Here's something that catches a lot of people off guard: you can't use regular microSD cards with the Switch 2. Those cards from your original Switch? Won't work for games. The Switch 2 uses a completely different type called microSD Express.
What's the Difference?
MicroSD Express is a much faster version of the standard format. Regular microSD cards top out around 100 to 170 MB/s. MicroSD Express cards hit up to 800 MB/s. The Switch 2 needs that speed to run modern games properly from external storage.
Where to Buy Them
Samsung, SanDisk, and GameStop all make Switch 2 compatible cards. They come in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB sizes. The bad news? They cost more than regular microSD cards. The technology is newer and not as widely produced yet.
Quick heads up: you'll need to do a system update the first time you insert one.
What Happens to My Old Card?
Got photos and videos on your old microSD card? You can import those to your Switch 2. Just insert the old card and there's an option to copy that media over to internal storage.
But that's all it's good for. You can't install games or save anything else to a regular microSD card. It's microSD Express or nothing.
Do You Actually Need Extra Storage?
The Switch 2 comes with 256GB built-in, which is way more than the original Switch had. For some people, that's plenty.
But games are getting huge. Some titles push past 90GB now. If you buy a lot of digital games, you'll probably want a microSD Express card eventually. Just budget for it. They're not cheap.
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How we researched this
Where this comes from: this answer draws on the product's published specifications and the reviews ShopSavvy collected for it, alongside prices from 2 retailers in ShopSavvy's price data, most recently seen Sep 26, 2026.
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