Nintendo Switch has received a new firmware update today, version 9.0.0, that adds a number of quality-of-life improvements. Among them is making use of that home button LED on your controller that you probably never even knew about.
Both the Joy-Con and Pro controllers have a home button with a ring around the edge. This ring is actually an LED that lights up. The only problem is that it only does so when connecting a Pro controller to Steam. The Nintendo Switch has never found another reason for the home button LED to shine, at least until now.
Following the new firmware update, Nintendo Switch will start using the home button LED for alarm notifications. You can set (or delete) these alarm notifications for yourself by heading into System Settings, once Nintendo enables them at a later time. Strangely enough, the home button LED doesn’t seem to light up for game-related notifications such as game invites and friend requests, as some users have reported on public forums. Perhaps Nintendo might consider integrating them as well when the supported update arrives.
Alarm Notifications have been added to System Settings.
– You can check or delete pre-set alarms.
– Alarms can be set up only within supported software (to be added at a later time).
– A controller firmware update may be required to use this feature.
Elsewhere, the latest Nintendo Switch firmware update also resolves a game-breaking bug in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The issue was tied to the expansion pass and prevented the game from starting up by showing an error message. What players were being told was to either re-install the game without the expansion pass or download the individual parts of the expansion pass. The bug has now been officially squashed.
Nintendo has recently been talking about offering new playable experiences through Nintendo Switch. Lighting up the home button LED is just a minor part of that goal. The company is exploring new ways to woo the players with, such as an interactive Breath of the Wild 2 world that surpasses the original. No details have been shared as of yet but it goes without saying that trumping Breath of the Wild is not going to be easy.
