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So, you’re enjoying your favorite video games on the Nintendo Switch 2, and the battery is running low. While your phone’s charger is right in front of you, the official one is in another room. What do you do? Is it safe to use your smartphone’s charger to power the handheld console?

Well, it depends on the output of your phone’s charger. You see, the Switch 2 packs more powerful hardware, and with great power comes the need for an adapter that can keep up. This is why the adapter included with the first-generation Switch can’t power the latest console in TV Mode, and your phone’s charger might face the same limitation. If your phone’s adapter is underpowered, it might not be able to charge the console at all, while overpowered ones can cause erratic charging behavior, degrading the console’s battery over time.

To determine whether your phone’s charger can charge the Switch 2, you’ll need to understand the console’s power requirements, the official adapter’s specifications (and the USB PD standard), and whether your phone’s charger meets them. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get started.

The Switch 2 offers two different gaming experiences, each with specific power demands: handheld mode and TV (or docked) mode.

In TV mode, the console consumes 19W while gaming (measured using Mario Kart World) and 8W when idling on the home screen (according to Nintendo). However, these figures reflect the internal power draw. When you add in the power required to run the dock, including the HDMI/USB ports, the cooling fan, and charging the console’s battery, the charger must supply at least 54W or more for reliable operation, Nintendo clarifies in yet another support page.

Given the significant downgrade in the console’s performance in handheld mode (including resolution, GPU clock speed, and memory bandwidth), it naturally consumes less power. Nintendo itself doesn’t publish exact numbers, but it says that the original Switch’s 39W adapter can charge the Switch 2 directly.

User reports on Reddit indicate that the Switch 2 consumes about 18-20W during active gaming and charging in the handheld mode, and even 30W adapters work just fine. While actual consumption can vary based on the game and usage conditions, we can safely conclude that the handheld mode requires much less power (about half) than the TV mode.

The Switch 2 charger is smart enough to negotiate the power output based on whether the console is in handheld mode, TV mode, or simply charging with the screen off, all thanks to the USB Power Delivery (PD) 3.0 protocol. The adapter can vary its output between four options: 5.0V/3.0A (15W), 9.0V/3.0A (27W), 15.0V/3.0A (45W), or 20.0V/3.0A (60W), all via the USB-C connector. 

For the uninitiated, the USB Power Delivery (PD) standard allows a device (the console, in this case) and the power adapter to communicate and negotiate the required power output, ensuring the correct voltage and current for safe charging. In contrast, chargers with a fixed output can’t do so. An underpowered adapter, for instance, might still charge the console slowly when it’s idle, but during gameplay the battery might drain faster than it charges, resulting in an unexpected shutdown during a long session. Similarly, an overpowered adapter could lead to power instability or overheating.

Hence, it’s best to use the original charger, but a phone charger that meets the console’s power needs is safe as well. A 30W adapter should handle handheld play, while a 54W or higher charger is recommended for reliable docked performance. If you don’t want to carry multiple chargers, a high-capacity PD-compliant charger from a reputable brand — like the $29.99 Anker Nano 65W USB-C charger – offers enough power and flexibility for both handheld and docked modes.