If your Nintendo Switch console has system 11.0.0 or higher, you can now wirelessly transfer up to 1
How does it work?
When you share screenshots or videos from your Switch to a smart device via a QR code, the Switch will first create its own local Wi-Fi access point. Then it shares how to connect to it with your phone via QR code. Upon receipt, your smartphone will temporarily connect to the switch’s local Wi-Fi network.
The Switch then gives you a second QR code. This will give your phone the address of the temporary web server in the Switch with links to the screenshots and videos you have shared. From there you can download the images or videos to your phone.
Once done, the Wi-Fi network will disappear from the Switch and your smart device will automatically reconnect to the usual Wi-Fi access point. It’s pretty weird, but it works with iPhones, Android phones, iPads, Kindle Fires, or any other mobile device.
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Share locally Switch screenshots and videos via QR code
To share media from your switch, you must first make sure that the system has 11.0.0 or higher. If so, open “System Settings”, navigate to “System” and select “System Update”.
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Then from the Home menu, select the Album icon (the circle with a rectangular photo of some Mario-style curved hills).
Find and select the photo or video you want to share with your smartphone, then press A to open “Share and Edit”.
In the ‘Share and edit’ sidebar, select the option ‘Send to smartphone’.
A popup will appear asking if you want to share ‘Only This One’ or if you’d rather share ‘Send a Batch’. The batch option sends up to 10 images and 1 video at a time, and you can select them in a convenient thumbnail interface.
However, for our example, we’ll select ‘Only these’.
The “Send to smartphone” screen appears with a QR code in it. Open the Camera app on your smartphone or tablet and scan the QR code. We use an iPhone, but it also works with iPads and Android devices that can scan QR codes.
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After scanning the code, tap “Join” in the notification asking if you want to connect to the Switch’s local Wi-Fi network. It has a name like ‘switch_8057C0001’. It looks a bit scary, but don’t worry – you just connect to your local Switch unit.
After your smart device connects, a second QR code will appear on your switch.
Scan it with your smart device, then tap the link in the notification that appears to open it in a browser.
You will then see a webpage with a thumbnail of the image you have chosen to share. If you choose to share a batch of images, they will all appear on this page as thumbnails.
From there you can save any image or video to your device. To do this on an iPhone, touch and hold an image for a moment, then tap “Add to Photos” in the menu that appears.
After that, go back to your Switch and tap ‘End’.
This will disconnect the Wi-Fi connection and shortly afterwards your smartphone should automatically reconnect to the desired Wi-Fi access point. If not, you will need to visit your device’s settings and reconnect manually.
If you ever need to transfer more Switch screenshots in the future, you can also move them to a PC or Mac with a microSD card or USB cable.
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