Did you pick up a Switch 2 recently, or are thinking of getting one in the next few weeks? One of the best things about Nintendo’s new console is the ability to play games anywhere thanks to its portability.
Unfortunately, portability doesn’t mean much without battery life and the Switch 2 already struggles out of the gate in this department. Here’s how to give your Switch 2 a fighting chance at keeping the lights on for years to come.
You Can Limit Charging on Switch 2
The Switch 2 includes a feature that was sadly absent on the original Switch but has become standard on many smartphones, tablets, and laptops in the years following its release: the ability to limit charging when the battery reaches 90%.
It is commonly accepted that the lithium-ion batteries that are found in consoles like the Switch 2 have a longer lifespan when their charge levels are kept somewhere between 40 and 80%. Letting the battery deplete completely or storing them at 100% charge degrades the cells faster.
As part of normal use, these batteries will degrade over time. This means that as time wares on, regardless of what you do, your Nintendo Switch 2 battery will hold less and less charge. It’s normal to expect a smartphone to lose around 30% of its charge in around three years of “normal” use, but some manage to degrade even faster than that.
With less charge available in the cell, your console’s battery life simply won’t last as long. You’ll get less and less playtime on a single charge, which is a big issue for the Switch 2 since Nintendo quotes a slightly disappointing “2.5 – 6 hours” of playtime before you’ll need to reach for the cable.
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You can always augment your Switch 2’s capabilities by adding an external USB-C battery pack or eventually replacing the cell inside it with a fresh one, but you can keep the internal battery in better condition simply by avoiding charging it to 100% by enabling a setting.
It’s worth noting that if you’ve been using your Switch for several weeks or months and you’ve yet to enable limited charging, all is not lost. Battery degradation is a slow process that happens over time. There’s never a bad time to enable the setting, so don’t beat yourself up about not doing it sooner.
Where to Find the Setting
To limit charging to 90% on your Switch 2, wake the system and head to System Settings > System. Scroll down until you find the “Stop Charging Around 90%” option and toggle it on. You can also enable the battery percentage display using the toggle just above it.
That’s all you need to do! Note that Nintendo states that, from time to time, the battery will charge to 100% regardless of this setting being enabled. This is to ensure that the battery capacity reading remains accurate. You won’t need to do anything, nor will you have a say when this happens (so don’t freak out if you see the battery percentage at 100%).
This setting is worth enabling for any Switch owner who’s happy to take a 10% penalty in the short term for better returns over time, but it’s especially relevant if you spend a lot of time with your Switch in the dock. Since the Switch charges up whenever it is docked, limiting this charge to 90% will help mitigate any accelerated degradation incurred by keeping the cell at or near 100%.
You Can Always Turn This Setting Off Occasionally
Some devices, like smartphones, offer the option to “Charge to 100%” even when this setting is enabled but the Switch lacks any sort of prompt. This means that if you want 100% of your potential battery capacity, you’ll need to head back to the System Settings > System menu and turn the setting off.
This could be a good idea if you know the extra 10% will be worth it, like when you intend to use your Switch 2 on a flight or a long car journey. You’ll get greater peace of mind with a USB power bank so if you travel frequently then consider investing in one of those instead.
I wish that Nintendo had included this option on the original Switch, way back in 2017. As someone who picked up a Switch on launch day and eventually devolved to the point of keeping their console in the dock for much of its life span, I can say that I’ve trashed the battery life (though the console itself is still going strong).
Your Switch 2 is there to be picked up, played with, and put down again—not nursed over the best part of a decade. This setting lets you easily limit charging and forget about min-maxing battery health and maximum charge so you can get on with important things like playing games instead.
- 4K Capability
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Yes
- Brand
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Nintendo
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the company’s latest hybrid home console, with more powerful graphics and processing, a larger 7.9” LCD touch screen with support for HDR, and more online features.