If you have recently upgraded to a Nintendo Switch OLED Model, you may be wanting to retire your OG Switch. Before you do though, you’ll probably want to transfer your treasured save data over to your new system. There are two ways to do this and both are pretty straightforward but they are time consuming.
In this short guide. We’ll take you through each step to get your save data from your old Nintendo Switch or Switch Lite over to your brand new Nintendo Switch OLED. I will just add that the following methods do work with transferring Save data back to your other Switch consoles too.
Download Cloud Save Data
This is by far the easiest way to get your save data onto your new Switch but it does require an active Nintendo Switch Online Subscription. If your new Switch is connected to the internet, you can simply pick the game you wish to play on your console and a prompt will pop up to ask if you wish to download save data straight from the server.
If you have automatic save backup turned in, your current save data will be backed up on the servers. You can simply download your save data direct from the server straight to your new Switch. The extra benefit from downloading save data from the cloud is you can still download the updated save data on the server to any console even if the save data is on multiple consoles.
One thing that must be taken into account is that some games are not compatible with the cloud save data backup like Splatoon 2 or Pokémon Sword/Pokémon Shield. The save data for these games can only be transferred over with the second method.
Transfer Save Data
The second method takes a bit longer but it is sometimes the only way for certain games that do not support cloud saving. This method is also a bit more permanent in the sense that once the save data is moved to the new Switch, it will be completely removed from the other one. You can, of course, transfer back to the older model whenever you want but with this process taking longer, it’s not something you want to be doing regularly.
For this method, you will need both Nintendo Switch consoles (donor and receiver) turned on. Go to the System Settings menu and select Data Management on both consoles. From here, scroll down this menu until you find “Transfer Your Save Data”. You then be prompted if you would like to send or receive save data. On the donor Switch, select send data but hold fire on selecting anything on the receiver Switch.
On the Donor Switch, select the save data of the game you would like to transfer. It is a good idea to boot up the game on your Switch first so that the save data is top of the list. Now with the Receiver Switch, select “Receive Save Data” and both consoles will connect to each other via the internet to send the data from one system to the other. Do keep both consoles in close proximity of each other. If the transfer doesn’t work, you can try again. When the transfer does go through, the save data will be on the new Switch and it will be deleted permanently from the old one.
I hope you find this guide useful. If you are still struggling to transfer your save data between Switch consoles, we have uploaded a tutorial video to our YouTube Channel that will take you through both methods. You can watch the video below.
