The Switch is the current console of Nintendo, the great Japanese video game company. Like all consoles, the software is proprietary to the company. That brings good things and bad things, it is very comfortable to navigate between its menus to select the game or between the options. But it limits you if you want to use the Nintendo Switch as a multimedia center, since the Switch, being a tablet-style console, would be perfect for this use. But… What if we installed Android on the Nintendo Switch?
Yes, we have not gone crazy, Android can be installed on the Nintendo Switch, of course, unofficially, but there is no need to worry, it is safe.
Android on your Nintendo Switch with LineageOS
All this is possible to LineageOS. We have already talked about him many times in Android Ayuda, but we will tell you what it is. LineageOS is a android fork It is open source and offers a pure Android experience that many users like, and is a hit ROM for many years.
Well, knowing what LineageOS is, it is important to know that all this will work with version 15.1 of LineageOS, that is, based on Android 8.1 Oreo. Yes, it is not the latest version, but let's remember that the Nintendo Switch will not be our mobile phone, so Android 8 is not bad if we want to test the system on our console.
How to install Android on your Switch
Well, once this is known, let's see how to install it. Do not worry, this will not replace the operating system of your Switch, so do not worry, you can continue playing your video games as you have done so far. We are talking about a dual boot. In other words, we could choose between one system or another.
To install it we will have to download the images (the image is the type of file used for the installation, it is not a photo) from the XDA Developers post where this Android installation possibility has been published. There you can also check everything you need.
You will need an SD card to install the operating system there. So get a first one with a minimum of 16GB and a maximum of 128GB.
In the image TWRP Recovery it is pre-installed.
Doing this requires some knowledge of flashing or Android recovery.
Steps to follow
These are the steps to follow to install Android on your Switch.
- First you will have to download the image that corresponds to the size of your SD card (that is, it depends on the capacity of your card, you will have to choose one image or another). You can download it by direct download or by Torrent.
- Save the image to your SD card. Do not extract the image, it will work on the compressed image.
- Download the Google Apps (GApps) for Android 8.1. Specifically the open gaps. Put them on the first partition of your SD card.
- If you want you can download the file from shield ifier and also put it in your SD. This will allow your Switch to be detected as an NVIDIA Shield (Since the Switch uses an NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor to work). In this way we can install NVIDIA Shield TV and install the NVIDIA app.
- Load hekate (the Switch boot) and start TWRP by holding down the volume "+" button when selecting Android settings.
- Make sure you are mounting / system first in TWRP. Flash the zip of the GApps. After this flush / dalvik cache as offered by TWRP. If you are not very clear how to step, This Video it will allow you to see it more clearly.
- Restart the hekate and start Android.
- Complete the initial setup. If you have installed shield ifier to get NVIDIA Shield features make sure to update the Play Store.
If you want to see how it works, again, we leave you a video of how the Switch works with Android.
Are you going to try it? Would you like to use your Switch to play games, but also as a multimedia center?