how do i know this? because i literally went through four... yes, four different zelda oleds today. every single one had green tinting
if you're unaware, green tinting is a commonish issue with low-quality oled panels. i'm not a technical guy so i don't know why it happens, but it looks like this (screenshot stolen from reddit):
the severity of the problem will differ from screen-to-screen, but as you can see, what's supposed to be a uniform black has a sickly green color seeping into the proceedings. it typically only occurs on certain brightness levels (usually when the brightness is under 50%), and i'm guessing the vast majority of consumers either don't know or don't care because this has been a problem with the switch oleds since they first launched in 2021
let's rewind a bit for my personal history: last year i bought the splatoon oled. after discovering the green tint issue, i sent it in to nintendo for repairs. they sent it back claiming it was fixed, but the new screen still had green tinting. so i sent it back a second time. it came back just as defective as before. the third time i sent it in i demanded some sort of recompense and they let me select a free digital game (got mario strikers)
when i received it from nintendo the third time the screen was, yet again, still defective. i told them i'd send it in one more time and if it didn't come back properly repaired i was going to demand a refund. they let me select another free digital game for my troubles (tropical freeze this time), and after close to two months of ping-ponging my system back and forth to nintendo, the fourth repair finally had a screen with no issues
cut to today:
it's utterly ridiculous and unacceptable that out of the 10 oleds i've had in my posession (launch oled with green tinting that i didn't bother exchanging, the five splatoon oleds, and now the four zelda oleds), only one has had a non-defective screen. and that's after threatening nintendo with a refund demand. for all i know they have a select few quality screens they keep at the repair shop for when a persistent customer won't take "here's another crappy screen!" for an answer
so what's the best way to check if your oled is defective?
if you have this problem and it bothers you, you can get it repaired for free from nintendo. and today both best buy and target allowed me to either exchange it for a different unit or get a full refund. exercise your options and don't settle for a subpar screen for this "premium" device. it's extremely (extremely) frustrating that i had to spend several hours going in and out of various stores four times today and still not even ending up with the item i wanted, but i take some small solace knowing nintendo lost money on all four switches i opened today because the stores will be returning to them as defects. and hopefully other people who were unaware of this problem will see this thread and follow suit if their units are defective too
if anyone else has oled horror stories they want to vent on (or helpful screenshots further showcasing examples of green tinting), post 'em. and if you did end up with a beautiful zelda oled that does have a fully functioning screen, i'd be curious to hear about that too
in conclusion, dammit, nintendo
edit:
edit 2:
if you're unaware, green tinting is a commonish issue with low-quality oled panels. i'm not a technical guy so i don't know why it happens, but it looks like this (screenshot stolen from reddit):
the severity of the problem will differ from screen-to-screen, but as you can see, what's supposed to be a uniform black has a sickly green color seeping into the proceedings. it typically only occurs on certain brightness levels (usually when the brightness is under 50%), and i'm guessing the vast majority of consumers either don't know or don't care because this has been a problem with the switch oleds since they first launched in 2021
let's rewind a bit for my personal history: last year i bought the splatoon oled. after discovering the green tint issue, i sent it in to nintendo for repairs. they sent it back claiming it was fixed, but the new screen still had green tinting. so i sent it back a second time. it came back just as defective as before. the third time i sent it in i demanded some sort of recompense and they let me select a free digital game (got mario strikers)
when i received it from nintendo the third time the screen was, yet again, still defective. i told them i'd send it in one more time and if it didn't come back properly repaired i was going to demand a refund. they let me select another free digital game for my troubles (tropical freeze this time), and after close to two months of ping-ponging my system back and forth to nintendo, the fourth repair finally had a screen with no issues
cut to today:
- bought a zelda oled from best buy. the screen was defective
- exchanged it for another at best buy. the screen was defective
- the guy at best buy would not let me exchange it a third time, so i went to target. my third zelda oled screen was defective
- i went back to target and exchanged it. four defective screens in a row
it's utterly ridiculous and unacceptable that out of the 10 oleds i've had in my posession (launch oled with green tinting that i didn't bother exchanging, the five splatoon oleds, and now the four zelda oleds), only one has had a non-defective screen. and that's after threatening nintendo with a refund demand. for all i know they have a select few quality screens they keep at the repair shop for when a persistent customer won't take "here's another crappy screen!" for an answer
so what's the best way to check if your oled is defective?
- turn off auto-brightness
- turn your brightness down all the way
- go to the eshop page for diablo 2 and go to the first screenshot
- raise your screen brigthness one notch at a time, keeping an eye on the pitch black edges to the left
if you have this problem and it bothers you, you can get it repaired for free from nintendo. and today both best buy and target allowed me to either exchange it for a different unit or get a full refund. exercise your options and don't settle for a subpar screen for this "premium" device. it's extremely (extremely) frustrating that i had to spend several hours going in and out of various stores four times today and still not even ending up with the item i wanted, but i take some small solace knowing nintendo lost money on all four switches i opened today because the stores will be returning to them as defects. and hopefully other people who were unaware of this problem will see this thread and follow suit if their units are defective too
if anyone else has oled horror stories they want to vent on (or helpful screenshots further showcasing examples of green tinting), post 'em. and if you did end up with a beautiful zelda oled that does have a fully functioning screen, i'd be curious to hear about that too
in conclusion, dammit, nintendo
edit:
This was my experience back with the launch units. Part that sticks out in the screenshot is the lit area in the lower left. Top unit is green/has color that extends beyond what should be seen.
edit 2:
Oh I think I see it now, it's more like green artifacts? I only see it in that diablo 2 screenshot at 30-40% brightness anything before or after is fine. I found these skyrim loading pictures but these seem more extreme looking. I don't have skyrim to try it out.
Last edited:
