In order to make your Nintendo Switch accessible to other consoles on the internet, you want to ultimately get NAT type A. This is achieved by port forwarding. <br>Port forwarding is a term in gaming that makes a console or PC open to other computers or consoles. Port forwarding your Nintendo Switch can greatly improve its connection speed, matchmaking speed, and online loading times.<br>So, how do port forward a Switch?<br>Follow the steps below.

1. Gather necessary network information.

   There are three network information that you need — IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway.You can use your computer or smartphone to get them.For demonstration purposes, we give you steps on how to do it in a Windows 10 PC. If you have a smartphone or Mac, use Google to search for the exact steps on how to extract these network details.-On your Windows 10 computer, select the start bar in the lower-left corner, and type cmd into the search bar.-Select Command Prompt.-Type ipconfig/all and press Enter-Your network’s IP information should now be displayed in a list. Scroll through the list to find the IPv4 Address or IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway.

2. Set up static IP address on your Nintendo Switch.

   Once you have the needed network information, take out your Nintendo Switch and go to the Home screen. The, follow the rest of the steps below: -Open System Settings.-Select Internet.-Select Internet Settings.-Go to the Advanced Settings of your network. If you are using wifi, select your wifi network.-Select Change Settings.-Find IP Address Settings and select it.-Select Manual.-Select IP Address and then hold down the B Button to delete the existing IP address (it defaults to zeros).-Enter the IP address that you get from your computer. Then, change the last digits of the IP address by adding 20. For example, if your computer’s IP address is 192.168.2.10, the IP address that you should enter on your Switch should be 192.168.2.30.-Select Subnet Mask, and then press the B Button to delete the existing subnet mask.-Enter in the subnet mask as it appears in your network settings, and then select OK.-Select Gateway, and then press the B Button to delete the existing gateway.-Enter in the default gateway as it appears in your network settings, and then select OK.

3. Change router settings.

   Now that you’ve changed your console’s IP address to static, you are ready to change the settings in your router to finish the port forwarding process. From this point on, we can only provide general steps on what you need to do.Each router has its own way to access its settings. If you have no idea how to go into your router’s settings, consult its manual or contact the manufacturer. If your router was provided by your Internet Service Provider, contact them for exact steps.Once you’ve logged in to your router’s GUI or graphical user interface, find the location where you can do port forwarding. The exact location depends on your router but port forwarding settings are typically found in Firewall, Virtual Server, Security, Applications, or Gaming.In Port Forwarding section, make sure to use “Nintendo Switch” if it asks for application name. This makes it easier for you to identify your Nintendo Switch setup if you need to modify some settings later.Then, you want to ensure that you enter the correct UDP protocol port range. Enter the starting port and the ending port to forward. For the Nintendo Switch console, this is port 1 through 65535.Afterwards, enter the IP address you assigned to the console (as in Step #2). Then, check Enable or Apply to turn on this rule. Make sure that you save the changes before closing your router GUI.

4. Verify your NAT type.

   Make sure to check if your Nintendo Switch is now getting NAT type A by running an internet connection test. Just go to System Settings>Internet>Test connection.