Getting a Switch 2? Careful! Your microSD card probably isn’t compatible

When the Nintendo Switch 2 releases on June 5th, it will be an opportunity for many gamers to enjoy an upgraded Switch experience with new hardware and new titles. Plenty of them, in fact, with the Switch 2’s built-in storage of 256GB. But it’ll run out sooner or later.

And when the Switch 2 fills up, you’re going to want a microSD card (or several) to hold all your additional, especially with modern games being as large as they are. However, you need to be careful. Your microSD card from your Switch won’t work, nor will those random microSD cards you have collecting dust in the back of your drawer.

The Nintendo Switch 2 requires new microSD Express cards, which are needed for their faster and improved technology. Here’s what Nintendo has to say about it:

“Nintendo Switch 2 uses a new standard of expandable memory card called microSD Express (sold separately). This kind of memory card is needed for faster access speeds and to ensure games will run smoothly.

Please note: Nintendo Switch 2 is only compatible with microSD Express cards. If the microSD cards you have used for Nintendo Switch do not support microSD Express standards, you cannot use them with Nintendo Switch 2.”

It’s therefore important that you make sure that you buy a microSD Express card. Otherwise, it won’t work with your Nintendo Switch 2. You can identify such cards by the “EX” label on them.

microSD Express cards have a read speed of up to 800 MB/s and are ideal for transferring large amounts of data quickly. For a console such as the Switch 2, it’s also recommended that the card has at least 256GB of memory to provide enough space for games.

Need some recommendations? microSD Express cards are still pretty uncommon, but you have some options. For a Nintendo Switch 2, we’d recommend getting either the SanDisk 256GB microSD Express card on Amazon or Samsung 256GB microSD Express card via Nintendo.