Can You Listen to Music on Nintendo Switch? A Complete Guide!

Can you listen to music on Nintendo Switch? Is there a media player available or built into the Switch’s system?

As a music lover, this is one of the questions I always tried to find answers to. So, I dug up the courage and strength to learn before I buy a Switch!

Yes, you can listen to music on your Nintendo Switch via your browser. Another way would be by using software that can allow you to download songs from Spotify and put them on Nintendo Switch.

Does Nintendo Switch Have a Media Player?

Unfortunately, even today, the Nintendo Switch is not designed to function as a smartphone or as an all-in-one device that can cater to everything, MP4, WAV, or FLAC – among others.

However, I was able to find that the Nintendo Switch actively supports both MP3 and AAC formats.

And for this, though, you need to have the music downloaded and installed on your device (either via the microSD card or the internal storage) for it to begin playback.

So, let me now walk you through the steps and entire process of how you can listen to music on your Nintendo Switch.

Can You Listen to Music on Nintendo Switch?

While your Nintendo Switch won’t come with a built-in Spotify program, don’t worry, because you can actually playback MP3 and AAC file formats!

This is the perfect guide for you in case you were asking, can you listen to music on Nintendo Switch Lite?

I listed and researched a few of the best methods on how you can play and listen to music on your Nintendo Switch!

Method #1: Playing Music via Saved Files

This method will actually require you to have music files ready on your microSD card or in your Switch’s internal memory.

1. Go to Home and select Nintendo 3DS Sound.
2. From there, navigate to the music folder you have using the stylus.
3. Choose the file or music that you want to play and select Play.

NOTE: Make sure that the file format of your music is either AAC or MP3, otherwise, it wouldn’t work.  

Method #2: Play Spotify on Nintendo Switch

This next method is the more comprehensive one because as we all know, Spotify is not available on the Switch and neither does playing music from it.

So, what do you do? It’s simple – you just have to access the Switch’s hidden browser and do it through there.

It’ll take you a couple of steps, but first, you need to prepare.

How to Play Spotify Songs on Nintendo Switch?

Well, to be clear, it’s not like you’ll play the songs directly from Spotify.

What you’ll need to do is download these songs, and then access them on your Nintendo Switch.

Not sure how this is done? Here’s how you can do it:

Step #1: Download and Install a Converter on Your Computer

This first step wouldn’t involve your Nintendo Switch yet, instead, you’ll have to work on your computer. Select a file converter of your choice (I personally use Tunelf and ViWizard).

After that, download the software to your computer.

Step #2: Launch Spotify

Then, what you want to do is launch Spotify and choose the songs you want to download.

NOTE: You’ll have to do this one by one, so it’s kind of a tedious task.

Step #3: Select Songs and Copy the URL

To select a song, you simply have to click on the track once, and then copy it (Ctrl + C or CMD + C) on the desktop app.

NOTE: If you’re using Spotify’s web version, you just have to right-click > Share > Copy Song Link.

Step #4: Change the Format Upon Downloading

When you’ve copied the URL, paste it onto the converter you just downloaded.

Paste the links one by one and the converter will recognize that the tracks are from Spotify.

Once you’ve finished importing, check the output format and make sure that you change it either to MP3 or AAC, and then click Convert to start the process.

The conversion of a single track can take anywhere between 15 and 30 seconds, so if you’re converting multiple tracks, it may take a while.

Step #5: Select a Destination Folder

After that, you’ll be asked to choose a destination folder or by default, to the downloads folder of your computer.

I usually create a folder and place it on a desktop so it’s easy to see.

NOTE: Knowing this is important because you will need this when you are about to transfer the files so that they’ll be in the cloud storage.

Step #6: Upload the Songs to Google Drive

When all the files have been finalized and converted, the next step would be to upload them to Google Drive.

You can also choose Google Play, but I find Google Drive better and easier to understand.

Wait for the entire lineup of tracks to complete the uploading to the cloud server.

Step #7: Launch Google on Your Nintendo Switch

When done, it’s now time for you to launch your Google Play or Google Drive on your Nintendo Switch!

But wait, I don’t see a direct button that accesses that – how do I do it? I got you!

1. Go to your Nintendo Switch’s dashboard.
2. From there, select System Settings.
3. Then, select Internet > Internet Settings > WiFi Connection.
4. After that, select Change Settings > DNS Settings.
5. Then, modify the DNS Settings and set it to 045.055.142.122.
6. You’ll be asked if you want to connect to the network, select Yes or Connect.
7. Go through all the prompts and select Continue to Google.

Lastly, you just have to go through Google Drive or Google Play (whichever you choose), log into your account, and that’s it!

Method #3: Playing Music via Sys-Tune

This is probably the most complex and comprehensive method as you will need to have the Atmosphere Custom Firmware and Tesla menu currently running on your Nintendo Switch.

Here’s a quick and easy guide on how to do that.

Now, when you’re set up with these, follow these steps:

1. Insert your microSD card into your laptop/computer or connect via wireless FTP.
2. Then, access the Sys-Tune program to get to the GitHub link.
3. Download and install the program to your computer.
4. Once done, drag and drop the downloaded files to your microSD card.
5. Create a music file on your SD card root and then drag all the music you want there.
6. Inject the microSD card into your Switch, boot Atmosphere, and access the Tesla menu.

NOTE: You can access the Tesla menu by pressing L + D-pad down + right stick button.

From there, you’ll see Sys-Tune, and you can play it from your homepage. Sys-Tune supports MP3, FLAC, and WAV formats.

With Sys-Tune, you can even play music as a background on your Nintendo Switch!

How cool is that?

These are the three different ways of listening to music on your Nintendo Switch, even if it is not compatible with Spotify or any other music streaming apps and programs.

In case you’re wondering if it’s possible to listen to music using your Nintendo Switch, yes, it is! You only need to make sure that you have the formats in place.

The Bottom Line

Don’t believe people when they tell you that the Switch is a dead end but can you listen to music on Nintendo Switch? Yes, you definitely can!

Follow any of the methods I gave you above, and refrain from thinking that your Switch can never be used as a music device.