Splatoon 3 is finally here, and fans are enjoying the best iteration of Nintendo’s popular squid-based shooter yet – but too many of us have faced unstable connection problems and then been disconnected from a game mid-battle. This is especially annoying when you consider that in this game, a disconnect counts as a loss, which is infuriating for fans of ranked battles.
One way for you to avoid connection troubles in Splatoon 3 is to start playing with a VPN. Your internet service provider (ISP) might be responsible for those lost matches, because if it sees that a certain activity is taking up a lot of bandwidth, it can slow down the connection speeds for that activity, which then could cause you to be disconnected from a match.
So, how can a Splatoon 3 VPN help you avoid that? Well, when your VPN is switched on, your ISP can’t actually see what you’re doing on the internet. Therefore, even though it will know that you’re using a lot of bandwidth, it won’t know what’s causing it and consequently won’t slow anything down. On top of that, if you can connect through VPN servers that are closer to the Splatoon 3 server, you might also have a faster connection because the data has less distance to travel, especially if you use one of the fastest VPN services.
Anyway, since VPNs are not available in the Nintendo Switch eShop, there’s no way to download them directly onto your console. However, that doesn’t mean that there’s no way to use a VPN on that platform, and we’ve got this step-by-step guide to help you set up your VPN on your Switch, and enjoy a smoother Splatoon 3 experience.
How to use a Nintendo Switch VPN to reduce lag in Splatoon 3
If you have the right service and a VPN router, then you can just use your VPN on the router and have everything in the house connect through it. However, most likely, it will be easier for fans to use their laptop as a virtual router. Here’s how it’s done:
- Sign up to a VPN service, then download and install it on your computer
- Select your server and switch on your VPN
- Find ‘Mobile Hotspot’ and switch it on (as a security note, click ‘Edit’ and then give it a unique name and a password so that nobody else can connect through it)
- Click ‘Ethernet’ and then ‘Change Adapter Options’
- Right-click on your VPN, and then click ‘Properties’ and then ‘Allow Other Networks to Connect’
- In the list of Network Connections, choose your usual Wi-Fi
- Now on your Nintendo Switch, go to ‘System Settings’
- Next click ‘Internet’ and then ‘Internet Settings’ on the sub-menu
- Your Switch will then identify all of the nearby available networks, and you should select the one you just created (easily identifiable by the unique name you gave it) and then enter the password
Once this is done, your Nintendo Switch will now be able to connect through your VPN. If you do not find any improvement in your connection speeds, we recommend switching between servers until you find one that makes things better. Most providers will give you an enormous selection of servers to choose from, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble switching around to find one that works well for you.
The best Splatoon 3 VPN services
If you’re planning to use a VPN for Splatoon 3, then we recommend any of the following providers. All of them are among the best gaming VPNs:
If you also do a lot of mobile gaming, we also have guides on the best VPN for iPhone, and the best VPN for Android, which might be useful.