Step By Step on How To Connect Nintendo Switch To Laptop

Do you wish to connect your Nintendo Switch to your laptop to use it as a screen? Firstly you’ll have to see the possibility of doing so and in the case, it is possible, a tutorial on how to do the same. Most of the gamers love to play on Switch itself, but there is no harm in connecting your console to a huge LED monitor or a laptop to get a bigger picture.

Even we like watching our favorite animated characters on a bigger frame. Especially when you play in a team of three or even four players at once, a huge screen would mean larger viewing and gaming space for each individual. But the question is… can you use a laptop for it? For that, you will have to use the Nintendo Switch to connect to the laptop monitor via HDMI port. Easy right?

Connecting Nintendo switch to your laptop?

Yes. It is possible. Mostly, it would be next to impossible to change the resolution of 720p to 1080p on the Nintendo console without connecting anything to the docks. But some gamers have found a way around this. A sort of a loophole per se.

In some Reddit or Discord forums, many avid gamers post up a question that is it possible to run the Switch console on their lappy without any capture card, or a device for recording images from third-party video sources on their laptops.

We are sorry to say but no you cannot. It is not possible to connect the HDMI cable of the Nintendo Switch to the laptop because it comes with only ONE port. Although it can be done without the capture card, the technique would become a lot more tedious and expensive.

The sole reason a laptop’s HDMI port is present that use it already contains an integrated capture card. You will have to use the same applications as that of a capture card, but because you are not using it as an external capture source, it is better if you just remove the middleman.

In the case that you take your console everywhere you go, the easy solution would be to buy an Elgato Game Capture HD card. It is one of the most recommended cards on the market. If you can’t afford to spend this much, just buy a 1080p monitor since it is cheaper than the capture card itself.

Laptop as a screen for Nintendo Switch?

It sounds very easy, right? But in reality, it can be a little tricky because people tend to skip through the fine print i.e the minor details.

Since every laptop comes with an HDMI connection, it is usually the HDMI output, not the input. And the output can only transmit the signal to the monitor and will not transmit signals received from outside.

How to set up a capture card for your laptop

If your pockets are flooding with cash and you can afford to empty them a little, you should go for the USB 3.0 Type C support Elgato Game Capture HD60 S. It will roughly cost you around 175$ and helps in the transition of Nintendo gaming on your laptop as discussed earlier.

How to connect to monitor

The main thing about the Nintendo Hybrid Console is that you can use it in handheld mode and also dock it to the TV. Some people may even ask if this console connects to a laptop, so why not a PC monitor.

Of course, that is possible too. The only prerequisite that you will have to meet is that the monitor should have an HDMI port. In some cases, the HDMI-DVI cable would also work, if the monitor lacks an HDMI connection but has a DVI connection. All you have to do is, just connect the dock to your monitor, and boom you are good to go.

Additionally, if the PC monitor comes with built-in speakers, the sound can also be transmitted from Switch to the Monitor, or just use your headphones for the same via the jack connector on the top.

Conclusion: 

To summarize the article, we would say that it is slightly tricky but not hard to connect your Switch console to the laptop or your mobile screens. The only exception is laptops with HDMi inputs. These laptops are extremely rare and the manufacturers don’t install them in consumer notebooks. But if you can buy a capture card, you are good to go.