With new-gen consoles entering the market, considering selling your Switch for an upgrade is pretty much reasonable. Now in order for you to sell or pass on your Switch, you need to delete all the data on the console’s system to get it to its out-of-box state. Whether selling your Nintendo console to someone else or looking for a permanent way to solve some kind of software bug or error, a factory reset should not be taken lightly as it will wipe out all of your data on the system. But if you’ve considered the stakes and wish to carry on with the complete restoration, follow through with the article as we share two methods on how to factory reset Nintendo Switch. One method can help you keep some of your data like save data, screenshots, etc while deleting everything else. The other method will wipe out anything and everything to restore the Switch to its original factory settings for a new start.
How to Factory Reset Nintendo Switch | Find Out the Two Easy-to-Follow Methods
As mentioned, there are two different methods on how to factory reset Nintendo Switch. One of them follows a partial hard reset through maintenance mode while the other is a permanent fix to restore your Switch to its default factory state.
1. How to Factory Reset Nintendo Switch Using Maintenance Mode?
One of the more basic methods is to try and save data like game saves, screenshots, and user info while performing a factory reset through the maintenance mode on your console. It’s recommended to carry out this method if you’re planning to keep your console. Check out: How to Factory Reset PS4 | Simple Guide with Videos With maintenance mode, you can bypass the main Switch OS, which can prove helpful to get around errors that are restricting you to access the System Settings menu. Before going for the full permanent reset, look out for other maintenance mode options that might solve your error problem. To access the console’s maintenance mode (or Recovery mode), your console needs to be completely powered off. It’s important to note that the menu in recovery mode is different from the normal systems menu. Now, let’s check out how to reset with maintenance mode:
1.1 Switch Off
The first thing you need to do is to make sure that your Switch is powered off and not in Sleep mode. Carry out this step by holding the Power button on top for about 12-15 seconds and then choosing Turn Off among Power options.
1.2 Enter Recovery Mode
Once the Switch is completely turned off, in order to turn it on in recovery mode, press and hold both the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons along with the Power button till you see the recovery menu pop up.
1.3 Select the Right Option
When in Recovery or Maintenance mode, you’ll have a few options. Let’s go through them one by one.
Use the Update system option, if you think that the errors you’ve been encountering can be fixed by an update to the Switch’s system software. With this option, you can download the latest Switch software and update your system.With the Initialize console without deleting the save data option, you can wipe down (or Initialize) the software from your microSD card while still saving some things like your game saves, screenshots, videos, and user data. Use this option if you’re having trouble with your Switch but don’t want to lose all of your data.With the Initialize console option, you can completely wipe out all data on your Switch and restore it to its pristine state. Even though initializing will not wipe out the microSD card installed in your system, but all data except screenshots on the card will become unusable. In order for you to use the same card with Switch again, you will have to reformat it first.
If all these options overwhelm you in some way, you can exit the maintenance mode without deleting anything by holding down the Power button down till the Switch turns off. And then, turn it back on like usual. Also Read: How to Factory Reset PS5 | Best Guide with Videos
2. How to Factory Reset Nintendo Switch with Complete Wipe-out?
This is the easiest method to completely restore your Nintendo Switch Console to its default settings. It is advised to note that this method will delete all of your saved data, user data, screenshots, and videos permanently and cannot be recovered. Follow through the easy steps:
2.1 Enter System Settings Menu
On your console’s Home screen, browse to the System Settings menu.
2.2 Select System
Once in the Settings menu, navigate to the bottom and then select System.
2.3 Select Initialize
Again, browse to the bottom of the system menu to find and select Initialize or Formatting Options, depending on the OS of your Switch.
2.4 Initialize Console
You’ll be presented with a bunch of options, choose Initialize Console or Restore Factory Settings, again depending on the version of OS on your Nintendo system.
2.5 Check for Internet
Now, click on Next. Here, your Nintendo Switch will check for an active internet connection to unregister itself as the active console on your Nintendo account. Read the information and again press Next.
2.6 Hit Restore
Click Restore Factory Settings on the next prompt and wait for your console to execute the complete wipe down. That’s it, with this final step, you now know how to factory reset Nintendo Switch.
Wrapping Up
With this, we’ve reached the end of our article on how to factory reset Nintendo Switch. We hope that the methods given were easy enough for you to understand and follow through to carry out the wipe down of your Switch. Share the article if the guide helped you to solve your error issues. We’d love to hear from you! Let us know your go-to game on the Switch console in the comment section below. For more How-To guides and other interesting and latest updates from the Technology universe, keep visiting Path of EX – Your Spot For Trending Stuff! Feature Image Credit: IBTimes UK
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