How to Improve the Internet on Your Nintendo Switch (WiFi & Wired)

The Switch's WiFi connection can be a bit ropey at times for some reason, but there are a number of things you can do to improve it.
WiFi Analyser app: play.google.com/store/apps/de...
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[@ChristopherMoom]

Finally, I can play online after fixing the wifi that wasn't designed for online

[@shuntarofurukawa5577]

That is cool. But remeber to pay your memebership fee to us!

[@Mii.2.0]

@@shuntarofurukawa5577 NO. PIRATES FOR LIFE.

[@shuntarofurukawa5577]

@@Mii.2.0 you can't pirate an online membership. You shouldn't pirate current gen games anyway

[@Mii.2.0]

@@shuntarofurukawa5577 PIRATE GANG.

[@shuntarofurukawa5577]

@@Mii.2.0 You aren't meant to be proud of being a pirate

[@Millicente]

That’s where I’ve been going wrong... I’ve been using a router, I need to get myself a rooter.

[@RebelliousRobot]

I see the joke. Alex pronounced router as rooter.

[@shuntarofurukawa5577]

@@RebelliousRobot British pronunciation

[@christopherxgordon]

😂😂😂

[@bazookasniper5167]

If you pronounce it the american way here in england, then its a type of tool for putting channels in wood.

[@subspaceslime3158]

If the British pronunciation for router is “rooter” then how do y’all pronounce the actual word rooter?

[@jseels]

“Be careful where you place your Rooter!” What mama always warned about... now I’ve got 4 kids...

[@le_victini_enjoyer5144]

What

[@jseels]

@@le_victini_enjoyer5144 he meant to say router and instead said rooter...

[@QuestionMarc]

As someone who worked Xbox support for 6 years and with much of that time as a networking specialist I have to say. This guide is pretty great! Lots of good advice and accurate information. There are tons of videos out there with just one or two basic tips buts just as many inaccuracies so I'm really pleased with how informative this was! I even learned that you can manually set your MTU on the Switch! Neat! Don't try to go more than 1500 though, most routers have roughly that as their maximum. Also I didn't realize that the usb connection to the ethernet adapter would be bottlenecking speeds noticably, but it totally has! The USB ports inside the Switch dock only support USB 2.0 is the problem. So if you want to buy a wired adapter, make sure not to buy one using usb 3.0. It won't provide any advantage, may cost more, and might not work at all. The one correction has to do with antennae aim. Some wifi icons show an antenna with waves coming out of the side and that is basically how it works. Counterintuitively, the spot the antenna is directly pointed at is the weakest! It broadcasts out of the sides. Also, you want to have at least 5 feet between your router and your wireless devices to give the waves a little room to propogate first. That's right, it is a common mistake, it's possible to be too close to your router! Unless you're wired, then it doesn't matter. Lastly, I have my router wall mounted in the hall in the middle of my apartment for best wifi coverage, but I have a lot of devices in my living room I want wired. Solution? A gigabit ethernet switch. It's a super simple device, no software to set up, I got one with 8 ports on it for about $20 a few years ago on amazon. Ran one ethernet cable from my router to my living room to the network switch (not the Nintendo), then ethernet from it to all my consoles with one or two extras for laptops when me or my roommate are working from home. The only other thing it needs is power, but other than that, just thing of it as a network splitter and wire everything up yo it and you are golden. Xbox One, PS4, and powerful PCs will benefit alot!

[@alexatkin]

He also messed up the channel selection, as you might think there are gaps you can squeeze into but due to channel widths, there usually aren't. In which case you WANT to be on the least used channel (an exact match to ones already in use), not one nearby that will interfere with any other channel slightly above or below.

[@sh4dy832]

Instead of tip #2, you can do the inverse of tip #1, and switch to 2.4GHz, which gives you more stability if you're on the edge of the maximum range of the 5GHz signal. (which depends on variuos factors such as router, wall thickness, wall type, ....)

[@RockinRay-dp6zx]

You hear that Captain Falcon mains you can finally fix your internet

[@BlueFireDudester]

Holy shit you got me

[@McMoofles]

9:33 I will never think of "plugging in the ethernet cable" the same way again..

[@japxicano9877]

I dont feel safe.

[@bruhwhy6564]

Wtaf 😂that got me tho

[@Karan-un8uz]

His expressions😂😂😂

[@johnkettlewell4854]

iLik Ęggs s

[@MrBillybathgate5]

im triggered

[@MARIOFANATIC64]

These points seem to be based on the premise that the problems are caused by the WiFi/router and not the Switch system itself. When every other device in the house, even smart TVs and other game consoles (even the Wii U!) work fine, your connection isn't the problem. The Switch is.

[@Rose-bh2sm]

If you can connect to online functionalities, but get disconnected from multiplayer matches randomly, it’s because there is metal objects directly next to your router, move the metal object away from the router

[@stuntz0rZ]

i get disconnected playing Splatoon about 15 seconds after it starts. the router is in my next door neighbors house. i don't see any metal objects outside that i can move :/

[@Stratilex]

OmegaWolfe what if my router is on top of mu fridge and I can’t move it?

[@Rose-bh2sm]

Stratilex I don’t know man

[@Moorecaison67]

My router is wired inside the room with the big metal heater so don’t know what do to about that one

[@albond]

@@Rose-bh2sm *functionalities

[@hadokenexe]

Another thing to try, especially if you have a lot of devices you connect to, is to change the QoS for your Switch. QoS is Quality of Service and is basically a priority list. Also great use of Wicked Battle and the normal Pokemon Coliseum theme!

[@postmastergaming]

Thanks Alex!! Thanks to you I had no more lag on Super Mario Maker 2 online multiplayer!!! 👍🏻

[@rileybishop8480]

Here’s a pro tip: *Don’t have AT&T WiFi*

[@The-Will-Billy]

yeah its way too expensive

[@MarkH]

That's where I went wrong

[@blurtednonsense5631]

@Sonic Mobian sounds like what a At&t corperate shill would say.

[@apexjailor9349]

Sonic Mobian sounds like you’ve been payed a nice packet you bloody spy

[@ahmir5798]

And that’s a fact

[@richparkinson9647]

That last one actually did increase my wired speed! Thank you kind sir!

[@davidnewbon4385]

Mario Maker 2 players that ruined it for everyone else, LISTEN UP

[@palico004]

It's shitty netcode, you will get terrible lag as long as Nintendo is so brain dead about online.

[@jrrr9219]

@@palico004 Not the netcode, I've fantastic internet and some matches when one players leaves it goes from 1fps to 60. It's bad internet from the people.

[@alexatkin]

@@jrrr9219 That's bad netcode, as well-written netcode will compensate for users with bad connections to avoid it making everyone elses game perform badly. Or at the very least it will matchmake users with bad connections together, and people with good connections together.

[@tamalemuncher789]

@@alexatkin i mean... Is there a way to compensate without putting everything onto a server?

[@DRN-iu7wh]

Sometimes I’m joining a game and then it goes all laggy and a communication error occurs :’( I can barely play smm2 multiplayer because my internet is so bad

[@namedkenn]

4:07 killed me. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 *Update:* “If you use a Windows Phone, you need a new phone” I died again. I did come here for the entertainment 🤣

[@samysabi5871]

Thanks, I was looking for this.

[@matthewpalmer7184]

It is videos like this that remind me what was missing from the Fire Emblem review. Zion is a gud, to be sure, but nothing beats the wonderful editing and humour that Alex brings to the table.

[@Sammy-xx8uo]

I’ve seen ‘5G’ on Networks all the time, never knew what it meant lmao

[@Sherolox]

The first time I saw it, I thought the new cellular standard had been released early.

[@Fifth313ment]

Yeah, I have a 6G router (AX) and I still get crap speeds on the switch!

[@AnxiousDavid]

there is actually very little going through the usb-c data line as the video/sound uses a different set of pins (or should as there are 3 sets of usb data lines 1 set for usb 2.0 and 2 sets for usb 3.1 / alternate mode aka video) but the problem is nintendo has limited a usb 3.0 connection to usb 2.0 speeds for no apparent reason and even said it was going to be 3.0 speed when they released the details at launch and went and put 3.0 ports on the dock but the type c is still using 2.0

[@_james22]

Can nintendo just make dedicated servers for all their games, so we don't have network issues. (But still watch this video) )/

[@shuntarofurukawa5577]

No. As a billion dollar company. We can't afford it

[@RoseyMapleGoth]

What's the song playing during the MTU adjustment section? I can't remember what game it's from! Someone please help

[@miquelfire]

For the location thingy, mesh wifi can help. This is true if you can't get your router near the center of your house, or you have a lot of metal in the walls.

[@ASquared544]

5:48 *spots Hollow Knight figurine* I see you are a man of culture as well

[@RyanOlsen]

This is a great video. Well done.

[@dusitn_]

I have a nat type b and it still says cant connect to the other console(s) when i try to join a match of splatoon 2 what do i do

[@johnmarstall]

I went and changed my channels thanks to this video. Btw there's a Scan utility in the Mac's Wireless Diagnostics app that will automatically recommend the best channel for your browser, for each band.

[@alexatkin]

Be warned his advice is wrong here as he isn't factoring in channel widths. If your new channel overlaps an existing network, you will get better performance using the SAME channel as that other network, as the routers will see when each other are broadcasting and avoid trying to do so at the same time.

[@Vidalburgos]

That lick when you plugged it into the adapter . . .take my like and sub you bastard!

[@gabe4679]

What should the primary and second design be if it even matters

[@Truth4dateens]

What I want to know, is where do I get that flip case for it?

[@jjjeffers23]

the pokemon colloseum ost...i see you're a man of culture

[@RidhaAlobied]

This was very helpful thank you very much you've solved all of my problems 😀😊🤩🤯😀🙂🙂🙂🙂

[@davidjite999]

I have issue when playing smash/mario kart online with my friends. So if I try to join their room, it gives me an error saying my console can't connect to other consoles. But when I host a room they can join fine.

[@justinlee3131]

Your voice is like someone from G4. Soothing Subscribed ✔

[@cedric5599]

@Nintendo Life Hi, any idea if there will be any issues to connect LAN directly to the console (using a USB C LAN Adapater)?

[@samlee9323]

When in table top mode stand it on top of something metal it helps reflect the signal and absorb them

[@alexatkin]

Not if you are upstairs and the router is downstairs though. ;)

[@no7412]

I have no idea how to connect my ethernet adapter to my TV. Apparently I need some kinda wire not sure if it's a specific one or not.

[@mezomoza7]

Wifi reception of my switch has been always a disgrace since 2017, I can't go out of the room

[@SussyBaka_irl]

That ending!! Who takes off the wrapping on the products like that. My TV Stand still has it on.😂😂

[@alexatkin]

Sane people!

[@richardwarner4585]

On wifi don't forget to change your DNS Settings manually to 1.1.1.1 (Primary) and Secondary to 1.0.0.1 for faster speeds.

[@pokedude583]

Is that bravely default music I hear in the background? Good choice ;P Ooh, and Colosseum music. Very good choices indeed.

[@alexiadance123]

Gives me stress

[@denl5699]

That peel was satisfying..

[@voxx.4808]

It works do the last one and works great thank you

[@Wilco2998]

I use a google wifi at my home in a mesh network configuration and never had any problem. I have the google wifi routers placed in a kinda triangle form with every floor having one (my house has 3 floors in total) the google wifi does automaticly the settings with channels for 2.4g and 5g and also decides for every device which it better to connect to a what signal type

[@daniel070487]

still got the Wii / WiiU LAN adapter. Does it work with the switch?

[@ShawniePlayz]

Tbh, all the switch games work perfectly 99% of the time. I barely lag...unless its Mario Maker 2. If you have trash internet, just refund you Mario Maker cuz I dont like lagging online

[@bland9876]

If all other games are working perfectly fine but Mario maker 2 is lagging maybe Mario Maker 2 is messed and Nintendo needs to fix it but maybe I'm just an armchair developer and I don't know anything

[@colton.421]

Shawnie Playz Mario Maker 2 lag is due to other people’s connection. So, if it is laggy and you lose, then just blame it on other people’s connections.

[@danielruncie8047]

What i want to know is where you can get that snazzy screen cover from!

[@Tones_24]

I’m new to switch and speed isn’t my problem as when I run the test I often get between 20-60mbps but how do I deal with my switch losing connection just randomly?

[@Daniel-dj7fh]

I've got close to no device in my room utilizing bluetooth or wifi connections, and my switch which is slightly behind the monitor still cant grasp wifi from the powerline adapter 5m outside my room

[@lindablanchette188]

My internet on my Nintendo switch keep disconnecting even tho it's wired, and my controller strangely also disconnects simultaneously.. it keep doing that non stop to a point where I cannot play even offline, since my controller will still disconnect and tell me that I lost wifi... If I reconnect one, the other disconnect, any suggestions? Its been like this for a couple of months now

[@ElricSowrd]

Thanks for some tips, man. 👍

[@TheViannas]

Thanks for the great vid, Alex. Yep, no problems here old timer. Were those tea packets? I feel properly disturbed by the plugging in the ethernet cable scene though....

[@ImKlutzy]

For some reason when the switch is connected to the wifi it takes up a lot of bandwidth or something because when i play games on my laptop my ping jumps from 30 to 200-500 any way to fix this?

[@joaobisgo]

What's that last song? I've heard it before but can't remember where for the life of me

[@rafaelribeiro99]

Even tho i changed to 5.0 ghz and 1500 MTU, my NAT type still is Type B. I just cant get it to Type A. heard that port forwarding could help but never tried.

[@aychfriday]

Getting a better router fixes most if not all issues.

[@dinglberry3320]

How much does a good router cost these days?

[@christopherxgordon]

I was using the stock Spectrum router for like a month and it was the worst experience ever. I went a bought a higher quality router without changing any other settings and it was a night and day difference.

[@errrcc]

Nahhhh just get wired connection

[@christopherxgordon]

@@errrcc Dude, I tried the wired connection too. The only thing that fixed it for me was a better ISP/router.

[@Rightround0846]

When I hard wire my switch into my 200mbs internet it never differs from the 30mbs on wifi..

[@Savereddeadin2023]

I have everything hardwired in my home because every time I try to use the Wi-Fi to any of the Gaming machines like the Nintendo switch or the Nintendo switch light my body tells me something different such as I get very sick and very ill with that so I have hardwired everything in my house

[@runterranger7398]

alex is a true hero for us online warriors

[@ElMedkit]

Question What can i do when i want to connect to a wifi but its not supported

[@999sian]

if your router has it enable QOS and on the AP as well this will prioritse packets on your network and reduce latency. Stay away from consumer wifi and go with enterpise gear. ubiquiti do a AP for £70 and will be far much better than any consumer device

[@PaweSzczypa]

I totally agree. Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X SFP for routing (HW switch!) with UniFi UAP nanoHD for WiFi is THE sweet spot for the budget oriented ones.

[@999sian]

@@PaweSzczypa I personally have a BTHomeHub5A running Openwrt which has SQM Qos running which is connected to my AC Lite over Power Line behind my sofa where i play my swich docked

[@tristandale14]

How do I change the nat type? I'm not a computer/internet savant but I'm confused how to open ports and do all that stuff... Could someone help me out?

[@JK-yg1gf]

Thank you

[@Roddan96]

That pokemon colo music. Either that or XD Gale of dark

[@IamMusicNerd]

Great video

[@arcos8917]

Hi everyone! I get full bars and it connects to the internet but it says I have a slow connection when I try to play online. I don't wanna say it my router because when I play online with my PS3 I never get any of those problems! My internet provider is Xfinity and I have their second date plan which give me up to 100-200 MBPS. Is my internet really that slow or would I need to upgrade to Xfinity's third data plan gives up to 300? I hope you guys can help me solve this.

[@Adam-senpai]

Here is a tip for people in a large household with many people using the internet at once Change the password and then reset so everyone needs to pay you to get the internet password Repeat until you get lots of money/food and oingo boingo you got yourself a JoJo reference

[@Hijynx87]

Spectrum gives a pretty good router. The first I’ve seen with 5g and 2.4g that isn’t store bought. I have no problems with my vita streaming my PS4 or 4k video on my PS4 pro. Also I stopped using my switch Ethernet adapter. I used to use a power line Ethernet adapter, but the speed is baaaad compared to wifi. Downloading a 20g game goes from 20 mins to like 3 hours

[@T_Ocha_Streams]

port forwarding/port triggering, can change the mtu value from B to A. mines wa already great on b but when moved to a everyting is still perfect

[@alexatkin]

Port forwarding should have no impact on the MTU whatsoever, they are completely different things.

[@christian-go4hu]

man, i really don’t wanna move my switch as it’s in the family room, and i prefer it in the basement where i can be by myself undisturbed; not to mention that my router is built into my wifi. sooo, can’t i just buy a separate router to my switch? will that not be enough?

I always had problems with my wifi at home. I am a gamer and need a good internet all the time. Using wires is not possible due to how our house is structured. After testing a ton of different stuff, I just said "screw it" and bought a 300 USD Asus router. God damn, that is the best investment I have ever made. It is working over a year now and the router never crashed, the connection never got lost. The signal from the router throough a massive concrete wall, a wooden ceiling and 10 meters distance to my pc still gives me the maximum 100MBit/s internet connection my provider offers or over 900Mbit/s to another PC over my WLAN. A ping of only 7ms to the next speedtest server I have found (living in switzerland, bern, connecting to frankfurt server). The impressive thing is that my old router struggeled when more than 3 devices were connected with wifi. Now, there are 3 Desktop PCs, 3 Laptops, 4 Smartphones, and 2 Gaming Consoles connected all the time. Only the smart TV is connected via Ethernet. No problem at all. I even have a relatively moderate connection in my neighbours house more than 20 meters away :D TLDR; Never buy a cheap router if you need a good connection.

[@dynamicsketch]

I had been using 5.0 ghz for the past few years after finding out from a technician that I even had this. It really improved Splatoon 2 a whole lot. Too bad at Smash Ultimate you are still at the mercy of those who crap connections. And when a match starts lagging immediately after I KO someone in a stock match I can't help but wonder if they are lag switching.

[@nelsonfajardo3735]

When you lose to a spamming laggy ness online

[@Probatives]

I’ve lost to a laggy item mega man that only used leaf shield

[@kirklopxk2982]

@@Probatives that’s optimal online gameplay

[@blissfulzane7154]

A little tip but if you decide to use a wired connection but the Router/Modem is a bit far from the Switch, use a Powerline Adapter. It uses the wall sockets as a way to connect to the router instead of having a jungle of a wire through your house.

[@ecromancer]

I just find it easier just setting up an old router as an access point (AP) and place it in the room where where most of your wifi and wired devices are at. The biggest obstacle is running an ethernet cable to the AP.

[@ThePicasoBlack]

What do I do if the problem started AFTER I updated to the lastest software?

[@colbychong]

5:55 the hollow knight figure is really cute.

[@a.beyzade4676]

Does increasing the MTU on switch to 1500 have any negative down sides? I read it can cause problems.

[@zetelofabread]

It's better for me

[@agape-704]

It pisses me off so much when i lose connection during a turf war in splatoon 2 and have to wait 5 minutes to play again

[@ChillyBonesz]

Does changing th channel increase the bill?

[@tjbnable]

Why do you have two master system II's?

[@gamebit9063]

Great video! How do you pronounce rooter then?

[@ChumboFumbo]

I was really confused when they kept zooming in on the toilet. XD

[@santiagoruizvalle5668]

If you know the song at the end, congratulations you are a man of culture

[@maksimjurczenko3659]

I need help with my switch it connects to the network device but not the actual network I tried other devices and they work with the same network I'm having problems with

[@easiers]

late ik but where did you get that switch case?

[@jaredhoag]

Great vid

[@badmitten690]

My switch just suddenly stopped getting signal last night in my room so it's fine next to the router but as soon as I go upstairs it gets no signal. I had no problem before yesterday but suddenly it's stopped working. Anyone know why or how to fix it?

[@ShadoGamingChannel]

For me I had to use CCproxy to get better download speeds when using wired I went from 80mbps to 240mbps that is insane I don't know if my ISP was throttling the speed on the Switch or Nintendo but a least I figured out my situation (By the way I have gigabit internet so have far from a shitty connection).

[@craigmorrisonYT]

Great video. I never knew about wifi analyzer apps. I couldn't access the eshop even though the Switch was recognizing my 5 Ghz network; now my network has its own little bubble and everything runs fine.

[@Edwoah_The_Legend]

You have the same sound bar as me lol

[@vengeance6801]

I'm stuck using a 4G hotspot internet box because my other 3 routers broke naturally, not meming...

[@rakrul]

"Wifi technician" here. Never choose any channel but 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4 GHz. The reason for this is that these are the only channels that don't affect one another. (Strictly speaking if you're in EU you have other options but lets keep it simple.) The upside with this is that when someone is about to broadcast on Wifi it will say "e.g. I'm X and I will transmit for 37us". Then everyone on that channel will know that they can't transmit, and thus interfere, for 37us (+ random timer). If you're on channel 6 and your neighbors are on channel 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 or 9 - they won't understand your message and won't realize that the airways are reserved for 37us and will transmit over it. This will cause the receiver of the traffic from X to receive signals from X and your neighbors so it won't understand signals from X. Then X has to re-transmit again and again until it isn't scrambled by your neighbors. This is causing jitter, or lag in layman's terms. So keep the airways clean and use channel 1, 6 and 11. And remember - Friends don't let friends use 2.4 GHz!

[@Jess-jt9qt]

I got a third party lan adapter (usb 3.0 to rj45) and it dosent work, ive tried everything

[@EbolaGW]

Change your DNS settings to Google's servers. It's more faster and reliable. Set primary DNS to 8.8.8.8 Set secondary DNS to 8.8.4.4

[@mkalsterboy1234]

Does this actually work?

[@pastyle0001]

@@mkalsterboy1234 ill try

[@ShawniePlayz]

@@mkalsterboy1234 I think It helped cuz i did it and i dont really experience lag (unless its mm2)

[@doublex85]

DNS lookups will have no effect whatsoever on latency once you've connected.

[@EbolaGW]

@@doublex85 Does improve download and upload times

[@davidquezada50]

I am paying for a 500 speeds Switch uses only 20 Mbps I can't even play online It's that bad. :(

[@sko1beer]

im paying for 2gig fiber and 2 thing that fix it for me was a usb lan dongle and in fortnite i found if i moved the game from the sdcard back to the system its 10 times more smooth

[@gonut3252]

I have the exact same situation as you, it really sucks...

[@gonut3252]

If by any chance you manage to solve it, please tell me, I would be very grateful

[@MadaoAU]

Just buy an Ethernet bro LoL

[@zues121510]

My switch only uses up 1/5 odd my bandwidth despite being like 15ft from the router most times.

[@jeriahabraham-ju2ko]

Why you even watching lol this guy is awesome i thank god for the smile this guy just gave me

[@jseels]

What if you go over 1500 MTU? What happens? What’s the performance difference?

[@SonofMrPeanut]

"Yes, this includes wifi & wired connections, and everything in between! (Spoiler Alert: There isn't anything in between.)" Why must you fail us, Alex?

[@youngster_dani]

I have 5G and internet works fine most of the time but as soon as I try to play splatoon online it doesn’t work. I read somewhere it’s to do with NAT mine is D which I heard was bad but I don’t know how to change it 🙄