You aren't imagining things. If your Nintendo Switch is in its dock and in Sleep Mode, and you wake your Switch by pairing a controller or touching one of the connected Joy-Cons, the console will turn on your television and change the input to whatever the Switch is set to. This feature is called HDMI CEC, and is included in most modern televisions. It's the same feature that immediately sets your Switch into Sleep Mode if you turn off the television while the console is in its dock. Cool, huh?
Actually no, it's not always cool. Accidentally waking the controller when you're watching something else on television or when you're trying to avoid waking everyone up in the house at 4 a.m. can cause some issues. Here's how to disable the feature so it never causes you any more problems!
Buried near the bottom of your Switch settings, you'll find TV Settings. Near the bottom of this list you'll find Match TV Power State, with a simple On/Off toggle. This is an all-in-one switch for HDMI CEC functions, so when you turn it off you are disabling both the ability to wake the television with a Switch controller and the ability to put the Switch into Sleep Mode by turning off the television. Once you flip the switch off, these features disappear and you can move on with your life!
- Head to the Settings tile on the Switch Home Screen
- Find TV Settings near the bottom of Settings and tap OK
- Find Match TV Power State and hit OK to toggle the feature to OFF
- Press the Home button on your Switch controller
Any Nintendo Switch questions?
If you need help with HDMI CEC, or anything else having to do with Nintendo Switch, drop them in the comments below!
