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How to fix issues with the Switch OLED screen looking dark, washed out and more

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With the Switch OLED system, Nintendo replaced the LCD screen from the original system and Switch Lite system with an OLED screen.

If you are experiencing issues with the screen of your Nintendo Switch OLED looking bad, dark, off, washed out or weird, then you can check out this step-by-step tutorial at Seeking Tech.

Before we being, it should be noted that this troubleshooting guide is only intended for the handheld and tabletop modes of the Switch OLED system.

If the Switch games look back when you connect your Switch OLED system to a TV, then we recommend adjusting the TV’s display settings. You can also adjust the TV Settings on your game console in the System Settings menu.

1. The first step we recommend taking is to check to see if your OLED screen issue is related to a certain game or across multiple games.

If it only affects one game, then we recommend going to the in-game menu and then adjust the visual settings, if there are any.

You can also try updating the game to the latest available patch to see if doing so will fix the OLED screen display issues.

To update to the latest software version for a game, you need to take the following steps:

  • In the Home menu, hover over to the game with display issues.
  • With the game in question highlighted, you can then press either the + or – button on the Joy-Con.
  • In the next menu, select Software on the left column.
  • On the right side of the same menu, select Via the Internet.

2. You can also try updating the firmware of your Nintendo Switch OLED system if you haven’t done so already.

In order to do so, you can do the following:

  • In the Home menu, head into System Settings.
  • Inside System Settings menu, scroll down and then select System from the options available on the left column.
  • On the right side of the same menu, select System Update.

3. The next step you can try is to check the Change Display Colors setting.

In order to do so, you need to take the following steps:

  • From the Home menu, select System Settings.
  • In the System Settings menu, scroll down on the left column and then select System.
  • On the right side in the same menu, scroll down and then select Change Display Colors.
  • The Change Display Colors should be set to Default. If it was previously set to Invert Colors or Grayscale, then make sure to change it to Default.

4. Furthermore, you can try adjust the screen brightness by taking the following steps:

  • Go to System Settings from the Home menu.
  • Inside the System Settings menu, select Screen Brightness from the left bar.
  • On the right side of the same menu, you should see the brightness adjustment bar.

5. We also recommend checking the Console-Screen Colors setting. For the uninformed, the Console-Screen Colors is only available in the Nintendo Switch OLED model as the screen will allow you to display more vivid colors.

To check the Console-Screen Colors, you need to do the following:

  • Go to System Settings from the Home menu of your Nintendo Switch OLED.
  • Navigate downwards and then select System.
  • On the right of the same screen, select Console-Screen Colors.
  • By default, the Console-Screen Colors is set to Vivid.
  • If you are experiencing screen OLED issues when it was set to Vivid, then you can change the Console-Screen Colors to Standard.
  • If you are experiencing screen OLED issues when it was set to Standard, then you can change the Console-Screen Colors to Vivid.