What was/is the glitch with people leaving via the - button instead of the airport?

[IndiaHawker]

Am I right in thinking it corrupted the island or something? If so when did it take effect - immediately, or after saving and quitting, or what?

Would really appreciate the help, please and thanks!

 

[Khaelis]

Basically, it causes the game to not save correctly because of how Nintendo's servers work. The game has to sync with other players, and it saves before doing so in case of errors. But if it fails to sync, the save can somehow corrupt on rare occasions.

 

[IndiaHawker]

Thank you! I recently had someone leave multiple times via minus button whilst trading - game seems fine and I've saved, quit, and reloaded to try and be sure - am I safe or could the glitch still happen please?

 

[Theoneandonlymegan]

It’s normally not a problem when you are trading with one other person but can cause a lot of issues with big groups

 

[Insulaire]

It also was effecting the visitor(s), not the host, as I recall. But I haven’t heard about it going on since probably May at the latest

 

[Khaelis]

Thank you! I recently had someone leave multiple times via minus button whilst trading - game seems fine and I've saved, quit, and reloaded to try and be sure - am I safe or could the glitch still happen please?

Honestly, its uncommon of an issue. But the more people on the island, the more likely it is to happen. I've had people leave via the minus button while visiting other islands about 8 times now, and I've been fine each time and two of those sessions were with 6-8 people.

 

[tajikey]

Just had someone come and grab Lucky, then use the - to exit. I don't notice any issues on my end.

 

[jenboston22]

Yes, with a group I think it can be problematic, as everyone gets booted off the island, villagers stop crafting, etc. The gate needs to be reopened by the host, too. Oh, and if the host has trapped a visitor like Celeste or Saharah, the visitor respawns and needs to be trapped again.

 

[kiwikenobi]

Thank you! I recently had someone leave multiple times via minus button whilst trading - game seems fine and I've saved, quit, and reloaded to try and be sure - am I safe or could the glitch still happen please?

If you're asking if the glitch happened to your game already as a result of your visitor leaving that way and it hasn't shown itself yet, I don't think you have to worry. My understanding is that it causes the game to corrupt right away, so if the game kept playing after your visitor left, there should be no danger--the glitch didn't happen.

But I could be mistaken, maybe it causes corruption that shows up later. Does anyone know?