Ways to Power Off Nintendo Switch

Despite the growth of the smartphone game market, the Nintendo Switch is still a handheld gaming device with a distinct and appreciated identity.

In general, mastering the Nintendo Switch is not complicated, but it can be a bit confusing for first-time users.

For example, completely powering down a Switch (or rebooting) will require a few cumbersome steps. Normally, when you press the power button on the top edge of the Switch, the device goes into Sleep mode, which consumes less battery, but doesn't turn off completely. If you don't intend to use the Switch for a while, save battery, or want to fix the error, you need to turn it off completely. Find out below.

How to Power Off Nintendo Switch

First, locate the power button on the top edge of the Switch. On older Switch versions, such as the Switch Lite and OLED Switch, you'll find the power button on the left side near the volume buttons. Press and hold this button for about three seconds.

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The screen will go dark and a special system menu will appear. Select 'Power Options'.

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On the power options menu that appears, click 'Turn Off'.

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(Alternatively, you can select 'Restart' here if you want to restart your Switch.)

Your Switch screen will go black and turn off completely. Unlike in Sleep mode, when turned off this way, the device uses absolutely no power from the battery, or mobile data.

How to Force Power Off Nintendo Switch

If your Switch is frozen, unresponsive and can't be turned off the usual way, press and hold the power button on the top left edge of the device for about 12 seconds to force power off it.

It should be noted that this press-and-hold 'trick' should only be used to 'fire' in an emergency, when your Switch malfunctions, freezes, lags. If misused, you will lose data stored on the device, or worse, corrupt system data. Then things will get even worse.

How to turn on Nintendo Switch

To power on your Nintendo Switch again, simply press and hold the power button on the top edge of the device until the Nintendo logo appears. Wish you happy gaming!