The Nintendo Switch makes it easy to jump between playing on your TV and enjoying games on the console in handheld mode. But you might have noticed that when you place your Switch on the dock, it changes your TV's input to show your Switch.
This is due to a feature called HDMI-CEC that's useful, but can be annoying in some cases. Here's how to stop your Switch from changing your TV's input or going to sleep with your TV.
How Does the Switch Use HDMI-CEC?
HDMI CEC, or Consumer Electronics Control, allows modern devices connected to a TV with HDMI to talk back and forth with each other. On the Nintendo Switch, this means the following will happen:
- When you put your Switch onto the dock, it will automatically change your TV's input to the Switch's display.
- When you turn on your Switch while it's connected to the dock, your TV will also turn on.
- Turning off your TV will put your Switch to sleep.
These features are useful, and they save a few button presses or searching for your TV remote. But they can also interrupt you—if you dock your Switch to charge while you're watching something on your TV, you probably don't want to jump to your Switch's input. And putting your Switch to sleep when you turn off your TV could cause an in-progress game download to fail.
Thankfully, it's easy to disable this option on your Switch.
How to Stop Your Switch From Turning Off With Your TV
Select the System Settings gear icon from the bottom row of your Switch's home menu. On the left sidebar, scroll down to TV Settings. Then on this page, find the Match TV Power State option and disable it.
Once you do this, your Switch will ignore all HDMI-CEC options. You'll have to put it to sleep manually, and turning it on won't also boot up your TV.
Keep Your Switch and TV Separated
That's how you control whether your Switch matches the power state of your TV. It's handy in some cases, but not useful for everyone.
Chances are that your other consoles have HDMI-CEC features too. You can disable them individually, but it may be easier to turn this off from your TV's side. The name and menu location differs by TV, so try a Google search for your TV manufacturer and HDMI-CEC if you can't find it.
There are lots of options and tips like this to explore as a Switch owner, so make sure you aren't missing out!
