How to set up a second Nintendo Switch?

[LoversLane]

I have posted this under Gaming too but I am guessing there are a few of us struggling with this before the big day tomorrow so I thought I'd post here for more traffic!

How do I add a console to the Nintendo account without taking over the original Switch's settings?

DD1 has had a Switch for a year. It's linked to my Nintendo account. This year we've got one for DD2 for Christmas and are trying to set it up.

We have upgraded to a nintendo Family membership and I have set up a family group and added both kids.

When we do the initial start up for DD2 Switch everything is fine until it links into my account and then it all reverts to DD1 profile and settings.

It doesn't seem to let me set them up separately. Any tips?

Have you tried settings then add user? We then add profiles we need on switch.
That's what we do as we have multiple switches.

It's driving me insane. DD2 has already given up on her console because she wants to play with her sister and she can't. Both consoles have each others profiles which is fine and each can play independently from each other with a game chip.

They are trying to friend each other but only one switch (original) will let me log on to my Nintendo family membership account. I have had to set up another Nintendo account so the second switch is recognised and they can friend each other but because it's just an account and not a separate membership DD2 access is limited and they cannot access each others games. I have reset to factory settings at least four times and started again but just fail every time.

Am I right in thinking I have to set up each console with separate individual Nintendo membership accounts so they can access online services, friend each other and play Minecraft etc online as DD1 does with her school mates? Do I need to double up on all their games too? I was hoping to avoid this but I cannot see an alternative than set them both us as purely separate entities.

Try YouTube, I doubt your the only one having this issue and you will probably find a walkthrough of some sorts on there. Failing that, any switch forums would be a good place to look for info.
Google is your friend here!

Same issue here, I think it's a technical issue so have put it to one side until after the bank holiday

Thank goodness I am not the only one. I have been feeling so incompetent for days now as I have been trying for a while to set it up. I've been trying to find YouTube videos but have struggled to find relevant ones.

... and don't even get me started on a second Minecraft account!

My DP, who is a software engineer, is so enraged by this. We got a second switch last year.
I don't really get it but it is very very difficult, the games don't copy across and now we have two switches we have more arguments than when they shared one. Argh.

I have been in touch with a school parent who fixes Switches hardware. He doesn't get involved in the networking side of things but he has suggested linking nothing and treating everything as two separate entities to avoid hassle.

You need to create child accounts for each child via your parent account. We have a family switch and two switch lites. Dc's have their own accounts on each switch linked to my parents account.

As you have two consoles if they want to play the same game then you will need two cartridges.

Do you mean a family Nintendo account membership and two child accounts as part of that? Tried it and it didn't work either.

Yes that how we have ours set up. Dd1 transferred her profile/account from the main switch console to her switch lite. Dd2 decided to start a whole new profile as she wanted to re-start her island on animal crossing.

They have both a profile on the nintedo switch console and also an account via the Nintendo website. I had to set everything up via the website on my phone via my own profile rather than on the switch itself.