Charge your Nintendo Switch every six months or you risk damaging the battery beyond repair

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Batteries are dumb. I think we all know this. They stop holding a charge, they swell, they occasionally blow up. But batteries are also super important to much of the tech we have lying around our house. Now, Nintendo wants you to know that its Nintendo Switch battery needs a little love occasionally to make sure it continues to function within its expected parameters.

Basically, and this goes for all technology that uses built-in batteries, you need to give it the juice ever now and then to maintain a healthy battery. This is especially true for something like the Nintendo Switch, considering that a lot of your game information is stored directly on your Nintendo Switch and if something happens to the console, you might lose all of those hours you put in Breath of the Wild or Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Nintendo of Japan recently reminded gamers of just that, with a tweet:

ゲーム機に内蔵されているバッテリーは、あまり長い間、充電も使用もしていない状態が続くと、充電できなくなることがあります。

半年に一度は充電してあげてください。 pic.twitter.com/Je8QNH5SNT

— 任天堂サポート (@nintendo_cs) September 28, 2020

According to Twitter’s translation tool, this basically states: “The battery built into the game console may become unchargeable if it has not been charged or used for too long. Please charge it once every six months.”

So, basically, if you have been neglecting your Nintendo Switch for other consoles or your gaming PC, make sure you are at least fully charging the portable console at least once every six months to maintain a healthy battery. Personally, I would say bump that up to every three months, from personal experience. After moving, my Nintendo Switch lived in a box for about three months and it took hours for the Nintendo Switch to power back on after plugging it back into power.

Anyways, charge your devices, your batteries will thank you.

What do you think? Have you ever had any scares with your Nintendo Switch over a dead battery? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.