Read this before you book
On a Switch, a solid blue screen almost always means the console cannot read its internal storage — the chip holding the firmware and your save data. Sometimes that chip can still be read and the console rebuilt. Often it cannot, and when it cannot, the saves on it cannot be recovered either. There is no way to know which of those you have until the board is on the bench, so we do not guess.
- Cloud saves are not a safety net here — the console has to boot before it can download them
- We will tell you which case you are in before you spend anything
- Assessment is free, and there is no charge if we cannot fix it
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Free assessment
Including the storage read
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No Fix, No Fee
You only pay if we fix it
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3 business days
Typical turnaround
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Saves at risk
If the storage chip has failed
Is this what your Switch is doing?
"Blue screen" gets used for several different faults, and they are not all the same job. Find the one that matches what you are seeing.
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Solid blue, nothing else
Powered on, backlight lit, never reaches a logo. This is the fault people mean by "blue screen". The storage chip, or the firmware on it.
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Nintendo logo, then blue
It starts to boot and gives up partway. Reaching the logo often means the chip is still readable, which is a better position than a blue screen from cold.
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Solid orange or yellow
A different fault. Orange usually points at the display or graphics side rather than storage, and is diagnosed separately — do not book it as a blue screen.
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Black screen, backlight on
Lit but blank. Often a display or backlight fault rather than a boot fault, which is a much simpler and cheaper repair.
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Blue after a failed update
The console was interrupted while writing firmware. Sometimes that can be rebuilt without replacing any hardware at all.
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Boots, then shuts down
Powers on and cuts out. Usually the power delivery or charging circuit rather than the storage, and often more repairable than it looks.
Photographs are illustrative for now. Not sure which of these you have? Send us a photo of your screen and we will tell you which way it is going before you bring the console in.
What is actually going wrong
The Switch keeps its operating system and your saves on an eMMC chip soldered to the mainboard. When the console starts, it asks that chip for the firmware. A blue screen is what you get when the answer never comes. The chip can fail from age and heat, from an update interrupted while writing to it, or from impact or liquid damage to the board around it.
- A failed storage chip is the most common cause by a wide margin
- But the same screen can come from the power circuit or the main processor
- The cause decides both the price and whether repairing it is worth doing at all
How we diagnose it
Four steps, and the third one decides everything that follows.
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Step 1:Strip and inspect
The console is opened and the board examined under magnification for damage, corrosion, and any sign of a previous repair.
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Step 2:Check the power rails
We measure the voltages the board should be producing. A rail that is missing points at the power circuit rather than the storage.
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Step 3:Read the storage chip
We attempt to read the eMMC directly, off the board if necessary. This is the step that decides which of the three outcomes you get.
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Step 4:Tell you straight
You get one of three answers: fixable at this price, fixable but not worth it, or not fixable. The third costs you nothing.
What we can do, depending on what we find
Three possible routes. You will be told which one applies, and what it costs, before any work starts.
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Firmware rebuild
If the chip reads and its contents are intact, we rebuild the firmware. The cheapest outcome, and the only one where your save data survives.
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Storage chip replacement
If the chip has failed but the board is sound, we fit a replacement and install the firmware onto it. A working console — but whatever was on the original chip is gone.
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Board-level repair
If the fault is in the power circuit or a component around the chip, we repair or replace it at component level. Only worth doing when the diagnosis says so, and we will say when it is not.
Blue screen questions
Can you recover my save data from a blue-screened Switch?
Only if the storage chip can still be read. Cloud saves are not a safety net here, because the console has to boot before it can download them. Reading the chip is part of the free assessment, and we will tell you honestly whether anything is recoverable rather than letting you hope.
How much does a Switch blue screen repair cost?
It depends entirely on the cause, which is why the assessment comes first. A firmware rebuild costs a fraction of a storage chip replacement, and board-level work costs more again. You get one fixed price before any work starts, and nothing is charged if we cannot fix it.
How long does it take?
Usually around three business days once we have the console. The diagnosis and the firmware work both take real bench time, and we would rather give you an honest three days than a hopeful one.
Is it worth repairing, or should I just buy a new Switch?
Often the repair is cheaper than a replacement, but not always, and if the save data matters more to you than the console then a failed storage chip changes the answer completely. We will give you the honest comparison even when it means talking you out of the job.
What is the difference between a blue screen and an orange screen?
They usually point at different faults. Blue is most often the storage chip or the firmware on it. Orange most often points at the display or graphics side, which is diagnosed separately and sometimes repaired more cheaply. That is why both are shown above rather than treated as one problem.
My Switch shows the Nintendo logo and then goes blue. Is that better?
Usually, yes. Reaching the logo means the console started reading its firmware and gave up partway, which often means the chip is still readable. That is a better position than a blue screen from cold — though we cannot confirm it until we read the chip.
Send us a photo of the screen
If you are not sure which of these you are looking at, photograph what the screen is doing and send it over. We can usually tell you which way it is going before you bring the console in — and it costs nothing to ask.
No Fix, No Fee. Walk in at our Oakville workshop during opening hours, or send it to us.