Switch arrived yesterday, and great playing Zelda, which works and looks great in all formats. But I'm a little confused about the best way to purchase games - cartridge or download?
Are there enough funds to complete the purchase?
- Select Confirm Purchase to complete the purchase.
- The download will begin automatically. You can check the download status on the HOME Menu.
- If you have My Nintendo Gold Points that you want to use towards the purchase price, select Redeem Points. Enter the number of points you want to use, then Next to apply them. (1 Gold Point = $0.01)
- The Redeem Points option will not appear if your Gold Point balance is currently 0.
- If no additional funds are needed after applying Gold Points, you can select Confirm Purchase to complete the purchase. The download will begin automatically.
How do you want to add funds to purchase the game?
- Select PayPal.
- This option is only available to Nintendo Account owners in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, aged 18 years and older.
- Link your PayPal account to your Nintendo Account, if you have not already done so.
- Select the dollar amount that you want to add (Required amount for purchase, $10, $20, $50, or $100).
- If you select Required amount, any funds already in your current balance will be automatically applied to the game price, and your credit card will be charged for the remainder.
- Select Add funds and purchase to complete the purchase.
- The download will begin automatically. You can check the download status on the HOME Menu.
- Select Credit Card.
- If you have a credit card stored, you will be prompted to either Use this credit card or Use another credit card. If you are using the stored credit card, you will not need to re-enter the credit card information to complete the purchase.
- Select the dollar amount that you want to add (Required amount for purchase, $10, $20, $50, or $100).
- If you select Required amount, any funds already in your current balance will be automatically applied to the game price, and your credit card will be charged for the remainder.
- Enter the credit card number, expiration date, security code, and billing zip / postal code, and select Next.
- Nintendo Account owners aged 18+ can click the Save box on the credit card entry screen to store credit card information.
- If a Nintendo eShop exists for your region, credit cards issued from your region will not work in a different region’s eShop. (For example, credit cards issued for the U.S. will only work in the Nintendo eShop for North America.)
- Select Confirm, then Add funds and purchase to complete the purchase.
- The download will begin automatically. You can check the download status on the HOME Menu.
- Select Nintendo eShop Card.
- Enter the 16-character prepaid code, then select Send.
- Any letters and symbols not used with prepaid codes (i.e. O, I, Z, commas, hyphens, etc.) will be disabled from the on-screen keyboard.
- Select Confirm, then Add funds and purchase. to complete the purchase.
- The download will begin automatically. You can check the download status on the HOME Menu.
Nintendo has made it very easy to expand the internal storage on the Switch console, but that removable storage offers a secondary benefit. As soon as a card is inserted, things like screenshots are immediately saved to the new storage instead of the internal system memory. That means those of us who don't want to post screenshots immediately to Facebook or Twitter are able to quickly grab screenshots and other files from the Switch and move them elsewhere by removing the card. If you're going to quickly swap microSD cards back and forth on the Nintendo Switch, it's important to know there's a right way and a wrong way to do this. Here's the right way.
Products used in this guide
- Amazon: Nintendo Switch ($300)
- Amazon: microSD Card ($45)
What you can do before removing your microSD card
Depending on what you need that microSD card for, there are a few things you can do before removing it. If, for example, you want to format the card so it can be immediately swapped from one device to another for use, your Switch has a function for that.
If you are trying to migrate data from one Nintendo Switch to another, there's actually a helpful service in the Nintendo Switch OS that will walk you through this process without needing to worry about manually backing up your microSD card.
But if all you're trying to do is pull the screenshots and videos off of your card or install a larger card to store more, all you really need to do is ensure you are safely removing the card.
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How to safely remove a microSD card from your Nintendo Switch
While the Switch is perfectly fine with users inserting a microSD card at any time, removing that card is a little different. To prevent the Switch from being interrupted when trying to save something, the software on the console warns it is best to only remove a microSD card when the Switch is completely powered down. When the Switch reboots, the console is ready to go and you can again re-insert the card whenever you choose.
To safely remove your microSD card from a Switch:
- Close any open games or apps.
- Hold down the power button at the top of the console until the screen is black.
- Open the back flap by pulling it away from the Switch. Don't use too much force, now.
- Push the microSD card in until you feel a little resistance, and then let go. This will dislodge the card from its slot and let you remove it with ease.
- Power on your Nintendo Switch.
It's now safe to reinsert the old microSD card or insert a new one. If you're installing a new one, your Switch console will warn you that the card is not formatted, but not before offering the option to format it right then and there. You can format the card manually in case you didn't see this screen. Just follow the instructions found here.
While it may seem a little tedious to power the console down if you're quickly grabbing files to and from the console, this is a great deal safer and ensures there's no file corruption. It's also a fairly small delay, given how quickly the Nintendo Switch reboots.
Our top equipment picks
If your reason for removing your SD card involves getting a new one, we have a few suggestions on what you should be looking for.
Gold Standard
Samsung EVO+ 256GB
Bigger and faster than anything else, and now cheaper than ever.
Samsung's very-highest-of-the-high-end microSD card isn't cheap, but you're also getting a winning combination of performance and storage capacity. This is the best card to get if you know you'll be downloading most of your Switch games from the Nintendo eShop, as it not only will hold the most games but will load those games faster than most other cards!
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If you're getting a new microSD card for your Nintendo Switch, we can't recommend anything else. Samsung's EVO+ has 256GB of storage space, which is around the higher end of how big microSD cards tend to be. You'll want tons of space for all the great games launching on Switch everyday, some of which use as much as 15GB. Plus, you'll cut down on load times as this is one of the fastest microSD cards money can buy.
Optional Equipment
Don't have as much money or just don't need that much space? These microSD cards will work just great with your Nintendo Switch, too. Feel free to explore different storage variants of these cards to fit your needs.
PNY Elite 128GB($45 at Amazon)
SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB($45 at Amazon)
With UHS-1 speeds, the SanDisk Extreme PRO is a well-rounded card for a reasonable price.
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Luke Filipowicz
iMore's resident gaming guru. Loves playing games from all eras, and still has a working Atari 2600 in his basement. When he isn't writing about games, you'll probably find him slapping the bass to his favourite 80s tunes.