Switch 2 Update 23.0.0 Brings Back Wii-Era Mii Maker Music, Adds Docked VRR

Daniel Carter11/09/20264 min read

Nintendo has switched the sound back on for one of its quietest menus. Version 23.0.0, released this week for both Switch and Switch 2, adds background music to the Mii Maker on Switch 2 for the first time since the console launched, alongside variable refresh rate support for docked TV play. It is a small patch note buried among bigger technical changes, but for anyone who grew up nudging a Mii’s nose while the Wii Channel jingle looped in the background, it is the one that actually landed.

Three Tracks, Straight From the Archive

Background music can now play in the Mii Maker, just like on Wii, with three different track options to swap between, and Miis can now be shared between systems using QR codes. Community trackers spotted the change within hours of the rollout, with data-miner OatmealDome confirming players can pick between three separate Mii Maker themes rather than a single looping tune.

There appears to be the three tracks for the Mii Editor now (for background music) from the Wii, 3DS and Wii U. That is a genuine cross-generation callback rather than a single reused loop, and it is the detail that has people digging up old handheld footage to compare.

Music can now be played while creating or editing a Mii, and players can change or stop the music using the Music Settings in the top corner of the screen. So it’s opt-out, not forced. Good. Nobody needs the same eight bars stuck in their head after the fortieth eyebrow adjustment.

Long-time players who remember the original Wii Channel are treating this as a genuinely nostalgic touch rather than a footnote:

Docked VRR Finally Arrives, With a Catch

The bigger technical headline in 23.0.0 is variable refresh rate support in TV mode, something Switch 2 owners have been asking for since launch. VRR output is now supported in TV mode, and when both the software and the TV support it, the video will be output at a refresh rate that matches the game’s processing speed. That should mean smoother motion on compatible displays whenever frame rates dip, rather than the usual judder.

There is a real limitation, though. At the moment, the only game that Docked VRR appears to work in is Nintendo Switch 2 – Welcome Tour, and it appears it requires developers to activate the feature in their games, even if it is already active for handheld mode. Our take: this is the right foundation to have in place, but it’s only as useful as the games that switch it on. Until more first- and third-party titles flip that flag, most owners won’t notice a thing.

This update notably adds VRR output in TV Mode, though you may need to update your dock before you can access these settings. Anyone who bought a Switch 2 at launch and hasn’t touched dock firmware since should check that first, or the option simply won’t show up.

System Transfers and Quieter Fixes

Console-to-console transfers get easier too. Nintendo Switch 2 now supports “complete data transfer” between two Nintendo Switch 2 consoles, letting owners move all their data, including save data and screenshots, from one Switch 2 to another. That is a genuinely useful addition for anyone upgrading consoles or replacing a faulty unit, and it closes a gap that has been awkward since the console’s launch.

Handheld players get a small but welcome fix as well. Nintendo added the ability to enable or disable “Handheld Mode Boost” from the Quick Settings, cutting out a trip through the full settings menu just to toggle performance modes. The update also lets players toggle Handheld Mode Boost on or off directly from the Quick Settings menu that appears with a long press of the HOME button.

Virtual Game Cards, Nintendo’s licence system for shared software, also got attention. The update adds Virtual Game Card settings, an online licence option for software when a virtual game card cannot be ejected from another offline console, and the ability to transfer data from one Nintendo Switch 2 system to another. There’s also a quieter accessibility win: Brazilian Portuguese support for Text to Speech and GameChat speech-to-text lands in the same build, alongside GameChat tweaks that let players rejoin recent chats and enter new ones without pinging every friend on the list.

Worth the Download

None of this is a headline feature on the scale of a new Direct. It’s a firmware update, and it reads like one: a page of bullet points, half of them aimed at accessibility settings most players will never open. But the Mii Maker music fix says something about where Switch 2 still lags its own back catalogue. The 3DS had multiple Mii Maker themes years ago; it’s taken Nintendo’s newest console this long to catch up on a feature this basic.

If you own a Switch 2, the update should already be sitting in your system settings. Docked VRR needs a dock firmware check and, for now, a copy of Nintendo Switch 2 – Welcome Tour to actually see the difference. Everything else, from the Mii jingles to the Quick Settings shortcut, is live the moment you update.