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Your Switch 2 Can Get BANNED from a Used Game?!
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Jul 16, 2025
Can you REALLY get your Nintendo Switch 2 banned just by using a used Switch 1 cartridge? According to a tech YouTuber, that’s exactly what happened after buying Bayonetta 3 off eBay—his Switch 2 was instantly banned from online. And the reason? That cart may have been previously dumped using a MIG Switch, triggering Nintendo's new anti-piracy detection system. In this video, I break down: What the MIG Switch actually does How Nintendo might detect “dirty” cartridges Why used games could be riskier than ever And whether this is fair to everyday gamers 🎮 Subscribe for more Switch 2 news, leaks, and honest commentary. #NintendoSwitch2 #Switch2Ban #MIGSwitch #UsedGamesWarning #NintendoNews #Bayonetta3 #8BitEric DISCLAIMER: This video contains opinions and humor based on publicly available information. It is not intended to harass or defame anyone.
View Video Transcript
0:00
You might want to think twice before you
0:02
buy used Nintendo Switch games because
0:04
somebody just bought a $20 cartridge off
0:07
eBay and it got their brand new $450
0:11
Nintendo Switch to permanently banned
0:13
from online play. Not modded, not
0:16
hacked, just a regular cartridge with a
0:19
very shady history. And this might be
0:21
way bigger than anyone realizes.
0:25
So, here's what kicked this off. There's
0:27
a YouTuber by the name of Quinn Nelson,
0:29
also known as Snazzy Labs. They're a
0:31
tech YouTuber with over a million
0:33
subscribers. They tweeted that their
0:35
Switch 2 got banned right after they
0:37
inserted a used copy of Bayonetta 3 that
0:40
they bought off eBay. And according to
0:42
him, he just bought the cart secondhand,
0:45
plugged it in like normal, and suddenly
0:47
got hit with the dreaded console ban
0:49
message. That means no Splatoon, no
0:52
Smash, no online Mario Kart World,
0:55
nothing. His $450 Switch 2 is offline
0:59
for good. This is scary, guys. The
1:01
kicker here, though, is that Quinn
1:04
thinks the cart had been previously
1:05
dumped using what's called a MIG Switch
1:07
device, which could have flagged it, you
1:10
know, from Nintendo system. They have
1:12
some kind of like software detection
1:14
system thingabber to prevent piracy. So,
1:17
what's the MIG switch? If you guys don't
1:19
know, the MIG Switch is a flash
1:21
cartridge tool that lets people dump
1:23
their physical Switch One games and
1:25
unload them onto a micro SD card. You
1:28
insert it into the cartridge slot, tap a
1:31
button, and you can cycle through
1:32
multiple games from one handy little
1:34
device. You don't have to use multiple
1:37
cartridges or anything like that. And it
1:38
sounds convenient, right? But here's the
1:41
catch. Here's the real issue here. Every
1:43
legit cartridge. So, this little
1:45
cartridge that you see right here has
1:47
what's called a unique game ID tied to
1:49
it. Okay? So, if Nintendo sees multiple
1:52
consoles using the same ID and they're
1:54
all logged in online, that's a huge red
1:57
flag to them. And this is where the bans
1:59
come in. Like DSP says, banned, banned,
2:02
banned, gone forever. Not because of
2:05
piracy, but because of duplication.
2:07
Okay? Even if you didn't do the dumping
2:09
yourself, your cart might be tainted.
2:11
So, I bought this game used a couple
2:14
weeks ago from GameStop and I haven't
2:17
put it in my Switch 2 yet. I'm glad I
2:19
didn't because I could run risk of
2:20
getting my console banned if this whole
2:23
story is true. If the last owner of this
2:25
game used a Meg Switch to dump the game
2:29
onto their micro SD card, even though I
2:31
didn't do it myself, I'm running risk of
2:34
my Switch 2 being banned. That is a big
2:37
yikes. So, let's talk about Nintendo
2:39
Switch 2's detection system, right? The
2:41
Switch 2 is a much smarter console when
2:44
it comes to online validation.
2:46
Some developers actually believe that
2:48
Nintendo has quietly rolled out some
2:50
kind of like serverside system that
2:52
automatically detects cloned G cartridge
2:55
ID. So, if these were all cloned, as
2:57
soon as they go in online, uh they'll be
3:00
detected. Okay? It's like a digital
3:02
fingerprint. Now, these these aren't all
3:04
online games, actually, but this is just
3:06
for visual effect right here. All right.
3:09
So, let's say I have Smash Brothers or
3:12
Splatoon 3 and I put it in and then
3:16
there's another person that might have
3:18
actually previously had it and it's on
3:20
their MIG Switch, they go online, too.
3:22
If they see two or three consoles go
3:24
online with the same ID from the dumped
3:26
cartridge, that's a instant banhammer.
3:29
And that's the terrifying part because
3:31
again, like I said, it means you don't
3:33
have to do anything that is wrong to
3:35
lose access. You you might even be
3:38
totally innocent buyer, but your used
3:40
cartridge has a dirty fingerprint on it
3:43
that gets you flagged. And I think
3:45
that's actually outrageous. I see on
3:48
paper what Nintendo is trying to do with
3:50
it, but this is scary. I'm I'm glad some
3:53
of my used games I actually bought
3:56
months ago and haven't even put them
3:58
into my Switch. I'm glad at that point,
4:00
especially when you look at right now
4:01
when you get all these games that have
4:04
free Switch updates like Super Mario uh
4:07
Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey and
4:10
Bowser's Fury and Splatoon 3 and uh
4:13
Kirby and all those, they got Switch 2
4:15
updates, previous Switch OG games,
4:18
whichever ones actually have online
4:20
gameplay, you're running risk of getting
4:22
your console banned if somebody
4:24
previously dumped it, if you bought it
4:26
used. So now Snazzy Labs is insisting
4:29
they never used a MIG switch on the
4:31
Switch 2 and uh people quickly found a
4:35
tweet actually from back in April where
4:37
he actually talked about doing exactly
4:39
that. So people were questioning is this
4:41
actually happening right? He even showed
4:44
the device on this tweet cycling through
4:46
Zelda and other games. So, he might be
4:49
backtracking, you know, maybe, maybe
4:51
not, but it's still raising a massive
4:53
concern for the rest of us. Uh,
4:55
regardless of what he did, this opens a
4:58
very real possibility. Uh, used games
5:00
bought online might have a history that
5:02
you can't see, and that history can get
5:05
you banned. So, there's speculation
5:06
right now because this tweet called them
5:08
out that they could be lying about it,
5:10
that they basically used a MIG switch on
5:13
the Switch 2 in the past, and they're
5:15
being called out for it. But you still
5:17
have the risk of used games. All right,
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look, I buy used games all the time.
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Again, like I said, I just bought Mario,
5:23
Luigi Brotherhip the other day. You got
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Facebook Marketplace, Merkari, eBay,
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Retro Stores, you name it. Now, I'm
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wondering how many of those cartridges
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in a store alone? Like, what are the
5:34
odds have been dumped by a previous
5:36
owner? Uh, could I get banned just for
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inserting one of them into my Switch,
5:41
too? Even though I don't even own a MIG
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Switch. The MIG Switch community is
5:44
tiny, right? But it only takes one bad
5:48
cartridge and one ID clash, one false
5:51
flag, and boom, Nintendo pulls a plug on
5:54
your account. It's almost like a
5:54
pandemic, like like a virus going out
5:57
there because somebody decided to dump
6:00
their Switch game, and we can't do
6:02
anything about it. So, here's the bigger
6:04
question, right? The real question here
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is, is Nintendo going too far with this?
6:08
Should they be banning consoles just
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based on duplicate IDs without warning?
6:13
Uh, I get that piracy is a concern, but
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punishing regular consumers, people that
6:18
had nothing to do with it for
6:19
unknowingly buying a tainted game. Uh, I
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think this is a PR disaster in my
6:25
opinion, waiting to happen. If this
6:27
story gains traction, guys, you could
6:29
bet it will not be the last time we hear
6:30
about it. Like, if this thing blows up
6:32
anymore, seen a few people cover it.
6:33
RGT, for example, covered it today. Uh,
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the used game market's huge. I mean,
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GameStop is literally a used game chain,
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right? If Nintendo doesn't clarify
6:42
things, people are going to get burned
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and they're going to be angry. And
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Nintendo so far has been making some
6:48
questionable anti-consumer decisions as
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of late. So, here is my advice, guys. If
6:55
you're buying used Switch One games for
6:57
your Switch 2, be extra careful, okay?
7:01
Buy from trusted sellers. Avoid sketchy
7:04
listings. If a price seems too good to
7:06
be true, it probably is. And you can
7:09
never be too sure on this because if the
7:11
cartridge ID theory with the situation's
7:13
legit, it means Switch two bands are
7:15
actually going to get a lot more common
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and most people won't even know why.
7:20
They're going to go buy a used game, put
7:22
it in, and they're going to be like,
7:24
and they're going to look this up and
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they're essentially going to be upset
7:28
like like me. I'm running a risk of bait
7:30
in my console if I buy a used game.
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You're running a risk. That's not right.
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Okay. Do you think Nintendo system is
7:36
fair? Would you still risk buying used
7:39
games? Let me know in the comments down
7:40
below. Okay? And if you found this video
7:43
helpful, make sure you hit that like
7:44
button. It helps this channel grow.
7:47
Subscribe for more Switch 2 updates, uh,
7:50
news, leaks, you name it, and real talk,
7:52
right? Uh, like this. I'm 8bit Eric and,
7:54
uh, I got more coming your way. See you
7:56
on the next one, guys. Thank you so much
7:57
for watching as always.
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