My switch lite formatted itself. | /r/NintendoSwitch | Page 1

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 6:23 AM

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My switch light suddenly formatted itself after forcing tears of the kingdom to update, and now i don't know what i'm going to do because i lost ALL of my game data. is this a common issue? is there really no way for me to get my saved data back?

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:35 AM

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modern acorn My switch light suddenly formatted itself after forcing tears of the kingdom to ...

I have never heard of the Switch format itself before. And there are 2 different types of "format": factory reset and initialize.

Initialize would keep your save data, and factory reset would wipe everything including your login info.

Which of the 2 happened to you?

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:35 AM

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lone stirrup I have never heard of the Switch format itself before. And there are 2 different...

it was initialize i think, but it entirely wiped my SD card

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none of my saves, nothing

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it kept claiming my sd card belonged to a different switch

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:36 AM

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None of your save as in the save data is still there or they are gone?

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microSD card will be formatted during initialize, yeah

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:36 AM

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they were all on my sd card, which it entirely wiped with the warning "this sd card belongs to another switch"

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:36 AM

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Not really

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save data is not on the microSD card

void swiftBOT Jul 17, 2023, 8:36 AM

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data

SWITCH'S DATA ALLOCATION

･ All data, including games' install data (the game + DLC + Update), screenshots, gameplay capture videos, users' settings & save data are initially stored on the Switch's internal memory.

･ From the moment a microSD card is put into the Switch, all future games' install data, screenshots, gameplay capture videos will be stored into that microSD card. This will be applied to any other subsequent microSD card put into the Switch.

･ Past games' install data, screenshots, gameplay capture videos will not be automatically moved over to the newly inserted microSD card and will stay in the Switch's internal memory or previous microSD card. You can manually move them in System Settings ⚙️ > Data Management.

※ Important: Users' settings and Save Data will always remain on the Switch's internal memory and cannot be moved over to the microSD card.

･ In order to move data from one microSD card to another, type !tag sdt for a guide.

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:36 AM

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^

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:37 AM

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all of my saves were on my sd card i had transfered all of it to my sd card

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because switch lites don't have that much space

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:38 AM

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You cannot move your save data out of the internal memory. They are forced to always be stored on your Switch, not the microSD card.

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If you want, go to System Settings > Data Management > Delete save data (it's just a menu) and check all the games' save data in there.

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:39 AM

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none of it's there

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:39 AM

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Oh boy

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There's a possiblity of a memory chip issue, which is quite rare.

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:40 AM

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my switch has done this once in the past too, when i first got it

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:40 AM

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Really? Darn

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It sounds more and more like a hardware problem

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:40 AM

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yeah, it was a christmas gift from my sister like 2 years ago

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oh boy

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:40 AM

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When you first come back to your Switch with this issue

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:40 AM

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that's not something i wanna hear as some guy with no income lmao

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:40 AM

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Did you see your account still logged in?

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like it's still there in the console

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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No, but it tried to relog me in when it turned on

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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Oh no

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it was factory reset

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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oh boy

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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Not initialize

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It asked for password?

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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yeah

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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did it ask you for both username and password?

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like it's a new Switch

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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it couldn't connect to the wifi and restarted itself like 6 times

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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<

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:41 AM

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lone stirrup like it's a new Switch

it did when it turned on the 6th time

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:42 AM

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I'm sorry but it's clearly hardware issue at this point

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:42 AM

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it also refused to connect to the internet the first 5 times

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:42 AM

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You didn't have Nintendo Switch Online subscription?

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:42 AM

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no

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can't afford it unfortunately :')

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:42 AM

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Ah then no way we can recover the save data

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I'm sorry but not much else we can do but to send this into repair

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:42 AM

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unfortunately i wish there was like limited space cloud saves for non switch online subscribers

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and idk why this switch acts like this and has since i got it (idk if this is related, but it also drifts???)

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it's a switch lite, and that makes it more annoying

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:43 AM

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Yeah, there's no such behavior from a normal Switch

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This process need to be manually trigger on the console

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not even remotely, you have to go through several steps to trigger it

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and beside that, you still have some odd behaviors that sound like hardware issue

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:44 AM

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oh boy
does that mean my switch this whole time has had hardware issues since this behavior for it is it's normal

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:45 AM

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modern acorn oh boy does that mean my switch this whole time has had hardware issues since th...

Yeah, at least since the first time it starts doing that.

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:46 AM

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oh jeeze

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now i'm kinda wishing i spoke about it's weird behavior sooner because this switch is 2 years old and it was doing it since i got it

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and it was brand new when i got it

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:47 AM

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Aaw

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:47 AM

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it was acting weird straight from the box

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:47 AM

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If you have asked about it back then we could have sent it to repair with warranty

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:47 AM

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unfortunately i don't even think it had warrenty on it when it was bought

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:48 AM

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Default warranty is 1 year in most market

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:48 AM

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it only does the wiping thing when games forcefully update themselves (hence why my autoupdate is off all the time)

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:48 AM

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2 years in EU

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:48 AM

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it was bought at a walmart in the us lol

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:48 AM

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modern acorn it only does the wiping thing when games forcefully update themselves (hence why...

No, not really, it wouldn't do that

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:48 AM

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modern acorn it was bought at a walmart in the us lol

Then it's a NA warranty

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:49 AM

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i mean i know it's not suppose to, but it's done that ever since i got it, and sometimes games still auto update despite auto update being off then it causes my switch to throw a fit and absolutely wipe itself

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:49 AM

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Hmm

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Tbh I have never disable auto-update myself so I can't say it can cause such issue

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but update for games are often stored in the firmware of the Switch

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:50 AM

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i have had it looked at at a nintendo store in my city, where they concluded it was a software issue

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though

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:50 AM

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whenever the Switch updates its firmware it will "know" which game need to be updated

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Did you at least allow it to update firmware?

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:50 AM

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yeah

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:51 AM

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Hmm, let's say it's a software issue

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We can try something to prevent it

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But it doesn't mean you can recover your save data

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We just simply create an ideal environment of "normal working condition"

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and then monitor if it still has issue or not

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if it doesn't, great, if it does, not much we can do but to send it to repair

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You feel me?

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:52 AM

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it's a very interesting issue to say the least, auto update being off seems to prevent a lot of issues like that, but if it's definately prone to sudden fits too including the screen not responding to touch at random but the game still working fine ect

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and it's not that it doesn't detect the touch for the games either

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:52 AM

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We can test that

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:52 AM

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it's like delayed??

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:52 AM

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Maybe the game caused some bug

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:53 AM

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it's so weird and frustrating because it only happens with physical copies of games

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:53 AM

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or disable touch screen temporary

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You can go to System Settings > Controllers and sensors

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in there you can do input test

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:53 AM

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lone stirrup or disable touch screen temporary

i usually do because it's annoying lol

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oh yeah

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good idea actually

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:53 AM

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use the joystick calibration to test the joystick

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and there's also touch screen calibration that can use for testing the touch screen

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Do it first then come back here I can tell you how to set this thing up properly

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Then we can try to monitor it from there

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:56 AM

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it was so weird seeing how the right stick wasn't properly calabrated but everything else was

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:57 AM

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I can help with stick drift issue as well but

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that's another story eh?

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:57 AM

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hm

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that's interesting

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i got curious and checked the album right

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and the screenshots i took before it reset are still there

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 8:57 AM

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Can you check in data management if they are stored in system's memory or the microSD?

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 8:58 AM

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good idea lemme go look

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on the microsd

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which the console wiped as soon as it turned itself back on the 6th time

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which is weird that it kept those two screenshots and nothing else???

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which are screenshots from the 20th and the 30th of last month

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:03 AM

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haha

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:03 AM

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idk if that matters or not, but i find it interesting

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:03 AM

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Yeah this is a weird ass issue

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:03 AM

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because all the other screenshots are gone including the 30 minute video of me jumping on and off the fire dragon

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:04 AM

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But this means some data was loss, which sounds like hardware issue

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Still, we can always hope it's software

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Anyway, I won't be able to stay for long

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I suggest you do a new factory reset or initialize, then enable auto update for games

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then run it like a normal Switch but

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get the free trial for Nintendo Switch Online

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it will let your save data to be stored on NIntendo server for at least 6 months

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Then keep running it like that, keep an eye on any strange behavior

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:26 AM

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thanks biggy

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:27 AM

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I'm always around but can only answer when I'm free. So feel free to leave a message, I can answer later.

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:27 AM

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Thanks mate

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it actually means a lot to me and if it works well i'm gonna be so happy

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:28 AM

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Haha we don't know yet, I hope so though

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:29 AM

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crossing my fingers

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:29 AM

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Formatting methods you can do

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For intialize, check below

void swiftBOT Jul 17, 2023, 9:29 AM

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init

HOW TO INITIALIZE WITHOUT DELETING SAVE DATA

§ Initialization is a semi-format solution that will wipe all the data on your Switch, except for save data, screenshots, and your user account information, then restore the system software back to its original state. It will help eliminating software issues.

※ Note: This process will delete all games' install data and pictures/videos stored on your microSD card, since it will format your card . Your save data will be safe. You can backup or move the data around in System Setting ⚙️ > Data Management.
⚠︎ Exception: Animal Crossing: New Horizon's save data will be lost through this process. Please backup or transfer your ACNH's save data before attempting this.

1. Ensure the console is power off.

If the console does not respond, hold down the POWER Button for twelve seconds to force it to shut down.
2. With the console powered off, press and hold down the Volume up (+) and Volume down (-) buttons, then press the POWER Button to turn the system on.
Keep holding down the Volume buttons until the menu for Maintenance Mode appears.
---Stop here if you just want to access Maintenance/Recovery mode---

3. Once in Maintenance Mode, select Initialize Console Without Deleting Save Data.

If a Parental Control PIN has been set for the system, you will be prompted to enter it to proceed.
4. Read through the information, then select Next > Initialize Console Without Deleting Save Data.

‣ Source: Nintendo official guide

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:29 AM

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For factory reset, it's in System Settings > Systems > Formatting options

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:29 AM

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i'm intializing

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:29 AM

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Take out your microSD card first

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you can backup the screeshot/video on your computer

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Transferring them back to your Switch is hard but possible

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If you want to go through that hassle, here's the method

void swiftBOT Jul 17, 2023, 9:30 AM

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sdt

TRANSFER DATA ON MICROSD CARD

§ These are instructions on how to deal with data on microSD card, transferring them between different cards or between Switch consoles.

※ Note
● MicroSD card only contain screenshot/gameplay capture video and games' install data. Save data is stored on the Switch's internal memory and cannot be moved to microSD card.
● You can move data between the microSD card and the Switch's internal memory by going into System Setting ⚙️ > Data Management.

■ Transfer a microSD card to a different Switch
1. Make sure you have transferred the profiles that own games to the new Switch. Otherwise the console will not recognize the data. Type !tag save for more info.
2. Simply plug the old microSD card into the new Switch and check your content in System Setting ⚙️ > Data Management. Games' data and screenshot/gameplay capture should be present.
※ If it doesn't work, backup the data on your computer, format the card with the Switch, then put the data back on the card.

■ Transfer data between microSD card
You will need a device that can read and format microSD card. Either PC/MAC computer or smartphone/tablet.
1. Determine the File System of the old microSD card.
2. Format the new microSD card to the same File System.
3. Use the Switch to format the new microSD card one more time.
4. Copy and paste the files from the old microSD card over to the new one. Following the correct folder's location.

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:30 AM

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nah, they aren't useful screenshots, just random ones i took lol

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:30 AM

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Then no need to worry then

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You have a computer with microSD card reader?

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:30 AM

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nope, but i have a phone with one

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but i also noticed that it allows me to send my screenshots to my phone if it's connected via bluetooth which is neat

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:31 AM

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yeah but that feature is a chore to use x)

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Well, anyway, I'll be off. Good luck.

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You can always update this thread or make a new one.

modern acorn Jul 17, 2023, 9:32 AM

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hope your day goes well! and of course! i'll most likely update this thread to prevent clutter :D

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i'm super glad i met you mate

lone stirrup Jul 17, 2023, 9:33 AM

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https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/608144052499775500/799429093611012136/16846760.gif

#My switch lite formatted itself.