Nintendo Account Hack: How to Set Up Two-Step Verification to Safely Play Your Nintendo Switch Games

Nintendo has revealed that 160,000 Nintendo accounts have been hacked.This information comes hot on the heels of multiple reports from Nintendo Switch users of suspicious account logins. Payment information and security settings have not been accessed, however Nintendo claims that user details like date of birth, region, and email address may have been compromised.

“While we continue to investigate, we would like to reassure users that there is currently no evidence pointing towards a breach of Nintendo’s databases, servers or services,” reads a post on the Nintendo UK website. “As one action in our ongoing investigation, we are discontinuing the ability to use a Nintendo Network ID to sign in to a Nintendo Account. All other options to sign-in to a Nintendo Account remain available.”

In addition to this, Nintendo will contact users to reset passwords for Nintendo Network IDs and Nintendo accounts that the company believes were “accessed without authorisation”. Furthermore, Nintendo has also stated that users should safeguard their Nintendo accounts by enabling two-step verification.

How to set up Nintendo Switch account two-step verification

1. Go to https://accounts.nintendo.com and sign in to your Nintendo Account.
2. Select Sign-in and security settings, then scroll down to Two-Step Verification and click Edit.
3. Click Enable two-step verification.
4. Click Submit to have a verification code sent to the email address shown.
   • If the email address is incorrect, click Change next to the Email Address menu setting under User Information to change it.
5. Enter the verification code from the e-mail, then select Submit.
6. Install the Google Authenticator or any other authentication app on your smart device such as Authy via Google Play or App Store.
7. Use the smart device app to scan the QR code displayed on your Nintendo Account screen.
8. A six-digit verification code will appear on your smart device. Enter the verification code into the field under step 3 on the Nintendo Account screen, then select Submit.
9. A list of backup codes will appear. Click Copy to copy all the codes, then paste them somewhere safe.
   • A backup code will be required for sign-in if you don’t have access to the Google Authenticator app. Make sure to keep these somewhere safe.
   • You can use these (one time each) if you do not have access to the Google Authenticator app. (Please note that the backup process may differ depending on the authentication app you use.)
10. Click “Backup codes saved”, then “OK”.

(You can return to the two-step verification settings section to review the backup codes and remove the 2-step restriction at any time.)

Does Nintendo Switch account two-step verification send an SMS?

Unlike Sony’s two-step verification which sends you an SMS or Microsoft’s that let’s you opt-in to receive codes via SMS, Nintendo does not offer this flexibility, which is why the company stresses that you keep your backup codes safe.