The Nintendo Switch is a monstrously popular machine, and it’s had no difficulty raking in the bucks for the Japanese gaming giant, but there’s no denying that it’s technologically a bit behind the curve. Until the long-rumored “Pro” version of the Switch materializes, industrious gamers like [Robotanv] will simply have to make up for Nintendo’s Luddite ways by hacking in their own upgraded hardware.
In this case, [Robotanv] wanted to add Qi wireless charging to his Switch Lite. He figured that if all of his other mobile devices supported the convenient charging standard, why not his portable gaming system? Luckily, the system already supports the increasingly ubiquitous USB-C, so finding an aftermarket Qi receiver that would connect to it was no problem. He just needed to install it into the handheld’s case.
After liberating the Qi receiver from its protective pouch enclosure to get it a bit thinner, [Robotanv] taped it to the inside of the system’s case and ran thin wires to the rear of the USB-C port. As luck would have it, Nintendo was kind enough to put some test pads for the power pins right behind the port, which made for an ideal spot to connect the charger.
At first he only connected the positive and negative lines from the charger, but quickly realized he also had to connect the CC pin to get the juice flowing. After that, it was just a matter of buttoning the system back up. All told, it looks like a pretty simple modification for anyone who’s not bashful about taking a soldering iron to their $199 console.
We’ve seen these Qi receivers retrofitted into devices before, and it remains an excellent way to add the feature not only to commercial products, but to your own projects.
hey tom, i have a Qi usb c i have ripped open but i have only 3 points and looks to be pos is in the centre with a gourn on dise and cc the other but i cant tell which is which… any pointers?
Not sure why (probably cost) nintendo didnt do this.
They know kids will abuse this thing to the fullest, including the USB-C port which isnt the most durable connector.
Better to have a less abusive way to charge it then to over-use the connector as it might fry other parts like the output muxer.
As cool as this is, I would not recommend doing this. It prevents fast-charging via USB-C cable. Only “stupid” USB-C to USB-A cables and the original Nintendo Switch power supply work. The former can only slow-charging and the wireless charging receiver does not trigger fast-charging at all. I implemented this myself and tested it with my USB-meter.
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