Animal Crossing Switch Data Transfer

The power to transfer Fauna Crossing: New Horizons resident and salvage data from one Nintendo Switch was a much-requested feature and finally arrived in late-2020. It'south non the simplest process, but if you follow the steps yous'll take your precious island transferred to a new Switch in no time.

For effectually 8 months after its March 2020 launch, it was impossible for players to transfer their Fauna Crossing: New Horizons island from one Nintendo Switch to another. One time you began a save file on a Switch, your island was tied permanently to that console — a sizeable problem if you lot bought a new Switch, for case. Fortunately, information technology'due south no longer an issue.

On this page we'll have you through the steps necessary to either motility your entire island to a unlike Nintendo Switch, Switch Calorie-free, or Switch OLED model, or transfer a single island resident (player-controlled, not ane of the creature residents) to an island on a dissimilar Switch.

Nintendo Switch Transfer - How To Transfer All Saves, Games, Profiles, And User Information To Another Switch (OLED, Lite, Regular)

How to Transfer Animal Crossing Save Data Guide

Animal Crossing New Horizons Island Transfer Tool — *Image: Nintendo Life*

At that place are two types of Animal Crossing information transfers available. If y'all've got yourself a brand new Switch (or Switch Lite or Switch OLED, maybe) and desire to transfer admittedly everything to the new console, you lot'll want to choose 'Entire Island Transfer'. As y'all'd expect from the championship, this moves your entire island and save file — including all residents — to the new console.

Hither are more details from Nintendo:

Entire Island Transfer
Use this feature if you wish to transfer the unabridged isle and all residents to a new Nintendo Switch system. The island, all progress and customizations, your brute neighbors, the isle resident representative, and any other residents that have been created on the isle volition be transferred.

This feature is helpful if you are replacing your Nintendo Switch system with a new one and all players who have played Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be using the new Nintendo Switch system. It is also the but style to transfer your island resident representative when you take not backed up your island.

Y'all must accept access to both the original system and the new system to utilise this feature.

Alternatively, you lot might take been playing on someone else'southward Switch and island before you got your ain Switch. Finally you have the option to transfer your graphic symbol to another Switch, either to an existing island or to become the Island Resident Representative of your very own brand new island.

Once more, here are the details straight from the equus caballus's mouth:

Resident Move (Single Player Transfer)
Use this feature if you wish to transfer just one resident to a new Nintendo Switch system. The resident, the resident'south home, and most items held by the resident and kept in storage will be transferred to an island on the new Nintendo Switch system. The island resident representative cannot be transferred.

This feature is helpful when just one player wants to continue playing Creature Crossing: New Horizons on a new Nintendo Switch or when multiple residents other than the island resident representative volition be using the new Nintendo Switch. The transferred player(s) volition movement to a new island if in that location is no existing save data on the new system. If at that place is already an isle populated on the new system, the resident(s) volition movement to that island. All island progress and animal neighbors will remain on the original Nintendo Switch system.

You must accept access to both the original organisation and the new system to utilize this feature.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Unabridged Island Transfer instructions

There are different instructions to follow depending on if yous're keeping the 'source' Switch (the old one) around or not. We'll look at both below, equally detailed on Nintendo's website, starting with entire island transfers:

1. Download the Island Transfer Tool on the source system

Animal Crossing New Horizons Island Transfer Tool Home Menu — *Image: Nintendo Life*

In order to transfer Brute Crossing information betwixt Switch consoles, y'all'll first have to download a special (free) Island Transfer Tool from the Switch eShop. Merely enter 'Island transfer' into the search bar and it should pop right up.

Also, make sure y'all've got the most up-to-date version of the game.

2. If you're not using the old Switch in your household anymore (eg. you're selling it or giving information technology away), Transfer all User Data

Follow our system transfer guide to transfer all user data (and their save information) to the target Switch, and come up dorsum hither when y'all're done. (Repeat for multiple users if necessary.) As function of this process, all salve data for the user will be transferred with the exception of the user'due south Animate being Crossing save data.

If you're keeping the onetime Switch in the family, merely skip to the next step.

3. Download the Animal Crossing Isle Transfer Tool on the target system

You'll likewise need to make sure that the game is updated to the latest version on the target system, too.

In one case the game and Transfer Tool is on both systems, open up the Island Transfer Tool on both.

4. Follow the instructions in the Island Transfer Tool on both systems

Animal Crossing New Horizons Island Transfer Tool 2 — *Image: Nintendo Life*

Select 'Continue' and 'Let'southward Begin'
Select 'Source' on the source organisation (your one-time Switch), and select 'Aye' to confirm the name of your isle
Select 'Target' on the target system (your new Switch)
Select 'Continue' on the source Switch and 'Keep' on the target Switch
Select 'Transfer data' on the source Switch once it detects the target console
Select 'Proceed' once again on the target Switch once it detects the source console

5. Await for the transfer to consummate... and almost done!

In one case the transfer is finished, the data on the source organisation will have been deleted and you tin can carry on where you left off on the new system.

If you lot're keeping your onetime Switch, there are a few extra steps to follow. Here are Nintendo's instructions verbatim:

- Launch Animate being Crossing: New Horizons on the target organization using the User Business relationship you lot volition be using for your resident.
- When asked if you would like to play using existing resident data, select Existing information.
- If there are multiple residents with existing unlinked data, select your resident name.
- You lot volition exist unable to change which resident data is linked to your user business relationship subsequently, then be sure you lot select the correct resident proper noun.
- When prompted, select Aye to confirm and showtime playing again as your resident.

You lot'll have to repeat these steps for any other user accounts or residents.

Before you go stuck in, brand sure y'all've got Island redundancy enabled on your new Switch (cheque our Isle fill-in guide if you're unsure).

Animal Crossing New Horizons New Arrivals — *Image: Nintendo Life*

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Single Player Transfer instructions

If you want to move a unmarried player from i isle to another on another console, here'south how you do only that:

1. Brand sure you've got the most upward-to-engagement version and launch the game

Start the game and select the user whose resident y'all wish to transfer.

two. Printing the '-' push on the title screen

This will take you to the Settings menu. In one case there, follow these steps:

Select 'Movement to a new island'
Select Move me off the isle — this will non work if you are the resident representative on your island (eg. the chief player). You'll have to transfer the entire island to another Switch in that instance
Select 'Yep, that is correct'
Select 'Yes, I'yard ready' after yous've checked the transfer details, so Yes, I'g prepare!' over again — the transfer request has been sent...

3. Switch to the target system

Launch the game on the target system and select the user who will be using the transferred resident. This user must non have already played the game on the target organization!

Then follow the steps below:

Select 'I'm moving' when Timmy & Tommy enquire you lot
Select 'Yep, I have' when they ask about a transfer request
Select 'Start the process' and 'Yes, that is correct' when your resident and their electric current isle are shown...

4. Switch back to the source organization

Select 'I want to motility' to confirm the target Switch and that everything is in lodge

Once you see the bulletin 'Cheers so much for waiting. Everything is ready!', you're washed with the game on the source arrangement.

5. Switch over to the target system... and you're done!

Your resident should arrive on the target island and you'll exist able to choose where your firm volition go.

A couple of more notes from Nintendo:

If you are the first user to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the target system, you will exist the new isle's resident representative. Moving a house takes some fourth dimension, so you will exist sleeping in a tent on your showtime nighttime on the isle.

If the island is already inhabited by someone on the target system, your house volition exist moved over immediately.

I desire to keep an existing isle but change the Island Resident Representative. Is that possible?

Unfortunately, it seems that changing your existing island's resident rep nevertheless isn't possible. You might want to practice this, for example, if you bought the game for the family and the 'master' player lost interest while others connected to play.

It's possible Nintendo may introduce this feature in the time to come, but correct now the start person who moved to the island must remain the island resident representative.

How exercise I backup my Animal Crossing Island data to the deject?

If you want to backup or retrieve your Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island data via Nintendo'southward cloud save service, you can follow our handy guide on the subject:

Animal Crossing: New Horizons: How To Support Your Island Information

Note: In order to avoid players manipulating or duplicating data, Nintendo is rather strict when it comes to retrieving your ACNH island, stating that "Recovery is but available in situations where a Nintendo Switch console is lost or damaged".

Take yous transferred your save data to another Switch, a Switch OLED model, perhaps? Let us know below.

Nintendo Switch Transfer - How To Transfer All Saves, Games, Profiles, And User Information To Another Switch (OLED, Lite, Regular)

This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Consummate Fish Listing, Complete Bug List and Consummate Body of water Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bug, we can tell yous how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full listing of Critters leaving at the end of the month. Nosotros've likewise compiled a Complete Villager List and a Complete List of K.K. Slider Songs, as well every bit the All-time Custom Design Codes and Islands we've found so far, and the all-time islands to visit using Dream Address Codes.

Nosotros tin also assistance with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Go more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to notice special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Play tricks, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Isle, How to Support Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a five-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.

And finally Where to Purchase Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch if for some reason y'all haven't nonetheless picked upward the game.