Invisible Screen Protection for Your Nintendo Switch Dock

Hi guys,

When I finally got my Switch, I wanted to be sure not to scratch my screen (or even the back side of the console) when fitting it into its dock. So I wanted to make a dock cover, as the one featured by CreateGeek (with the lovely wind waker fabric !) before trying to find a more discreet solution.

I ended-up with an easy & costless way to do it when I bought a tempered glass screen protector. It is always sold with a microfiber tissue to set it up and we are going to use it, as it is very soft and thin enough to fit between the console and its dock !

Step 1: The Dock Teardown

The longest part surely is the dock teardown. You can paste your microfiber strips without doing so, but I preferred having an easy access to the four bars that hold the console to make sure my pasting was clean.

First you will have to disassemble the back plate, behind the cables door. This is the only part of this instructable where you will need a specific tool : the tri-wing screwdriver. Those who have ever wanted to disassemble a nintendo stuff know it. It can be bought for a couple of bucks on the internet, or you can do your own by modifying a torx screwdriver (you have to grind one wing out of two).

Before starting, there are different screw sizes, so I advise you to sort it while tearing the dock down, to make the reassembling easier.

Once you removed every tri-wing screw you may remove the plate. Now you have access to the PCB. To remove it you will have to disconnect the ribbon cable (it is the USB-C one). To do so, use a plastic spudger, a guitar pick or you fingernail to gently rise the lock, so you can get the ribbon cable out of its craddle. Don't use pliers nor knife to be sure not to damage anything as plastic is fragile.

Now, you can remove the PCB from it's socket, but be carefull not to tear the front LED cable plugged on the other side the PCB. Unplug it.

Once you have removed all the remaining screws, you are now able to seperate the two parts of the back of the dock, but be carefull with the cables, for it not to be stuck then torn while seperating the case.

To remove the rubber pads that may curb the console fitting after adding the microfiber strips, you only have to gently rise the lower part (with the USB-C plug) to unmount it, then the rubber pads can slip out off its housings.