Imagine if Covert Dock could dock your Switch to a laptop...
over 3 years ago – Tue, Dec 22, 2020 at 04:46:27 PM

Hello Covert Dock Backers!

Eddie here, from Team Genki. It's been a while! You seem like the type who likes Kickstarter, and hopefully have been enjoying the cool stuff we've been making. I wanted to personally invite you to check out our Kickstarter #3!

So meet our third baby, the Genki ShadowCast. It's the simplest way for you to connect and play the Nintendo Switch (or any console, really) to your laptop. And in combination with the Covert Dock, you really do have the most convenient way to play on a bigger screen without being tethered to a television or needing an internet connection.

ShadowCast works by simply plugging in the built in HDMI plug to your console, it's so small that it even fits into the enclosure of the standard Switch dock. It can process up to 4K video so it works with all the next-gen consoles and quickly convert it into a format that's friendly for a computer to view in full HD through a USB-C cable to the laptop.

 Did we also mention this would technically be the world's smallest capture card? Since you can connect your Switch to your computer it also means you can actually record the video, which means you can edit the video you record, which means you can also share or stream the video to all your fans. No more hoping that the 30 second video record limit is enough to capture that epic boss fight, record breaking speed-run, or just review your Among Us strategy.

This is where ShadowCast becomes a versatile swiss army knife of a gadget. Because it's detected as a webcam it can do interesting things such as turning your game play into a webcam feed on your video chat of choice like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet for some very interesting virtual couch co-op sessions. You can even plug in a digital SLR rather than a game console if you just want a better quality video feed for your adoring fans.

Click Here to Check out the Kickstarter

Now we know that we ran into a lot of road blocks on our last campaign for delivery so the question on your mind is "are you going to ship on time?" We truly believe it. So the good news is that we've already started tooling and are much further along production than when we launched Covert Dock. The bad news is that well COVID still makes shipping to some places more difficult than others. With that said, we are on track to ship the earliest backers by February and everyone else by March pending other disasters.

Other new happenings

In the background we still have other projects up and coming but we've also covertly launched some gear focused on the Nintendo Switch Lite recently. You can check out the new Genki Audio Lite (more colors will be available in a week) and Force Field Lite on our website at www.genkithings.com. We seriously believe that if you have a Switch Lite this will be a noticeable upgrade. And yes, Genki Audio Lite does work on the original Nintendo Switch.

And one more small favor

We've been trying to build a review system for our website and would really appreciate it if you could leave us reviews, photos(!) and overall how your Covert Dock and Genki Audio experience has been.  

• Write us a Covert Dock review
• Write us a Genki Audio review 

Covert Docks are Sneaking Into Homes Everywhere
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jul 01, 2020 at 02:43:29 AM

Mission Complete!

A great big thanks to all of you for supporting indie hardware startups like ours. It’s been a long journey since we first launched Covert Dock and we had no idea how big of a project it would become. Despite all the craziness happening this year - including many weeks of various quarantining and even one of getting pepper sprayed - we’re happy to say that we’ve been able to produce and ship all Kickstarter backers who’ve given us their address in Backerkit (okay apologies for the two backers living in paradise in Faroe Islands and Guernsey, we’ll find a way!)

While everything has shipped out of our hands there are still some packages that are probably taking a bit longer than usual to process. For many regions we had to upgrade our courier shipments due to shipping path closures and in the end we went way over budget on shipping, tipping near the $300K mark(!). We’re not going to lie that this year was a tough year for us like many other small businesses so again we really want to thank you for your support and patience. We are committed to making sure that every single person who’s placed an order will receive their dock so if you don’t receive yours 2 weeks after tracking details are sent, please send an email with your details to [email protected] (give it some time) .

Random Pro Tip PSA  

We found out that many gamers didn't know you can remotely turn on/off your Switch with your Joy-Con / Pro Controller.  You don't have to walk to the Switch and back to the couch, you can simply hold the button and it well makes it easier especially with the Covert Dock as its hard to tell if your Switch is on sleep mode when docked.  

Notes from our Fulfillment Honcho

• Apologies to our Northern neighbors. We got word that a lot of our shipping labels got messed up in Canada Post's system and is taking extra days for customs clearance for Canada orders.  They're arriving as we speak.
• Some regions in Europe have had erratic shipping reliability so packages may take an additional week.
• If you receive a tracking email, the item is not in our warehouses any longer and we will have no way of adjusting the address.
• While the tracking status of your package may show as “Pre-shipment” this is purely a tracking issue and not because we haven’t handed over the package.
• Keeping shipping tabs for 25K+ backers is no easy feat, we’ll try to respond as fast as we can but we also have a backlog so please give it a week before posting angry comments.
• There are still a lot of backers who have not filled out their BackerKit survey. No survey means we don't know where to ship your dock. We will try to fulfill these as they come in.

Having Trouble?

•  The Switch docks but my attached Joy-Cons are not working - Don't panic.  Funny thing is that Joy-Cons do not work on the Switch when dock and attached. I guess this makes sense when you designed the dock like a toaster but yea just detach your Joy-Cons for the console and you're good to go.
•  My phone/tablet/laptop isn’t casting to the TV - this only works with devices that support USB-C DisplayPort, here's the most extensive list we found but there are definitely more devices that support it: https://en.everybodywiki.com/List_of_devices_with_video_output_over_USB-C.  Unfortunately using dongle adapters like Lightning to USB-C adapters won't make it magically work with your iPhone (The lightning port actually doesn't have much bandwidth for data).  Google Pixel is an awesome phone but to promote Chromecast they've purposefully deactivated this feature (boo) - ironically Chromebooks support it.
•  The free pouch doesn’t fit the global adapters - our sincere apologies on this, it wasn't as much of an oversight as it was a manufacturing limitation.  We basically had to make a minimum order quantity of 20,000 units and we really weren't looking to make two versions and be stuck with 40,000 bags and toss away all the extra.  We honestly went through hell and back to make this project support global standards.  
•  It charges but docking doesn't work - first thing is to use the included USB-C cable, for video data to passthrough it needs a USB-C 3.1 or above rated cable (your existing laptop charging cables will not work). The Switch will only dock when the HDMI cable is plugged into Covert Dock and the TV, and that the TV is on. If the Switch screen is still on please ensure you are using a working HDMI cable by testing it with another device. If the Switch screen is off (meaning its sending video to the TV) check to make sure your HDMI cable works with other devices and that the TV is set to the right input channel.
•  Covert Dock doesn't seem to charge - try charging other devices with other cables in both the USB-C and USB-A ports.  Ensure the power outlet you're using does work and is on with other devices.  
•  My Switch won't turn on - hold the power button until the console resets. This can take up to 15 seconds. This usually happens when the battery is drained and not used for a while but occurs other times as well and is one of the most asked questions on the official Nintendo troubleshooting forums.
•  There are glitches or artifacts in the docked video - try another HDMI cable and TV to see if it is replicated.  Also please ensure you're using the included USB-C 3.1 cable. This tends to be a connectivity issue and we are seeing this problem usually involved with the 3 meter cable add-on. Let us know the results and we'll replace defective cables as needed.

Something still wrong?

Sometimes we mess up and a defective unit slips through the crack or even gets damaged in shipment. I’d be pissed off too after waiting for so long but will be the most vocal but we we are committed to making sure that everyone receives a fully functional Covert Dock. We kindly ask for your understanding and cooperation in troubleshooting these units and our top priority is to get to the bottom of the issue and get a new unit in your hands. Being mean to our customer service doesn't help, they're people trying to help you not argue with you.  With that in mind:

• Send an email to [email protected] and please refrain from posting your technical issues in comments, this is the worst possible way for us to diagnose problems as we won’t be able to trace your order by username and we can’t see your set-up.
• Simply writing that your dock is defective or not working doesn’t give us enough details to troubleshoot your problem so please include as many details especially following the "Having Trouble" section above
• Many factors may impact the performance of the dock such as outlets, cables, TV monitors, USB-C devices and the dock itself, so it’s nearly impossible for us to diagnose the issue if we don’t see first hand what’s happening so a short video can help us.
• And please let us know your order is from Kickstarter and provide other order details such as your full name and Backerkit order ID.

A peek at previous designs

It's always fun to stumble upon old sketches, renderings and prototypes of what could have been.  Here's some of the initial concepts shared with may Genki Lab members:

Thank you, again

What a journey. As a startup, each project we launch helps us learn what our biggest needs are and we’re at the cusp of establishing a better process to solve all of these needs. This doesn’t happen overnight. The support we’ve received from you guys has truly been amazing so we can’t wait to step up our game for our next project.

If you have any friends or family that you'd recommend Covert Dock to please let them know that we're taking pre-orders on our website, http://www.genkithings.com with a targeted release date of July 31. Again thanks for all your feedback and help in bringing this project to life.  We look forward launching our next Genki project in a few months, can't wait to share more.

With all of our favorite video games and movies (Tenet!) delayed this year I was pleasantly surprised with the covert launch of the jump rope game by Nintendo (it's free on the eshop).  It's stupid fun, and we can all use some stupid fun in trying times like these. 

We'd love to hear from you

Would love to get your thoughts on these questions in the comments section below:

• Team X Box Series X or Team PlayStation 5?
• Improvements or feedback for Covert Dock?
• Voice chat, yay or nay?

Shipping Amidst the Chaos
almost 4 years ago – Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 12:13:09 AM

Just a reminder:

• For all shipping inquiries, please read this update and for additional info please email [email protected] using the email address registered with Backerkit (tracking updates are slower than normal, we've seen post offices update them even after packages have arrived so please do give it a solid week before reaching out to us for this)
• For all other inquiries, please send an email to [email protected] and make sure you include your Backerkit email (it's difficult to track with comments) 
• Please give us 1-2 days to respond to your messages - going through all these emails, messages and comments can take some time for our team

Progress Update

We’re still not hitting the speed we anticipated we would have by now but we have shipped roughly half of our Kickstarter orders out. Truth be told we’re still having a hard time getting things up to speed in the wake of COVID-19. Shipping routes are becoming fewer and fewer with some countries no longer accepting packages.

Many of you have started to ask when your batch will ship and we have decided to scrap the whole big batch order shipment in order to get orders out as fast as possible. We’re essentially making constant shipments with a few thousand units going out every other day. We’re about to cross the halfway mark now and will be done with all the remaining earlybird orders by next week (yay!) - and at the current rate we expect to have most of the remaining orders shipped through now till mid-May with a few Batch 2/3 backers spilling into the end of May.  We'll do our best to accommodate address changes for the later batches can be done if notified within a week to [email protected].

For those of you who have already received a tracking number through Backerkit, please do note that we have seen some pretty serious delays in tracking status, with many people receiving the package before  tracking status updates.  Do give it a solid week before getting worried and reaching out to [email protected]  - seriously a slight reduction of these messages would help us get through this as we already are losing plenty of hours of sleep tackling all the extra hurdles COVID-19 has thrown at us.

Additionally, there are some issues with shipping that are occurring due to a combination of reduced flights globally, prioritized virus protection equipment, backlogged shipments with "blackhole tracking," temporary postponement or closure of post offices. We expect this to impact roughly 10% of our backers with respect to those living in:

•  Africa / Middle East - Israel, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, South Africa, Qatar, Afghanistan, Pakistan
•  Asia - Russia, South Korea, India, Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Maldives
•  Europe - France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ukraine, Faroe Islands, Reunion, Serbia
•  North / Central America -  Mexico, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Dominican Republic
•  Oceania -  Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Guam
•  South America - Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador

We’re monitoring the status of these countries closely and working on establishing alternate routes as possible - so we ask for your patience here. We've been informed Europe is easing up restrictions rapidly and all of the EU now has extra shipping surcharges that we'll be absorbing.  This sucks for everyone but we do expect most shipping routes to open up once the congestions are cleared. 

Global Adapter Tightness

We also have discovered that some of the global adapters we have sent form a tighter fit than originally anticipated. We had to add two latch/tabs to pass new regulations for the global adapters in our European/Australian customs and certifications.  At first glance it seems like the lower tab is the issue, however, each global adapter has a spring that essentially forms a tight connection that squeezes the sides of the Covert Dock prongs and this tightness is actually what causes the initial tightness which gradually loosens over use. 

For those first few times of use we recommend removing the adapter by essentially twisting the two pieces as if you were wringing a towel (you can more or less ignore the tab). If more extreme measures are needed you can simply just pry it upwards with a flathead. Again this is only be temporary as the springs adjust.

For those playing Animal Crossing...

Oh and if building a dream island of your own, get a free Genki t-shirt, it's the one we wear at game conventions! 

We could all use an island getaway right about now
about 4 years ago – Fri, Mar 20, 2020 at 04:16:24 AM

As the world is changing quicker than we can keep up, we want to reach out and extend our hand to remind you that we are all in this together. Our thoughts out to those who are in the hardest hit hotspots. This current crisis only amplifies our belief that regardless of where you live, the types of games you enjoy or the color of your joy-cons – we are inextricably connected to each other. 

Our team has taken to working remotely for the past few weeks and being at home with family, and it may have taken a global pandemic to remind us, allowing us to pause and reflect on what matters. While some of us just can’t wait for Animal Crossing to come out, or are spending time getting in shape with the family over Ringfit, or like me, trying to finally tackle that backlog of games piling up through these past few busy sprints.

For anyone who has done any traveling in the past week will know, it’s a nightmare. Frankly we had constantly re-route flights to get out of the country and back to our manufacturing partners before more doors were closed. Really, people should only be traveling for essential travel, but at this point we’re a small and nimble team and trying our best to prevent any further delays. One thing I can say for sure is we’re committed to deliver the Covert Docks through this turbulent time. We had plans to be at SXSW and E3 to promote Genki but with all the delays and cancellations that idea so distant.

And Good News

We’ve got all most of the major certifications and soon the rest will follow (SK, TW, JP, CN). Our global adapter issue has been completely resolved and the parts made. Our manufacturing is cautiously up and running and anticipate being able to finish production of our Earlybirds before the end of the month and will be re-locking all addresses on Backerkit (if you need to update click this and login with your KS email and click edit) by March 25th. We aim to sanitize(!), pack, label, and ship our next batch the first week of April which means we’ll have about 15K of our units fulfilled out of the 26K. We’ll keep shipping the rest throughout April. 

The risk now, however, is that flights are being reduced heavily which means we may have to change our shipping strategy.  We have a dedicated team helping us figure out how to best handle logistics and may end up shipping some packages individually rather them aggregated into warehouses (as many of them are shut down especially in US and Europe).  So expect shipping delays as countries shift border policies and slowdowns in transport occur so we ask for your patience once again.  We apologize for all these delays and hope everyone stays safe out there.

An Update on Supply Chain Disruptions
about 4 years ago – Thu, Feb 27, 2020 at 02:15:53 AM

Since our last update we’ve had a major roadblock - many of you by now have heard of the COVID-19 virus. Its delayed Outer World’s release on the Switch, the Animal Crossing Switch console, and unfortunately has impacted several of our key component suppliers. We’ve been working hard over the past weeks trying to get a grip and assess the complete impact and decide on a best course of action. We're really sorry for these delays, and know that a lot of you are super excited to get your hands on this for your next trip.

What's happening on the ground

As the threat of COVID-19 continues, our thoughts remain with the people who are most deeply impacted by the virus, and we owe a debt of gratitude to those working constantly to contain the outbreak and bravely treating the infected. Our last update issued in January reflected our best efforts to plan ahead, tackle production hurdles, and estimates for delivery. But at the moment we are experiencing a very slow return to normal working conditions at a number of our key component suppliers.

The plan as described was to ramp up again at the beginning of February after our suppliers got back from Lunar New Year holidays. However, many of our suppliers had holidays that were extended by one week in an effort to curb virus transmissions suggesting we could ramp up the 2nd week of February, we found that only a limited number of companies could begin work, which had a ripple in some pretty unexpected ways:

• Had to implement disinfection protocols with our partners and then apply for governmental review and approval to open (priorities apparently were given to more powerful brands)
• The electricity was not operating in the district of our assembly plant last week and are unsure if it was government mandated or just lack of utilities staff
• One of our suppliers informed us that despite being allowed to start they were warned that if anyone was to show signs of COVID-19 they would shutdown their whole district and no supplier was willing to take on that burden
• The certification suppliers were the first to open early last week but their engineers are still in self quarantine
• As a result, we do not expect to meet the delivery schedule we provided last month. And this isn’t just impacting on Covert Dock but all of our products. While we don’t have any operations in the most affected regions - our suppliers (and their suppliers, and their supplier's suppliers) are struggling and opening slower than anticipated. 

The health of everybody involved in making our innovative products possible is of utmost importance and we're relieved to hear that there hasn't been any cases to have surfaced.  At the moment our core team is fortunate to be safe and at the moment are working remotely with our vendors out of Japan and Hong Kong - travel restrictions are growing increasingly strict but we want to remain close to be responsive as the situation changes. 

Our plan forward

The situation is evolving but we can say that as of today most of our partners have opened their doors. It’s a good sign but we are still cautious that any new community outbreaks may put the timeline at risk. Our main assembly partner is about 10% staffed and has informed us that they don’t expect to be fully operational till March 10th as its mandated for returning staff traveling from impacted regions to be quarantined for 2 weeks. But in the meantime we submitted our updated solution for certifications and are tackling global prong solution so that we can be ready when the assembly team is fully up.

Honestly, this is all crazy stuff on our end that we don’t always have a bottled solution for. If we were making products that fit neatly into existing product categories we would not run into a lot of the issues we have today and could even move our supply chain to less affected areas. But we do this because we love what we do - and virus or not we will find a way to keep making innovative products even if at the moment it’s driving our costs way up (we couldn’t have chosen a worst time to expand but we now have doubled our startup size from 3 to 6). We want to thank everyone for their continued support and patience and we promise to do all that we can to get the rest of the Covert Docks into your hands.

In the meantime we've unlocked Backerkit addresses for the next two weeks as we know this delay may impact a lot of people's location.  No need to update anything if your address is already accurate. We hope to share with you more pleasant news in the next update with solid delivery dates and hope those of our backers who have been in impacted areas remain safe and healthy.