If you just got your firstSwitchrecently, or you’re a seasoned veteran, there’s a good chance you want to get the most from Nintendo’s console. This guide will take you through all the handheld’s most notable settings, explaining what they do and how to enable them. Outside a few exceptions, all the options mentioned below are accessible from the System Settings menu, which you can find on the home screen.
Nintendo Switch tips and tricks: How to get the most from your console
The Nintendo Switch is one of the best consoles around. Here’s how to get the most from it.
1Get acquainted with Quick Settings
Hold down the Switch’s Home button
Although not technically a setting itself, theQuick Settingsmenu offers a convenient way to access the options you’re likely to want to tweak most often, all without digging into the Switch’s System Settings.
You can open the Quick Settings by holding down the Switch’sHomebutton for a few seconds. From here, you can turn on or off the console’s auto-brightness and airplane mode features, as well as adjust screen brightness and volume and put your Switch to sleep. It’s also a handy way to check the time and your system’s remaining battery life without leaving a game.
On the subject of battery life, you can make it easier to estimate how much playtime you have left by seeing your Switch’s remaining battery power represented as a percentage. To do so, hold theZLandZRbuttons at the same time while you have theQuick Settingsmenu open. Alternatively, you can make the percentage appear permanently by opening theSystem Settingsmenu and enablingConsole Battery (%)under theSystemsection.
The ZL and ZR shortcut also works from the home screen.
2Save your eyes with dark mode
Go Basic Black
Like many other modern devices and apps, the Nintendo Switch offers a dark mode setting that darkens interface elements to make them easier on the eyes. Unfortunately, it’s not a true dark mode that takes advantage of the properties of OLED screens to reduce battery drain, but if you find the Switch’s default theme has a retina-searing quality to it, what’s available is a good alternative. To enable dark mode:
3Get more natural colors on OLED Switch
Vivid vs Standard
TheOLED Switchboasts one of the best displays to ever grace a gaming handheld. It offers excellent motion clarity and contrast. However, the OLED screen can look over-saturated out of the box. Thankfully, if you’re not a fan of that look, the console offers two different color modes. Here’s how to switch between them:
The best Nintendo Switch models: Switch, Lite, and OLED compared
There are three models along with a smattering of special edition models to choose from, and they’re all pretty great.
4Pair Bluetooth headphones with Switch
Or pair a speaker
It took Nintendo far too long toadd Bluetooth audio support, and there are some notable limitations. For instance, it’s only possible to use two controllers while you have a Bluetooth audio device connected to your Switch, and Bluetooth microphone input is off the table. To pair a Bluetooth device with your Switch:
In addition to using Bluetooth headphones with your Switch, you can pair a Bluetooth speaker as well. The latter is handy if you frequently find yourself using the console in tablet mode.
5Protect your hearing
Or your kid’s hearing
On the subject of audio, if you want to protect your hearing or that of a young one, the Switch offers a helpful setting that, when enabled, will automatically limit the maximum output volume of any headphones connected to the Switch. To enable the protection, open theSystem Settingsmenu, scroll down to theSystemsection and EnableLower Max Headphone Volume.
In the same section, you will also find an option to prompt the Switch to automatically mute itself when you disconnect a pair of headphones. This setting –Mute When Headphones Are Disconnected– should be on by default, but if it’s not, you can enable it here. It’s useful whenever you find yourself in a public space and want to avoid disrupting those around you.
6Optimize your storage
Save a precious few seconds
If you’ve owned your Switch for a while, chances are you bought a microSD card at some point to increase the amount of storage your system has for games, screenshots and videos. What you may not know is that there’s a way to optimize how your Switch uses all of its available storage to reduce loading times.
Testing byDigital Foundryhas shown that the Switch consistently loads games fastest from its internal storage, with the handheld taking longer to read game data from a microSD card and longer still from a cart. In some instances, the difference can mean save data loading a few seconds earlier. That might not seem like much, but when you consider a game likeTears of the Kingdomthat can take hundreds of hours to complete, those seconds can start to add up.
If you primarily buy games digitially, my advice is that you move your favorite ones to your Switch’s internal storage. When you complete a game, transfer it to your system’s microSD card to free up space on the internal drive for your next obssession. Here’s how to do that:
7Get the most from Sleep Mode
Extend your battery life
As with most portable devices, the Switch features a Sleep Mode that is essential to getting the most out of its battery. In fact, there’s an entire section of theSystem Settingsmenu dedicated to customizing how the mode works. Of note, you may adjust the amount of time before your console goes to sleep, whether it’s connected to a TV or you’re playing in portable mode.
There’s also an option to disable Sleep Mode from activating automatically when playing media content. I would recommend leaving theMaintain Internet Connection in Sleep Modesetting enabled, as this allows you to start an eShop download from your computer or mobile device, instead of directly from the Switch where Nintendo’s digital marketplace can be painfully slow.
8Allow your Switch to turn on your TV
Works wirelessly
If you frequently game on your TV, the Switch can turn it on or toggle to the correct input for you. What’s more, this feature works wirelessly, so all you need to do is press theHomebutton on your Joy-Con or Pro controller. This feature is enabled by default, so if you’d like to turn it off, you’re able to do so by disabling theMatch TV Power Stateoption found under theTV Settingssection of theSystem Settings.
9Remap your controllers
No in-game remapping? No problem
If your favorite game doesn’t support controller remapping, you can still reconfigure the button layout of your Joy-Cons or Switch Pro Controller to better suit your needs. Head over to theControllers and Sensorssection of theSystem Settingsmenu and selectChange Button Mapping. In addition to remapping any individual input on your Nintendo controller, you can swap the left and right analog sticks with one another. Just note that whatever changes you make will affect all your games.
10Control who sees your playtime
Who can see your game activity?
If you’re curious about the amount of time you’ve spent playing a specific game, you don’t need to wait until Nintendo’sannual Switch Year in Reviewto find out. Your playtime is recorded in your player profile, which you may access by selecting your profile picture in the top right of the home screen. To adjust who can see your game activity:
