Nintendo Switch: How to deal with liquid or water damage

What if you have spilled liquid or water on your Nintendo Switch? It’s certainly not an ideal situation, but all is not lost. There are some steps you can take to try and minimize damage to the console, and save your Switch.

Nintendo Switch is not waterproof at all, any minor liquid spill can damage the device, so you need to be careful when you are using it. If you bring it with you when you are traveling somewhere, be sure it is kept in a waterproof case or bag.

Things to do first:

• Unplug the power to the console to avoid any possibility of electrical shocks, or further damage to the console’s components.
• Ensure the console is powered down.
• Wipe excess water off the device, but try not to rotate the console too much, and do not turn it over.
• To remove water from the back of the device, just let it sit on a dry towel.
• Do not press any buttons or keys, and try not to shake the device too much. Avoid blowing on the openings, as this can push the water inside.
• Let the system dry off for a few days.
• Don’t try to dry the system by any means deliberately. Using a dryer, heater, microwave oven, etc. might damage the system completely.
• If you can, store the console in a small box with some packets of silica gel, as the silica gel is a desiccant and will help to absorb any vapor.

Warnings:

• Avoid opening the console as it can void the warranty.
• Do not plug-in power after water damaging the device if the console is not turning on, as this could be dangerous.
• Nintendo Switch does not have a removable battery. The battery is among the most vulnerable parts along with the board, and both are very easy to damage if you do not know what you are doing.

The product’s warranty does not cover liquid damage, so if it does not turn on after a few days of drying, you will need to send it to the Nintendo Repair Center. According to Nintendo Customer Support, water damaged consoles are considered to be irreparable, as a full reconstruction would be required. If the Repair Center has sufficient stock, a substitution of the product will be offered; otherwise, the console will be returned to the user. 

If the product is deemed to be outside of warranty, Nintendo will contact you by email to inform you of the repair service fee and to arrange payment before carrying out the repair or replacement. You can get a Nintendo Switch repaired by registering a repair request here.