Nintendo Switch 2 HDR setup after the update: HGiG, the two suns, and the five-click Y slider fix

19 December 2025
Nintendo Switch 2
15 min.
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Nintendo Switch 2 HDR setup after the update: HGiG, the two suns, and the five-click Y slider fix

Summary:

We have all been there: we turn on HDR, expecting richer highlights and better contrast, and the picture somehow looks flatter. On Nintendo Switch 2, that “washed out” look has been a real thing for a chunk of setups, especially in docked play where the TV’s own processing can get involved. Nintendo has adjusted how the Switch 2’s HDR calibration behaves, and that change matters because it affects how the console and the TV agree on brightness and tone mapping. The quick win is simple to remember: if the TV offers HGiG, turn it on before calibrating. Then, on the first HDR adjustment screen, we raise brightness until the sun on the right disappears. On the second screen, we press Y to reveal the slider and set it to five clicks from the left.

Those steps sound almost too small to matter, but they are like putting the right key in the lock. HGiG is designed to stop the TV from reinterpreting what the console is already trying to do, so highlights do not get pushed around twice. The two-sun pattern is basically the Switch 2 asking, “Where is your ceiling?” and the hidden Y slider is the Switch 2 asking, “How bright should normal white look before highlights pop?” Once we do both parts correctly, HDR starts behaving more like HDR: bright elements have bite, shadows keep detail, and the whole image feels less foggy. We also keep a short checklist for verifying results, plus a set of quick fixes for the most common gotchas, so we can enjoy the games instead of babysitting sliders.

What changed in Switch 2 HDR and why it caught people off guard

Nintendo quietly changing display behavior is kind of its thing, and Switch 2 HDR is the latest example where a small system tweak can make a big visual difference. The key point is that the Switch 2’s HDR adjustment process has shifted, and that matters because calibration screens are only useful when they behave consistently across different TVs. When that behavior is off, we can end up chasing the wrong target, like trying to measure a room with a rubber ruler. That is why the same console can look punchy on one set and strangely pale on another, even when both are “HDR capable.” The practical takeaway is not to panic or overthink it. We treat the Switch 2 calibration as a handshake between two devices: the console tells the TV what it is sending, and the TV decides how to show it. If both devices are also tone mapping at the same time, that handshake turns into two people talking over each other. The recent attention around these settings is happening because the fix is repeatable and does not require magic numbers for every brand, just a sane process and one crucial toggle.

Before touching HDR sliders, lock down the basics

Before we touch the fun little suns, we want the basics to be boring and stable. HDR is fussy, and it loves blaming the wrong thing when something looks off. We start by confirming we are actually in a true HDR signal path: docked console to TV, the correct HDMI input, and the TV’s game-friendly picture mode. Think of this like cooking on a level stovetop. If the burner is tilted, no amount of stirring fixes the soup. We also keep one goal in mind: consistency. We do not change five TV settings and two console settings at the same time, because then we never know what actually helped. A clean approach is simple: enable HDR on Switch 2, enable the TV’s Game Mode, and make sure any “enhancement” features are not doing surprise gymnastics in the background. Once that foundation is set, the calibration steps actually mean something, and we can trust what we are seeing.

Use Game Mode and confirm HDR is actually active

Game Mode is not just a latency switch, it is often where the TV stores its HDR gaming behavior, including tone mapping options and HGiG on many models. We make sure the TV is in its game preset first, because calibrating in a movie preset and then playing in game preset can feel like setting up a bike seat and then swapping bikes. On the Switch 2 side, we confirm HDR is enabled for docked play and that the system is outputting an HDR signal when an HDR-capable game or the HDR setup screen is active. We also keep our eyes on obvious tells: HDR mode indicators on the TV, a shift in picture profile, and the fact that the HDR adjustment screens appear at all. If HDR is not truly engaged, the calibration becomes a placebo workout. It feels productive, but nothing changes in the real world. Once HDR is active and Game Mode is selected, we are ready to make adjustments that actually stick.

Find HGiG or the closest tone-mapping option

HGiG is the setting that makes the rest of the process click into place. The short version is that HGiG is meant to stop the TV from doing its own highlight remapping on top of what the console is already doing, so the console’s calibration results stay meaningful. If the TV offers HGiG, we enable it before running the Switch 2 HDR adjustment. On some TVs, HGiG is presented directly. On others, it is effectively “tone mapping off” or a “tone mapping compensation” option inside a game optimizer menu. We treat this step like turning off auto-correct when we are trying to type a password. Auto-correct is helpful, until it confidently changes the one thing that must not be changed. With HGiG enabled, the two-sun pattern behaves more predictably, and we are less likely to end up with blown-out highlights or that grey haze that makes everything look like it is being viewed through a thin curtain.

HGiG in plain English – why it matters for Switch 2

HGiG stands for HDR Gaming Interest Group, and the reason we care is not the acronym, it is the job it does. HDR games rely on the console knowing the TV’s limits, so the game can place highlights where they belong instead of smashing them into a white blob. The console’s HDR calibration is basically it learning, “This is how bright your screen can get before detail disappears.” The problem is that many TVs also try to be helpful by tone mapping the image again, boosting or compressing highlights to fit their own idea of what looks good. That second pass can undo what the console just learned, which is how we end up with calibration screens that feel impossible, inconsistent, or weirdly washed. With HGiG enabled, we are telling the TV, “Please do not second-guess the console. Let the console drive the highlight mapping for games.” It can look slightly darker at first, but it is often the difference between accurate contrast and a bright, foggy mess.

The “two suns” calibration – what the screens are really asking

The Switch 2 HDR adjustment screens look simple, but they are asking two different questions. The first screen is about peak brightness and clipping: where do highlights stop showing detail? The second screen is about the baseline brightness of “normal white,” often described as paper white, which influences how bright menus, UI, and mid-tones appear relative to true highlights. If we only do the first step, HDR can still feel off because the whole image might be too bright in the middle, leaving less room for highlights to shine. If we only do the second step, highlights might still be clipped or underwhelming. Together, the two steps create a balanced ladder: mid-tones sit comfortably, and highlights have space to pop without turning into a blank sheet of printer paper. The neat part is that the Switch 2 gives us a straightforward target: make the right sun disappear on the first screen, then use the Y slider trick on the second screen and land on five clicks from the left.

First screen – make the sun on the right disappear

On the first HDR adjustment screen, we slowly increase brightness until the sun on the right is no longer visible. The goal is not “make both suns vanish” or “make it look dramatic.” The goal is to find the point where the right sun just disappears, which indicates we are at the threshold where detail in the brightest areas is about to clip. This is like setting a microphone gain: too low and everything is quiet, too high and peaks distort. We want that sweet spot where the brightest details are right at the edge but not crushed. With HGiG enabled, this step tends to behave more logically because the TV is not trying to remap those highlights while we adjust. We keep the movement steady, not frantic. If we overshoot, we back down and approach again. Once the right sun is gone, we lock it in and move forward, because this step sets the ceiling that the rest of HDR will lean on.

Second screen – press Y and set the slider to five clicks

The second HDR screen is where a lot of people miss the real fix, because the important control is not obvious at first glance. We press Y to bring up a slider, then move it to five clicks from the left. This is not a random superstition, it is a practical baseline that helps stop mid-tones from being pushed too bright, which is one of the reasons HDR can look washed out instead of punchy. Think of HDR like a stage performance: if the entire stage is already fully lit, the spotlight does not feel special. Lowering paper white to a sensible level gives highlights room to stand out, so bright effects look bright for the right reason, not because everything is bright all the time. Five clicks from the left is easy to repeat and easy to remember, which matters because the moment we start guessing, we end up recalibrating every weekend like it is a hobby. Set it, save it, and let the games do the rest.

Why these changes fix washed-out HDR on some TVs

When HDR looks washed out, it usually is not because HDR is “bad,” it is because the mapping between the console and the TV is confused. If the console is outputting one set of brightness assumptions and the TV is applying another set of tone mapping rules, mid-tones can get lifted and highlights can lose contrast. The image becomes bright but not bold, like turning up the lights in a room and wondering why nothing feels cozy anymore. The Switch 2 calibration steps work because they re-establish a shared reference point. The first screen tells the console where highlights clip on the display. The second screen sets the white level so the picture has a healthy contrast curve. HGiG is the peace treaty that keeps the TV from rewriting the console’s intent. Put those together, and the most common symptoms improve: skies stop looking like pale watercolor, shiny surfaces regain texture, and bright effects look like highlights instead of just “more white.”

When the TV and console both try to “help” at the same time

Picture two chefs seasoning the same soup without talking to each other. One adds salt, the other tastes it, assumes it needs more, and adds salt again. That is what double tone mapping can feel like. The console is already mapping HDR values into something the TV can show, based on calibration. If the TV then applies its own dynamic tone mapping, it can compress highlights, lift shadows, and generally reshape the image in a way that makes the console’s calibration less meaningful. HGiG is designed to reduce that conflict by letting the console’s calibration drive the result for games. The Switch 2’s HDR screens become more reliable when the TV is not fighting them. That is why enabling HGiG before calibration is not just a “nice extra,” it is often the difference between a calibration pattern that behaves sensibly and one that pushes us into absurd brightness values where the image loses depth and starts looking flat.

Paper white and mid-tones – why menus can look strange at first

After setting the second screen to five clicks from the left, we might notice the system UI looks a bit darker than before. That can feel alarming for about ten seconds, and then it starts making sense. HDR is about range, not constant brightness. If paper white is too high, mid-tones eat up the headroom that highlights need, and the picture can feel like it has no “spark” even when it is technically bright. A sensible paper white makes highlights feel more impactful because they stand above a stable baseline. It is like adjusting your eyes after walking in from the sun. At first, the room feels dim, then details return, and suddenly everything looks more natural. We do not chase the brightest UI possible. We chase a balanced picture where bright effects are bright, shadows keep detail, and colors do not look like they were rinsed in warm water.

If your TV does not support HGiG

No HGiG does not mean no hope. It just means we need to be more careful about how much the TV is processing the HDR signal. Many TVs without an HGiG label still offer some form of tone mapping control, even if it is named differently. We look for options like dynamic tone mapping on or off, HDR tone mapping, or game HDR settings that influence highlight handling. The goal is to avoid aggressive dynamic tone mapping during the Switch 2 calibration process, because that can distort what the two-sun screen is trying to show. We also keep expectations realistic. Some budget sets advertise HDR support but have limited peak brightness, so the “wow” factor will be smaller no matter what we do. Calibration cannot turn a flashlight into the sun. Still, the Switch 2 process can improve consistency, and setting the right sun to disappear plus using the Y slider baseline can reduce that grey haze and make colors feel steadier, even on modest displays.

What to do instead, and what not to chase

If HGiG is missing, we pick the closest equivalent: Game Mode enabled, dynamic tone mapping reduced or turned off if possible, and then we run the Switch 2 HDR adjustment exactly once with calm, deliberate changes. We do not chase a calibration where both suns behave perfectly on every set, because some TVs will always “massage” the signal. We also do not chase maximum brightness in the second screen, because that is the fast lane to washed-out mid-tones. The five-click approach is a useful anchor precisely because it avoids endless guessing. After calibration, we test in a familiar game scene with bright highlights and darker areas, and we ask one simple question: do bright elements keep texture, or do they turn into flat white? If texture is back and contrast feels stronger, we are winning. If everything is still foggy, we revisit the TV’s HDR processing options before touching the Switch 2 sliders again.

Quick checks after calibration – how to tell it worked

We do not need lab equipment to sanity-check HDR. We just need a couple of repeatable visual cues. First, highlights should look bright without losing detail. Snow should still show subtle shading instead of becoming a blank sticker. Reflections should look glossy, not like a white smear. Second, mid-tones should feel stable. If faces and walls look oddly over-bright, paper white is likely too high. Third, shadows should not be crushed into nothing or lifted into grey soup. We want shadow detail that exists without making the whole image look hazy. Finally, colors should look richer without looking radioactive. If reds look pinkish and the whole image feels faded, tone mapping conflict is still likely. A good HDR setup feels like cleaning a window: the scene gains depth and separation. It does not feel like turning the brightness slider to maximum and calling it a day.

Common problems and fast fixes

Even with the correct calibration steps, a few common issues can still show up depending on the TV and input settings. The good news is that most of them have simple fixes that do not involve redoing everything from scratch. We start by changing one variable at a time, because HDR troubleshooting gets messy when we flip ten switches and then guess which one mattered. We also keep the calibration steps as our baseline. If we change TV processing options, we may need to rerun the two screens, but we do it only after we have identified a clear reason. The most common culprits are aggressive tone mapping, mismatched HDMI input settings, and game presets that silently reset when the TV detects HDR. We keep it simple: confirm Game Mode, confirm the tone mapping choice, then confirm the Switch 2 calibration is still set with the right sun disappearing and the second screen at five clicks from the left.

Clipped highlights or dull sparkle

If highlights are clipping, we will notice it immediately in bright effects that lose texture, like a bright lamp that becomes a flat white circle. The first fix is to confirm the first HDR screen was set correctly: the right sun should disappear, not merely fade, and we should not push far past the point where it vanishes. If sparkle is dull instead, we check the TV’s HDR tone mapping settings. Some TVs have multiple HDR game profiles or a setting that limits peak brightness in game mode. We also verify we are not in an eco power mode that reduces brightness. The goal is not to make everything brighter. It is to preserve highlight detail while keeping contrast. When highlight detail returns, the image gains depth, and bright areas feel like they belong in the scene rather than sitting on top of it like white paint.

Raised blacks, grey shadows, and washed colors

Raised blacks often look like a grey film over the image, especially in darker scenes where blacks should look deeper. This is frequently caused by tone mapping or contrast enhancements that lift shadows to “show more detail.” In games, that can make everything look flatter. We ensure Game Mode is active and any dynamic contrast features are minimized, because those can fight the console’s output. Then we revisit the second HDR screen setting. If paper white is too high, mid-tones and near-blacks can look lifted, which contributes to that washed feeling. Five clicks from the left is a strong baseline for restoring separation between dark areas and mid-tones. If colors still look pale, we also make sure we are not using a color temperature or picture preset designed for bright daytime TV viewing. HDR gaming works best when the TV is not trying to “fix” the picture on its own.

Banding, flicker, and “why does this only happen in docked mode?”

Docked mode adds another layer because we are now dealing with an HDMI signal path, the dock, the cable, and the TV’s specific HDMI input settings. If we see flicker or odd banding, we check whether the TV has an HDMI input mode setting, sometimes labeled as enhanced format, deep color, or similar. If that setting is off, HDR can behave inconsistently. We also confirm the cable is properly seated and use a known-good cable, because intermittent HDMI issues can show up as strange HDR behavior rather than a full signal drop. Banding can also be more visible when the image is overly bright in mid-tones, so a paper white that is too high can make gradients look worse. The main idea is to stabilize the signal first, then worry about the picture. Once the HDMI path is solid, the Switch 2 calibration steps become reliable again.

A simple routine to stay sane after future updates

The best HDR routine is the one that does not steal your weekend. When Nintendo adjusts display behavior again, we do not immediately start spinning every dial like we are cracking a safe. We start with the repeatable basics: Game Mode on, HGiG on if available, then rerun the Switch 2 HDR adjustment screens. First screen: raise brightness until the right sun disappears. Second screen: press Y, set to five clicks from the left. Then we test one familiar scene in one familiar game. If it looks right, we stop. If it looks off, we change one TV processing option and test again. We also keep notes, even if it is just a phone memo, because “it looked great last time” is not a setting. With that routine, HDR stops being a mystery box and becomes a quick tune-up, like checking tire pressure instead of rebuilding the engine.

Conclusion

Switch 2 HDR does not need to be a guessing game. The most reliable path is a small set of steps we can repeat: enable HGiG when the TV supports it, use the first calibration screen to make the sun on the right disappear, then press Y on the second screen and set the slider to five clicks from the left. That combination restores balance, reduces the washed-out look on many setups, and helps highlights feel like highlights again. We keep the process simple, make one change at a time when troubleshooting, and verify results with real game scenes instead of endless menu staring. Once it is set, we get to do the fun part, which is actually playing.

FAQs
  • What does HGiG actually do for Switch 2 HDR?
    • It reduces tone mapping conflicts by telling the TV to avoid re-mapping highlights on top of the console’s calibration, helping HDR look more consistent and less washed out.
  • What is the exact first-screen HDR adjustment on Switch 2?
    • We increase brightness until the sun on the right is no longer visible, which helps set the point where bright highlights stop showing detail.
  • What is the “press Y” step on the second HDR screen?
    • Pressing Y reveals a slider used for the second part of calibration, and setting it to five clicks from the left establishes a sensible baseline for white level and mid-tones.
  • What if the TV does not have an HGiG option?
    • We use Game Mode and reduce dynamic tone mapping if possible, then follow the same two-sun and Y slider steps, understanding that results may vary on lower-brightness HDR sets.
  • Why can the Switch 2 menus look darker after the fix?
    • A lower, more accurate paper white can make UI and mid-tones look less bright, but it usually improves contrast and gives highlights more room to stand out in games.
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