In this guide
Before you start.
- Note the 180-day clock. Nintendo states that if your membership expires you cannot reach your Save Data Cloud backups, and that resubscribing within 180 days restores access to them. After that window the backups are not something you can get back.
- Copy anything you care about to the console first. Save data held in your console's own memory keeps working without a membership, and Nintendo states that Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 do not support local save data backups, so the console copy is the only copy you control.
- Turn auto-renewal off at least 48 hours before the expiry date. Inside that window the next term can still be charged.
- Understand this is one-way. Nintendo states that once auto-renewal is turned off it cannot be turned on again, so keeping the membership later means buying a new one.
- On a family membership, check who else you are switching off. Up to eight accounts share one family membership, and when the purchaser's membership ends every other member of the family group loses the service too.
- Expect no money back for unused time. Nintendo states you will not receive refunds or credits for time remaining on the subscription.
- If you are in the free trial, the trial converts into a paid auto-renewing membership unless auto-renewal is off before the trial ends.
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel Nintendo Switch Online, step by step.
Turn off auto-renewal on the Nintendo Account website
The membership is billed through your Nintendo Account, not through an app store, so this is the route that works from any browser without touching the console.
- Go to accounts.nintendo.com/portal and sign in to the Nintendo Account that bought the membership.
- Select Nintendo Switch Online.
- In the Active Plan section, select Cancel Your Pass by Turning Off Auto-Renewal.
- Select Confirm to turn off automatic renewal.
- Check that the plan now shows it will not renew, and keep the confirmation email.
It has to be the account that purchased the membership. A family member's account cannot switch off a membership somebody else pays for.
Turn off auto-renewal on Nintendo Switch 2
The same setting reached from the console, through the eShop rather than the system settings, which is where most people look first and do not find it.
- Select Nintendo eShop on the HOME Menu.
- Select the account that purchased the Nintendo Switch Online membership plan.
- Select your icon in the upper-right corner to open Account Information.
- Scroll down and select Cancel Your Subscription by Turning Off Automatic Renewal.
- Confirm, and check the membership shows an end date rather than a renewal date.
Turn off auto-renewal on Nintendo Switch
On the original Switch family of consoles the option sits one level deeper, under a Nintendo Switch Online heading inside Account Information.
- Select Nintendo eShop on the HOME Menu.
- Select the account that purchased the membership plan.
- Select your icon in the upper-right corner to open Account Information.
- Highlight Nintendo Switch Online on the left side of the screen.
- Select Cancel Your Subscription by Turning Off Automatic Renewal and confirm.
What happens next?
- The membership stays active until the end of the term you paid for. Nintendo does not refund or credit the remaining time.
- When it ends, online play in compatible games, Nintendo Classics libraries and Save Data Cloud stop.
- Save Data Cloud backups become unreachable at once, but are not immediately gone: starting a new paid membership within 180 days restores access to them.
- Save data stored in your console's memory is unaffected and stays playable offline.
- Custom Nintendo Switch Online user icons you already created remain yours to use after the membership expires.
- Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers need an active paid membership to redeem. Unredeemed vouchers sit unusable until you start a new membership, and they have their own expiry date.
- On a family membership, all eight members lose the service on the same day, whether or not they knew it was ending.
Cancelling a Nintendo Switch Online free trial.
How do I stop a free trial becoming a paid membership?
Turn off automatic renewal before the trial ends. Nintendo states the free trial converts into a 1-month auto-renewing membership at the current price unless auto-renewal is turned off by the end of the trial.
Pausing or freezing Nintendo Switch Online.
Can I pause a Nintendo Switch Online membership?
There is no pause. The options are letting the current term run out with auto-renewal off, or keeping it. Individual memberships are sold in 1-month, 3-month and 1-year lengths, while family memberships are sold in 12-month increments only.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
I cannot find a cancel option anywhere
There is no cancel button, which is why searching for one fails. Nintendo models cancellation as turning off automatic renewal, so the wording to look for is Cancel Your Pass by Turning Off Auto-Renewal on the website, or Cancel Your Subscription by Turning Off Automatic Renewal on the console. On the console it is inside the eShop under Account Information, not in system settings.
My cloud saves are missing and I want them back
An expired membership locks Save Data Cloud backups rather than showing them. Nintendo states you regain access to previous backups by starting a new paid membership within 180 days of expiry. If the membership is currently active and backups are still missing, check you are signed in with the account that owns them, since backups follow the Nintendo Account rather than the console.
I turned off auto-renewal and now I want to keep it
Nintendo states that once auto-renewal is turned off it cannot be turned back on. The existing term still runs to its end date, and continuing after that means purchasing a new membership rather than restoring the old setting.
I was charged even though I cancelled
Compare the date you turned auto-renewal off with the expiry date. Nintendo requires it at least 48 hours before the membership is set to expire, so a change made the day before can land after the renewal was already processed. Also confirm you changed it on the account that purchased the plan, as switching it off on a different account in the family group does nothing to the billing.
Someone else in my family group cancelled and I lost access
A family membership covers up to eight accounts but only the purchaser controls it. When that membership ends, every member loses online play and Save Data Cloud together. Each affected person can buy their own individual membership, and the 180-day cloud save window applies to each account separately.
Still not cancelled?Common reasons a subscription will not cancel
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
How do I cancel Nintendo Switch Online?
Turn off automatic renewal. On the web, sign in at accounts.nintendo.com/portal, select Nintendo Switch Online, then Cancel Your Pass by Turning Off Auto-Renewal in the Active Plan section. On a console, open the eShop, select your icon for Account Information, and choose Cancel Your Subscription by Turning Off Automatic Renewal.
How long are my cloud saves kept after the membership ends?
Nintendo states that an expired membership means you cannot access Save Data Cloud backups, and that resubscribing within 180 days restores access to your previous backups. Save data kept in the console's own memory is unaffected.
Do I get a refund for the rest of my year?
No. Nintendo states the membership remains active until the end of its term and that you will not receive refunds or credits for the remaining time.
Does cancelling stop the whole family membership?
Yes. A family membership serves up to eight accounts through the purchaser's membership, and Nintendo states the other members can no longer use the service once that membership ends.
Provider resources
- Nintendo: how to cancel a Nintendo Switch Online membership or adjust auto-renewal settings
- Nintendo Switch Online Service FAQ
- Nintendo: Save Data Cloud backup files are missing on Nintendo Switch
- Nintendo: how to download Save Data Cloud backups on Nintendo Switch
- Nintendo Switch Online membership plans
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of Nintendo Switch Online. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
