Topic: Downloads on Secondary Switch

Hello do any of y'all know if I buy a game on my main switch, will it download automatically on my secondary switch lite?

@Tomasmeza Sure cause Nintendo wants you to have free games.

@Tasuki Its not that crazy, Sony allow you to do basically this. Maybe not automatically, but you can sign in on another PS4 you own and download the game.

@Wargoose Doing that is actually against Sony's TOSA and can get your account banned.

Nintendo and Sony both allow that, as long as they are both your consoles, not for game sharing. I recently bought a switch lite and have a switch always docked for family use, I’m allowed to play my games as long as I’m connected to the internet on the switch lite, I was just wondering if someone uses my account to buy a game on the primary switch will it download automatically on my Switch lite?

@Tomasmeza To OP's original question, it doesn't automatically download, but can be done smoothly by logging into eshop with purchasing profile and redownloading.

@shazbot thank you!

@Tomasmeza Just to bolster what's said above: If you have a Primary & Secondary Switch, yes, you can download your games on the secondary switch from eshop, because they both share the same Nintendo account.

Maybe you know, but when you have a primary & secondary console setup, they sync & share games, but the system only allows one Switch to be played at a time.

@Tasuki (Tagged you, in case you wanted to know 😉. The primary & secondary Switch setup lets you have a Docked Switch for TV, and a Switch Lite for on the go. So, you can play a game on TV, change consoles, and resume the same game with the on-th-go Switch Lite console. But this system doesn't let two people share games, because only one console can be played at a time.)

@WoomyNNYes Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of a Switch. If a person is playing a docked Switch the idea is to remove the Switch from the dock and then have it on the go hence the name and the marketing not to mention the design. Why on earth would I start a game on a docked Switch just to have to start up another Switch to have it on the go when I can undock it?

That would be like having two cars in my garage. Jumping in one car pulling it out of the garage getting out and jumping into the other one to go to the store, when I could have used the first one in the first place.

So there is absolutely no point, no rhyme or reason for what you explained.

@Tasuki Pfff... Are you using logic? haha. 🤪 Your logic is sound. But that's the Switch system. They introduced the primary+secondary system when the Lite came out. I think Nintendo envisioned people keeping their regular/dockable Switch at home, but take the Switch Lite for traveling. Or Nintendo knows some Nintendo fans & NL users will want both a regular Switch and also got a Lite. (we also know people bought more than one 3DS, Anti-Matter is one of them) If the Switch didn't have the Primary+Secondary system, the games they buy would be locked to one console. (Tomasmeza, the creator of this thread, has more than one Switch. 😉 You could ask them why they got Switch two consoles.)

@Tasuki I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but I'm considering getting a Gen-2 switch since I'm a handheld-exclusive player. Ostensibly, if I did that, my brother could 'borrow' my games on my other Switch if he simply uses my profile when I'm not online / playing.

I can understand having two Switches especially having one Lite and one Normal, heck I have thought about it but to start a game on a docked Switch and (no pun intended) switch to a Switch Lite to have it on the go, why not just undock the Switch? I mean I can understand if you start a game on the Switch Lite and then want to switch to a docked one because the Lite can't dock but vice versa.

Hi everyone, was about to create a topic for related question, fortunate coincidence this is being discussed now.

A friend of mine is looking for a second-hand Switch. He is solely interested in playing Smash Bros in docked mode and will not touch anything else.
I have my Switch since Q1 2018 and use it on a bi-daily basis. I travel a lot for work, so my Switch has seen many plane rides, hotels, and backpacks. I keep it in a nintendo-licensed case though, so nothing to see on the outside.

What bugs me is the fact that I foresee myself enjoying the Switch for another 5 years at least. Since it has been intensively used for 2 years now, it starts aching that the usability could use a refresh (yes I'm one fo those RPG players that "repairs" his weapons at every scratch and fills the tank of his car before 50%).

So I'm thinking of selling my used Switch to my friend and buy myself a new one to make sure it lasts 5 years. Here come the questions:

• At what point do we start noticing the console is aging? (like Iphone 6 now in 2020 would have 11GB installed "system updates") Is it pointless to buy a new console to start with a clean sheet?
• Smash Bros is digitally installed on the Switch Console (not on the SD card). Will my friend be able to continue playing it or will he have to buy/install the game again when he switches from my Nintendo-account to his own?
• Following previous question; if the game remains playable, he will be able to play online via his own account without losing game date (DLC for example).
• On my potential new Switch, when I log in to my own account, I can redownload my games and DLC for free, right?

Thanks in advance for the advises!

@Bankaj Here come the answers:
1. I am personally considering switching (!) to gen 2 just for longer handheld battery life, since I'm a handheld-only player. Only consideration is whether switch pro rumors are true.
2. If you let your friend use your profile he can keep playing, but if not switch will do an owner check. If you leave his system as primary system with your account, he'll be able to play offline. Otherwise, he'll have to purchase it himself, or play online with your account and the switch set to your secondary system.
3. If he buys it on his own Nintendo account (and has been playing it on his own account on your switch) no loss of data. Else I'm not sure.
4. Yes.

@shazbot Thanks, helpful!

1. Also handheld-only player and the extra battery life is one of my flagship reasons too. Unfortunate we have yet to learn about pro edition.
2. So despite the full game + DLC being installed on the switch console itself, when he changes the owner account to his own, the game will be blocked until purchase is confirmed? In theory that would mean, playing forever in Airplone mode he would be able to continue playing, but never online.
3. solved
4. solved

@Bankaj

2. Theoretically. To my knowledge the games are tied to accounts, not only to systems. So if your account is linked to two systems (I don't know if you can have more, someone with 3+ switches in his house will have to answer) you can play on either, but one is designated as secondary. The secondary, as mentioned, requires an online check to run software which is non-primary account owned.

I'm not sure, however, if the games themselves ever trigger / require an online check or if they can be permanently offline.

I think I've heard with previous Nintendo systems (3DS? Can someone confirm?) there were network checks that happened in the background, hidden from the user, that bricked modded consoles? But don't have any non-anecdotal evidence of that.

TLDR: Should work, YMMV.