The Nintendo Switch is a wonderful gaming console and is loved by many around the world. While it is known for the ability to play games, did you know you can use a web browser on your Nintendo Switch and access the internet?
Warning: There are risks in using the secret web browser on Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED in an unofficial and unsecure way. Some of the risks include the possibility of your personal information being hacked.
Does The Nintendo Switch Have A Web Browser?
Yes, it does – If you didn’t already know, that is because this feature is currently hidden and you must perform a series of tasks to enable the Nintendo Switch web browser.
That is what we will uncover in this article. It doesn’t matter which version of the Switch you have, this works both for the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch Lite.
Source: ShackNews
How to Use The Hidden Web Browser On Your Switch
We have prepared and set up simple steps for you to follow. There are a few things you have to do first, in order to enable the Nintendo Switch Web Browser. But it is easy enough to do and nothing to worry about.
Here are the 8 steps to enable the Web Browser of your Nintendo Switch:
- Navigate to System Settings
- Access Your Internet Settings
- Access DNS Settings Menu
- Select Manual DNS Settings
- Enter Manual DNS Settings
- Save The New DNS Settings
- Trick The Console To Access Google
- Redirect To Google
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Navigate to System Settings
To access the built-in Nintendo Switch web browser we have to change the console’s DNS service.
Firstly, go to your system settings, tap the “gear” icon which can be found from your home screen.
Step 2: Access Your Internet Settings
After you have the main system settings menu up, go down and you will find “Internet”. From there, tap on “Internet Settings” and then select the network that you are currently connected to, this will then bring up the next menu…
Step 3: Access DNS Settings Menu
You should now see a screen with three options – “Connect to This Network”, “Change Settings”, and “Clear Settings”. Tap onto “Change Settings”. If you cannot find this screen, make sure you are already connected to your Wi-Fi network first as explained in the previous step.
Related: How to Find DNS Server on Mac
Step 4: Select Manual DNS Settings
To see this menu, go down and you will find a button “DNS Settings” and from there you then need to select “Manual” – this enables us to change our DNS settings.
Step 5: Enter Manual DNS Settings
Once you see the “Enter the primary DNS” menu, you need to enter the IP address: 045.055.142.122 – You don’t actually need the leading 0 but some suggest that you do.
Once you are done, tap “Ok” to move on to the next step.
Step 6: Saving New DNS Settings
Once you have entered the new DNS settings, you will see the new IP as your primary DNS. You can now “Save” that.
Then make sure to tap on “Connect to This Network” on the following screen.
Step 7: Tricking Nintendo Switch To Access Google
After you try to connect back to your network you will see the message above. This means everything worked correctly and you must now tap “Next”.
The IP that we entered before, 45.055.142.122, is actually linked to a service called SwitchBru and it is what makes it possible to enable the web browser on your switch, it basically redirects you to Google.
Step 8: Redirecting To Google
This is the page you should see once you have tricked your console to display the SwitchBru DNS homepage.
You are seeing a very basic view of the built-in web browser with your Switch device, from here you can do a few things:
- Redirect to Google: Either click on “Google” from the left-hand menu or use the “Continue to Google” button
- Enter a custom URL: You can enter a custom URL and get redirected to a specific webpage like YouTube or Reddit etc.
- Read the news: SwitchBru DNS has its own news section where they share the latest news about browning with the Switch
- Feedback: Access the SwitchBru DNS feedback page where you can take their provided survey
- Useful Links: This page allows you to add custom links so they are easy to access later, plus other Switch related material
- Settings: Change the main theme, manage other things like notifications, website adverts etc.
This webpage can be accessed via a normal browser by going to the SwitchBru homepage. Be warned that by using this service on your Switch, it is third-party and you should be careful with any personal data you enter while browsing this way on the Switch
Source: DigitalTrends
Have a smart TV and Roku? We wrote about the best web browsers to use with Roku, check it out
How to Revert Back to Default DNS Settings
Setting your Switch’s DNS to manual forces it to display SwitchBru’s homepage whenever you connect to the internet. This prevents you from using your console to play online games. To go back to playing on your Switch, you have to revert your DNS Settings to “Automatic”.
- Revert the DNS changes that we made before. At the DNS Settings screen where you set the manual IP address of 45.055.142.122, tap on “DNS Settings” and you will get the popup menu again
- Switch back to automatic DNS. Select the “Automatic” option to revert back to the default setting and have your switch back to normal again, click save and you should be good to go
- Try Google’s DNS settings if things don’t work. It may be useful at this stage to mention that if the “Automatic” option fails and you get network problems – try out Google’s secure DNS IP addresses. For that, you can use 8.8.8.8 for your primary DNS and then use 8.8.4.4 for your secondary DNS and everything should work as normal.
