Nintendo Claims Dead Pixels On Switch Are Normal

Suppose you were considering upgrading your TV from the 22 inch panel you had on your desk in college, still stained with greasy Hot Pocket fingerprints. At the store you decide to go for a pretty hyped up TV with HDR and displays 4k (because why not?) but then you come home to realize several dots on the screen. You may try to call the electronics store or the manufacturer to figure out what’s going on and they tell you that the dead pixels you see are completely normal. Of course, this is unacceptable. The recently released Nintendo Switch has a common problem: dead pixels. This may not be that much of a problem if the defect occurred after years of use but a number of people have complained that their newly purchased Nintendo Switch displays several black or colored pixels on their screen. Nintendo promptly responded on their support site: “Small numbers of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect.”

This isn’t uncommon for an LCD screen to have a dead or stuck pixel but to disregard these defects as normal is beyond absurd. Many warranties cover pixel defects and some companies offer to swap out displays for a new one. Although, not all companies will issue a new product to replace a device with two or three dead pixels, at least they’re addressed as a problem. Regardless of Nintendo’s stance on the issuance of Switches with defective pixels, they are still able to deliver a pretty cool device but it’s rather upsetting, considering the number of people who dropped $300 on the product.