Latest Versions
MicroSD Card Info
Guide Information
Information about which microSD cards to use with your Switch and the correct format.
- 5+ Minutes
Choosing A MicroSD Card
Running Atmosphere CFW and homebrew applications on your Switch will require a decent microSD card, especially when using emuMMC. Brands like Samsung and SanDisk are popular amongst the Switch hacking and homebrew community.
The console only supports UHS-1 cards, which have a maximum possible speed of 104MB/s, compared to the 312MB/s speed limit of the more modern UHS-2 standard.
The Correct Format
The recommended filesystem format for the Switch is FAT32. While the Switch supports exFAT through an additional update from Nintendo, here are the reasons not to use this filesystem format.
- Atmosphere CFW may fail to boot due to a missing exFAT update in Horizon (Switch operating system).
- The exFAT file system is prone corruption. Extra risky for those who insist on file based emuMMC’s.
- Nintendo doesn’t use files larger than 4GB, even with large games and exFAT.
People often think they have to format their microSD card to exFAT to prevent having to deal with the FAT32 4GB limit for files and the need to then split files larger than 4GB into multiple files to install them from a microSD card.
There is no reason to worry about this because you can use multiple homebrew applications to install files larger than 4GB directly from your PC and you really shouldn’t be installing from your microSD card.
- You can use Hekate to format to FAT32. Check in the Hekate section of the website.
⚠️ Warning ⚠️
Modifying your Switch is dangerous. It can lead to account bans, which will prevent you from accessing Nintendo's online services and can also lead to potential console bricks. If you decide to modify your Switch in any way, we take no responsibility for any damage you cause to your switch. If you have any questions, or need help getting started, you can join our discord server by clicking the link above.