Just picked up a Switch 2 and itching to play some games? That’s all well and good, but there are a few things you might want to tweak before you dive intoMario Kart WorldandDonkey Kong Bananza.
We’ve rounded up some of the settings that you might want to change on your new console. While not all of them are applicable to every Switch 2 owner, some are no-brainers.
Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the company’s latest hybrid home console, with more powerful graphics and processing, a larger 7.9” LCD touch screen with support for HDR, and more online features.
1Enable Battery Limit
Most smartphones now come with an optimized charging mode. This prevents the battery from reaching 100% charge capacity since keeping lithium-ion batteries in a full state causes more rapid degradation of the cell. Nintendo included a similar setting for the Switch 2,limiting the charge capacity to 90% or less.
Head to System Settings > System then scroll down until you see “Stop Charging Around 90%” and toggle the setting on. By doing this you will sacrifice some battery capacity, so your Switch will never quite offer as much play time as a console that’s been charged to 100%. What you’ll gain is better battery health over time.
It’s a great idea if you only occasionally play your Switch in portable mode, or if you’re never far away from an outlet to charge your Switch on the go.
2Display Battery Percentage
While you’re there in the System Settings > System menu, enable “Console Battery (%)” right above the charge limiting setting. This adds a numerical percentage to the battery indicator, so you know exactly how much charge you have left. This makes it easy to see the precise battery impact of a game on your Switch since you can take note of what the battery percentage is at when you start and stop playing.
Remember that battery indicators can be a bit misleading, so take that percentage value with a pinch of salt.
3Automatic Uploads for Screenshots and Videos
As part of a push to improve Nintendo’s surrounding mobile ecosystem, the Switch 2 can now upload captured media automatically. Oddly enough, this setting isn’t enabled by default.
To fix that, launch the “Album” app from the main menu. In the left-hand menu, scroll down and select “Upload Settings” then choose a user. Scroll down to “Automatic Uploads” and enable the toggle to turn the feature on. From now on you’ll be able to access media captured using the Screenshot button (on the left Joy-Con. or the left-hand side of the Pro Controller) using the Nintendo Switch app foriPhoneorAndroid.
Media will be available for 30 days from the date of upload, but you may always choose to upload it again in the future.
Got old media you want to upload? Head back to the album and choose Bulk Actions > Upload to Smart Device from the menu on the left. Select the items you want to upload and then hit the blue “Upload” button. You can upload 20 items at a time.
4Maximum Headphone Volume is Limited by Default
This is probably a good thing, but the Switch 2 limits the maximum volume for headphone users by default. If you’re having issues with low volume while using the 3.5mm stereo output or Bluetooth headphones, turning this setting off will probably help.
Head to System Settings > Audio and scroll down until you see “Lower Maximum Headphone Volume” and turn this setting off. you’re able to use the “Test Output” button to preview the change.
5Reduce Auto-Sleep Time to Save Battery
To really maximize battery life, you’ll want to make sure your console enters sleep mode soon after playing. To do this, you can reduce the auto-sleep timer to as little as a minute when no input is detected.
To do this, head to System Settings > Sleep Mode and change the “Auto-Sleep (Playing on Console Screen)” setting to a value of your choosing. You can do the same for “Auto-Sleep (Connected to TV)” but this won’t affect the battery life, since the Switch is connected to power in docked mode.
6Console Lock
Want to stop others from messing with your Switch 2? Enable the console lock to stop others from playing games, making progress in your save files, or buying things in the eShop without your express permission.
You’ll find this setting under System Settings > System by scrolling down until you see “Console Lock” and flipping the toggle. You’ll be prompted to set a PIN, which you’ll need to input every time the console wakes. Combine this with a super short auto-sleep timer (above) to safeguard your data.
While this setting may seem like the nuclear option, consider that you’re able to always share the PIN with a trusted party while locking everyone else out.
7Remap the C Button
The Switch 2 features a new C button on the right Joy-Con (or to the right-hand side of the Switch 2 Pro Controller). This enables GameChat, Nintendo’s take on Discord which is free for all users until August 09, 2025. After this, you’ll need to pay for a Nintendo Switch Online membership to use the service.
Even if you’re a keen online gamer, you might not find much use for GameChat. If this is the case, you can remap the button to something else or disable it entirely if you’re sick of accidentally hitting it and triggering the feature.
Head to System Settings > Accessibility > Change Button Mapping and then select the controller you want to configure. Now select the C button from the list of available options and choose what to do with it. You’ll find the option to disable the button entirely at the bottom of the list.
One good idea is to map it as a Capture button so that you have the ability to take a screenshot or video from either Joy-Con. You could also map it to an analog stick press if you find this a bit awkward.
8Enable the Dark Theme
The launch-edition Switch 2 console has a dark appearance that is crying out for a dark theme. If you play your console at night, enabling the dark theme is an absolute no-brainer. If you have an OLED TV, enabling the dark theme will prevent the automatic brightness limiter (ABL) from kicking in every time you go back to the Switch 2 dashboard. Furthermore, dark mode just looks better.
If you’re not already using dark mode, head to System Settings > Themes and switch to Dark. Here’s hoping Nintendo actually adds a few more themes to the Switch 2, something that was painfully absent last time around.
9Auto Brightness
If saving battery is your thing, you’ll probably want to leave auto brightness enabled. As you’d expect, this setting automatically adjusts screen brightness depending on the ambient lighting conditions. But if you prefer to keep the screen brightness at one set level, and you’re not too worried about battery consumption, you can turn it off.
The easiest way to do this is to hold the HOME button and then use the “Automatic Brightness” toggle, but there’s also a “Screen Brightness” tab within the console settings. With the setting off, you’ll want to make use of this panel to adjust the brightness using the slider. If you’re playing plugged in all of the time, you’ll probably want to leave this jacked up anyway.
10Screen Burn-In Reduction
Nintendo turned the Switch 2’s burn-in reduction on by default, which is great for OLED owners who want to avoid the risk of permanent and temporary image retention. This setting will dim the display output after five minutes of inactivity.
But if you have a regular old LED-lit LCD TV, you can safely turn this off without any downsides. This will keep your Switch 2 pumping out a bright image, even if you put the controller down for a second. It’s great if you’re a bit of an idle gamer who is easily distracted, or if you’re doing something tedious that doesn’t actually require your hands on the controller. Switch it off under System Settings > Display using the “Screen Burn-In Reduction” toggle.
