Nintendo Switch Online voice chat now works when your phone is locked

The latest update for the Nintendo Switch Online app, which you can download now on both iOS and Android devices, allows you to continue talking in voice chat even if your device goes into sleep mode or its screen is locked. Previously, doing so would call your call to end abruptly. The same is also true for using other apps at the same time — you can now check texts or look at Twitter without ending a call with your friend in Splatoon 2.

The Nintendo support page stresses, however, that calls will still end if the app you’re using has audio output, so watching a YouTube video could cause problems. On newer Android devices using power-saving features, you’ll also need to disable battery optimization to guarantee that your calls aren’t ended prematurely, as well.

To some, however, this is still going to be a Band-Aid solution to a larger problem. Without a traditional voice chat program available on the Nintendo Switch, it’s impossible for players to chat if the two aren’t playing the same game. Given the size of the Switch’s library, this isn’t a huge issue right now, but as more games are released and players’ game collections begin to vary, friends won’t be playing the same games with each other as frequently. Right now, it still makes far more sense to just Skype chat with your buddies, as you don’t have to hook your phone up with a confusing series of wires. In many ways, the Wii U’s infrastructure was more convenient than the Switch’s, even offering a simple video chat application.

Will the recent update make you more likely to use the Nintendo Switch Online app to chat with friends, or will you stick with a third-party option? With Nintendo Switch Online transitioning to a paid subscription service in 2018, Nintendo still has its work cut out for it.