How to Get Longer Battery Life on Your Nintendo Switch

During the global pandemic, the Nintendo Switch has seen almost unprecedented success. It’s a fantastic console that lets you take games wherever you’d like to play them. Unfortunately, the Switch doesn’t have the battery life necessary for lengthy gaming sessions away from an outlet.

In this post, we cover five ways to get longer battery life on your Nintendo Switch. Let’s begin with some simple tweaks.

Also read: How to Move Nintendo Switch Games to SD Card

1. Lower Your Screen’s Brightness

Almost any digital device with a screen will drain the battery when the brightness is jacked up. Fortunately, turning the screen brightness down is simple and one of the easiest ways to conserve the battery life of your Nintendo Switch.

To do this, head to the “System Settings” page of the Home screen.

Here, tap on “Screen Brightness” in the column on the left. Next, turn the “Automatic Brightness” option to Off. To conserve the battery, we need to control the screen brightness by adjusting the brightness slider:

Of course, this is going to be a pain if you want to change the brightness during play. Fortunately, there’s a shortcut. Simply hold the Home button to pull up the “Quick Settings” screen. This will let you change the brightness on the fly, along with some other options.

2. Disable Joy-Con Vibrations

Nintendo’s Joy-Con controllers have vibration feedback that lets them react to the on-screen action. Given that the motors that drive these vibrations need battery power, this will eat away at your reserves. To conserve energy, you can turn the vibrations off.

To do this, access the “System Settings” from the Home menu and look for the “Controllers and Sensors” settings.

Here, you can toggle the “Controller Vibration” option either On or Off. The battery power it conserves may be negligible in some cases, but it goes toward the total sum saved.

Also read: Best Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Alternatives

Also read: How to Set Up VisualBoyAdvance-M Emulator on Windows

3. Purchase a Portable Charger

If you’re going to be away from an outlet for a long period of time, a portable charger is a wise investment. Granted, a large-capacity portable charger can be a bit cumbersome, although the benefits (literally) outweigh the odds.

There are a number of portable chargers available for the Nintendo Switch. However, the Anker PowerCore II 20000 is a solid battery that offers plenty of grunt. You may also be able to find the older 13400 edition, made specifically for the Switch.

Do also check out the best battery cases for the Nintendo Switch, as that offers a great start for finding a suitable battery for on-the-go gaming.

4. Turn on Flight Mode

Flight Mode will be familiar to anyone who flies for travel. Wireless communications, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, all consume power, and Flight Mode turns them all off. As such, you can “eke” out a little bit more battery life when you’re on the go.

To do this, head once again to the “System Settings” screen from the Home screen and look for the “Flight Mode” menu.

Here, toggle the dedicated option, and you’re good to go. You can also do this from the “Quick Settings” menu.

Finally, note that you can’t use the Joy-Cons in Flight Mode if they’re detached from the console – although, they will still function if left attached.

Also read: How to Fix Controller Drift on Joy Con and Other Gaming Controllers

5. Set Up Sleep Mode

The Nintendo Switch has a Sleep Mode that lets the console hibernate when it’s not in use. This will shut off most of the console’s functionality (including the screen) and suspends your game.

Any button press will wake the Nintendo Switch and let you resume gaming. By default, Sleep Mode kicks in after ten minutes. However, you can change this, among other related options.

Again, you’ll need to head into the “System Settings” menu and look for “Sleep Mode.”

Next, look for the “Auto-Sleep (Playing on Console Screen)” option. Here, you can change the time in increments from 1 to 30 minutes.

Note that you can also turn Sleep Mode off in this menu if you’re watching media content and even set auto-sleep when using the Switch through the TV.

Wrapping Up

The Nintendo Switch is arguably the most fun console on the market. Whether you take things slow on Animal Crossing or fly at the supersonic 200cc speeds on Mario Kart, you’re guaranteed a great time. However, the battery life could drop quickly if you’re on the move. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to keep the juice flowing, such as dimming the brightness or purchasing a portable battery.

In fact, if you’re looking for fun on the Switch that isn’t a game, we’ve published a post on that! Which method do you use to extend your battery life? Let us know in the comments section below!