Switch User Sues Nyko over a Bricked Device

Switch bricked by a third-party docking station.

It looks like the Nintendo Switch doesn’t work well anymore with certain third-party docking stations. For example, someone has recently sued Nyko over a bricked Switch. The class-action lawsuit was filed in the US District Court of Central California, and the main complaint comes from Michael Skiathitis. Apparently, Michael bought a Nyko Portable Docking Kit from Walmart, and the device caused his Switch to stop working. Since the Switch is still covered by warranty, the console in question will be repaired, but all of the owner’s unsaved data will be lost. Since Nyko failed to disclose the bug in the first place, the lawsuit seems to have merit.

Did Nyko know about the flaw?

Skiathitis claims that they did. However, since the bug only begun to manifest itself after the 5.0 Switch firmware update, this is quite unlikely. Many other Switch users have complained about bricked devices after this new firmware update last month. Nyko managed to conduct some tests when it heard about these complaints, all in an effort to diagnose the issue.

“We believe [the issue] is related to the way the Switch handles AV output for an external TV/monitor while the console is docked on the Portable Docking Kit.”

Obviously, Nintendo is in the clear, as the company can’t be held responsible for any issues associated with third-party docking stations. At the same time, Nyko can’t really be blamed for an issue that was induced by a recent software update.

It’s a shame that the Switch doesn’t have a proper backup system. Maybe the lawsuit wouldn’t have happened if Michael could just restore the lost data in the first place.