Upgrading To The New Switch? Here's How To Transfer Your Data

Last month, Nintendo announced that the standard Switch is getting a little bit of an upgrade by way of a new model that boasts increased battery life. While the new Switch doesn't offer any increased performance over launch models, that bump up in battery life might be worth a swap for some people, given the console's emphasis on portability. If you're planning to jump to the new Switch model, here's how you'll transfer your user and save data over to the new console.

The process is a little more involved than performing something like an SD card swap, but it's still a pretty easy thing to do. Before you begin the transfer process, there are a few requirements you need to know and some preparations you'll need to make.

For starters, you'll need both the source console and the target console on hand, and both consoles will need to be updated to system menu 4.0.0. You'll also need to make sure you have a Nintendo Account linked to the user account you want to transfer from the source console and you'll also need to be able to connect to the internet.

With that all taken care of, you'll open System Settings from the home menu on the source console. From there, select "Users" and then "Transfer Your Data." Follow the prompts until it gives you the option to designate the console as either the source or the target console. Designate it as the source console, then hit continue and go through the same process on the console you're moving your data to, designating it as the target console when you're presented with that option.

You'll then be prompted to sign into your Nintendo Account on the target console. From there, you simply need to enter your Nintendo account email address and password, then switch back to the source console and wait for it to find the target console. When it does, hit "Transfer" and wait for the transfer to complete.

It's a fairly straightforward process, and it's particularly handy for those who will be purchasing one of the new Switch models to take advantage of that increased battery life. As GameSpot points out, GameStop is currently offering an extra $25 on any Switch, Xbox One, or PS4 console trade-ins, meaning you could trade-in your current Switch for $225 in store credit. With that extra trade credit taken into account, you'd only need to pay $75 to upgrade to the new model, which has a model number of "HAC-001(-01)."

$75 isn't chump change, especially when this new model doesn't offer a significant upgrade beyond improved battery life, but to some, it might be worth paying that price. Of course, since you'll need both consoles on hand to perform the system transfer, you'll need to move your data over right there in-store, which might tricky if your GameStop doesn't have publicly accessible WiFi. With that in mind, it's probably best to ask GameStop how you'll transfer your data before you begin the trade-in.