The Nintendo Switch has been very successful since its launch in 2017 and is still going strong, over five years later. Now it has new Bibles in the form of Switch Lite and Changing the OLEDtoo.
The console also played some amazing games, as well as the latest smash-hit Tears of the Kingdom indicates that there is too much gas in the tank.
But, if you have a Switch, what else can you do with it other than play games? And what tips and tricks can you learn to get better? Read on.
Nintendo Switch parental controls
If you’re a parent and you’ve bought a Nintendo Switch for a child or you’re expecting it to be played by the whole family, there are some great ways to set age restrictions and communication options for little ones. Nintendo offers parental controls on the console itself and through a separate app for iOS and Android.
If this sounds like your family, Check out our guide on how to set this up, right here.
Change your profile avatar
As soon as you turn on your Nintendo Switch, you are prompted to set up your profile, choose a photo, and set up a Nintendo store account.
If you want to change your avatar later, all you have to do is go to your website and click on your icon on the left-hand side of the screen, go to “User Preferences” and “Change Icon”. There you will find many Nintendo characters to choose from, or you can choose or create a Mii.
Buy and play games from Japan, US or any other country
Nintendo Switch is not region locked, so you can buy games from anywhere in the world and play them on your computer regardless of where they come from.
However, if you buy a digital redemption code from another country you have to jump a little bit to get it to work.
First, you need to set up a profile from the country where the game is from. Only foreign country profiles can access the online eShop to redeem the country code. Fortunately, it’s free and won’t affect your main account.
Go to System Settings and then down to User. Click on Add New User and it will ask you to enter a username and password for the new profile. Once you’re done, you’ll need to register a new user online, via a mobile phone, tablet or PC. You will be guided through the process, with the console and web page giving you instructions.
Make sure you have a valid email address to provide, as it needs to be verified. Also, make sure you choose the country of your profile correctly – ie. the world the game has come from.
Once created, you can log into the eShop on your Switch using the new account and you will see that the money has been changed. You can redeem your code from the menu on the sidebar.
The beauty is, once the game is downloaded it can be played with any profile on the Switch, so you can use your username. One thing you need to remember is that if you delete the generated profile, you will lose access to the downloaded games that were assigned to it.
Invite your friends to play online
You have to Sign up for Nintendo Switch Online play many online games. It costs $3.99 per month (or $7.99 for three months, $19.99 per year).
Some are free to play online and don’t require a membership – like Fortnite – but many are not.
You also need to add trusted friends to play with directly online.
This is done by adding people you have played with in the past in other Nintendo games or through the “Code code” – 16 unique numbers that your friend can give you. Similarly, you can give your friend your code in return.
It can be found on your profile page on your website – annoyingly, you can’t access it online on your phone or computer. To add a Friend code, you need to go to “Add Friend” by selecting your profile and clicking “Search with Friend Code”.
Buy a microSD card
There’s a small MicroSD card slot under the back of the console and we strongly advise you to buy a card to access it, or you’ll soon run out of storage space.
Games on the Nintendo Switch, even if you buy cartridge versions, can take up several gigabytes. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, for example, takes up more than 14GB and considering that the Switch has only 32GB of internal storage (64GB on the Switch OLED), with a minimum of 25GB that can be used, that one game will fill half the drive.
Fortunately, the Switch can accept many types of microSD cards, and it doesn’t have to break the bank.
It supports microSD, microSDHC and microSDXC standards up to the UHS-I category. The speed of the card improves the performance.
Save battery life
The beauty of the Nintendo Switch is that, as well as playing on the big screen at home, you can play with it on the go. You’ll find battery life to be a little tight if that’s the case, however, and the longest time on a single charge is between three and four hours of play.
There are ways to get more battery life, by changing the screen brightness on the settings page. The console has a default brightness setting, but you can choose to turn it off and turn the brightness down to save battery life.
You can also choose to disable vibration for the controllers in the system settings – under “Controllers and Sensors” – which can also help save battery life.
If you’re planning a long train or plane trip, it’s a good idea to make sure you have a portable battery pack, so you can take your console with you on the go. Luckily, you can get one for cheap these days and, considering the Switch has a 4,310mAh battery inside, most of them will charge your charger twice or more before needing to charge themselves.
Buy copies of major games
There’s nothing like buying a game, downloading it, and being able to play it whenever you want without digging out a cartridge but there are a few advantages to buying physical copies instead of using the Nintendo eShop.
First is the price. Games on the Nintendo eShop are often very expensive than AmazonFor example.
Second, depending on your broadband speed at home, the game may take some time to download and install. Although some copies require a portion of the game to still download – including day one updates and patches – but several gigs will take up less than 20GB or more.
Finally, as mentioned above, downloading to a computer can require a lot of storage space and if you don’t have a beefy microSD card you will fill up quickly.
Consider the Pro Controller
Although the included Joy-Cons work well as a separate controller for the Grip, we recommend that you handle it yourself. Pro Controller if you want to play games on the big screen when connected.
Naturally, mobile games don’t really need it, but games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Skyrim play well with a controller.
Take the second port
Another purchase you may want to consider if you want to play your Exchange in one room is a second port. Yes, the Switch itself comes with a screen and is portable, but if you want to play it on different channels, say, in the living room and the bedroom, an additional port is a better option than moving the included one all the time.
You can buy an official Nintendo model for around $100, but there are also third-party models available for less – sometimes more than half the price. Just make sure you choose one with the “chip” or “motherboard” listed in the description, otherwise it will charge your console but not the video TV.
Another option, to make sure that even if you are outside and playing on TV and can understand, is to buy a connection. This allows you to put in a small TV, without needing a port to sit in, and is a great way to connect without needing a big port on you. It is good and cheap.
Get the extras you need
Change has been around long enough that there are tons of tools out there for contractors, contractors and the like. If you want Bluetooth audio, or wheels, or cases that extend its battery, you can find all this and more out there.
Instead, we have a list of other things the best Edit tools on the marketso be sure to check it out if you’re looking for inspiration.