How to Increase Your Nintendo Switch's Internet Speed

Nintendo SwitchNot exactly a powerful console, but when it comes to ensuring fast internet speeds, yourNintendo SwitchHas amazing support.

So if you want to improve the time it takes to download a game, or how smoothly you play an online game, you can fine-tune the features available on your Switch and your internet settings.But how do you improve your Nintendo Switch's internet speed?Let's find out.

1. Change the MTU internet setting on your Nintendo Switch

One quick way you can increase your Nintendo Switch's internet speed is by manually changing your Nintendo Switch's maximum transmission unit, or MTU.

By manually increasing the MTU, your Nintendo Switch can move more data between itself and internet sources at any time.This helps improve download speeds while ensuring the fastest speeds your Switch allows.

To manually increase the MTU allowed by your console, make sure your Nintendo Switch is connected to the internet and follow these steps:

1. From your Nintendo Switch's Home screen, select System Settings.

2. Highlight the option for Internet and select Internet Settings.

3. Choose your wired or Wi-Fi connection, and then tap Change Settings.

4. From here, select MTU.

5. Change the MTU value from 1400 to 1500.

By setting the MTU value on your Nintendo Switch to the highest available value, which is 1500, you can guarantee that your console can transfer the maximum amount of data.With your Switch's MTU maxed out, you should hopefully experience better internet speeds.

2. Change your Nintendo Switch DNS settings

Similar to using the internet settings on your Nintendo Switch to change your console's MTU preference, you can also fine-tune your Switch's DNS settings to improve internet speed.

In terms of what a DNS server is, with regards to your Nintendo Switch, DNS settings refer to the servers your Switch connects to.By default, your Nintendo Switch will use the DNS servers associated with your Internet provider.

However, the default DNS servers your Switch uses aren't necessarily the fastest.On average, the public DNS servers provided by Google are faster.To change your Nintendo Switch's DNS servers and potentially increase your internet speed, follow these steps:

1. Once again, go to System Settings from your Switch's home screen.

2. Highlight Internet and select Internet Settings.

3. Re-select your Internet connection and select "Change Settings".

4. Select DNS Settings, and select Manual.

5. From here, select Primary DNS and set its value to 008.008.008.008.

6. Similarly, select Secondary DNS and set its value to 008.008.004.004.

7. Finally, click Save.

Your Nintendo Switch will then disconnect and reconnect to your internet source, which has switched to a public DNS server provided by Google.And, with some fine-tuning of DNS settings, you should be able to see a clearer picture of your internet speed from your Switch.

3. Connect your Nintendo Switch to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz connections

In addition to changing the settings on your Switch, you can also change how your internet source connects wirelessly to your Nintendo Switch.

Your Wi-Fi hub may use the 2.4GHz or 5GHz Wi-Fi band to connect to your Nintendo Switch, but there is a certain difference in speed between the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands.The relationship of each frequency band to internet speed can be defined as follows:

1. 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connections are better at longer distances, but provide a weaker signal to your device.

2. The 5GHz signal is stronger and offers a better, faster connection, but only works well over short distances with less interference.

So depending on how far your Nintendo Switch is from your Wi-Fi center, or where you use it most of the time, you may want to make sure your connection is right for your needs.

By fine-tuning whether your Switch is connecting via 2GHz or 5GHz, you should see an immediate increase in your Nintendo Switch's internet quality.Although, only under the right circumstances.

4. Use a wired Ethernet connection on your Nintendo Switch

If all the tweaking to your Switch and Wi-Fi settings doesn't seem to increase your internet speed on your Switch, you might want to consider making more drastic changes to your setup.

Specifically, if you haven't already, you can use an Ethernet cable to switch from a wireless to a wired connection.While this will only work in docked mode, it will keep your Switch utilizing the fastest internet connection possible.

To use an Ethernet cable to create a wired connection between the Wi-Fi hub and the Nintendo Switch, you'll need to plug the Ethernet cable into a port located on the back of the Nintendo Switch dock and into a port on the Wi-Fi hub.

From here, your Nintendo Switch can take advantage of how an Ethernet connection allows for faster internet speeds and provide consistent and faster internet to your console.

Get More From Your Nintendo Switch While Boosting Your Internet Speed

With these internet speed-up tips, you should be well on your way to improving your Nintendo Switch online experience.With a staggering amount of built-in features to support internet and Wi-Fi tweaks, a lot of internet boosting tools are welcome surprises.

With your Nintendo Switch tuned to the faster internet, you should have no problem downloading new games and services from your Nintendo Switch or playing online, of course, without any issues with your internet provider.