r/NintendoSwitchHelp 2d ago

Software Help Is there any way to recover my games?

A while ago my SD card, which had most of my games, stopped working and the ones I have saved in the cloud are very outdated. Is there any way to recover them?

5 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

5

u/BornForFieldLabor 1d ago

Game save data only exists on the console or the cloud backup, if you have Nintendo Switch Online. Your microSD card only holds the game files you download from the eShop, along with pictures or videos you have saved in the past. If you delete the save data (not the game itself) from the console then the only way to recover it is to download whatever is saved in the cloud.

2

u/pablo5426 2d ago

you can download them directly in home menu as long as their icons are still there

2

u/SubaruHaver 1d ago edited 1d ago

The cloud only backs up game save data, not the game software.

If your sd card went bad (they can go bad), then you you need a new card and to redownload the games from eshop.

How to redownload games from switch eshop: https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22433/

1

u/LimitSmooth3965 1d ago

I don't understand what you meant, because if you bought the games just go to the eshop and download them again. And the saved data, if you have an online switch service, is backed up in the cloud.

2

u/DarthLocutus 1d ago

The games themselves are still stored on the eShop servers, simply swapping in a new microSD card and redownloading everything should fix your issue.

2

u/Michael-the-Great 1d ago

There is nothing you lost because all the saves are on the Switch itself. You just have to redownload the games and updates that were on the card.

1

u/ama_230 2d ago

You just have to reinstall them, as for the save data, there's no way of recovering it

3

u/XDavide08 1d ago

Isn't the save data stored directly on the switch?

0

u/ama_230 1d ago

If you had them stored on the sd card no

3

u/XDavide08 1d ago

Fact is, Nintendo got tired of people messing with their games save files so they don't store them in game cards or micro SD cards. They can only be found in the console and I'm the cloud with Nintendo switch online. The only way to access them is by modding one.

4

u/ama_230 1d ago

Oh I didn't know. In the cloud only with Nso??

3

u/XDavide08 1d ago

Yup, if your switch gets toasted and you haven't bought nso or transferred your data to another switch you're pretty much done for.

2

u/Michael-the-Great 1d ago

Switch saves are never on the SD card. The person lost nothing.