How to Sign In to a Nintendo Account
Description:
Step-by-step instructions for signing in to your existing Nintendo Account.
Important
- If you have forgotten your sign-in information and are unable to sign in to your Nintendo Account, please refer to Issues Signing in to a Nintendo Account for assistance.
- The ability to use a Nintendo Network ID, Facebook or Twitter account to sign in to an existing Nintendo Account or to create a new Nintendo Account has been discontinued. We apologise for any inconvenience. If you are having difficulties signing in to your Nintendo Account and previously used one of these services, please refer to the following:
What to Do:
There are various different ways to sign in to your Nintendo Account depending on where you are signing in and what options you have enabled:
- Using the email address (or Sign-In ID) and password associated with your Nintendo Account.
- Using a passkey, if you have registered one.
- Using your Google or Apple Account, if you have linked them.
- By using a smart device (if you are signing in on a Nintendo Switch console).
Email address (or Sign-In ID) and password Passkey Google or Apple Account With a smart device on a Nintendo Switch console
- Go to the Nintendo Account website or open the application where you want to sign in.
- Enter the email address (or Sign-In ID) and password associated with your Nintendo Account, then select Sign In.
- If you have forgotten your sign-in information, you may find Forgot Nintendo Account Sign-In Info helpful.
- If you have changed your preferences to allow sign in with your Sign-In ID only, you will not be able to use your email address to sign in. You will need to use your Sign-In ID to sign in to your Nintendo Account.
- Supervised Nintendo Accounts (including accounts for children aged 15 and under) sign in using their own Sign-In ID and password (not the parent/guardian account Sign-In ID and password).
- If you have registered a passkey to your Nintendo Account, you will be prompted to sign in using your passkey instead.
- If you are not signing in using the device associated with your passkey, select Use another method to verify your identity and follow the steps to verify your account by entering a two-step code or entering a verification code sent to your email address.
- You may occasionally be prompted to confirm your identity when signing in. If this is the case, an email with a verification code will be sent to the email address associated with your Nintendo Account. Locate the code in your email and enter it in the "Verification code" box, then select Verify.
- Verification code never arrived
- It may take up to 30 minutes for the verification email to arrive. If it has not yet been 30 minutes, please wait for a while longer to see if the email arrives.
- Check your spam/junk email folder to see if the email is there.
- Make sure there are no filters in your email account that may be blocking emails from @accounts.nintendo.com.
- Add the email address no-reply@accounts.nintendo.com to your contacts address book and safe sender list.
- Make sure that you are entering your email address correctly on the signing in screen, then select Resend verification code to have a new verification code email sent.
For more information, please read Nintendo Account Verification Email Did Not Arrive.
- Verification code never arrived
- If you have set up two-step verification, you will be prompted to enter an additional code. Launch the Google Authenticator app on your smart device, enter the code it displays and select Verify.
- If you do not currently have access to the app, select Use another method to verify your identity and use one of the backup codes you received when setting up two-step verification. (You should have copied and saved these in a safe place.)
- If you do not currently have access to your backup codes, select Use another method to verify your identity on the "Enter backup code" screen. An email with a verification code will be sent to the email address associated with your Nintendo Account. Locate the code in your email and enter it in the "Verification code" box, then select Verify.
- If you do not receive the email but have registered a phone number to your Nintendo Account, select Use another method to verify your identity on the "Email address verification" screen, then select Submit. A code will be sent via text message to your phone number. Enter it in the "Verification code" box and select Verify to verify your identity.
- If you have not registered a phone number to your Nintendo Account (or the verification text message does not arrive) and do not receive the email, please follow our steps for Did Not Receive a Nintendo Account Identity Verification Email.
- Cannot sign into Nintendo Account with two-step verification
If you still cannot sign in to your Nintendo Account, read Issues with Nintendo Account 2-Step Verification Code.
Note: If you haven't already registered a passkey, you must register one before you can use it to sign in to your Nintendo Account.
- Go to the Nintendo Account website or open the application where you want to sign in.
- Under Sign in with a passkey, select Sign in.
- Perform the relevant steps on your device to use your passkey.
- Passkeys can only be used to sign in on the device the passkey was registered on, or when signing in on a Nintendo Switch console using a smart device.
- You may receive the message "Passkeys cannot be used on this device" if you are trying to sign in from a device that is not compatible with passkeys. Select Use another method to verify your identity and follow the steps to verify your account by entering a two-step code or entering a verification code sent to your email address.
- If you try to sign in from a device that is not associated with one of your passkeys, you may receive the message "Passkey sign-in failed. Please sign in with a password instead". Select Use another method to verify your identity and follow the steps to verify your account by entering a two-step code or entering a verification code sent to your email address.
- Use one of the other methods to sign in if the device associated with your passkey is unavailable. For more information, see Unable to sign in to Nintendo Account using a Passkey.
Note: If you haven't already done so, you must link your Google account or Apple Account to your Nintendo Account before you can use it to sign in.
- Go to the Nintendo Account website or open the application where you want to sign in.
- Select the button for the appropriate service (Google or Apple) and enter your sign in information if needed.
- If trying to sign in through a Nintendo mobile application on an iOS device (such as an iPhone or iPad), you will only be able to sign in using your Nintendo Account email address and password. If you have difficulty signing in this way, follow our steps on Unable to sign in to a Nintendo Account or create one from a Nintendo app on an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, etc.).
- If you have forgotten your Google or Apple sign-in information, please contact Google or Apple support for assistance with those accounts. In the meantime, try signing in to your Nintendo Account using one of the other methods (email/password or passkey).
- You may occasionally be prompted to confirm your identity when signing in. If this is the case, an email with a verification code will be sent to the email address associated with your Nintendo Account. Locate the code in your email and enter it in the "Verification code" box, then select Verify.
- If you do not receive the email, please follow our steps for Did Not Receive a Nintendo Account Identity Verification Email.
- If you have set up two-step verification, you will be prompted to enter an additional code. Launch the Google Authenticator app on your smart device, enter the code it displays and select Verify.
- If you do not currently have access to the app, select Use another method to verify your identity and use one of the backup codes you received when setting up two-step verification. (You should have copied and saved these in a safe place.)
- If you do not currently have access to your backup codes, select Use another method to verify your identity on the "Enter backup code" screen. An email with a verification code will be sent to the email address associated with your Nintendo Account. Locate the code in your email and enter it in the "Verification code" box, then select Verify.
- If you do not receive the email but have registered a phone number to your Nintendo Account, select Use another method to verify your identity on the "Email Address Verification" screen, then select Submit. A code will be sent via text message to your phone number. Enter it in the "Verification code" box and select Verify to verify your identity.
- If you have not registered a phone number to your Nintendo Account (or the verification text message does not arrive) and do not receive the email, please follow our steps for Did Not Receive a Nintendo Account Identity Verification Email.
- Cannot sign into Nintendo Account with two-step verification
If you still cannot sign in to your Nintendo Account, read Issues with Nintendo Account 2-Step Verification Code.
Linking a Nintendo Account Any Other Situation
- When prompted, select Quick sign in via smartphone.
- Use a smart device with a camera to scan the QR Code that appears on the screen.
- Use your preferred sign-in method to sign in to the Nintendo Account you want to link on your Nintendo Switch console using your smart device's browser.
- If you are already signed in to a Nintendo Account on your smart device, you can select the current Nintendo Account you are signed in with or use a different Nintendo Account.
- Once a Nintendo Account is linked to a user account, this link cannot be undone. If you are signed in to the wrong Nintendo Account, sign out and start this process again from step 1.
- You will be presented with a 5-digit verification code. Enter this verification code on your Nintendo Switch console.
- The verification code is only valid for a short time and cannot be repeatedly entered incorrectly. If the verification code is not accepted, start this process again from step 1.
- Review the Nintendo Account details to confirm it is the correct Nintendo Account, then select Link to finish signing in.
- When prompted, select Re-enter password on your smart device.
- Use a smart device with a camera to scan the QR Code that appears on the screen.
- Use your preferred sign-in method to sign in to the Nintendo Account you want to link on your Nintendo Switch console using your smart device's browser. Once successfully signed in, your Nintendo Switch console will automatically complete the sign-in process.
- If you are already signed in to a Nintendo Account on your smart device, you can select the current Nintendo Account you are signed in with or use a different Nintendo Account.