Switch 2 Users Get Erroneously Banned Online For Using Used Switch Game Cards – Is Nintendo Checking For Dumped Cards?

There’s an interesting new reddit that’s added a new twist around speculation on Nintendo’s security measures for the Switch 2.

Redditor dmanthey made this post on the Switch subreddit:

Switch 2 users – be careful buying used Switch 1 games. You can get banned if a bad actor dumped it. Having said that, Nintendo support is amazing and will help get you back up and running.

Got banned and unbanned after simply downloading patches for 4 Switch 1 games I bought from Facebook marketplace.

If you get banned, go here https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/contact and under Talk to a human select Start Chat. It’s fast, painless, and you get a live person helping you!

So much easier than getting support from Microsoft or Sony.

As we previously reported, updated terms in the Nintendo Account User Agreement revealed that Nintendo was willing to revoke online services and even brick consoles if the user violates their terms of service. Some Switch 2 owners tested what they could do and found that they could get banned from those online services if they used a MiG Switch on the Switch 2 console.

As we pointed out, Nintendo is trying to thread the line in balancing how much user rights their customers have on their consoles, vs. what security measures they can take. There is no ambiguity on their position vs. devices like the MiG Switch, as they have taken legal action vs. MiG Switch resellers.

There is no ambiguity on the recent FBI crackdown vs. a Nintendo Switch piracy site either. But what we see here is Nintendo could also be testing what they can act on based on the information they can get. If this redditor’s account and speculation is on the money, it sounds like Nintendo can tell if a Switch Game Card has been dumped. Devices like the MiG Switch allow you to ‘dump’ your Game Card, so that you can make a backup of said game.

We didn’t really know that Nintendo even had the ability to check if Game Cards are dumped, but we must say that since dmanthey bought their Game Cards secondhand, they aren’t certain that that is the reason that their account got banned.

Nintendo usually lets negative press like this slide, but since this does involve consumer rights, they may be better off making official clarifications. Doing so could have averted situations like Brazil’s Procon-SP challenging Nintendo on their new user agreement clauses about banning consoles. But we’ll see how these situations will play out in the future.