How to take and share screenshots on Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch has proven to be a big hit with gamers ever since it was released, with some of the best games of its generation being released for it. Whether you’re running through the world of Pokemon Legends: Arceus or welcoming new neighbors to your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there are plenty of photo-worthy moments to grab on the console’s catalog.

Nintendo has made it easy to take screenshots of the action on your Switch. All you need to do is hit the Capture button on your left Joy-Con and it will take a screenshot. These are saved in your Album, which can be accessed from the Home Screen, but getting them off the console and onto your phone or PC can be a bit counter-intuitive. Fortunately, we’ve got everything you need to know to share screenshots on your Nintendo Switch.

Sending Screenshots to Your Phone

If you want to get your screenshots from your Switch to your smartphone, then go to the Switch Home Screen and open the Album. You’ll find all the screenshots you’ve taken on the console in the past, so just scroll to the one you want and hit A. Press A again to open the Posting and Editing menu.

From there, the console will give you some options. Highlight Send to Smart Device and hit A. You can choose to send a single picture or in batches of up to 10 screenshots. Select any that you want and hit A again.

This will open a new screen with a QR code. Using the QR code reader on your phone, which is generally just the camera on most modern phones, open the first code on the screen. This will connect your phone to a new private WiFi network for the Switch. Be aware that this will knock you off of the Internet, so don’t do it while downloading anything important.

Once you’re connected, a new QR code will pop up on the right side of the screen. Highlight it and your phone will go to an internal webpage for your Switch that displays your screenshots. Simply download them and hit End on the Switch screen, which will shut down the private network and allow you to reconnect to the Internet, now with your screenshots saved on your phone to do with as you please.

Post to Social Media

If that is a bit of a pain in the back for you, then there is another way to get your screenshots from your Switch. Go back into your Album on your Switch Home Screen and select the picture you want to share. This time, select Post. Again, it will give you the option to select multiple screenshots, but be aware that you can only select up to four through this method and they must all be from the same software.

Hit Post and it will ask you who is posting if you’ve got multiple accounts on your Switch. Pick one and you will have the option to post to either your Facebook or Twitter account, provided you have linked them to your Switch profile.

Provided your Switch is connected to the Internet at the time, it will post the screenshots to your social media of choice, where you can go and download them at your leisure. Remember, though, that Facebook has a habit of lowering the quality of photos when you download them, so it might not be the HD image you originally took.