With so many fantastic games released for the Nintendo Switch year after year, it's unsurprising that many players are looking for a way to get more storage for their handheld consoles. Thankfully, Nintendo makes it easy to expand your Switch storage with a microSD card.

After inserting a compatible microSD card into your console, all future games downloaded and their accompanying data will be stored on it, except for save files.

How to Use a microSD Card With Your Switch

Once you find the best microSD card for your Switch, here's how you can mount it to your Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch (OLED Model):

  1. Turn off your Nintendo Switch console.
  2. On the back of your Switch, flip open the stand.
    Flip Open Back of Switch Stand
  3. With the label facing away from the console, position your microSD card into the slot.
    Insert the microSD into Nintendo Switch
  4. Insert the microSD card into the card slot until you hear a click.
    Fully inserted microSD in Switch

Alternatively, if you are using a Nintendo Switch Lite, you can also find the microSD card slot cover on the back of your console on the lower-left side.

To check if your microSD card was successfully mounted on your Switch, you can click System Settings > Data Management. Then, check if the microSD card appears on the right-hand side of the screen. From here, you can also use data management to free up space on your Switch.

Switch Data Management

With a microSD card, you don't just get access to more storage for your downloaded Switch games, but you can also save and transfer screenshots of your favorite games to your Windows PC or Mac.

Enjoy More Storage on Your Switch With Your microSD Card

Bear in mind that when you use a microSD card with a Nintendo Switch, it will be paired to that specific console. With this, it won't work if you're planning to use it to expand storage on a different Switch. However, you can erase the existing contents of the microSD card if you want to re-use it on a different Switch.

With time, external storage becomes even more affordable, so delaying the purchase can mean more bang for your buck later on. Just make sure that you avoid the common mistakes people make when they buy microSD cards when you do.