6 minute read

The microSD card from your original Switch will not hold games on a Switch 2. Nintendo’s compatibility page says the Switch 2 works only with microSD Express cards, and that a card previously used in a Switch will not let the new console save or load digital games or save data. The old card is not useless: you can still import Switch screenshots and videos from it. Here is which card to buy, what it costs, and how to install it and move games.

Checked October 20, 2026 against Nintendo support pages, Engadget (updated December 26, 2025) and Tom’s Hardware (April 3, 2025). Prices below are list prices from those articles. Current retail prices were not checked.

Why the old card does not work

Standard microSD cards use the UHS-I bus, which tops out at a theoretical 104 MB/s, according to Engadget. microSD Express uses the PCIe/NVMe interface that modern SSDs use, with a theoretical maximum of 985 MB/s. Engadget describes SanDisk’s Express card reading at around 900 MB/s, and notes that real-world speeds are lower and sustained writes can fall well below the peak.

To tell the two apart, look for the EX logo, which Nintendo’s compatibility page shows as the mark of an Express card. Engadget warns about one easy mix-up: SanDisk uses the “Extreme” name on some conventional cards, and those are not Express cards.

Nintendo also says the first use of an Express card requires a system update over the internet, and that cards up to 2TB are supported.

Which card to buy

Engadget tested seven Express cards on a Switch 2: SanDisk’s, the Lexar Play Pro, Samsung’s Switch 2 card, the Samsung P9 Express, and cards from PNY, GameStop and Onn. It used the 256GB version of each, except a 1TB Lexar. Engadget says the GameStop and Onn cards appear to be rebadged versions of other models.

Its advice is to buy whichever card is in stock at the lowest price in the capacity you want. Load times in real games differed by seconds, and Engadget found the console’s own storage faster than every card it tried. If you want the card that tested best, Engadget picks SanDisk’s, which was the most expensive in the group.

List prices Engadget gave in December 2025:

Capacity Range (US list price)
128GB $48 (PNY) to $64 (SanDisk)
256GB $47 (Onn) to $78 (SanDisk)
512GB $85 (Onn) to $128 (SanDisk)
1TB $190 (GameStop) to $220 (Lexar)

Prices have risen for at least one card. Tom’s Hardware listed SanDisk’s 256GB card at $64.99 when the console was announced in April 2025. Engadget adds that tariffs and memory shortages are a reason to buy sooner rather than wait for cuts.

How much storage you need

Engadget puts the Switch 2’s internal storage at 256GB and suggests filling it before buying a card, even if that means deleting a game or two. Physical games can change the math. Tom’s Hardware explains that some cartridges are Game-Key Cards, which act as a license and require the full game to be downloaded to the console. Its example is Street Fighter 6, which needs an additional 50GB install. Check whether a physical copy is a Game-Key Card before assuming it saves space.

Install the card

Nintendo’s insert and remove page gives these steps:

  1. Hold the POWER Button for at least three seconds, choose Power Options, then Power Off.
  2. Open the stand to show the card slot.
  3. Position the card with its label facing away from the console.
  4. Push it in gently until it clicks.

To remove it, power off, open the stand, push down on the top of the card until it clicks, then slide it out.

Nintendo’s FAQ says an inserted Express card becomes the default location for downloadable software. The Nintendo pages checked for this update do not describe a formatting prompt, so follow whatever the console shows.

Move games to the card

To shift software you already downloaded, use the move feature. Nintendo’s US support page gives the path as System Settings, Data Management, then Move System / microSD Express Card Data. Nintendo UK words the last item as Move Data Between Console/microSD Express Card, so the label differs by region. Choose the data and select OK.

Limits from Nintendo:

  • Save data and some update data cannot be moved. Nintendo’s FAQ says save data cannot be copied to an Express card at all.
  • The move feature does not choose where new data is installed. If you keep playing after a move, update data may land on the location you did not pick.
  • Per Nintendo Australia’s FAQ, downloadable software, update data, add-on content, screenshots and videos can live on the card.

Use one card per console. Nintendo says software downloaded to a card from one console will not play on another, and that downloads spread over several cards cannot be combined later. If you upgrade to a bigger card, Nintendo has a separate page for copying between two Express cards with a PC.

If the card is not recognized

  • Check the card type. Only a card with the EX logo can store games. A standard card can only be used to import screenshots and videos.
  • Check the system update. Nintendo requires an internet update the first time you use an Express card.
  • Reseat it. Power off as above, remove the card, and reinsert it with the label facing away from the console.

Nintendo’s pages checked here list no further steps, so contact Nintendo Support if the card still fails.

Our reading of the purchase

The sources point one way: capacity matters more than brand. Engadget found that load times differed by seconds between cards, that the console’s own storage was faster than every card it tried, and it advises buying whichever card is in stock at the lowest price in the size you want. Our reading is that the price table is more useful for choosing a size than a brand. On Engadget’s list the spread between brands at one size is small next to the jump between sizes, from $47 to $78 at 256GB to $190 to $220 at 1TB.

We would fill the internal 256GB first, as Engadget suggests, and check whether a physical game is a Game-Key Card before counting on cartridges to save space. A card bought for the Switch 2 is not wasted if you also own an original Switch, which accepts Express cards, though Nintendo says they run at regular microSD speed there. This is our judgment from the sources above, and the prices are December 2025 list prices, so check current ones.

Sources:

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