PixlBit

Blog a Day #18

Hello everyone, how are you? I haven't said this but my Nintendo Switch has been having problems for quite some time. It happened some time after I completed Super Mario Odyssey that I noticed it. The Switch would make this loud fan noise, it would eventually get really loud and it sounded like the fan was grinding something. It would also get hot and blow out hot air from the vents. Maybe it was from too much use or maybe mine was from a bad batch of launch units. I don't know. But it did go away the following day and assumed I was just using it too much but that wasn't the case. It would keep doing the same thing regardless. Sometimes it would go away while playing a game and sometimes it wouldn't. So I tried cleaning the vents to see if that would do the trick. Spoiler, it didn't. I decided to deal with it till I checked out my options.

One of them was returning it to the store for a new one because I bought warranty for it at Gamestop when I got mine. That would mean losing all of my save data which is something I didn't want obviously. Another was send it in to Nintendo to repair or get a replacement and yes they would be "careful" with your data and transfer it over to a replacement if it came to that. Unfortunately that is a gamble as it would be a 50-50 chance that you'll get your data intact. Meaning you wont be guaranteed that you'll get your data back. At this point I would rather just take it back to Gamestop and start from scratch.

                                         Fun system but bad way to handle your data

However, Nintendo introduced an option to transfer over your account and game saves to another Switch unit, which is a good start. However it is really impractical as it involves having access to another Switch console which is something not everyone has. Oh and the Switch you are transferring your stuff over to must have the most recent patch. And you'll need internet connection. Any way you look at it is still a huge hassle.

So what I did was go to Gamestop and hope they would allow me to transfer my save data to the new replacement unit. If you plan on doing this, call them first before actually going to see if they let you. I did call them and they said I could, but then they said no the day I actually went. But after some explanation and convincing, they gave me the go ahead to do so. I have to tell you that it is such a tedious and painful process.

In order to do this you'll need your account credentials like your email and password that you use for your My Nintendo account. You'll also need internet connection obviously and Gamestop won't let you use theirs so you'll have to provide that yourself via a phone with a mobile hotspot option. Unless your store is in a mall and that provides free wifi or something, but that's basically your only option. You'll also need the other Switch unit you are transferring stuff to.

                                                 It's a start, but Nintendo can do better

The actual process to update the other Switch takes way too long. Almost or about an hour. Well after that, so far so good. But now comes the moment of truth and that is to transfer your account. It says it takes about 2 minutes according to the screen, but it'll be stuck at 100% for about 10 minutes. I'm not even joking on that part. I thought it froze or something but it didn't. Afterwards it was a success. Now to repeat that process 2 more times since my brother's have accounts too. And yeah it took as long as mine. Almost 2 to 3 hours later and I had all my stuff on the new Switch so. Well no. After that you have to re-update all your games and I checked to make sure all my data was there and I can say yes, everything was there.

It was such a huge hassle just to transfer everything over. It is so impractical if you ask me. Why doesn't Nintendo allow you to back up your saves on a microSD Card or something? Maybe some sort of Cloud Storage? Heck, why not on the actual game card itself like on the 3DS? I'm sure that would be much better too.

Another way this could of worked better is if you know someone like a friend with a Switch and ask them if you can transfer your account to their Switch while you either get a replacememnt from Gamestop or if you decide to send it in to Nintendo. Unfortunately I don't know anyone in person who has one.

                                    If only you can actually use this to back up your data

Regardless what your option is and what you go with, it's a huge mess either way. This is something the Switch should of had this from the start. On other consoles you can pretty much backup your data and then you can sign in to a new console and then you'll have access to all your purchases and then you can put back your saves. I just hope they remedy this in the future or something because I know I'm not the only one who wants a way to back up my data. You'd think with a system you can take anywhere that they would allow you to keep your data safe as well. But what are we going to do.

And that's my ordeal with this mess and end of this rant post. What do you think Nintendo should do? Thanks for reading and...