Can I Register Multiple Users On My Switch With One Nintendo Account

How to get your Nintendo Business relationship working on multiple Switches at in one case

The Nintendo Account service can be needlessly complicated. I'm not certain what it is about Nintendo, but their online services e'er seem to have some strange oddities to deal with that you wouldn't have to worry well-nigh on other consoles or PC. One of these strange practices is how a Nintendo Online account works when on multiple Switches at once, and how to deal with salve data across 2 (or more) consoles. You would think it'd be straightforward, but it isn't, every bit I learned when testing for my Nintendo Switch vs Nintendo Switch Lite piece. Here, I'll pause downwards how to properly take one Nintendo Account across multiple systems, the differences between primary and secondary consoles and how to account for that, and more than.

Getting Started

The very first step to getting your Nintendo Account on multiple Switches is really easy–simply sign in! While the rest of the process is a little convoluted, yous won't come across whatever errors or annihilation by only signing into some other Switch.

However, there are two designations for the Switch in terms of how your business relationship is viewed on it. The showtime Switch you've signed into is the Primary Switch, while whatever subsequent Switch will be a Secondary Switch. There are ways to change that, but offset, it's important to know the deviation between the Principal and Secondary Switches in club to pick the right one for your main business relationship.

Primary Switch vs Secondary Switch

Unfortunately, y'all tin can't sign on to the aforementioned Nintendo Account on multiple systems and get the exact same functionality on each console. Primary Switch consoles get all the normal functions you come to expect from the Switch, merely secondary Switches can just admission and play games from your account when continued to the internet. If your secondary Switch cannot connect to the cyberspace, you simply can't play games on information technology, which hurts its portability a off-white bit.

Additionally, Main Switches will e'er take priority over Secondary Switches in terms of playing content. If I kick upwards Super Mario Odyssey on my Secondary Switch, and then try to boot information technology up on my Primary Switch, it volition boot up on the Primary without bug. The Secondary Switch, however, will exist booted off the game and back to the Switch menu. That's a little rude! This fifty-fifty applies to situations where I'm playing an entirely different game on the Secondary Switch. In short, if the Main Switch is being used, the Secondaries are cutting out of access. This is problematic if you're sharing accounts betwixt family members, less so if you're the sole person using both Switches.

Thankfully, it'south not that difficult to switch (hah!) between Master consoles. Information technology's just a little hidden.

Changing your Primary Switch

Irresolute Primary and Secondary consoles takes place in the Nintendo eShop, non Settings.

In order to alter the Primary Switch, yous need to have physical access to it. Then, do the following:

Go to the eShop
Navigate correct so information technology highlights your avatar in the upper right-hand corner and select it
In the principal expanse of Business relationship Information, curlicue downwards until you reach the Chief Console section (it's near the end)
Hit the 'Deregister' button, and enter your password to confirm the deregistration.

Y'all'll and then get a find that the next Switch to log into the eShop will be designated the Primary console going forwards. Exercise so on the Switch you want to be the Primary ane!

Which one should I make the Principal Switch?

Which Switch yous brand the Primary Switch volition depend on your state of affairs. But, the general rule of pollex is that whichever Switch you lot'll be taking outside the house will exist best served by becoming the Primary Switch. Even if you happen to play the Switch that's at home more, information technology will probably be connected to the internet at all (or virtually) times.

In the most common state of affairs, where yous take both a normal Nintendo Switch and a Switch Lite, yous'll want to make the Switch Lite the Primary console. The Switch Lite is purely a portable console, with no ability to dock to your Goggle box, so it's pretty probable that will be the Switch y'all're taking exterior the house.

Understanding Switch Save Data

If you lot have a Switch Online account, you lot can set the salvage information clouds to upload and download saves automatically, but information technology's buried in the settings.

Once you've connected your Nintendo Account to each Switch, your job is unfortunately not done withal. If you have the Switch Online subscription service, your save data will automatically be uploaded from the cloud after you complete playing, with some exceptions listed below.

Nonetheless, this cloud save doesn't work similarly to, say, Steam. On Steam, once a save is uploaded to a cloud, you tin can move to another computer and, provided yous're logged in, resume play correct where you left off. You tin practise something like on the Switch, but information technology's not and so seamless. For starters, it isn't even turned on by default! In order to turn this characteristic on:

Go to Settings, then down to Data Management
In that subsection, gyre down to the Save Data Deject and click on information technology
Go to settings, and you'll run across Automatic Relieve Data Backup, and Automatic Relieve Information Download. Plow them both on.

With that, your cloud saves should upload and download from your Switch Online deject whenever y'all're continued to the internet. But, this just works for games downloaded to both systems! If yous're downloading software from the eShop, your Switch volition not automatically pull the save data from the cloud.

If yous need to move a cloud save that didn't have software downloaded on the Switch, you'll have to do it manually the get-go time. Here is how:

Close and exit the game on the Switch you were playing on, so the cloud relieve updates.
On the Switch you want to continue playing from, head to Arrangement Settings, then Data Management.
From here, you can go to the Relieve Data Cloud selection, find the game you're looking for, and download it.

There are some get-go-party Nintendo games, like the Pokemon titles and Super Smash Bros., that do not allow cloud save data. Nintendo'southward reason for this is to preclude save manipulation or corruption, but in the end, it's just a big pain for consumers every bit some of these titles involve a fair bit of farming and grinding.

You can still movement salvage information for these games between Switches, merely it can just be on 1 Switch at a time. While in the "Data Management" subsection of System Settings, you tin can cull to "Transfer Your Salvage Data" to move saves for those games around. Likewise, if y'all do not take Switch Online, you lot'll need to use this same method to movement whatever Switch save information betwixt consoles.

Dealing with your Nintendo Account on multiple Switches is not the most confusing thing, just the settings for working out which Switch is the Chief 1 and where your latest salvage data is stored is simply subconscious enough to cause anyone problems. At present, go to gaming and enjoying both your Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Calorie-free!