Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Supports VRR, But It Strangely Does Not Work

While Nintendo initially claimed that the Switch 2 dock does not support variable refresh rate (VRR), new tests show that this feature is available to use on the accessory.

Strangely enough, it was also revealed that when using the Switch 2 in docked mode, VRR is not available for the Nintendo console.

Switch 2 Dock Supports VRR But It Does Not Work

The Verge reported that it recently discovered that the Nintendo Switch 2 dock supports VRR technology, but the strange thing is, it does not work for the console in docked mode. When in docked mode, users would not be able to take advantage of their display's variable refresh rate feature, and this is the present dilemma owners have.

However, the report noted that it was able to verify that Switch 2's dock indeed supports VRR, but they were able to do so when they connected the Valve Steam Deck instead. Based on their testing, the first-party Switch 2 console in docked mode could not enable VRR but weirdly, it could work for other handheld consoles on a VRR-supported display.

Other consoles that were tested for this feature include the likes of the Lenovo Legion Go S running SteamOS, theASUS ROG Ally X running Bazzite, and the aforementioned Steam Deck. Doing so for these consoles would require a female-to-male USB-C connector to link the dock to the third-party handheld's USB-C port via a cable, with The Verge noting it to be a painstaking process.

Switch 2 Dock Runs 4K VRR at 120FPS Using Other Handhelds

The test successfully showed that the dock supports VRR, and it went as far as to run 4K VRR at 120 frames per second. Reddit users have also confirmed that Nintendo's rival handheld consoles can run VRR when using the Switch 2's dock accessory.

It was also discovered that both HDR and VRR work on the Switch 2 dock when tested with other consoles.

Nintendo Switch 2 VRR on Handheld Mode

It was also revealed by The Verge that the Switch 2 console features VRR support, but Nintendo made it exclusive to the handheld mode.

Nintendo originally noted that Switch 2 could be enjoyed with a VRR-supported display back when the company officially unveiled it. However, on May 16, Nintendo changed this, clarifying that VRR support is only available in handheld mode and apologized for the "incorrect information" (via Nintendo Life).

As of writing, there is no way to enable the Switch 2 console to take advantage of its dock's VRR support.