Can you have 2 primary consoles on Switch?

Answered by Michael Wilson

It is not possible to have two primary consoles for your Nintendo Account on the Nintendo Switch. According to Nintendo’s official guidelines, only one console can be designated as the primary console for your account at any given time.

When you first connect to the Nintendo eShop on your Nintendo Switch, that console automatically becomes your primary console. This means that any user account on that specific console will be able to access and play the downloadable content that you have purchased.

It is important to note that while your primary console allows for easy access to your purchased content, you can still access your Nintendo Account and redownload your purchased content on any other Nintendo Switch console. However, on non-primary consoles, only the Nintendo Account that made the purchase will have access to the downloadable content.

Having a primary console can be beneficial for households with multiple users or for those who frequently share their console with friends or family members. It ensures that everyone on the primary console can enjoy the purchased content without needing to sign in with the account that made the purchase.

However, if you have multiple Nintendo Switch consoles and would like to have the same access to your purchased content on all of them, you can manually designate a different console as your primary console by accessing the eShop settings on that particular console.

It is worth mentioning that while only one console can be designated as the primary console, you can still play your purchased digital games on any other Nintendo Switch console as long as you are signed in to your Nintendo Account and have an active internet connection. This allows for flexibility in playing your games on different consoles, but the primary console designation is what allows other user accounts on that console to access the content without needing to sign in with the purchasing account.

Nintendo allows for only one primary console per Nintendo Account on the Nintendo Switch. This ensures that all users on the primary console can easily access and enjoy the downloadable content purchased by the account, while other consoles can still access the content but require the purchasing account to be signed in.