How To Connect A Nintendo Switch To The TV Without The Dock

There are a lot of reasons why you might not be able to connect your Nintendo Switch dock to your television in order to turn your handheld game into a console game. Maybe your dock may be broken, or you may just not like the aesthetic of having your dock placed on a counter or a shelf or want the Switch to be sitting in the dock for long periods of time. For a lot of people, playing Switch games means being confined to a handheld, but that is not the case. You can still connect your Switch to your TV without the dock, but you will need another device to accomplish this.

That device is a USB-C to HDMI adapter. Note that not any adapter will work; you'll need a compatible device, like this highly rated USB-C to HMDI adapter on Amazon by Acer that runs just $18, and chances are, you can get same-day delivery as well if you're in a pinch. Once you have this adapter, then you can start connecting your Nintendo Switch to your TV without the dock.

Once you have your USB-C to HDMI adapter ready to go, connecting your Nintendo Switch to your TV is rather simple. All you need to do is follow these steps, and you will be gaming in no time.

1. Unplug the HDMI cable from your Nintendo Switch dock.
2. Unplug the USB-C power cable from your dock.
3. Connect both of these cables to the input ports on the USB-C to HDMI adapter.
4. Connect the USB-C cable output to your Nintendo Switch.
5. Turn on your Nintendo Switch.
6. Switch the input on your TV to the corresponding HDMI input.

After completing these steps, you will be able to play as you would with the Switch dock. Doing it like this means you will just be laying your Nintendo Switch down flat on a stand or countertop, but if you don't like how that looks, you can always create some sort of mount to prop up your device. Then, it will be just like having a Nintendo Switch dock without it actually being there.