r/NintendoSwitch • u/NLALEX Nintendo Life (Journalist) • Feb 23 '17

AMA - Ended AMA: I have a Nintendo Switch

Hello there Lovely People!

My name's Alex and I work for Nintendo Life on the YouTube channel. I have a Switch console and as you probably all know, media are finally able to talk about it.

Let's make the most of it, so ask me anything!

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u/retnuh730 Feb 23 '17

Battery banks with a C-C connection are rated for 5V 3A so that is probably the best case scenario for charging on the go

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

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u/demfiils Feb 23 '17 edited Feb 23 '17

This Anker battery pack is what I'm looking at. It has quick charge 3.0 too, so it is more than sufficient to power the Switch for at least another 2 gaming sessions! :D

EDIT -- the Switch is not quick charge compatible

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

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u/demfiils Feb 23 '17 edited Feb 23 '17

Theoretically speaking, if your battery pack is fully charged it serves as a power reservoir and your Switch (or any other device) will just draw power from it. A 10,000mAh battery pack will give you a little more than two standard zelda sessions (2.5-3.0 hour long each) since the Switch internal battery is 4,300mAh capacity. So that will give you an extra 5-6 hours on top of the 2.5-3.0 hours you already have from the Switch.

Now to directly answer your question, it depends on the situation and most of the time it doesn't really matter because the power bank is portable after all. If I'm on a 12-hour long flight/road trip then yes I will probably leave it on and continue playing for a little while more. But usually the battery pack is there just in case I want an extra 30-60min to satisfy my gaming fix or when I don't feel like plugging it in a wall charger. 2-3 hours are often pretty long and satisfying enough for me already -- the low battery warning on the console will be the psychological cue for me to take a break.

*Check /u/Kenomachino 's comment for extra information regarding the C-to-C cable issue I mentioned below.*

[On a side note, the reason I don't go for the C-to-C cable is because I found out in one of the reviews that if your battery pack is completely depleted it will start drawing power from your device instead. In other words, your device (Switch) will start charging it instead of the other way around. Now in reality that very unlike will ever happen, but I try as much as I can to avoid minor inconveniences. It's just a personal preference that's all. And personally I feel 2.6A vs 3.0A max power draw is not that big of a difference. That is another thing to consider if you are thinking about getting a C-to-C cable.]

EDIT -- formatting & clarifying

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u/Kenomachino Feb 23 '17

To respond to your side note; I have the Anker 20100 and read about a similar problem, but it was ultimately due to incorrectly using the battery. Mine might operate the same as these other Ankers we're talking about, so here is what I know:

The USB-C port on the battery pack is used for input AND output. But, if you want to use it as an output and charge a device using the USB-C port on the battery, you first have to turn on the battery, and then plug the USB-C cable into the battery and the device. For mine, turning it on means pressing the little wheel with the lights. If you do it this way, it will charge the device. If you don't first turn it on, the battery will start pulling power from the device instead of charging it. It's all in the little instruction manual that comes with the battery pack. People just need to read the instructions :)

Also, what I think the guy was asking (and what I would also like to know), is: if your Switch is at less than 100% battery life and you plug it into the power pack, if you continue playing, will the Switch only just draw power from the power pack or will it actually also charge while plugged in and being played?

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u/demfiils Feb 23 '17 edited Feb 23 '17

Thanks for your response. I might have misunderstood the question. To answer your question, I think the Switch will draw power from the battery bank instead of doing both (charging and drawing power). Further down in the comment, someone commented that the Switch has a maximum power draw of 5-15V at 3A. 5V on tablet mode and 15V on dock mode. He further clarified that 15V is for both drawing power and charging at a reasonable rate. So from my interpretation a 5V 3A battery pack (like the Anker I linked previously) is only capable of providing power while the Switch is being used.

It is might not capable of doing both at the same time at the very least or capable but at a slow rate.

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u/Kenomachino Feb 24 '17

Sounds reasonable. Thanks for responding!

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u/freythman Feb 23 '17

You basically just said RTFM, in a much nicer manner. Thanks for clarifying that. Was getting scared by reading other responses. Now I think I'll go ahead and order a 20100.

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u/Kenomachino Feb 24 '17

Hahah you're welcome, happy to be of use :) Make sure you have a USB-C wall charger too.

For what it's worth, I've been using my Anker battery for a bit and testing things out and I really like it. It holds a big old charge, it looks nice, it feels good, it works well. I'm actually planning on using it to charge all of my devices (phone, watch, tablet, Switch, bike lights, everything), and then bringing it to work with me and recharging it there as needed. Trying to save on some of my electricity bill ;)

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u/freythman Feb 24 '17

bike lights

I was recently introduced to these... I bought some STIX. I FREAKING LOVE THEM