Nintendo Switch
(Photo : Unsplash/ Alvaro Reyes) Nintendo Switch console

Even though putting your Nintendo Switch to sleep is very easy, powering down your Switch completely or even restarting it requires an extra step that is not obvious. Here is how you can do it.

Normally, when you tap the power button that is located on the top edge of your Nintendo Switch, it puts the console into a low-power Sleep mode, but it does not turn off completely.

If you would like to preserve battery life, are not planning on using your Nintendo Switch for a while, or want to troubleshoot a bug, you will need to turn off the console completely.

How to Shut Down Your Nintendo Switch

First, you need to locate the power button on the top edge of your Switch console. On the original Switch, Switch Lite and OLED Switch, you will find the power button located on the left side near the volume buttons. Press and hold the button for at least three seconds.

The screen will darken and a special system menu will appear. Choose Power Options. On the power options menu, select Turn Off. Alternately, you can select Restart here if you want to perform a complete reboot of your Switch.

Also Read: Nintendo Switch E3 Sale is Coming, So Prepare your Wallet

Your Nintendo Switch's screen will go black and it will shut down completely. Unlike in Sleep mode, while turned off in this way, your Switch won't use any battery life or network data, according to HowtoGeek.

How to Force Your Switch to Turn Off

If your Nintendo Switch is unresponsive and won't shut down the normal way, press and hold the power button on the top-left edge of the console for around 12 seconds to force the device to shut down, acording to LifeWire.

This long-press technique should only be used in emergencies when your Switch is malfunctioning.

Otherwise, you could potentially lose game saves or corrupt system data if you perform a forced power off frequently.

Long-pressing a power button to force a device to shut off can potentially corrupt the operating system on the device.

You should shut it down gracefully instead using a software option or by pressing the button once without holding it to either initiate a software shutdown or put the device to sleep.

In the old days, most power switches physically disconnected power from the device. Flipping or pressing them would break a circuit, stopping the flow of electricity that powered the gadget.

Today, most power switches on smart devices like tablets, PCs, smartphones, and game consoles are what engineers call soft switches.

When you push them, they send a signal to an intelligent circuit to begin a shutdown process that is often controlled by a computer operating system, according to Business Insider.

Sometime that shutdown process does not work properly, so many soft switches have a backup mode where you can hold them down for several seconds instead of a momentary touch to force a device to turn off. But that is not the ideal way to always shut down a smart device, it should only be reserved for emergencies.

How to Turn On Your Nintendo Switch

To power your Nintendo Switch back on, press and hold the power button on the top edge of the console until the Nintendo logo appears.

You can get a screen protector for your Nintendo Switch for its security.

You can also watch Netflix on your Nintendo Switch.

Related Article: Nintendo Switch: Bluetooth Support for Headphones; Here's How to Turn it On

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Written by Sophie Webster

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