The Nintendo Switch 2 may be on the horizon, but millions of original Switch consoles remain in active use—and that means there’s still demand for accessories such as the Joy-Con Charging Grip.
Sadly, picking up one of these accessories comes with some serious risks; examples of counterfeit grips have been reported online. Along with the obvious potential dangers that fake and unregulated electronics bring with them, it would seem that these products often arrive in a completely non-functional state.
This issue has been brought to our attention through modder and electronics expert Jeff Chen, who has, so far, come across two fake Charging Grips. The first one refused to work despite having Nintendo’s logo on it.
The second, purchased via Amazon, appeared to be functional and would charge the attached Joy-Con, but a teardown reveals that the PCB is missing most of its components. Chen also reports that, when plugged into a PC, it wasn’t recognised as a USB controller—another telltale sign of a fake.
You’d assume that such shoddy imitations would be sold at a low price, but Chen says that the second Charging Grip didn’t come cheap, which is why he believed it to be a legitimate item.
As always, we’d advise exercising caution when picking up one of these accessories on sites like eBay or Amazon; the product you are buying might not be precisely what it seems.
