Can You Connect A Switch Lite To A TV Without A Dock?
People who purchase the Nintendo Switch Lite are looking for a more lightweight and portable device. But can you connect a Switch Lite to a TV without a dock? As much as people love to have a handheld gaming device like the Nintendo Switch Lite to play their favorite games when they are on road, on their lunch breaks, or whenever they find themselves with some time to burn, the temptation to want to see those games on the large screen of the television is sometimes too much to bear. However, when it comes to the Nintendo Switch Lite, the handheld device was never designed to be able to broadcast to a television, and no docking station was created for the Switch Lite.
Table of Contents
- Can You Connect A Switch Lite To A TV Without A Dock?
- What are the three main models of the Nintendo Switch?
- How to connect a Nintendo Switch to a TV
Can You Connect A Switch Lite To A TV Without A Dock?
You cannot connect your Nintendo Switch Lite to your television. The Nintendo Switch Lite, unlike the Nintendo Switch or the Nintendo Switch OLED, lacks all the necessary components to properly connect to a TV.
The lack of a specific docking station for the Nintendo Switch Lite and the fact that the handheld design contains no components that would allow it to connect to television were by design. The “Lite” in Nintendo Switch Lite is there for a reason.
The idea of the Nintendo Switch Lite was to create a handheld device that was much more portable and lightweight than the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch OLED to make traveling with the device much more convenient. Suppose a gamer was looking specifically for a Nintendo device that can also be cast to their television. In that case, they can simply purchase the original Nintendo Switch or the Nintendo switch OLED.
There are three main models of the Nintendo Switch, two of which are designed to connect to your television, and one, the Nintendo Switch Lite, which is not designed to work with your television.
Let us take a closer look at these three different models and see how they are similar and how they are different. Also, for the two models that do connect to a television, let us break down how exactly they can connect to your television.
What are the three main models of the Nintendo Switch?
Although some gamers have figured out complicated “hacks” to be able to get their Nintendo Switch Lites to display images on their televisions, often the process is complicated and the end result is subpar at best. The image quality and gameplay really take a serious dive when you try to implement one of these hacks to get the Nintendo Switch Lite to work on the TV.
The answer to the question being asked here still remains no. The Nintendo Switch Lite was never designed to work with a docking station or television. If you are looking for television connectivity, then the original Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch OLED models are what your should purchase.
Let’s compare these three different Nintendo Switch models.
Nintendo Switch
The original Nintendo Switch has a TV, tabletop, and handheld mode for users to enjoy all of their favorite Nintendo games like Mario Kart and Zelda.
With the original Nintendo Switch, you will have access to every Nintendo Switch game ever made. The handheld console also comes with a set of controllers, a Switch dock, and an HDMI cable. The Nintendo Switch Dock has a LAN port so you can connect the dock directly to your internet router using an ethernet cable. The dock also allows for video output to your television.
The original Nintendo Switch also comes with a 6.2-inch LCD touch screen and 32Gb of storage capacity.
Nintendo Switch OLED
The Nintendo Switch OLED model basically comes with all the same features that the original Nintendo Switch does. It comes with the same controllers, docking station, and HDMI cable, and it can be used all the same ways that the original can as well.
The main difference between the Nintendo Switch OLED and the original is the screen and storage capacity..
The Nintendo Switch OLED comes with an incredibly stunning 7-inch OLED touch screen and a whopping 64GB of storage capacity. The graphics and display are stunning, and the extra storage capacity allows you to download and install many more games.
The Nintendo Switch OLED may be the ultimate model for the serious gamer.
Nintendo Switch Lite
As mentioned before, the Nintendo Switch Lite was explicitly designed to be used on the go and when traveling. That is why many of the features that the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch OLED have been removed to make the Nintendo Switch Lite smaller, lighter, and easier to pack away in your suitcase or backpack.
Because of this, the Nintendo Switch Lite only allows games that support handheld mode and none of the other modes like TV mode or Tabletop mode. Additionally, the Switch Lite does not come with any hand controllers like the other two models.
This is important … the Nintendo Switch Lite will not fit into the docking station that comes with the Nintendo Switch or the Nintendo Switch OLED. Also, you will not receive an HDMI cord with the Nintendo Switch Light because there are no video out ports on the Nintendo Switch.
The only port on the device is a USB-C port that is used to charge the Nintendo Switch Lite.
The Nintendo Switch Lite is smaller than the other models at 8.2” x 3.6” x 0.55” with a 5.5-inch screen and 32GB of storage capacity.
How to connect a Nintendo Switch to a TV
Connecting a Nintendo Switch or a Nintendo Switch OLED to a TV is simple with the docking station. The first step to connecting your Nintendo Switch or a Nintendo Switch OLED to your television is to open the back cover of the docking station. In the back of the docking station for the Nintendo Switch, you will find ports for the AC adapter, USB, and HDMI.
On the back of the OLED docking station, you will find ports for the AC adapter, HDMI, and a LAN port to hook the docking station up directly to your internet router using an ethernet cable.
Now go ahead and plug the AC adapter into the correct port on the back of the docking station and plug the adapter into the wall to give power to the docking station.
Next, plug one end of the HDMI cable into the HDMI Out port and the other into an HDMI port on the back of your television. Make sure you set your TV to the correct input device selection by pressing the input button on your television remote. Some TVs may have multiple HDMI ports so remember which one you chose.
Last, go ahead and remove the hand controllers from the Nintendo Switch or the Nintendo Switch OLED and place the device correctly and securely into the docking station.
Go ahead and power on both the Nintendo device and the television and you should see the main menu on your television screen. It is important to note that once you dock your Nintendo device into the docking station, there will be no image on the console itself, instead, it will be solely on your television screen.