I really need help. Recently, my luggage containing my Nintendo Switch was stolen and I can't find it. It contained many other valuable things and I hoped that by tracking down the location of the switch within, I could find everything else as well, or at least a lead, but I don't know how. I've read online that I can't find it through GPS like other devices but that I would need the unique ID of the device, but I have neither the code from the device, the box, or the parental App. I should still have my account logged in, in case that would help, as it has been lost as of the moment of writing for only 2 days.
Is there any other way to perhaps find out the unique code and its location?
Is there any policy or procedure regarding stolen devices that I should be aware of in order to make this situation better or at least prevent worse things from happening?
I had my Nintendo account logged in, with my email address. I am pretty sure I've made one purchase one time, but I don't recall other details about my bank info that could be there. Could that represent a risk that I should deal with, and if so, how? No purchases made yet. And could I, by any chance, find out about the location of the device if someone were to make a purchase on it?
And is there any way to transfer the account information such as games to another device if I have to get a new one, such as games and purchases?
There is no way to track down the Switch. Unless you had a tracker in your luggage or something, it is gone, unless you get lucky and the police find it.
You can log in with your account to another Switch and re-download all your digital games. You can also access your account on Nintendo's website, so you can remove any payment information from there. Probably a good idea to change your password as well.
@Mr_Hats Ok well wile there is no way to track down the switch, if your planning on getting a new one you need to do it fast, bc you need to shut down your account on the other console and put it on the new won ASAP.
Nintendo are like woman, You love them for whats on the inside, not the outside…you know what I mean! Luzlane best girl!
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I had my Switch stolen two months ago so I know what your going through. I notified a few people that I know outside of the Switch that I had friendlisted on my Switch and asked them to let me know if my profile ever logged on. They never did so I am assuming they wiped my Switch clean which I guess is a good thing.
So you might want to notify people on your friends list.
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
Out of curiosity, is there way to put a password on the Switch? It wouldn't stop it from being stolen, of course, but it would at least stop a thief from being able to access anything on the system. Ideally, such a feature would render the system useless to anybody without the password.
@Mountain_Man No way to lock it as such, but as a workaround you could set the parental controls app to limit user playtime to 0 hours and just enter the PIN to disable it when you're playing.
Contact Nintendo support and alert them of the Stolen Switch. Once you registered your Switch the first time with a NIN account they will have your SERIAL. And anyone trying to reset or reselling will get a surprise when it tries to login or register will alert Nintendo. Once a Switch has been registered to the legit owner it's never leaves. And if you Alert Nintendo now anyone trying in the future won't be able to use it properly and probably will get the local Law Enforcement involved to get the unit back. So do it now. I know when I was fixing my New 3DS XL they require a Serial number from the unit so same would be for Nintendo I did that when I updated from v1 to v2 Switch when I did a trade in.
@SwitchForce I guess that's all possible, but I doubt Nintendo are going to commit the resources to actually track down stolen goods or get in touch with the Police . I think at most they'll flag it as stolen, remove your personal info and maybe put a block on connecting online.
If the OP manages to get the serial from Nintendo it would be worth contacting the authorities (if they haven't already) and trying some local pawn shops etc to see if it's been sold there.
@dmcc0 They don't have to they just track when it signs on. You have to report it as stolen and they will have the Serial number to track and disable the unit. We all leave Digital tracks and that includes our Switch. Nintendo already has his/her Serial once you setup and register you Switch the first time. Why do people keep forgetting this.
@SwitchForce Yes, I'm well aware Nintendo will have the serial number from the sign-up, and with some effort they could eventually track it down, just doubting whether they'll put in the resources to actually locate the stolen device/contact police etc.
The person subsequently signing on only needs an email address so unless Nintendo are tracking the ip address of the sign in it's pretty much anonymous. It not like CSI!
@dmcc0 SwitchFroce was saying that if you report your console as stolen, Nintendo can digitally blacklist/ban that console, blocking it from accessing eshop, making purchses, downloading updates, and accessing online gaming features. But that won't happen unless you report it stolen to Nintendo. Nintendo already does this to people/consoles they detect have been hacked/jailbroken. 1-2 times a year someone joins the forum here asking how to get their console un-banned, because they jailbroke the console, or bought a used console, not knowing the console was already banned by nintnedo, because it had been hacked/tampered with.
That's all Nintendo will do though. A lost console is lost.
(if you understand this already, forgive me. above, I thought it looked like you missed that point. just trying to help .😉)
Nintendo generally do the exact same as phone companies do with a devices IMEI. They just put a block on it so it can't be used by someone else.
Places that resell phones and consoles have access to check the serials and IMEI to see if they are already blacklisted for being lost or stolen. If they are, they won't allow you to trade in a device.
The company absolutely do not report anything to the authorities, however.
It only goes in the opposite direction where the police would sometimes liaise with a company as part of their own investigation into theft or as part of insurance processes.
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Topic: How can I track down a stolen Nintendo Switch
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