper rate than Nintendo's OEM goods and people got burned. I'd love a third party dock that surely wouldn't cause hell, and even then that one with the projector dock looked awesome but I got scared off it entirely with the issue that cropped up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 Here's at least one person who believes no third party dock out there is safe and explains why....and I have to agree with him: Interesting video. I will admit I am new to the Switch dock drama. I have only normally seen the official dock in stores (Wal-Mart, mainly) and so when I happened into Best Buy over the weekend and saw this third-party one for half the price, I snagged it immediately without thinking. While there was a lot of good information in that video, I wasn't entirely convinced by it either. It seemed like some things were either glossed over or misconstrued, and that was coated with loads of paranoia. I did a bit of searching myself and from what I can tell it seems like bricking depends on how a dock handles power delivery and how it responds to the Switch's power requests. I found this video that shows a variety of docks being tested via an oscilloscope, compares them to the readings from an official dock, and posits what is actually causing the bricking: Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any tests like this for the Insignia dock. What I do know is that the A/C adapter is rated appropriately, it has a standard USB Type-C connector and it also supports USB PD as required for docked play. I do think there's value in real-world accounts and I haven't been able to find a single reported incident where this specific dock has bricked a Switch. It is often brought up in Switch Dock conversations as being "a reliable one". Had this been a different dock (Nyko, FastSnail, etc) and I just now found out all of this, I would certainly return it. Given that there's pretty much no track record of this thing damaging electrical components in the Switch, I'm going to stick with it as my alternate dock (I have the official one hooked up in the game room for capturing, then this one on the main living room TV). If anything does happen I'll naturally update you guys. I also found that this is a pretty good page that sums up the issue and links to other good articles and sources as well: https://switchchargers.com/bricking-faq/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 I hate to ask you to be the guinea pig so to speak, but yes, please keep us updated. I received the Insignia dock for free with my Switch purchase at the time, but never used it. It is still sealed in the box. There were too many concerns and I can't afford to brick it. But, if you use it for a period of time with no issues it will be a good thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 This is a really good recommendation. I'm putting it on my short list of Swith stuff to get. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 (edited) I have to admit the one thing that seems to be Nintendo approved safe is very tempting. That very big mah ANKER made battery looks fantastic. That group does some incredible work with third party devices for in very particular batteries and bluetooth and seem pretty strongly loved on amazon where they're peddled and beyond in the wild for reviewing. I have one of their devices, a fantastic cube shaped speaker, and it's the only Nintendo-like runs on magic dust quality life as this crazy thing lasts 20-24hours on one charge depending how high the volume is. It's not weak, even the bass on it is louder and thumpier than something that size should even allow. If they're promising that level of stability and such a high amount of hours to be added to your Switch life before eroding its own battery that's a must have if you travel around with it at all. If interested the one in his video is here: https://www.anker.com/products/variant/powercore-13400-nintendo-switch-edition/A1241J11 And for $20 more, a 20100 MAH charge for 2.5 system charges (vs 1.7) giving 15hrs (vs 10) of play time extension to the Switch. https://www.anker.com/products/variant/powercore-20100-nintendo-switch-edition/A1275S11 Both recharge in around 3-3.5hrs too which is pretty fast. Edited October 9, 2018 by Tanooki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 I have one of the Insignia docks. Works great. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 I have the Insignia dock (brand new) if anyone wants it. $30 shipped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yakumo1975 Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 Kind of related, I recently uploaded a video of the Switch MOD-X 10,000mAh battery case which I bought a few weeks back. Surprisingly its not too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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