Can You Charge A Nintendo Switch With A Phone Charger?

Nintendo's Switch handheld gaming consoles are pretty popular, with the first generation selling over 155 million units, and the Nintendo Switch 2 selling nearly 20 million units through March 2026. There is a ton to like about these consoles, including the use of a USB-C port along with the USB Power Delivery (USB PD) standard for charging needs. This combination indicates that you should be able to use your USB-C phone chargers that support USB PD to charge your Switch, similar to how you can with various USB-C laptops. However, Nintendo's non-standard implementation and strict power profile requirements can sometimes make things slightly complicated.

More importantly, the power requirements for first-generation Switch models and the Switch 2 are different, which can further create some confusion. As a result, it's important to understand what each Switch model requires for charging or power during handheld or TV modes so that you can decide whether your phone's power adapter will be sufficient to provide that.

Nintendo's first generation of Switch includes three different models. While all Gen 1 models are reasonably flexible when it comes to charging in handheld mode, the requirements become slightly stricter in TV mode. To charge any of your first-generation Switch models, you need up to 14W of power, depending on the model. According to Nintendo's EU common charger specifications, while the regular Switch needs 10W for fastest charging in handheld mode, the Switch OLED and Switch Lite can handle 14W and 9W, respectively. As long as your USB-C phone charger with USB PD support can push 5V or 15V with appropriate amperage, you'll be good. Fortunately, that's true for most phone chargers. 

However, in TV mode, the Switch and Switch OLED only accept 15V of power at 2.6A for a total of 39W. As a result, you'll need a USB-C power brick that can deliver 15V at up to 3A, meaning at least a 45W charger, to meet these power requirements. This is, unfortunately, not super common in many phone chargers. Therefore, while you would be fine using any USB-C phone charger to juice up your Switch on the go, you'll either need the official Nintendo power adapter or a compatible 45W charger to power the Switch in TV mode.

As the Switch 2 is a major upgrade over the first-generation models, it has higher power requirements, particularly in TV mode. According to Nintendo's EU common charger specifications for the Switch 2, it needs 12W of power to charge in handheld mode and 54W in TV mode. 12W handheld charging is easily achievable by any phone charger that can push 5V or 9V. However, for TV mode, the Switch 2 only accepts 20V of power with up to 3A of current to get its 54W of power. This means your phone charger should output at least 60W of power with a 20V-3A power profile to run the Switch 2 in TV mode, which is again uncommon for phone chargers.

Similar to the first-generation Switch models, you should have no problem using your regular USB-C phone charger to top up the Switch 2 on your travels or around town, as you'll only be using the handheld mode. However, if you want to dock it, make sure to use at least a 60W USB PD power brick. Keep in mind that if you are actively using your Switch while charging in handheld mode, it's best to have a more powerful charger on hand to ensure your battery doesn't drain as you play.