Nintendo Switch 2 owners report their consoles have been banned “for no reasonable reason,” claiming they have only used legitimate games and official software. A growing number of users have taken to Reddit and other online forums to complain about sudden restrictions, with some saying they were accused of piracy despite having no history of using copied games or illegal software.

The reports appear to have increased over the past few days, and they are not limited to one region. While several complaints have come from Asia, users in the US and Europe have also reported similar problems.

There’s been a sudden Nintendo Switch 2 ban wave

One user said they bought a new Switch 2 along with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing from Yodobashi Camera in Japan. Everything was purchased together on the same receipt, and the games were new. According to the user, they played for only around two hours before the console suddenly displayed a ban message with error code 2124-4508.

The user also said they had not used second-hand cartridges, international credit cards, or anything else that could explain the ban. After contacting Nintendo’s Japanese support team, they were reportedly told that the console had been involved in activity that violated the company’s Terms of Service and that illegal software had been used.

Other Switch 2 owners have reported similar experiences. In one case, a parent claimed that Nintendo banned their daughter’s console for allegedly copying cartridges. The family said they only used officially purchased first-party games and had never used cartridge-copying hardware. Interestingly, the household reportedly owned four Switch 2 consoles, but only one was affected.

Fortunately, there are now signs that at least some of these bans may have been caused by a problem on Nintendo’s side rather than actual piracy. Several affected users later reported that their consoles had been unbanned.

Nintendo has started to reverse console bans

Some said they simply had to restart their Switch 2, while others contacted Nintendo Support and were told that an internal server issue had caused the problem. One user who was initially told they had been permanently banned for piracy said Nintendo later acknowledged an error on its servers and removed the restriction.

The reports suggest that Nintendo’s systems may have incorrectly flagged legitimate consoles during what users described as a ban wave. However, Nintendo has not publicly confirmed the exact cause of the issue, so it is still unclear how widespread the problem is or why certain consoles were affected.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.