Switch Lite Switch Comparison
Prototype: Nintendo Life

So you've got yourself a lovely new Nintendo Switch, Switch OLED or Switch Lite and don't know how to even begin setting it up? You've come to the right identify!

If yous're planning to give the Switch equally a holiday souvenir, Nintendo advises that y'all to complete set up earlier Christmas in order to avoid busy servers which might impact Nintendo Account creation and eShop access.

In this beginner's guide, we're going to break down all of the things yous should do first to help you go gear up upwards. That includes setting upward a bunch of new accounts, getting the settings right and grabbing any essential accessories to help get the most out of your shiny new Switch, Switch Calorie-free or Switch OLED Model.

Create a user profile

You should be prompted to practise this as presently as you turn your Switch on for the beginning time but we'll include the steps below all the same:

  1. Select an icon – this tin be a Mii or your favourite Nintendo character. Don't panic, you can change all of this later.
  2. Select the groundwork colour.
  3. Enter your nickname – this can be anything and you tin change information technology later.
  4. Sign in to your Nintendo Account to link it to the Switch, or follow our instructions below if you don't have a Nintendo Account nonetheless.

Showtime things offset, allow's fix a Nintendo Account, which will allow you to purchase some lovely digital games on your new Switch and get shiny rewards for doing then!

You lot can do this on the Switch itself, and nosotros've plonked the instructions below:

  1. Kick up the eShop by hitting 'A' on the orangish bag icon on the main menu of your Switch.
  2. Select the 'User Profile' that y'all want to adhere your Nintendo Account to.
  3. Hit 'Create Account'.
  4. Hit 'Send business relationship-creation instructions via due east-post'.
  5. Fill in your email address.
  6. Now, open the email you should have received on your laptop/phone/tablet.
  7. Follow the link in the email and hit 'An account for myself' (unless you are, in fact, creating i for a child).
  8. Fill up in your personal data and striking 'Submit'.
  9. You should receive a v digit code that y'all are advised to fill up in on your Switch. If you lot followed the instructions upward to step four correctly before, your Switch should be asking for the lawmaking. Fill it in and hitting 'OK'.
  10. Select how oftentimes you'd like to fill in your password and you're good to go! You can now buy games on the Nintendo Switch eShop.

Bought the Switch / Switch OLED / Switch Low-cal for a child? Then prepare parental controls

If y'all bought a Nintendo Switch or Switch Lite for a immature kid, you can fix parental controls to protect them from adult content and put limits on Switch play time.

At that place are 2 different options: you can restrict specific features on the console itself or control their Switch directly from your smart device using the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app. This allows you to set play time limits and restrict features, and you'll get activity notifications to help you keep runway of their playing schedule. Hither's how to set it up in steps:

  1. Choose 'System Settings' on the home screen.
  2. Scroll down to 'Parental Controls'
  3. Select whether to 'Utilize Your Smart Device' or 'Use this Console'
  4. Select the restriction level. You can either chose a setting that'south already fabricated up, like teen, pre-teen, or child, or set upwards a completely custom setting.
  5. For the latter, yous can restrict software past historic period, your child'southward ability to post to social media accounts, and their power to communicate with others.
  6. If you'd rather employ the app, download it from the App Shop or Google Play (it's called 'Nintendo Switch Parental Controls' so search for that).
  7. Boot it up and sign into your Nintendo Business relationship.
  8. Yous'll receive a registration lawmaking, which y'all at present take to fill in on your Switch. Repeat steps ane to three above and fill it in when prompted.
  9. Now simply use the app to set up parental controls. You tin fix a daily play limit, use pre-made settings or custom settings for restrictions, and monitor their activity using the app.
Nintendo Switch
Image: Nintendo Life

Become some games!

If you got a Switch for Christmas, the chances are you got a game or two with it – either bundled in the box or equally a nice extra from Santa. If the game is concrete, you can pop it direct in the system via a handy flap on the top right of the system (with the label facing you as yous hold the system like normal).

How to redeem a digital download code on the Nintendo Switch eShop

If yous've got a code for a digital game, caput on over to the eShop and redeem the code in that location to download information technology.

Here'due south that process in steps:

  1. Select the 'Nintendo eShop' from the abode card (it looks similar an orange shopping purse) to launch the eShop.
  2. Select the account yous desire to bind the game to.
  3. Hit 'Redeem Code' on the bottom left of the screen.
  4. Fill in the game'due south lawmaking, which should be 16 characters.
  5. Hitting 'Ostend'.
  6. That's information technology! Your game is redeemed and y'all should be able to download it right away.

Even if your game is physical, information technology may crave an additional data download. That could be a unproblematic update, which might add new free content to the game or fix bugs, or it could exist because all the game's information doesn't fit on the cartridge. This is the case for a handful of high profile games such every bit DOOM, NBA 2K21, and Fifty.A. Noire.

How to buy games on the Nintendo Switch eShop

At present, if you don't have whatever games for your brand new Switch, let's go and buy a few in the eShop, eh? Here are the steps:

  1. Boot upwards the Switch eShop and select a user profile that has a Nintendo Business relationship linked to it. If you don't currently have a Nintendo Account, follow our steps above in the 'Set up (and link) your Nintendo Account' section to create ane.
  2. Find a game you lot similar the expect of and select information technology by pressing 'A'.
    1. You can find games in a variety of different manners past looking in the different sections of the eShop. 'Recent Releases' is a chronological list of the most recently released games, 'Discover' helps you notice the best games the eShop has to offer, 'Electric current Offers' is a list of all of the games on auction, and 'Charts' is the current best-selling games. You can also search for a specific game past using the 'Search' function at the top left.
  3. In one case on the game page, hit 'Proceed to Purchase' and choose your preferred method. You could redeem a 'Nintendo eShop Bill of fare', apply your credit card, or pay via PayPal.
  4. Now, select how much money you'd like to stick on your eShop business relationship. You can add together only the required corporeality, or add a fleck extra if you programme on purchasing a few things.
  5. Ostend the next few prompts to complete your buy.

You can only purchase games from the eShop which matches your account region, just it's perfectly possible to prepare dummy accounts and take hold of games from North America and Japan - follow this guide to detect out how.

There are enough of complimentary-to-play or free-to-offset games bachelor on the Switch eShop if you're short on cash afterward Christmas. Hither's a selection to get y'all started:

  • Fortnite
  • Pokémon Unite
  • Paladins
  • Warframe
  • Super Kirby Clash
  • Arena of Valor
  • Pokémon Quest
  • Fallout Shelter
  • Kitten Squad
  • Namco Museum
  • Pinball FX3
  • Stern Pinball Arcade
  • Pinball Arcade
  • Brawlhalla
  • Dawn of the Breakers
  • Galak-Z: Variant Due south
  • Zaccaria Pinball

If y'all're subsequently game recommendations, you lot might want to check out our Switch Essentials lists (bank check for links at the bottom of this folio).

Get Nintendo Switch Online so you can play Splatoon ii, Mario Kart eight Deluxe, and more than online

Nintendo Switch Online is the subscription service for Nintendo Switch which you need in order to play multiplayer games online, grab exclusive offers, and access a pick of NES and Super NES games.

Free-to-play games like Fortnite Exercise NOT REQUIRE a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, but you'll need one if you plan to play games like Mario Kart 8 Palatial or Splatoon ii over the internet.

Setting up Nintendo Switch Online is surprisingly easy. Only become to the eShop and coil downwardly to 'Nintendo Switch Online' on the left. Here, you tin either get-go the 7-day free trial or set a membership programme.

You can either set up upward an individual membership, for a single user, or family membership, if you have two or more Nintendo Switch owners in your household – the latter allows you to get a Switch Online account for very fiddling cash. Y'all can pay monthly, quarterly, or annually for an individual membership or yearly for a family unit membership.

To larn more, check out our Nintendo Switch Online FAQ. For footstep-by-step instructions on how to gear up a Nintendo Switch Online Family unit Membership, cheque out our guide.

Increase your storage infinite with a micro SD card

If in that location's 1 area in which the Switch falls short, information technology's in its internal storage space. The 32GB that information technology comes with — effectually 25GB which is really attainable by the user — will fill rapidly with updates, games and DLC. Switch OLED doubles the internal storage to 64GB, only that's still not huge past today's standards.

So, information technology'southward a adept thought to grab yourself a micro SD card. These come in a diversity of dissimilar sizes, all the way up to 1TB, although that'll cost you lot a pretty penny. Thankfully in that location are some very affordable options around the 200GB mark, which will be more than than plenty to store a whole agglomeration of games.

Cheque out our guide for the best Nintendo Switch micro SD carte du jour deals.

Please notation that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if yous click them and brand a purchase nosotros may receive a small-scale percentage of the sale. Delight read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Accessorise!

The Nintendo Switch is such a nifty lilliputian device, capable of three different methods of play and the ability to play wherever you want, whenever you desire, withal y'all want. Every bit such, it'south absolutely ripe for customisation. If you've gone for the portable-but Switch Lite, at that place are nevertheless plenty of accessories available to aid you get the most out of the lovely little system.

Whether you desire a more comfy Pro controller to apply while plonked on the sofa, a nice case to continue it scratch free in your purse, a nifty micro SD card to increment your storage space, a Joy-Con controller with an inbuilt D-pad or a Mario Kart Pro Mini or Palatial Racing Cycle to make those races even more intense, nosotros've got the best recommendations in our massive accessories guide.

For more information on games, accessories and the differences between Switch, Switch OLED and Switch Low-cal, you might want to check out our Parent'due south guide to the Switch consoles, or notice out which games don't work on Switch Lite.

Nintendo Switch
Image: Nintendo Life

This article relates to our Switch Essentials guides which cover a wide variety of genres, including the Best Switch FPS Games, the All-time Switch RPGs, the Best Switch Games For Kids, the All-time Switch Couch Co-Op Games and the Best Switch Fettle and Exercise Games. We can also assist out hunting down the All-time Switch Horror Games, the Best Switch Racing Games, the Best Switch Activity-RPGs, the Best Nintendo Switch Roguelikes, Roguelites and Run-Based Games, the Best Free Switch Games, and even Games to Play After You lot've Finished Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Whatever your favourite genre, we've got y'all covered: Strategy Games, Metroidvanias, Puzzle Games, Party Games, Online Multiplayer Games, Local Wireless Multiplayer Games, Shmups, Visual Novels, Fighting Games, Hidden Gems, 2D Platformers, 3D Platformers, Run and Gun Games, Sports Games, Beat 'Em Ups, Chill Games, Family Games, Retro-Inspired Games, Curt Games, Carte Games and Deck-builders, Flying Sim and Infinite Combat, Point and Click Adventure Games, and the Best Switch Exclusives, as well equally Every Arcade Archives Game, Every ACA Neo Geo Game, Every SEGA AGES Game On Switch, and the Best Switch Collections And Compilations.

If yous're looking for the best Switch games regardless of genre, our reader-voted selection of the Best Nintendo Switch Games E'er should assist y'all out, and y'all can as well find the Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. And finally, if you're interested in other Nintendo consoles and retro games, check out the Best Game Boy Games, Best Nintendo DS Games, Best Nintendo 3DS Games, Best SNES Games, Best N64 Games, All-time GameCube Games, and Best Wii Games, likewise as Every Nintendo Switch Online NES Game and Every Nintendo Switch Online SNES Game.