Nintendo Switch: Wi-Fi Connection Issues for Some Players

Try turning the Switch on and off.

By Wesley Copeland

Multiple Switch users are reporting Wi-Fi connection problems.

As spotted by Polygon, Switch owners have taken to sites like GameFAQs, NeoGAF, and Reddit, to vent their frustration over long buffering times on eShop trailers, low signal strength, and slower-than-expected download speeds.

For anyone experiencing problems, the Nintendo support site recommends either turning the Switch on and off, restarting your home network, creating a new Internet connection, moving the Switch closer to the router, or moving any metal objects near the Switch to somewhere else. If the problems persist, Nintendo says to make sure your router is running the latest firmware or perhaps try resetting your router back to its factory settings.

According to a video by iFixit, the Switch’s Wi-Fi supports both 2G and 5G. 2G offers a longer range, but will often result in slower speeds depending on how many other devices are connected, while 5G trades shorter range for a faster connection.

“My system gets roughly 50meg in speed tests on a 250[MB] connection using 5ghz,” says NeoGaf user Lucifon. “Both 5ghz and 2.4ghz report 2 bars signal despite being metres from the router across the room. The XB1 and PS4 right next to the Switch both get 100% WiFi connections.”

Of course, when it comes to Internet speeds there are myriad possible problems which could affect connectivity and speed. Suffice it to say, we’ve reached out to Nintendo and will update should they break their silence.

Nintendo has recently started to acknowledge some of the problems Switch players have started encountering - namely, the notorious left Joy-Con, which has been widely-reported to be suffering from connection problems. Also, while we’re here, you probably shouldn’t buy a skin for your Switch. Oh, and you can’t transfer saves should your Switch break.

Now all the bad news is out the way, why not take this time to go read or watch our glowing Zelda: Breath of the Wild review, where we said the game “is a masterclass in open-world design and a watershed game that reinvents a 30-year-old franchise.”

Wesley Copeland is a freelance news writer who writes excellent bios. For more obvious statements and video game chat, you should probably follow him on Twitter.

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