The Nintendo Switch is one of the best-selling, most popular gaming systems of all time, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its problems. Sometimes these can be fixed with a simple system reset, and there are a few ways to accomplish this. These reset methods work for the original Switch model, the Switch Lite, and the Switch OLED.
How to Factory Reset Your Nintendo Switch and Make It Work Like New Again! (Easy Method)
The first method to try is what’s called a soft reset, which should help alleviate any software issues you’re experiencing with games or the system software. To soft reset your Nintendo Switch, simply hold down the power button on the top of your device for about 10-15 seconds until the device powers off (after a few minutes, a pop-up will appear on your screen with the option to access sleep mode and power options, but you can simply continue holding that power button until the device powers off). Leave the device powered off for a minute or two, then hold the power button down to power the device back on.
If a soft reset doesn’t fix the problem, another option is to perform a hard reset. First, turn off your Switch by holding down the power button. Then, press and hold the power, volume up, and volume down buttons at the same time. Continue holding these buttons until your Switch boots into maintenance mode. On the on-screen menu, scroll down until you see an option for Initialize Console Without Deleting Save Data. Tap on it and select OK. Your Switch should then reboot and return to its factory settings without losing any of your saved data.
If you’re still having issues, you may want to try a factory reset. Performing a factory reset on your Switch is also a good idea before selling or trading in your console. It’s worth noting that resetting your Nintendo Switch to factory settings will erase all of your data, including save files and downloaded games, and unlink your Nintendo Account. You can back this up to your Nintendo Switch Online account, but you will have to pay for this. To do this, open the software menu for any game and select “Save Data Cloud Backup”, then choose the desired user profile and select “Back Up Save Data”.
