Regardless of how long you’ve owned your system, there are certain Nintendo Switch tips and tricks that you might not have known about (if you haven’t already, the Black Friday deals on the Switch might be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for). In this post, we’ll try to correct that by summarizing some of the features that have enhanced our personal use of the gadget.
There exist numerous tips and tricks to enhance your usage of Nintendo’s entertaining and portable system, such as customizing your Switch or remapping buttons to save space or even locate misplaced Joy-Cons. Though in this article we’re only going to talk about items you can customize with the Switch consoles themselves, so there’s no need to buy anything else, you might also want to have a look at some of the greatest Nintendo Switch accessories.
12 helpful hints for the Nintendo Switch
Remap your buttons if you’d like. Want to obtain extra saves? Our best Nintendo Switch advice and techniques are included here.
Recently, there has been a lot of interest in dark mode, in part due to the perception that it could aid with eye strain and, in part, because it looks cool. There is, in fact, a dark mode for the Nintendo Switch. Just select Basic Black from the Themes menu under System Settings. This will alter the background of the menu pages and home screen to black; the games will remain unchanged.
2. Modify the avatar on your Nintendo Switch profile
Upon initializing your Nintendo Switch, you will be prompted to select an avatar and establish a profile. You can, however, always alter your avatar afterwards. Simply tap your symbol in the top-left corner to access your profile page, and then select User Settings > Edit symbol.
3. Remap the buttons on a Nintendo Switch
a picture of one of the top Nintendo Switch tutorials
Remapping the buttons on your controller is something you might not be aware of if you’ve owned your Nintendo Switch for a while, as it was only made possible via an update released in April 2022. Navigate to Controllers and Sensors > System Settings > Change Button Mapping.
On the Nintendo Switch, buttons for both Joy-Cons and the Switch Pro Controller can be remapped. You may adjust the purpose of each button and the joystick’s orientation by simply choosing a controller. It is possible to adjust the Joy-Con inputs for both horizontal and vertical gaming.
Although the Nintendo Switch is incredibly portable, its usefulness when traveling without a power source may be limited by its short battery life. Although a battery charge typically lasts three to four hours, there are a few strategies you can take to extend its life.
One of the most obvious solutions is to lower the brightness of the panel. This is by default set to automatic. To adjust the brightness to a fixed lower level, navigate to the settings page. Disabling controller vibration under ‘Controllers and Sensors’ is an additional choice. Additionally, you can lower the volume and enter flight mode.
To monitor battery life more closely, you can enable the battery percentage display option (System Settings > System). Of course, a portable power bank can be a wise purchase if you plan to use your console for an extended period of time without access to electricity.
Have you lost your Joy-Cons? No worries, the Switch comes equipped with a feature that allows you to find controllers (so long as they are in the same area; it won’t work if they are at someone else’s house). To view the controllers connected to your console, navigate to Controllers > Find Controllers.
If the missing controller has fallen behind the sofa or under the bed, you can locate it by highlighting it and pressing the L or R button on the one you have. If not, it should vibrate. To make both Joy-Cons vibrate in case you lose them, tap the touch screen.
We adore the Nintendo Switch, but if you primarily use digital downloads, you may quickly run out of space once you’ve accumulated a library of games due to the device’s lackluster hard drive capacity. Archiving games that you aren’t playing right now is one way to solve the problem. While maintaining game saves, this frees up space.
Simply select Manage Software > Archive Software after highlighting the game and pressing +. System Settings > Data Management is another way to archive. Choose Quick Archive to receive recommendations based on file size and playtime recently. Select the software you wish to archive by clicking Manage Software.
Naturally, there’s a good risk that your hard drive will eventually run out of capacity, especially if you have the original Switch or Switch Lite, which only have 32GB of space (the 64GB OLED model doubles that). The truth is, you will most likely need to buy a MicroSD card at some point. Third-party choices are supported by the consoles, and Black Friday is frequently a good time to locate deals.
You can move game data between the microSD card and the console if you’re using one (System Settings > Data Management > Move Data Between System / microSD Card). Click Move Data after choosing your destination and the games you wish to transfer. One advantage of purchasing physical games—which are frequently less expensive if you discover a deal at a store like Amazon—is that they don’t take up as much room.
Finding out that a game only supports one save file and that you have to erase the old one in order to create a new one or restart the game can be annoying at times.Making several user profiles is an easy way to get around this. Since every profile has its own save data, you can make a save for every profile you have. Go to System Settings > Users > Add Users to establish a new profile. When you launch a game after that, you’ll be able to select from your many profiles
On the Switch, you can’t record very long gameplay videos, but you can at least snap screenshots and record brief gameplay clips of the previous 30 seconds. You may now transmit screenshots from the Switch to your phone instead of the very restrictive Facebook or Twitter option that was previously the sole way to share images.
Press ‘A’ to bring up the Sharing and Editing options when you open the screenshot on your Switch, and then choose Send to Smartphone. To establish a wireless connection between the devices, you must first use your phone to scan one QR code. After that, you must scan a second code to view an image on a web page. You are free to use the image however you see fit after saving it to your phone.
Using friend codes, you can connect and play games with other Switch users. By accessing your user profile, you may see your code—a 16-digit code that will show up next to your icon. The majority of online multiplayer games, including Fortnite, require a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, although some do not. To play online against your trusted pals, you’ll need to add them.
Since the Nintendo Switch is not region-locked, you can purchase games from retailers across the globe in addition to those in your home nation. The drawback is that it can be a little tricky to obtain a digital code from another nation. The code requires you to set up a profile in the nation where it was obtained, however this is a simple and free process.a
Navigate to System > User settings. Select an icon and a nickname for the profile by tapping Add New User. Following that, you’ll need to register as a new user online. Simply follow the instructions, making sure to select the correct nation for your profile and provide a second email address for verification. When you’re finished, you can use your profile to log into the eShop (you’ll notice the currency is different) and use the sidebar menu to redeem your voucher.
You can use any of your profiles to play the game after downloading it. But, if you remove the newly made profile, you won’t be able to access it.
Your Nintendo Switch home screen allows you to customize the wallpaper and rearrange the icons as you see fit. By selecting Custom, you have the option to design your own background color and pre-made themes. You’ll need a microSD card to transfer an image to your Switch in order to add a custom wallpaper. Proceed to System Settings > Themes > Change Theme after that. After selecting Custom, choose the desired image to use.
Once you have more than 12 titles, you may additionally group Switch software. Scroll all the way to the right from the Home Menu and choose “All Software.” In order to examine your software by groups, press the L button. “Select Create new group,” check the titles you wish to include, organize them as you see fit, and give the group a name. It is possible to establish up to 100 groups, each with 200 titles.
12. Understand how to perform a Nintendo Switch hard reset.
The Nintendo Switch could occasionally freeze on you, just like any other electrical gadget. Hard resets are typically able to remedy this. The console should reset if you hold down the system’s power button for up to 15 seconds. In more severe situations, you can conduct a full factory reset by deleting the memory by heading to System Settings > System > Formatting Options > Initialize Console.
If you’re still in the market for a Nintendo Switch system, check out our guide to the top Nintendo Switch bargains or the prices shown below for your area. We also have a post about the top games for the Nintendo Switch.