The Genki Covert Dock performs all of the duties of the official Nintendo Switch dock, including sending video from your Switch to your TV, in a much smaller package.
The Nintendo Switch is a remarkable game system, thanks to its dock. Outside of the dock, with Joy-Cons attached, it’s a gaming handheld. Pop it in the dock, and it’s a home console connected to your TV. The dock is a bit bulky, though, and if anything bad happens to it, finding a Nintendo-made replacement can be difficult. The Genki Covert Dock is an appealing alternative, a $74.99 pocket-sized hub that does everything the Switch dock does, in a smaller package and for $15 less than the official dock. The device only has one USB-A port for accessories, and you’ll need an extension cord if your power outlet is in an awkward location, but it works exactly as advertised. The Genki Covert Dock serves as an excellent replacement for the original Switch dock. Dock Design At first glance, the Covert Dock looks like a chunky USB wall adapter. It’s a black block measuring 2.4 by 1.7 by 1.3 inches and weighing just 3.5 ounces, with a flip-up two-prong power plug on one end and three ports on the other: USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI. It’s designed to plug directly into your wall outlet or power strip, though its slightly thick body might be a bit too wide for neighboring power plugs to fit. The dock also comes with a set of three international plug adapters that fit over the US plug. The Covert Dock works just like the standard Nintendo Switch dock, using the USB-C connection (with the included cable, which helpfully has a right-angle connector so you can lay your Switch down flat without the cable jutting straight out of the bottom) to both charge your Switch and send audio and video to the connected TV over HDMI. In theory, this should be something any USB-C dock or hub with an HDMI out would be capable of doing, but Nintendo’s video implementation is slightly different from most USB-C-to-HDMI video output. SEE ALSO: DualShock 4 Controllers Can’t Be Used to Play PS5 Games The dock uses a USB Power Delivery (PD) 3.0-compliant charging system, and according to Genki has a power management chip that is safe for Nintendo Switch consoles. This is important, because cheap docks (many are available online for around $30) run the risk of frying the Switch’s ability to charge, or outright bricking it; such a thing happened to one of our editors who purchased a cheap dock.
