Even though you established parental controls on your Nintendo Switch there will be times when you will not need them. Maybe your child has friends over and they want to play the Switch later than usual or they are sick and you don’t mind that they lay on the couch and play their Nintendo all day. For whatever reason you have determined you want to temporarily disable your parental controls, keep reading for detailed instructions.

Getting your PIN

in order to disable the parental controls on the Switch console, you will need the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls App. Read the post about getting and setting up the app. A PIN will be automatically generated in the App. You will then use your PIN to override the parental controls on the Switch console.

To find your PIN, you will need to open your app. Here you will see console settings on the bottom right. When the next screen opens you will select the PIN box with the picture of an open lock.

On this screen, you will be able to view your current PIN. You are also able to change your PIN to something easier for you to remember.If you decide to change your PIN make sure you save in the upper right corner.

Locking The Parental Controls App

If you would like to lock this app so no one else has access, go to the main screen and then select the gear in the top right corner. Under settings, you will see the option to “lock app”. When I select this option on my iPhone it gives me a toggle to lock using Face ID.

Disabling all Time Limits

If you would like to disable all play limits and alarms for the day, you go to console settings in the bottom right corner of the app. Here you will see a toggle to disable alarms for the day, it will now be orange. When the toggle is turned on all controls will be temporarily disabled for the day.

You also have the option to disable the max play time using the switch handheld. You will see an orange rectangle at the top center of the screen. Click this and enter your pin to temporarily disable play times and alarms for the day.

Adding Games to the White List

Based upon the parental control age group you have chosen for your Nintendo Switch there may be a game that you own that does not meet the age qualifications (see my post on adding content controls to your Switch). Since I have chosen to use the youngest age setting on my Switch this has been the case with most all of our games. I like it though because I have the final say if the game is OK for my kids to play. It is also very easy to rectify using the whitelist option.

To add a game to the whitelist, open the parental controls app and select console settings in the bottom right corner. A new screen will populate with an option that says whitelist and a number next to it. This can be found on the middle white rectangle with the Restriction Level. All games that have been opened on the switch will now populate with an on-and-off toggle. Toggle to the on position, and it will turn orange if you are OK with your child playing the game. Make sure you select save in the upper right corner. If you don’t see the game on the list your child will just need to try and open it on the Switch device.

You also have the option to add games to the white list on the switch console. A notification will appear if an out-of-age game has not yet been added to the white list. You are able to enter your PIN to add this title to the white list.

Two things to note:

• Adding games to the white list will not affect the playing times that you have set. (See my post on how to set up play times here)
• Adding games will not affect your child’s ability to post on social media.