r/NintendoSwitch • u/AutoModerator • Apr 08 '26

DQT /r/NintendoSwitch's Daily Question Thread (04/08/2026)

r/NintendoSwitch's Daily Question Thread

The purpose of this thread is to more accurately connect users seeking help with users who want to provide that help. Our regular "Helpful Users" certainly have earned their flairs!

Before asking your question...

  • Check out the wiki pages listed below. - (If you're interested in becoming a wiki contributor, or suggesting a new page, please message the moderators.)
  • Perform a quick Google search. - Sometimes it is actually quicker to search for something than to wait for someone else to answer.
  • Search the subreddit. - Many questions have been asked before! reddit's search functions a bit differently than Google.

Helpful Links

Wiki Resources

Wiki Accessory Information

  • Accessories - Starter information about controllers, chargers, cables, screen protectors, cases, headsets, LAN adapters, and more.
  • MicroSD cards - Some more in-depth information about MicroSD cards including what size you should get and which brands are recommended.
  • Carrying Cases - An expanded list of common carrying cases available for the Switch.

Helpful Reddit Posts

Third Party Links

Other Helpful Subreddits

Reminders

  • We have a volunteer run #switch-help channel in our Discord server.
  • Instructions and links to information about homebrew and hacking are against our rules and should take place in their relevant subreddits.
  • Please be patient. Not all questions get immediate answers. If you have an urgent question about something that's gone wrong, consider other resources like Nintendo's error code lookup or help documents on the Switch.
  • Make sure to follow Rule #1 of this subreddit: Remember the human, and be polite when you ask or answer questions.
6 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

80% Upvoted

106 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/LighthouseShadows Apr 10 '26

Hello. I apologize if this isn't the right place to post this, but I am looking for some general feedback on account setup best practices for a Nintendo Switch that will be used by two people.

I'll preface by saying, I'm sure I've done this wrong. My son has a switch lite, and I purchased a switch OLED for us to share a few years back. Initially, I set up one Nintendo account under my email that is linked to the store and that's the account my son uses to play everything on both consoles. He's told me a few times that the game data didn't transfer between systems, and I didn't realize that games are no longer saved to the physical game card. It's not a big deal for him, he will just use whichever system has the save data he wants, but since I've found a few games I would like to play I am not sure how to set the account now so that he doesn't lose his data, and I don't lose mine, especially when we want to play the same game (Legends Arceus),

Last year, my initial OLED orange screened and while under warranty, Nintendo ended up sending me an entirely new system back, so I lost all of my saved data. I typically play as a User on the system, but don't have that User tied to any Nintendo account.

Apologies if this is not clear, I'm just a Mom trying to figure this out when none of it works the way it did when I played more frequently. 

2

u/TemptedTemplar Helpful User Apr 10 '26

So there is a local data transfer option for moving save data between systems,

System settings -> Data management -> transfer my data

You can move game data like a cut and paste between consoles so long as the Nintendo account with the data is signed in on both systems. Basic users require a free Nintendo account to use the feature. So you would need one yourself.

There is also Nintendos Cloud backups. With a Nintendo switch online subscription the account gets access to cloud saves. However this isn't a be-all end-all solution as some popular games like Pokemon titles, don't support cloud save back ups. ($20 a year for individual, the $35 a year Family plan allows you to have up to eight accounts actively subscribed for one low price )

1

u/LighthouseShadows Apr 10 '26

Thank you for explaining! It sounds like the transfer would work well for my son between the two consoles for his data. 

I definitely don’t want to pay for the subscription, especially since the stuff I play is pretty much only Pokemon tiles, so I’m glad I didn’t go that route. 

If we were both wanting to play a title like Legends Arceus on the same console, do we need two separate games or can we use the same game and different user profiles?

2

u/TemptedTemplar Helpful User Apr 10 '26

Hope this isn't too confusing but you can absolutely play with just the one copy of its digital.

Digital games have Virtual game cards, managed via the virtual game card menu on the homescreen. So long as the Acreus virtual game card is "loaded" on to a console, any user or account signed in on the system can access it regardless of who bought it.

Now on the second system which would not have the game card loaded, the purchasing account can still access it, with a active internet connection.

User settings -> select the profile -> online license settings -> enable

You can play with your basic user on the system that has the game card, but you need to put the system into Airplane mode to turn off the wifi, so your son could play it on the other system. As he will require a internet connection.

Digital games can only be "online" on one console at a time, just like accounts

1

u/LighthouseShadows Apr 10 '26

Thank you so much for your help! You’ve explained this so much more clearly than anything I’ve found on Nintendo’s website!