Access Youtube on Nintendo Switch (with video Playback)
Since the Nintendo Switch has been out, the community is hard at work trying to find out ways to extend the possibilities of the device. The Switch’s browser is slightly hidden from the end users, but can be accessed with a few tricks and/or proxies. We’ve talked about DNSwitch already, although that technique did not seem to let people play Videos.
User driverdis at GBATemp has published a full tutorial on how to use a proxy on the Nintendo Switch, which will let you access youtube and play videos. He mentions that anything requiring to log in (including, but not limited to Youtube Red) will not work.
The tutorial covers two major proxy utilities: Fiddler and Charles Proxy. Feel free to use whichever one you want. In addition to using the proxy to redirect the console’s requests to youtube in order to access the site, it seems the trick is to have youtube believe the site is being accessed with an iPhone, I assume this is so that youtube sends the Videos in a format that is compatible with the Nintendo Switch (we’ve explained with DNSwitch how the Nintendo Switch seems to only support H264).
People have reported good success following driverdis’ technique.
Screenshot from GBATemp user sonyUSA confirms you can watch videos on the device
People also report that Plex work fine with the Nintendo switch, with a similar Proxy setup. Again, this will only work for videos that are “local” from a share, not streamed (the Switch’s browser does not support streaming).
How to access Youtube on your Nintendo Switch
You can find the full tutorial at the source here.
Thanks to Driverdis!
first?…
Indeed.
and last in probably everything else in your sad life.
I just have no interest in the switch. The model is poorly made and prone to factory defect and it has no library. I’ll wait for the next model, I think. Hopefully we’ll have a decent library of games by then.
Just got mine, n im pretty happy with it. Build quality seems pretty solid, sure the rail mount for the controllers could be a problem, n the stand alone controller is fuh-hu-hugly. But as a portable console, it’s excellent, I love I can get off the bus, crash on the couch n keep playing. So far, no flaws found. The library ain’t huge, ~80 titles ATM but there are some neat ones that are highly enjoyable. N… Zelda, dude. This one seems big enough I’ll be years til I’m done with it. The insta anywhere multiplayer in itself is a killer app. Good fun.
Whilst I didn’t buy it for media, it’s got a SD slot, a good screen n the hardware to run video. It can, so it should play video. Not doing so is clipped wings. N seeing as my Samsung tab just developed a mighty smash, a 2nd option would be nice.
All that said, I’m a fan. It’s not a supercomputer like a PlayStation. It’s not a tv PC like an Xbox. It’s a toy. Built for fun n sharing. Play games. N that is what I paid its price for. A toy I can play with anywhere, with mates, in bed, on the couch, on the bus, n have a seamless experience.
But a vlc app would be excellent.
I personally do not understand the obsession with media playback on every system. Most of us have computers, phones, tablets and other devices for watching YouTube. I don’t care that there is no Netflix or Web Browser on the Switch….I can’t honestly think of anyone that uses their web browser on the game systems anyway (except for devices that used the browser to access hacks like the Vita, Wii U, 3DS)….
bruh have you seen the psp browser so good
Vita’s browser is pretty damn good and I use the 3DS’s browser sometimes to send pics.
I used to use the Wii browser a lot back in the day when I was a kid to just read news articles about games and stuff.
PS3’s browser is also good and I know a friend that uses his PS4 for web browsing needs.
OMG is it a “I have no use for it so who cares” comment?
I see Nintendo is still trying to parent all their customers. This console would have to be busted wide open before I even consider buying it
Not so much that as hey they are going region free this time and you can actually setup different users with different regions and then just log in as that user to access that user’s preferred eShop. The pretty much omitted the browser at launch just because they want the thing to be viewed as a ‘game machine’ and want no confusion that its some type of glorified tablet (which it actually is).
If it follows form then by the next major FW upgrade they will enable the browser and we will see netflix and other streamers in the eShop by later this year. To me it makes perfect sense to have it ‘double’ as a functional tablet because then I will only have to carry one device for gaming and non-gaming use.
The user agent spoofing is not necessary to watch YouTube videos, it works without spoofing but the desktop page requires clicking on the video then zooming in to press play in order for the Switch to “grab” the video. Also, the desktop page sometimes forces the browser to reload the page randomly.
I chose to spoof the user agent to IOS7 Safari so it would load the mobile page, which plays videos right away when they are clicked on and it has a lot less issues with page reloading.
I have updated my tutorial with how to use Fiddler as a captive portal similar to DNSwitch and as a bonus; for some reason video playback on YouTube and Plex works and does not crash the Switch.
Got the website that i have been using to get the youtube here.
Enjoyed examining this, very good stuff, thanks .