Fix Nintendo Switch Issues With a Factory Reset

The Nintendo Switch is one of the best-selling, most popular game systems of all time, but that doesn’t mean it is without problems. Sometimes these can be fixed with a simple system reset, and they’re are a few ways to carry one out. These reset methods will work for the original Switch model, Switch Lite and the Switch OLED alike.

How to soft reset your Nintendo Switch

The first method to try is what’s called a soft reset, which should mitigate any software issues you might be facing with games or with the system software. To do a soft reset of your Nintendo Switch, press and hold the power button on the top of your device for about 10 to 15 seconds until it powers off (a pop up will appear on the screen after a few minutes giving you the option to access Sleep Mode and Power Options, but you can just keep holding that power button until it shuts off). Leave it off for a minute or two, then press and hold the power button to turn it back on.

How to perform a hard reset on your Nintendo Switch

If performing a soft reset didn’t fix the issue, another option is doing a hard reset. First power off your Switch by holding down the power button. Next, press and hold the power, volume up and volume down buttons at the same time. Keep holding those buttons until your Switch boots up into Maintenance Mode. In the onscreen menu, scroll down until you see an option for Initialize Console Without Deleting Save Data. Tap that and select OK. Your Switch should then restart and return to its factory settings without costing you any of your saved data

How to factory reset your Nintendo Switch

If you’re still having issues, then you might need to try a factory reset. Performing a factory reset of your Switch is also a good idea before selling or trading in your console. It’s worth mentioning that when you factory reset your Nintendo Switch, it will erase all your data including save files and game downloads, and unlink your Nintendo account. You can back up this data to your Nintendo Switch Online account, but you’ll need to pay for the privilege. To do so, open each game’s software menu and select “Save Data Cloud Backup,” then choose the desired user profile and select “Back Up Save Data.”

That completed, it’s time to factory reset your Switch. Go to the home screen and tap on the System Settings icon. In System Settings, scroll down to and choose System in the left-hand menu. Scroll again until you see Formatting Options. In the Formatting Options menu, scroll down to the bottom until you see Restore Factory Settings, and tap on it. To confirm the factory reset, hit the Next button. It will take a few minutes to factory reset your Nintendo Switch. Once the process is complete, your Switch will boot up to the setup screen as if you have a new console.