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Nintendo is a popular name all over the world and because of its amazing features and games, it has successfully created a huge audience worldwide. Not only are its games fun to play with many of them being unique to Nintendo but the consoles over the years have been unique as well.
That is certainly true with the Nintendo Switch as you can play it as a handheld console and also as a traditional one on your TV!
The Nintendo Switch has been very popular with over 50 million consoles being sold but unfortunately many people have reported having issues with getting banned! It is easy to say that you won’t get banned but the punishment is quite severe in that if you do get banned with your Switch you lose all of the online capabilities of the system (which are a lot).
Obviously you will want to do everything in your power to keep from getting banned but to do that you need to know what is ban worthy and Nintendo just points to their generic terms and conditions and community standards which are virtually impossible to read and even harder to understand.
That is where this article comes in. We have tried to demystify the entire banning experience and tell you what you need to do to avoid being banned on the Nintendo Switch.
To avoid being banned you will want to follow a few simple guidelines. They are:
- Don’t use pirated games or software
- Don’t use vulgar images or language
- Don’t buy a used console
- Don’t buy games from online marketplaces
- Don’t attempt to hack your console
We will discuss each of these in more detail below but if you follow these 5 simple guidelines you shouldn’t ever have to worry about your Switch being banned.
If you prefer to watch a video rather than reading you can check out the one below as well.
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How to avoid getting banned on the Switch
Getting banned can be quite harsh as the chances of getting unbanned are pretty slim and the things you can do to fix a ban are also either difficult or expensive.
Once you are banned there is no coming back in most of the cases so it is better to prevent it instead of trying to fix a ban later. Following are a few things which may lead to your console being banned which means no more online games or Eshop for you.
Of course whether you follow these guidelines is up to you but if you follow them then you shouldn’t have any issues with being banned in the future.
Don’t Use Pirated Games or Software
Using pirated games or software is something which is not acceptable at all with Nintendo. Nintendo has special software which can help identify any users who may be operating pirated software or have pirated games.
It is important that you never deal with pirated games or software to ensure that you never get banned from Nintendo. Even if you have been using such games and software in the past and haven’t gotten caught yet it is only a matter of time until your console will be banned so it is a good idea to get everything right immediately.
Don’t use vulgar images or language
Nintendo is a family oriented game system and as such they have pretty strict rules about the language you should and shouldn’t use while messaging or talking online. If you are caught violating this many people report getting a temporary ban but after getting a number of temporary bans you could certainly get a permaban on your console.
It is the best course of action to just avoid vulgar language and images (including in your display image) to ensure that you don’t get on the wrong side of this rule.
Don’t buy a used console
I know that you probably like to save money and who doesn’t, but buying a used console is a great way to get your console banned in the future. The problem with buying a used console is you are at the mercy of the person who sold you the console. Sure, you can check for a ban right now but if the console is banned in a few weeks then there will be nothing that you can do about it.
A used console is at a great risk of getting banned if you are buying from someone who you don’t know. Even buying used consoles from game stores can put you at risk of a ban as the ban might not happen until the return policy has expired!
It is best to either buy a brand new console or only buy a used console from a person you know (a friend or family member) or a store with a long return policy.
Many people have reported buying a used console and then finding out weeks or months later that it was banned. At that point Nintendo won’t be able to do anything and the person you bought it from will be long gone.
Don’t Buy Games From Online Marketplaces
There are many online platforms available which may offer you games at a cheaper price than you could get them from the store. Many people use these platforms as these are a great source for getting the best games at much better prices.
However, this is something that Nintendo has started to notice and has also become a reason for getting Switches banned. Many users have reported that they got banned after using a game bought from such an online source.
This is because once you buy the game the person could file a chargeback on their card and then the game isn’t actually paid for. The game could also be pirated and there is no way for you to know until you are banned for piracy.
Stay away from buying digital games online and only buy physical games from reputable stores.
Hacking
The Switch has a lot of games on it but there are many people who want to get other games or free games and so they hack their console. By hacking, you may be able to get access to free games or even get some cheat codes but one thing to be remembered is that it can lead to a banned Switch quite quickly. Because of Nintendo’s powerful software, it is quite easy for them to identify any hackers and they will ban your console immediately!
Just don’t do it!
For additional information about what causes bans on Nintendo Switch be sure and watch the video below.
What to do if you got banned?
If you got banned from Nintendo, there are only a couple of things that you can do. You can contact the helpline and they will try to find a solution for you if possible but this will only work if you didn’t do anything too severe. If the reason is genuine, you may get unbanned but if you committed something serious like hacking then you may not be able to get access to anything online with your console ever again.
You can also sell your banned Switch to someone as they can still play games with it but they won’t be able to play online. Make sure that they know this before you sell it to them as the last thing you want is to make someone mad because you lied or omitted information.
You can also replace the motherboard on the console but that requires a lot of technical know-how and isn’t something that most people should even try.
To know if you are banned or not, you can simply visit the eShop. If you are able to have access to it then you don’t need to worry as your console is not banned. If an error code is being displayed over the screen, then you may have to contact the helpline to see if you have a console ban or simply an issue with your account.
Your Switch may have a number on it which you can contact as well.
Conclusion
The Nintendo Switch is a great console but without having access to everything online it is severely limited in what you can do with it. Making sure that you abide by all of Nintendo’s rules and terms is the best way to ensure that your Nintendo Switch never gets banned.
Nintendo wants to make sure not to have any kind of content that violates their community guidelines so chances are they may ban your console if they find anything that may do so. It is quite important for Nintendo to maintain a healthy environment with which you can play and let others play too so they are quick to ban people who are violating their guidelines in any way.
There are many reasons why you may get banned on your Nintendo Switch but if you follow the simple rules above you shouldn’t have to worry about being banned or having any issues with Nintendo.