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The Nintendo Switch only comes with 32GB of internal storage, which is minuscule if you plan on having more than just a handful of games and apps downloaded to your handheld console. The solution is to use a microSD card to expand the Switch’s storage. But what’s the easiest way to do that? And if you already have a microSD card and want to use a new one with more capacity, how do you migrate your files? Don’t worry; we’ll walk you through it all.
Before you begin, it’s always a good idea to back up your games to a desktop computer using a microSD card. Of course, any title downloaded from the Nintendo eShop (they’re tied to your account) can be archived and downloaded again directly, if needed. But it takes a lot longer to download your whole library; having a local copy will save time.
Game saves (like your completed run of The Master Trials in Breath of the Wild) are saved locally to the Switch’s internal memory. As long as you archive and don’t delete game data on the Switch, you won’t lose your valuable saved data.
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To get started, you’ll need: a computer (the OS doesn’t matter as long as you have storage space), a microSD card adapter (if your computer doesn’t have a microSD slot), and finally, a microSD card. Nintendo recommends using a single microSD card that’s UHS-I (Ultra High Speed Phase I) compliant, with transfer speeds of 60 to 95 MB/s; the higher, the better. Don’t use multiple microSD cards with different games on the same Switch because that can cause conflicts.
The setup process should be performed in handheld mode (i.e., not docked) alongside your computer since you will require access to the storage slot underneath the kickstand. This process is the same regardless of whether you’re performing this with the original Nintendo Switch or the newer OLED model.
If you don’t have a microSD card already installed and your Switch’s internal memory is full, here’s how you can migrate the data to a microSD card. To test this, I moved Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from local storage to a 128GB microSD SanDisk microSDXC UHS-I card for Nintendo Switch.
If you already have a microSD card installed and want to swap it for, say, a faster or larger card, then you’ll need a computer (with a microSD slot or adapter) to back up your files.
In the event that your files didn’t successfully transfer to the new microSD card or aren’t recognized by the Switch, you can always delete the transferred files from the card using your computer’s file manager. You’ll have to re-download the games / apps from the Nintendo eShop, using the Nintendo account they’re associated with. If they don’t automatically save to your microSD card, use the archive and download trick we described earlier.
There you have it! You’ve successfully migrated your Switch files from one microSD card to another and / or added a microSD to expand your game library.
Update March 4th: This article was originally published on March 8th, 2019, and was updated to explain that the process is the same for the Nintendo Switch OLED and that the storage for the Nintendo Switch Lite can’t be upgraded.
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