How to Share Your Nintendo Switch Purchases & Save Data Between Your Switch & Switch Lite

In this video, we walk you through the steps you'll want to follow to share your Nintendo Switch's save data or Switch Online Account with a Switch Lite or transfer to a new system. 

I have to admit, one of the reasons I was not as interested in the Switch Lite was due to the fact I had no interest in replacing my Switch. See, I don't use my Switch portably much. When I travel I drive, meaning I'm the one behind the wheel. And when I play at home I'm playing on a tv. However, I have to admit, the device did have some interest to me, and more importantly, Ginger was interested in it too. So we picked one up. 

One of the things I did not want to do was purchase everything again that I had already bought. I also didn't want to have to purchase a second Nintendo Switch Online membership. I called and spoke to Nintendo customer service, and the told me it WAS possible to share data across both devices, while still being able to access the information between both systems. While we're going to show you how to do this with a Switch and Switch Lite, you could do this between two Switches, an old Switch, and a New Switch, or two Switch Lites. 

If you have one system which you'll use on the go more often, you'll want that to be your primary console. See, to share data like we're going to show here, the console which will be in an active WiFi network more often should be your secondary system. Your primary system can be offline for several days and you still have access to all your content; your secondary system will need to be online to be able to play shared content. 

You'll start on your old system. Make sure you're connected to WiFi and launch the eShop. Once the eShop loads, tap your Mii in the upper right-hand corner. In the Account Information screen, scroll to the very bottom to the "Primary Console" section. It should indicate "This console is registered as your primary console". Right below this, there's a "Deregister" button. Tap this button, and you'll be greeted with a message which states "Are you sure you want to deregister this console? If this console is deregistered, this console will require an active internet connection to play downloaded software or downloadable content purchased with this Nintendo Account". Click Deregister, and you're done in your original system. 

On your new system, log into your My Nintendo account. You'll want to select "Import User Data From Another Console". Select "Yes" when asked if you still have the console with the user data you want to import, and when asked "Will you keep using the previous console in addition to this one. From here, click "Link Nintendo Account" and enter your credentials. Once your user data has been added, there's one last, and very crucial step.

What registers one console over another as your primary console is which one you access the Nintendo eShop from FIRST. Make sure you access the eShop from the system you'll be using portably first, then you can access it from either system. From here you can download previous purchases, including the SNES and NES libraries, along with your save game data. 

I was shocked at how simple and (relatively) straight forward this was. This will make it more compelling for me to take my Switch Lite, ahem, Ginger's Switch Lite, with me if I travel to game expos, conventions or just on vacation. It also makes it possible for me to start a game, like Link's Awakening, portably, and then play at home on the TV, all while never having to undock my home-based system. 

#SwitchLite #ShareSwitchProfile #TransferSwitchData

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)