Here are the steps to cancel your Nintendo Switch Online subscription
Nintendo Switch Online gives you access to an ever-expanding library of classic NES and SNES games, as well as access to online features for some of the best Nintendo Switch games, and the Nintendo Switch Online voice chat app. With the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, you can even gain access to Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis titles. If you do not love the service, it might be time to cancel even with all the features. Follow these steps and get back to your blissful off-the-grid gaming experience.
Cancelling your Nintendo Switch Online membership:
Cancel from your Switch console
Cancel from a web browser
Cancelling from your Switch console
Launch the Nintendo eShop on your console.
Click on your user icon in the upper right corner.
Scroll down to Nintendo Switch Online.
Select Turn Off Automatic Renewal. To cancel, you’ll need to do this up to 48 hours before the end of the trial or current billing period to avoid getting charged for another month or year. This goes for both the base subscription and the base subscription + Expansion Pack.
Select Turn Off to view details about your Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
Seleck OK.
Cancelling from a web browser
Log in to your account on Nintendo’s website by clicking the red box in the upper right corner.
Once you’ve logged in, click on your avatar in the top right corner.
A panel will come in from the right. Click Settings.
The User Info screen will display. Click Shop menu on the left.
Your payment information and current Nintendo Account balance will display. Scroll down and click on Your Subscriptions.
This window will appear. Click on Check Nintendo Switch Online membership status.
Your current plan will display. Click Turn Off Automatic Renewal. That’s it. You’ve done it.
Please keep in mind that you still get to use the Nintendo Switch Online service for the amount of time you’ve already paid for. So, if you paid for an entire year for either an individual or family plan, turning off automatic renewal just means you won’t get charged for another year, but you’ll stay with the membership until it expires.
If you choose to do the trial or go month-to-month, you’ll still be able to finish the trial period or the month(s) you’ve paid for. But, unfortunately, there is no way to get a prorated refund from Nintendo for the service.
Why you should keep it
Nintendo has taken away the online capabilities for almost all Nintendo Switch games and now locked it behind a paywall. However, let’s consider a few things here on why you should still keep your subscription.
Nintendo Switch Online is still way cheaper than PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold membership. PlayStation Plus is either $10 a month, $25 for three months, or $60 for an entire year. Xbox Live Gold offers membership for $10 per month or $60 a year.
Nintendo’s pricing starts at $4 a month or $20 for the entire year. If you go for a family plan, that’s $35 for the year, and you can include up to eight accounts in it (less than $5 a person if you fill it up). Sure, the Expansion Pack is a bit pricier at $50 a year for individuals and $80 a year for family plans, but you get everything from the base subscription as well as access to Nintendo 64 games, Sega Genesis games, and the Happy Home Paradise DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Nintendo has taken away the online capabilities for almost all games and now locked it behind a paywall.
While the main reason to have Nintendo Switch Online is to play online with others, that’s not the only reason. Without the service, you’ll lose access to your Save Data Cloud backups, so you’ll need to transfer save data back and forth manually if you use multiple consoles. Your game save data will once again only get stored on system memory.
Nostalgia always plays a factor in why we want or buy certain things, especially in regards to Nintendo, and Nintendo Switch Online provides members with the virtual Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s like the NES Classic but better since you can play these old-school classics online with friends for brand new experiences. Plus, you get cool exclusive offers, such as access to buy retro controllers for your Switch or fresh in-game Splatoon 2 gear.
Our pick
Nintendo Switch Online
$20 at Amazon $20 at Best Buy $20 at Walmart
Cheap online service with plenty of useful features
Nintendo Switch Online has a lot of useful benefits for subscribers. You’ll be able to play online with others, voice chat through the mobile app, get exclusive bonus offers and games, cloud game saves, and gain access to the NES classics with online functionality. It’s a win-win and relatively cheap compared to PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live.
Retro everything
Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack
Lots of retro goodness under one roof.
The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack offers not only online connectivity, but access to cloud saves, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64, and Sega Genesis titles. Subscribers get special offers for retro-themed controllers and Animal Crossing: New Horizons players can access the Happy Home Paradise DLC for free if they’re a subscriber.
Super shiny
Nintendo Switch OLED model
A new and improved Nintendo Switch
$350 at Best Buy
$350 at Walmart
The newest member of the Nintendo Switch family is the OLED model, which incorporates new and improved features to the system, including a larger OLED display, a more stable kickstand for tabletop play, a LAN port, and an upgraded 64GB of internal storage. It’s the classic Nintendo Switch, but better.
