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Here's How To Transfer Your Nintendo Switch Data To The OLED Model

The Nintendo Switch has been one of the most successful consoles in recent memory, selling millions of units and accruing massive sales in the digital market as well. Still, the console came out back in 2017, and many fans are eager for it to receive a makeover. A lot of gamers were underwhelmed with the OLED Nintendo Switch announcement, though. It costs more and doesn't address many of the features they wanted to see in a new Switch, like the ability to game in 4K or fixing Joy-Con drift. The OLED model will offer Nintendo fans a few significant advantages over the Switch launch edition, though. It will have a new, brighter 7 inch OLED screen, better speakers, an adjustable dock, 64 GB of internal storage and an ethernet port, which will be a major boon to anyone looking to play games online or else stream them through Nintendo's cloud gaming service. Many gamers are already looking to upgrade.

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Some stores are even offering trade-in deals, like the one from GameStop that allows players in Europe to exchange their old Switch, two games and an additional €64.99 for the new OLED model. But once you have your new Switch, how do you migrate your data? It turns out the process is actually quite simple.

Things to keep in mind before starting the transfer

Nintendo linked to its support page in the announcement for the new OLED Switch, but didn't provide a specific guide on how to transfer digital games and save data from an old Switch to a new, upgraded console. It does have a guide, though, and it turns out that it's the same method which can be used to transfer data between any two Switch consoles. There are a few things you should know before you begin.

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To complete this process, users need to already have both the source system (old Switch) and the target system (new OLED Switch) and both consoles need to be in close proximity. Users also need access to the internet. Both systems need to be updated to system menu version 4.0.0 or higher and a Nintendo account must be linked to the user account you wish to transfer from the source system. Do not link that same account on the target system prior to the transfer.

It's also worth noting that this doesn't create a copy. The user information, save data, and software purchased with the user account will not remain on the source system.

Steps to transfer Switch data

Once users have both systems set up, they can start the process by logging into the 'Home' menu on the source system. Select 'System Settings,' then 'Users," and then 'Transfer Your User Data.' From there, select 'Next' and then 'Next' a second time, before selecting 'Source Console.' Finally, hit 'Continue' and then move over to the new OLED Switch.

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The process on the new console is similar. From the 'Home' menu, select 'System Settings,' then 'Users," and then 'Transfer Your User Data.' From there, select 'Next' and then 'Next' a second time. Only this time, users should select "Target Console' and then sign in to their Nintendo account when prompted before hitting 'Next."

Now, back to the source system. Wait for the target system to appear on the screen. When it does, select 'Transfer.' This will initiate the transfer of data from the users old Switch to their new OLED console. Once the transfer is complete, select 'End' to complete the process.

Digital games can then be re-downloaded from the Nintendo Store while physical games can be re-installed using the game disc and gamers can start right where they left off on their brand new OLED Switch.

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