Dbrand is notable for its quirky, edgy marketing style and the fact it produces cases and other accessories for most high-profile gadgets.
Phones, games consoles, laptops, you name it. Unfortunately the new "Killswitch" case for Nintendo Switch 2 has had some problems, and Dbrand has had to apologize for its "spectacularly terrible response" to criticism.
For those of you that don't know about this, the issue arose with the Killswitch's Joy-Con grips. Using the case and grips actually caused Joy-cons' magnets to fail and detach from the console. It's alleged that this may have been caused by the lack of an air gap between the controllers and the Switch 2.
Examples of the failed magnets were all over Reddit, and prompted Dbrand to post a 4,000 word response about the reported problems. The whole response can be summarized with a single line, claiming that "nobody routinely holds their Switch 2 like this.”
Not only is this exactly what Apple did with the iPhone 4 antenna issues 15 years ago, Dbrand was essentially placing all blame on the users. All because they're holding onto the Joy-cons, without added support on the Switch 2 console.
I don't know about you, but I know I also hold my Switch 2 by gripping the Joy-cons. The same way I did with the original Switch, since I never really put much thought into supporting the screen part of the handheld.
Dbrand knows it messed up
Dbrand has since apologized for the initial response, and has promised to "say fewer words and devote less of them to blaming you." Which is probably a good idea, especially when it was clear this is a widespread problem.
Dbrand promises that it's working to solve the issue with one of two redesigned Killswitch grips. One thins down the lip design it says is responsible for closing the air gap, while the other has a brand new design that should "fully resolve" the problem.
But we won't find out which one will be going on sale until the latter enters a "mass production trial" — which won't happen until July 10 at the earliest.
Dbrand has said that everyone will be entitled to a free grip replacement, regardless of whether they're actually experiencing the issues. Dbrand hasn't said if you need to ask for them, or how, but anyone actively suffering from Joy-con detachment issues should contact its support lines.
My experience with the Killswitch hasn't been all bad
My Killswitch case arrived yesterday, so all the doom and gloom surrounding the detachment issues had me worried. Fortunately for me, my grips seem to not have the same airgap issue. I was equally surprised and relieved at this considering what others have dealt with.
I've done as much testing as I can, playing handheld games and literally holding onto one Joy-Con and shaking the console around. So far the only issue I had was the left grip coming off the Joy-Con, which in turn stayed firmly attached to the Switch 2.
But aside from that slight issue, which is entirely my fault, the grips are staying where they should be. I guess I will need to keep an eye on that just in case.
I'm not such a big fan of the Killswitch dock adapter though. The case itself is too big to fit into the regular Switch 2 dock, which means Dbrand has designed an attachment to ensure their case doesn't need to be removed all the time.
The attachment is open, and the USB-C connector moves around — apparently to let you tilt your console back against the original dock for added support. While I understand why it's there, the fact it wiggles around makes it much harder to dock my Switch 2 properly. And I'm not the only person to have those issues.
A finicky dock is not quite as catastrophic as the detaching Joy-cons, though. So I'm at least grateful it's rather a small problem I have to contend with.
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