{"id":83283,"date":"2021-07-02T04:35:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T04:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/?p=83283"},"modified":"2025-09-30T09:48:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T09:48:06","slug":"recover-game-files-from-nintendo-switch-sd-card-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stellarinfo.com\/blog\/recover-game-files-from-nintendo-switch-sd-card-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Recover Game Files from Nintendo Switch?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nintendo Switch is a popular video game console known for its hybrid design, extensive game catalog, and different play modes.<\/p>

The console allows you to play your game how you want by seamlessly switching between TV, Tabletop, or Handheld Mode, anytime and anywhere. With over 3,900 games, such as Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Hades, Zelda, and others, Nintendo offers a wide range of entertaining games for casual gamers and dedicated Nintendo fans.<\/p>

The Nintendo Switch usually has 32 GB of built-in storage, which is not enough for a gaming console with a vast library. However, if you run out of space, you can add an expandable memory (SD card) of up to 2TB. Like other electronic devices, Nintendo Switch is not immune to errors – such as missing game files due to multiple errors, including account deletion, corruption, formatting, etc.<\/p>

This post guides you through recovering deleted saved data from Nintendo Switch.  But before moving on, let’s first learn the type of data you can save on the Nintendo Switch.<\/p>

Understanding the type of data you can save on the Nintendo Switch<\/strong><\/h2>

You can store three types of data in different locations in the Nintendo Switch. Let’s look into each of them one by one.<\/p>

1. Save Data<\/strong><\/h3>

Save Data on the Nintendo Switch stores your game progress, allowing you to resume playing from where you left off. It also saves customization you made in the game, such as settings and character designs.<\/p>

2. Game-related data (except save data)<\/strong><\/h3>

This includes data stored for software updates, Downloadable Content (DLC), game files, and assets, such as sound effects, animations, background music, etc.<\/p>

3. Screenshots and videos<\/strong><\/h3>

  The screenshots and videos you took during the gameplay.<\/p>

How is Data Stored on Nintendo Switch?<\/strong><\/h2>

Data created in Nintendo Switch is usually stored in System Memory or microSD card, or in both.<\/p>

 <\/td>System Memory<\/strong><\/td>MicroSD card<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Save Data<\/td>Yes<\/td>No<\/td><\/tr>
Game-related data (except save data)<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td><\/tr>
Screenshots and videos<\/td>Yes<\/td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>

How Do You Recover Deleted Save Data from Nintendo Switch?<\/strong><\/h2>

The Nintendo Switch stores the ‘save data’ in your Nintendo account. Therefore, if you have deleted or transferred the user account, deleted the save data, or initialized the Nintendo Switch Console, your ‘save data’ will be lost.<\/p>

However, you can still recover ‘save data’ from a cloud backup. For this, you should have an active Nintendo Switch Online membership and have at least once backed up your game data to the cloud storage. If you do not have an active membership, the ‘save data,’ <\/strong>will be lost permanently.<\/p>

The Nintendo Switch Online service provides cloud storage to back up the ‘save data.’ of users. If your Nintendo Switch is stolen, lost, or broken, the cloud is the best way to recover your game files.<\/p>

However, downloading ‘save data’<\/strong> from Nintendo Cloud backup will overwrite and delete the existing ‘save data’ on the console for that game.<\/p>

There are three ways you can get the ‘save data’ back on Switch from the cloud:<\/p>

Method 1: Steps to download games backup from the software menu:<\/strong><\/h3>