If you own a Nintendo Switch, you might be aware that there are a few things that can go wrong with them. Most of these issues are easy to fix with a few tweaks, but there’s one problem consumers keep coming up against that doesn’t have an obvious solution: The Nintendo Switch keeps updating. What’s the deal?
For the most part, what’s actually happening is that your update can’t progress all the way, gets stuck, and then needs to start over again. This could be because you’re unintentionally interfering with it, the console isn’t actively connected to the internet, or there’s a network issue.
If you’ve run into this problem and you aren’t sure how to force the download to go all the way, don’t worry; there’s usually an at-home fix. Let’s take a look at why you’re having problems with your download and how you can troubleshoot the issue.
Why Do Nintendo Switch Updates Take So Long?
It might be that the updates you’re getting on your Nintendo Switch (on Amazon) are perfectly legitimate, and there just seems to be a lot at once — this can happen, especially when Nintendo releases a few in a row. It helps to know how long a Switch update should actually take so you can check if what you’re experiencing is normal.
The truth is, the time a Switch update will take actually depends on your internet connection. You can check the speed of your internet and compare it to the size of the download.
If you have fast internet, the update should be over in ten minutes or less, but it can take a lot longer if you have slow internet.
Updates are often very large files and that’s why they take quite a while to download. They then have to be installed on the console. The best thing to do is have patience and walk away while your system updates rather than sit and torture yourself with the progress bar!
How to Stop Nintendo Switch From Updating
For the most part, you can still play the Switch without letting it update if you don’t want to sit and wait for it — or if you’re experiencing too many updates and need a break from letting them run.
To turn off the auto updates, simply go to System Settings, select Auto-Update Software and toggle it to Off.
If you still want to update your Switch in the future, you can manually do so by accessing the System Settings again and forcing the update to go ahead. The setting above simply stops it from doing so without your permission.
How to Fix a Stuck Update
Finally, if your update is indeed sticking and keeps restarting, there are a few things you can do to ensure it goes through all the way.
The first is to check your internet connection. More often than not, that’s the root cause of any update issues. If your connection is strong, make sure there’s nothing blocking the signal from the WiFi to the Switch, and make sure you aren’t sitting too far away from it. This causes more problems than you might think.
If it’s an auto-update that’s getting stuck, you can head into the System Settings and try to do it manually using the steps above. Sometimes there’s a software glitch that results in an auto-update failing.
You should also make sure that any games you’re playing are closed. Whether the update is for the console or a game, playing them and using the internet can interfere with the update and you should let the Switch rest as much as possible while allowing it to update.
If all else fails, you can do a hard reset of the console. Don’t worry; there’s a way to do this without losing your save data! Simply power the console off and then hold the volume buttons down while you press the power button again.
The console will open up Maintenance Mode and you’ll be able to choose Initialize Console or Initialize Console Without Deleting Save Data. Pick the second option to perform a hard reset that doesn’t wipe away all of your hard work.
Other Nintendo Switch Troubleshooting
Hopefully you’ve worked through this issue and you’re back up and running, but the Nintendo Switch fails in some unique ways sometimes.
Be sure to skim through our related guides, or just be aware that we have write-ups on how to handle a frozen Nintendo Switch (or a frozen Nintendo Switch Lite), what to do about Nintendo Switch crashing or problems or with running to slowly, or, indeed, what to do about Nintendo Switch water damage! If the power button stops working, or the device stops turning on, no matter what we have a resource for you!