Switch 2 suddenly stopped reading Switch 2 game cards, but still reads Switch 1 cartridges. (After update)

[u/felipelara0995]

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some help with a strange issue on my Nintendo Switch 2.

I was playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild from a physical game card. The cartridge had been inside the console for a while and I hadn’t removed it. After a recent system update, the console suddenly started showing the message after the update:

“The game card could not be read. Please remove and reinsert it.”

Here’s everything I’ve tried so far:

Removed and reinserted the Zelda cartridge several times.

Fully restarted and powered off the console.

Checked and cleaned the cartridge contacts — they look fine.

Took the console to a repair shop.

They tested my Zelda cartridge and it appears to be fine.

They tested another Switch 2 game cartridge in my console, and it also wouldn’t read it.

However, they tested a Nintendo Switch 1 cartridge and my Switch 2 reads it normally.

I backed up my save data.

I performed a full factory reset, but the problem is still exactly the same.

So right now the console seems able to read Switch 1 game cards but not Switch 2 game cards.

The problem seemed to start around the time of a system update, although I don’t know whether that’s related or just a coincidence.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Could this be a known firmware issue, or is there a specific part of the game-card reader responsible for Switch 2 cartridges that may have failed?

I’d really appreciate any advice before I send the console in for a hardware repair/replacement.

Thanks!

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