In order to watch YouTube on the Switch 2, you currently have to take a complicated route.
Months after the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, there is still no trace of some basic functions. Many users miss it particularly painfully an official YouTube appas it was on the previous console.
A Reddit user has at least discovered a surprising, albeit very complicated, workaround to still use the video platform on the new console. The solution is through the free game Super Animal Royale, which is available in the eShop (View in the Nintendo eShop).
Nintendo Switch 2: YouTube works with this trick
The trick works like this: After installing the game, you have to go to the news area in the main menu and click on any video there. Clicking on the “Watch on YouTube” button will then open a hidden web browserwhich grants direct access to the video platform.
This makes it technically possible to watch any YouTube video directly on the Switch 2 screen – a function that Nintendo does not yet officially offer.
Switch 2 owners are still waiting for the official app
Unfortunately, this trick is not much more than proof that it is technically feasible. Reddit user TabouletVR, who shared the find, describes the user experience as “terrible.”
All videos are limited to a resolution of 360pand the browser is extremely unstable. If the page loads too many elements, it crashes and forces a restart. The operation is anything but comfortable and is more reminiscent of the web browser experiments on older consoles such as the Wii U or the 3DS.
While the app ran without any problems on the first Switch, an adapted version for the new hardware is still a long time coming, without any official explanation from Nintendo or Google. The workaround is, above all, a renewed reminder that the community continues to sorely miss an important function.