Oliver Cragg / Android Authority
TL;DR Users reported Switch 2 Joy-Cons easily detaching with the dbrand Killswitch case installed.
dbrand’s initial response echoed Steven Jobs’ “you’re holding it wrong” debacle.
Enhanced replacement units will be offered for free to all customers next month.
If dbrand is known for anything, it’s premium products and excessive snark. Usually that works in its favor, but when several customers revealed a flaw in the Killswitch case for the Switch 2 on Reddit, its signature style further upset frustrated users.
The issue lies in the connection between the Joy-Con and the Switch 2 console, which relies on magnets rather than the mechanical rail in the Switch 1. There is a small air gap between the two, which prevents the Joy-Con from getting enough leverage to pop free.
With the dbrand Killswitch grips attached to the Joy-Cons, that gap is ever so slightly smaller. In a post on Reddit that’s more than 4,000 words long, the company detailed its reasoning behind the design, and why it’s unlikely that the Joy-Cons will detach in everyday use. Essentially, the company expects all users to support the body of the Switch 2 with their fingers while holding the Joy-Con.
dbrand bundled its initial response to Switch 2 case complaints.
For users frustrated by the flaw in their $60 case, the whole thing stank of Steve Jobs’ notorious 2010 “You’re holding it wrong” response to the iPhone 4’s connectivity problems. dbrand did admit that “we do think there’s an underlying issue for us to fix here” and promised to improve tolerances and quality checks to minimize the chance of detachment, but it also stuck to its edgy corporate persona.
A section titled “VIRAL VIDEOS AND YOU” placed some blame for the outrage on the users who found the issue, saying the videos themselves prompted others to “validate the thesis that detachment can occur” on their own devices. In other words, if you didn’t know about the flaw, it probably wouldn’t bother you, so chill out about it.
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