Gamers are just realizing Nintendo Switch ‘boost tricks’ instantly extend battery life
NINTENDO’S Switch works just fine as a living room console hooked up to your TV – but a big perk is the ability to take it with you anywhere.
If you regularly use your Nintendo Switch on the move, there are some battery life tips you’ll want to know.
It’s especially important if you’re going to be without charge for a while.
A Switch typically offers up between 4.5 and 9 hours of battery life, according to Nintendo.
How you use the console will affect which end of the range you’ll get.
So making some simple changes to your settings could be exactly what you need to boost your battery life.
It’s worth nothing that the Joy-Cons will last longer than the screen.
Nintendo expects them to last for up to 20 hours, so they’ll typically outlast your console by a large margin.
How to extend Nintendo Switch battery life
One of the easiest and most effective changes you can make is to lower the screen brightness.
Go into Settings and drag the slider as far down as you’re comfortable with. Make sure you can still see your game, of course.
It’s also fine to set Automatic Brightness if you’d typically just have the slider set to max.
That way, you’ll find yourself using lower brightnesses automatically – rather than always leaving it maxed out.
You should also turn off Controller Vibration (and HD Rumble as an extension of that) to conserve battery life.
Turning Airplane Mode on is another good way to save battery life.
That’s because actively seeking out (and then using) Wi-Fi puts strain on the battery.
Another helpful change is to lower the Auto-Sleep setting to as low as possible – try one or three minutes.
That way, your Nintendo Switch won’t be using loads of battery life if you forget to switch it off.
Finally, make sure that you’re generally treating your battery well.
This isn’t a trick, but it’s good advice for any portable device.
What’s particularly (and permanently) damaging for a battery like the one inside your Nintendo Switch is severe heat.
If your Switch is constantly overheating, that is very bad for your battery health – and you’ll find you run out of charge faster in the log run.