Hobbyist modifies laptop hub to enable Switch 2 TV output
Firmware changes let a €40 Cable Matters hub handle Nintendo’s dock checks, though variable refresh rate remains unusable.
A hobbyist known as mkopec has modified a €40 Cable Matters 7-in-1 USB-C hub to carry Nintendo Switch 2 video to a television. In a blog post, mkopec described firmware changes that let the laptop accessory identify itself as Nintendo’s official dock and answer the console’s proprietary messages.
The project began as an attempt to find a smaller travel alternative to Nintendo’s dock. The unmodified hub could charge the Switch 2 but produced no TV picture. Using a USB-C monitoring device, mkopec examined communication between the console and the official dock.
About 540 bytes of added code on the hub’s VIA Labs power-delivery chip handled Nintendo’s messages while leaving other traffic to the existing firmware. Video output worked on the fifth patch version, after the hub reproduced the dock’s complete identity rather than merely identifying itself as a Nintendo device.
A separate 108-byte modification addressed washed-out HDR output. The hub’s Realtek HDMI conversion chip had been labeling HDR frames with a standard-range color space. The modified hub also exposed a variable refresh rate option, but enabling it froze the DisplayPort image.
Mkopec published a patching tool on GitHub that requires a Linux PC and supports only this Cable Matters model with unmodified factory firmware. Its documentation warns that an unsuccessful firmware flash can render the hub unusable.
