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I purchased a used Nintendo Switch Smash Bros edition which still has its previous owner's data on it, is there a way to do a factory reset (so I can create my own profile) without losing the game which is already installed on the console? I don't have a physical card for it, only the digital version.

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Since the device has someone else's account on it, once you reset it, if you don't have access to that account, you'd lose access to anything downloaded on the console. According to this help page from Nintendo it states that the games are tied to whatever Nintendo Account was used to download them.

So no, if you factory reset the Switch, you won't have access to any downloaded games that were on it, if they weren't bought by you on a Nintendo account you have the login information for.

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  • I assume my only option is to contact the guy who sold me the console and get the email address associated with his account changed
    – bugs
    Sep 25, 2019 at 14:59
  • @bugs: Did you buy the Switch with the expectation that it would come with all of his digital purchases? Because that is not an expectation I would ever have when it comes to purchasing a console. The Switch is yours now, but the account is his. And he might still be using that account on, say, a Switch Lite or 3DS.
    – Ellesedil
    Sep 25, 2019 at 17:19
  • @Ellesedil I bought it specifically because it had the game included (and this was definitely clear during our communications)
    – bugs
    Sep 25, 2019 at 18:04

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