Changing the Nintendo Switch thermal paste
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- My sons Switch overheated recently while docked and playing Fortnite.
I decided to take the back off and remove the old/dry thermal paste and replace with Arctic MX-4 paste.
Had a little dust in there too so a quick clean helped.
It is a simple job and takes no longer then 15mins but you really have to be careful removing the sd card reader as these can break easy with pins coming off the connector.
Fingers crossed it helps and does not overheat anymore?
What would people do without these guys I can't tell you how fantastic and life saver videos like this are, especially when your poor like me..
Thank you for your nice comments, I appreciate when people take there time to be nice rather then criticise 👍
Everyone are rich, don’t be disheartened. Even if i have more money i would like to try this method as well. Thx creator for your content!
The music is so relaxing that I’ve been using this video to sleep on the pass 2 days
Yup, and it helps to maintain calm while doing this stuff too.
Just reiterating what others have said, the rule of thumb is a pea-sized amount of thermal paste. That's the norm for PC building and is generally applicable to consoles, although the Switch may need less. Regardless, this was a genuinely helpful video. Thank you.
And with direct die cooling you don't take that chance. Unless you're spreading it yourself you'll get spots that aren't covered which can lead to worse things happening. Buildzoid has mentioned stuff like this in videos and so has jayztwocents.
While it may be a bit much, I personally won't criticise that with direct die application.
If it were liquid metal it would also be a different story. There's a correct way to apply that too. The amount also matters a lot more as too much will cause catastrophic failure.
@@ArtisChronicles would you recommend spreading it rather than blob? I have kryonaut left over from when I installed a new aio on my pc and it came with a wee spatula
@@CaityRaindrop Heat / pressure will spread it naturally.
In my own opinion, there's probably just a wee bit too much paste being applied here. If you know your paste is non conductive, a little extra won't hurt. Regardless of if it is conductive or not, way too much will hurt. If you have 3mm+ worth of paste caked on there, it will start acting as an insulator rather than a conductor of heat.
The point of the thermal paste is to fill in the very tiny pits and crevices in the surfaces of the two metal mating surfaces. That way, surface area contact is much better between the too. Helps for a more effective thermal transfer.
Never use compressed air on fans without holding it in place first. The high speed will damage the bearings.
did this to my laptop and had to replace the fans, cuz they started to sound like jet engines
never knew that, thanks for the tip!
Holding the fans in place?
@@Meowlaxative69 Yup. If you spin up fans with compressed air you run the risk of bearing or reverse voltage feed damage. Hold them in place when you dust them to be safe.
@@comfy_rwds same, never had any problems doing it that way for 20+ years
Also use way less thermal paste you used enough for 3-4 consoles. As little as possible to achieve full contact.
I forgot to say "the perfect amount!"....
I have not seen something written in stone on the "correct" amount, its still all opinion.
By all means when you do yours use 3-4 times less.
@@fixingmoddingbuilding thermal paste has very low conductivity compared to metal, and is used only to fill microscopic defects in metal. You want the thinnest layer possible to achieve full contact, anymore acts like an insulator resulting in higher temps. you can keep testing application amount for a specific device, until you find the minimum amount needed to achieve full contact. Apply paste, screw down the heatsink, and take the heatsink out and check the spread pattern until you find the minimum needed.
Looks like a pretty justifiable amount to me. When you screw it down it practically spreads itself to the level needed.
@@user-ov7lh6kz8u lol, more isn’t better. You want a very thin layer for maximum efficiency. The mounting pressure of the switch heatsink isn’t very high, so no it won’t squeeze out excess paste sufficiently. Using that much paste will leave a thick layer, resulting in worse efficiency.
@@user-ov7lh6kz8u no lol, the guy in the vid just doesn’t want to admit, but that’s too much thermal paste, there are plenty of videos comparing temperatures of different amounts of thermal paste
This video was pleasant to watch. The music was relaxing and not obnoxious like a lot of other breakdown videos. Thank you for posting.
I did this to mine with some noctua thermal paste, the results were incredible. Switch feels cooler and the air being exhausted feels hotter, so it works.
But did you measure it?
Not yet, but it seems fine
While I’ve never done any temperature testing I no longer get overheating errors.
how the heck did you get the cpu heat shield of without deforming the hell out of it?
@@juanpestana1582 Plastic pry tool
You did not disconnect the battery initially. People, DISCONNECT THE BATTERY!
Omg tysm mine was not turning on and I did that and now it is this scared me tysm your amazing
Lol nah it's fine
lol noticed this too, but it also appears there's two videos edited into one, one with battery disconnected and 2nd without the battery disconnected. The times you hear from tech repairs that its better to disconnect a battery before you perform anything on electrical equipment has been drummed into me.
I never did that in my laptops... They're still working. I know that you should disconnect the battery, but that's not a tip for the people who know what they are doing... I think that amateurs won't start their "changing thermal paste adventure" from nintendo switch.
@@Marcin_z_bloku_obok I’ve always disconnected a battery or power supply from a laptop when taking them apart, otherwise you could suffer a mishap and short circuit something. It’s just good practice to disconnect batteries or power leads while working on electronics.
Amazing music and so calming and slow paced ❤
1) not using tabs to take off cpu hear shield
2) unholy amount of paste
1: Nintendo made it an absolute b*tch to remove that shield
2: totally correct. 1 pea size for a normal cpu, this is a third of the size of a regular cpu
Everyone saying that you should use less thermal paste than the video. And then here I am who used more than the thermal paste in the video and already closed my switch before reading the comments. But thankyou for the guide. My switch acts up a lot recently and I cant send it to Nintendo for repair because its not available here. Now it works properly. One thing I noticed is that my switch never told me that its over heating, It just shuts down on its own and never opens up. Thankyou again for the guide
I just finished it. success! but becareful at uncrewing as it may scrape the screw drivers making it unscrewable and i accidentally bent my heat pipe when forcing to remove the spongy tape. O was lucky it is only slight and was able to bent back like normal. Thanks for the tutorial
The music's so surreal (i liked it, im not hating lol)
Thanks for the vid!
Crap... I didn’t even think to lift the heatshield when I changed the thermal paste on a switch lite I have
This looks far too scary for me to even attempt to try.
stupid being scared man. it's only scary at first but once you do it, it'll be easy each time.
@@jamirvillarosa7924 i agree on that
I did my switch my wife’s switch and as well as my child’s switch lite. It’s not hard, once my warranty is up on my PS5 I’m going to be replacing all thermals on it.
Going to try this as my switch is reaching 56°C while running Spyro. Fans probably need cleaning too.
How are you measuring that temperature? Thermometer at the exhaust?
@@BrianKellyA2 just now seeing this sorry, my switch is modded
Need a link to your other channel please can’t find it
youtube.com/@jamigagaming?si=0pRuveSTHoJkLcwa
I might add a note, letting people know that it isn’t wise to spin up their fan like that while dusting it out. It can feedback voltage created to other components and damage them or potentially the battery if severe enough. Otherwise, great video 🤘
Very helpful, thank you!
I cant get the heat shield off
Didn't you have to disconnect the battery before taking it off ?
No, but you should if any case you accidentally turnit on.
Next time disconnect the battery before anything. U can short your system out.
Can in use isopropyl alcohol to clean the old thermal paste or do it need a specific solution to clean it?
Hi, I have never tried, I use heatsink cleaner, its not very expensive but if I didnt have it I probably would try isopropyl!
Yes , anything above 70% should work
what kind of mat is that, this is the second time ive seen it
I had to replace my joycon rails on the switch and while I was inside the switch I replaced the thermal paste with mx-6 figured it was 3 years old might as while
Yer, it makes sense while your in there!
Does it matter what kind of thermal paste you use?
If you mean make/brand then no, you just want something known to work well
Can you please share the products you used (paste and paste remover)? You might have it somewhere and I just didn’t see it. Thanks!
Thermal paste mx4 I believe this is one of the better ones to use. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07L9BDY3T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thermal paste remover, I use the following but they all do the same so dont need to spend alot on this
www.amazon.co.uk/Akasa-AK-TC-Tim-Clean-Sink/dp/B000BK7ATI/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=thermal+paste+remover&qid=1616951137&s=computers&sr=1-6
You can just use 91% isopropyl alcohol from your local pharmacy for paste removal. (Couple bucks at Walmart)
Thanks for showing man :)
Have a switch I’m about to do a battery swap on, will probably do this at the same time.
Bro you sludged that thermal paste on 😂
I keep forgetting to say "the perfect amount of thermal paste"...
Hi. Is it fine to replace the pink gummy thermal putty between heatsink and shield with conventional paste like Arctic MX4? I heard this paste is not designed for big gaps. Would it make a difference with a Switch Oled? Thanks.
I have read mixed things, but I have done it on all my consoles (including oled) never with any issues, seen Tronicsfix do it too.
@@fixingmoddingbuilding Good to know it from someone who has done it. Thanks.
Nice video can visually see everything. You would of been ok to add about half the amount of thermal paste tho. Anyways thanks for this detailed video good work
Thank you 👍
I did not understand why the thermal paste is needed in the vent pipes, I get it in the chip, and then again in the cooper plate, but then again in the vent pipes? Not sure if is too much, but at long as it works...
It cools the vents down
Thank you for this!!!
Would isopropyl alcohol also work for cleaning off the thermal paste?
Yes
Hi there! Just want to confirm if this is the right solution for me!
My switch overheats/exhausts hot air/ and you can hear the switch making some noise to ease the heat. This happens only when docked playing Fortnite or animal crossing.
Will the thermal paste resolve this or do I also need to change the fan?
My switch only overheated once and it was when my son played Fortnite, it obviously pushes the console to the limit.
I would say new thermal paste would help alot.
With regards to the noise you say the fan is blowing air out so it sounds like its working but maybe the bearings are going? It could just need a clean as its got dust in?
@@fixingmoddingbuilding oh i see! Thats probably it :D Yes okay, i'll replace the thermal paste first. Maybe if its still overheating, just then ill replace the fan. THANK YOU!
@@fixingmoddingbuilding To be clear, the sound is similar to when a laptop overheats and exhaust air more, like its really pushing everything it can to cool down lol. But yea, aside from thermal paste I'll air dust the fan :)
Hey, could you make a new video but with PTM7950 on the die and between the cooler and heatspreader? I would be interested to see if that does anything.
I haven't read into it before but will take a look at buying some and testing 👍
I have ordered some will look at some videos in a few weeks after testing.
@@fixingmoddingbuilding Nice, thank you!
So I did all this and switch still heats alot in the back by sd card area. Wish I knew what was up with it.
Possibly a short on the card?
Okay what kind of thermal paste did you use on the cpu after removing the heat shield is it the same thing that you use on the rest of putting it back together Arctic MX-4
yes
Question: the first paste between the heatpipe and the silver plate isnt actually thermal paste but a liquid thermal pad thats thick enough to properly close tge gaps. Isn't regular thermal paste like mx4 not great for the job, since it isn't thick enough there?
I have the same question. I did it because I followed this video but other videos do not change it
You didn't show how to reconnect the SD module, that was the main reason I watched the video
You push it on
Put the pad on top and push, you will feel the click
is it compulsary for a newly buy switch?
No not at all, I probably would only do this if the switch was getting warm to hold or the fan sounded loud or the vents looked dusty, otherwise I wouldn't be opening up a switch for the sake of it.
Awesome was wondering if this was safe to do lol I have the same thermal paste lying around too for my pc
It’s pretty easy but I would recommend you to be careful or at least have some experience on old or cheap hardware dis and reassembled experience.
@@secondary2nd yeah this is actually the first console I’ve took apart and worked on it myself, and now I consider myself pretty good with the Nintendo switch hardware layout at least, the joycons were the harder part to figure out lol
What screwdriver did you use to remove the heat pipe?
just a philips/a cross head
Question what if I don’t have the thermal paste because in 2 day my new shell is coming and I don’t have that
It helps conduct the heat from the processor to the metal parts, its needed to stop it from overheating and shutting down once its too hot which will eventually lead to major damage.
never use this tune again 😭😭😭😭😭😭 I wanted something to listen to in the background some commentary or anything lol this made me sadder than a wet noodle
too sad for your left joycon. the only way i replaced that is buying another analog stick. cool video btw ill try mine too
Nintendo is replacing the joycons for free, I beleive, at least they did went I sne dmine, out of warranty and they haven't charge anything
Did it somehow improve battery life even a bit? Since this should technically lessen the heat generated.
I understand what you are asking but I dont use it enough to test battery lengths, in theory you would think so!
Mine has very very little use but. I have some spare fresh MX-2. Should i replace it or leave it be? My fan will get pretty whirring when playing BotW but it stay pretty cool with Minecraft
I played lots of zelda/doom on mine but never had any issues, still not done it on mine! My son played Fortnite on his and it overheated. Only happened the once but has not since.
I would say if your not getting really hot I would leave it for now.
The man did a great job I used more thermal pads in my wife’s switch.I did controlled tests thermal sensors the works.as I ran tests with larger amounts of thermal paste vs thermal pads.the switch does not run very hot either way it is maid just like a smartphone where the heat is dispersed evenly threw the body.it will run fine with no working fan even believe it or not.anything helps and he did a great job.I’m a mad scientist when it comes to tweaking with Sony consoles sad to say they maid crappy cool designs ps5 is nice but I still found that in my test their ps5 runs hot because they have child safety guards over the fans that need to be removed.also the cross bar that bolts down the units heat sink needed thermal paste.why because it touches a metal plate used to prevent the pcb from flexing.the flex preventing is so the liquid metal chamber cooling the amd chip doesn’t leak causing a short.hints don’t stand ps5 up vertically.over time flexing on a small scale will happen lay ps5 down.you hear Sony say stand it strait up…why it looks best up.long life no don’t listen to them laying flat on it’s side where you can pop the top plate off when your playing for long periods help your console breath lol.they want you to buy their products and lie.see ps5 with out the fan guards cools better but you want ps5 laying flat as I was saying because the liquid metal shifts when it’s strait up.remember science class liquid and gravity.if it is vertical it pools at the bottom of the chamber this then makes the amd chip heat up because part of it isn’t able transfer heat and then the fan is working more than it actually needs.pulse if the ps5 is laying down their is a natural dam effect so if their is any leak your ps5 is grand. Over time heating and cooling causes flexing in a small scale.materials give with age.I maid modified ps3 and ps4 consoles for customers and used liquid metal for years before Sony maid the ps5.i make things last I also bring life into old units.so my point is let the man be😘 we all are a part of a mass network of information we should share and love one another.with out madness we are fools.
This comment validates my decision to replace the faceplates with ventilated third party faceplates on the PS5. So thanks for that.
Makes me wonder what liquid metal they used if that's a normal thing to happen to Sony consoles as I currently have no problem with my i5 that's essentially been running 2 years with liquid metal applied. Same temps as before under a prime95 load. As in roughly 70C whether it's been an hour or 5 hours.
DId you see any other advantages ? like NO FPS DROPS or something like this ?
To be honest I never really play anything that maxes it out so cant think of a game that it struggled with previously.
Very helpful video but watching you scrape the package with your plastic tool made me die a little inside.
Unintentional pun? 😆
dont need to unplug the batter before doing the cleaning
dope music
Very danceable.
Does it matter that the base heat shield isn't soldered to the motherboard anymore? It's not completely off but the part around the processor isn't soldered anymore and I can't get it to stick to the motherboard with my soldering equipment.
Some say you should watch not to flick any transistors off while removing the shield but I have no idea which transistors are meant.
Plus my Wifi doesn't work anymore, does it have to do with the heat shield not being soldered to the mainboard?
I doubt the heatshield has anything to do with your wifi issue, It is just there to transfer heat so I dont think it matters if it attached or not.
Might be worth you looking at reflowing your wifi chip to see if that works?
@@fixingmoddingbuilding Thanks I'll have a look :)
Hi, i followed you but i cleaned under the cpu shield i guess that's what it's called, but my switch always when i start a game the fans get loud then after 3 to 5 mintues it ramps back i don't know what's wrong? i changed my thermal 5 times i am using Corsair tmx 50 i think it called also it wasn't like that before the repaste.
Did you use IPA to clean off all the old paste?
Why did this look like it was make in the 70s
I think I must have had the 70s filter on my camera.....
@@fixingmoddingbuilding it was more the music. Love it
whats the name/type of screw on top of the switch 0:31
All are Phillips, except the 4 tri wing ones on the back. Hope this helps.
@@TG_Geek ok but whats the size since I fixed my switch and lost that exact screw and want to replace it
@@HuskyWusky27 which screw was it? One of them on the back or the sides?
@@mem3b0i_ the one at the top 0:31
@@HuskyWusky27 you need a triwing and a ph00
is the heat shield removal necessary cause I've seen loads of guides not removing im trying to fix my switch and I think its the thermal paste that needs replacement
The initial thermal paste is on the processor under the heatsink and this is probably dry and not as effective so I would say so. However it is a little hard getting it off and there is a risk of damaging the board so maybe not worth doing if not confident.
@@fixingmoddingbuilding Oh man, I replaced the thermal paste on my switch a few months ago, not realizing that heat shield was removable/better to remove and replace the paste under it. Maybe down the line, if I start to notice an increase in heat again, like it was before I changed the paste originally, then maybe I’d open it up again. Do you think it’s worth reopening it all over again just to get that extra spot? What I already did on it helped quite a bit, but it’s still not as good as my new switch, the one with the more efficient processor
@@halami2149 My sons only ever overheated when he played fortnite for a while!
Depending on what you play may show if you need to or not?
I would say do it but I know from personal experience how easily the connector on the motherboard that connects the sd card breaks that you dont want to be taking it on and off too much.
Well I bent the corner of that metal plate above the cpu trying to take it off, would of been nice seening it done than just skipped, dont even want to make it worse now
It's totally fine, just place it on the other side on a flat surface and remodel it by pressing on it. It's inevitable to bend any part during the opening, i tend to help myself by just widening the little locks to not bend it a lot, it comes out easily that way. Just remember to press the parts to realign them and allow them to lock it back to properly close it in place
Use some pliers and make it straight again, no biggie!
Can you just use any pc thermal paste for it?
I would go with something with good reviews but yes pc thermal paste is what I am using
I wonder if you could feasibly leave the Heat Shield off, for Direct Heatpipe/Die contact; and, what kind of, if any, benefit it would offer. The additional height from the heatshield might be necessary, though. Also the chips to the right of the die probably do need cooling considering they're under the heatshield.
DISCONNECT THE BATTERY FIRST!
@Panpan Cancery Gaming good luck if you brick your switch.
Wow you used alot of thermal paste.
Too much can be as bad as non.
You really only need a little dot in the middle 😉
Straight up ripped the fan flaps... :(
Should have used alcohol to cleanly lift them off the fan. Those things have a purpose...
What purpose?
@fixingmoddingbuilding they direct the air out and keep it from swishing all-round the internal casing. Keep dust and other nonsense from getting mixed into all the internals.
@@ryanfuller5 great, someone will be happy to know that........
Very very helpful Video...thumbs up from me
do yoiur console is older version or the new version of motherboard what is your model number??
Hi it is the older the version, first gen
@@fixingmoddingbuilding
ok thanks a lot happy holydays!!
Hello what is the name of the song? Thank you
ps2 menu like ost
way too much paste there. You used 5-10x as much as you should have on the die. Yes it "will work" and no it will not work optimally.
what?
I just removed the thin cheap Chinese copper sticker
Yer, I have started to do the same too, it doesn't stick down very well once removed but does the job!
@@fixingmoddingbuilding I did mine this morning I removed my heat shield as well, after removing the sticker under the heat sink I cleaned it really good put some cool master thermal paste on it than put the heat sink back on I didn't bother putting any ontop of the heat sink as it's been running without it since a few months ago when I changed the back cover
man the fact you didn't disconnect the battery makes me cringe
I'm sorry for your concern...
@@fixingmoddingbuilding haha, well you know eliminates the 1% chance that you cause a short
@@TDV1 I know, I was 1% lucky that day 👍
Super helpfull, thank you, but what the frick is with the music xD
I pick random music, will do better in the future! :)
And you didn’t need to remove shield paste. Only heat sink paste.
what do you mean by this
No I disagree. Replace that crap too
Thats some noob level cleaning and thermal paste application.
Thanks for your comment, really appreciate it.. 🤣
Quick tip: be very careful when removing the head shield from the APU, you might break a tiny capacitor, and your wifi will stop working.
That's what happened to me, I'm going to a repair shop to get it fixed soon.
Ughh ohh
dude
you didnt remove the thermal paste underneath the square copper foil
nor did you add any thermal pads between the heat pipe and metal backplate
FYI, When I took the heat shield off I added thermal paste to the cpu, this is what touches the copper plate. All the old thermal paste was removed from the switch.
I didn't add thermal pads as I personally don't feel they need them as it has thermal paste.
Amateur.
😂😂Thanks keyboard warrior 🤣🤣
Doesn't seem like an amateur to me