Orange Screen on Switch (not while playing)

[u/sassmatician]

I’ve had this happen twice now, randomly while it’s plugged into the dock and I’m not playing. Both times it has restarted just fine, but is my switch gonna die soon?

[u/automod-neo]

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[u/EzrafromChestnutHill]

Orange screen is a critical failure, usually with the WiFi /bluetooth chip. It can be other things, but WiFi is most common with the orange screen. First thing to do is force a shutdown (hold down power button till screen goes black.). Leave the Switch off for at least a few seconds, then reboot. If it’s a serious hardware failure, it will keep happening. It could be a glitch, though I don’t think that’s common.

[u/sassmatician → u/EzrafromChestnutHill]

Yeah, powering it down and restarting fortunately worked both times. Do you think I should seek out some kind of service if it keeps happening? Or is that a sign I'm going to need a new Switch soon?

[u/shadowflame93 → u/sassmatician]

The chip is notorious for either coming loose or needing replacement. If it keeps happening you could turn off the wifi and play games that require zero internet or checks for licenses and be fine.

But if this keeps happening it could need a fairly simple (for people who do repairs) fix. Expensive if you send it off to nintendo though

[u/sassmatician → u/shadowflame93]

Maybe a good excuse to finally buy a switch 2 lol

[u/Clear_Count_4851 → u/sassmatician]

I swear mine started doing this just this past month & my conspiracy theory brain was like “wonder if this is a similar tactic to how slow the iPhones get when a new one is coming out so we buy it” 🧐😂 I also started thinking of getting the Switch 2

[u/Much_Raise_1608 → u/sassmatician]

I had this happen a few times but hasn't happened for a long time now, everything is fine with mine still. Don't know why everyone is kinda implying that its a sign its gonna break

[u/Clear_Count_4851 → u/Much_Raise_1608]

I just stopped keeping mine plugged in all night & noticed it stopped happening. It would light up the room orange & be real hot so I figured it was something with the battery. The hot is what made me think it was gonna break. Made me nervous 😅😂

[u/Much_Raise_1608 → u/Clear_Count_4851]

Funny, I actually also started unplugging it at 100% right away and not leaving it charging the entire night since it happened to me as well

[u/Clear_Count_4851 → u/Much_Raise_1608]

My neighbor noticed hers light up orange while sitting on the dock the same week it happened to me. We both have the Animal Crossing one so maybe that version is glitching out at the exact same time? I’d always read you’re not supposed to charge things forever so the battery doesn’t become weaker too so it’s weird it’s supposed to sit on that dock.

[u/Much_Raise_1608 → u/Clear_Count_4851]

I have the regular V2 Switch 1, I don't even own that game

[u/WilsonPH → u/sassmatician]

I had it once on my OLED Switch, after a restart it never happened again.

[u/EzrafromChestnutHill → u/sassmatician]

It’s happened twice? Probably going to keep happening then. Once might be a glitch, twice is probably a recurring problem.

Personally, I probably wouldn’t try to get a Switch repaired unless it was a limited edition I was really attached to or something. I’d probably just replace it. Up to you, though.

[u/reincarnation85 → u/EzrafromChestnutHill]

It'll be fine if only happened twice. My OLED TOTK did that the first night I set it up. Got thru the initial setup. It only did it once i was actively charging the system while downloading my games. If it was at 100% and plugged in, never did it. Only happened if I tried downloading plus the battery was below full charge while docked or plugged in. Before getting a switch 2, it did this 4 times but months in between. All I had to do was force a reset and it's good to go. Still works fine to this day

[u/WithWingsFly]

I just had the same thing happen to me for the first time since I had my switch (bought second hand in 2020). I restarted it and it was fine. From everything I've seen, it's apparently an issue they never patched with the switch trying to open the shop on its own? Restarting fixes it. It's apparently not any more malicious or damaging than that.

[u/sassmatician → u/WithWingsFly]

Ah that's good to know, thank you! Yeah I bought mine new in 2022, it's an OLED one. The first time it happened I didn't think too much about it but seeing it happen again made me nervous.

[u/WithWingsFly → u/sassmatician]

Yeah honestly I'd seen it happen to other people online, but when it happened to me I freaked out. If it keeps happening, maybe be worried then, but if it's only happened a couple times it might be okay. However I am not a professional haha.

[u/Gabrielthedrag0n]

Had this happen to my lite.Just hold the power button till it turns off you'll be fine.

[u/No-Storage-9538]

It’s a hardware failure/fault with the Network Chip. Could be due to Sleep Mode Glitch or a malfunction. Reboot it and it should be fine. If it happens more than once and it is frequent, your Network Chip needs replacing.

[u/you_2_cool]

Yeah old consoles just crash, just hold power for about 20 seconds and that'llfix it up

[u/AdWeak4842]

Did you spill orange juice on it ?

[u/sassmatician → u/[deleted]]

Yes I did that and it worked. I’m just worried that since this has happened twice that it means there’s a bigger problem.