My DSi's L button broke too; I sent it for a free repair and I got it back in less than a week. All my DSiWare was unaffected. I recommend sending it to Nintendo for a free repair.

My shoulder buttons are intact, but I can tell they seem more flimsy than the ones I had on my Lite. On the topic of Nintendo's repair, I am actually thinking about sending mine in since there is a weird dot on my screen (I am guessing it is a stuck/dead pixel or something.) It is good to know that you get your DSi back in a week.

Mine can be quite random. The L button will work fine, then the R won't. Then vise virsa.
I dont know if it is because of underuse or overuse. I never use my R button (except in M&L BIS) and it doesnt ever work. Sometimes a good blow will help...

Blowing in it from the side works perfectly! just press you lips to the side of your ds with your upper lip sightly on top of the trigger button and blow gently. If it still doesn't work, blow harder, but too hard and it could break.

are you kidding me?

I had my fat Ds for like 5 yrs and everything on it works perfect lol

mine ain't working either

me neither

Yeah same with me even tho I don't own one!
/jumps out the window

Before I traded it, my black DSi L button wouldn't work either, it only worked when I shook it to the left. Like it was loose or something.

if your button still doesn't work sometimes, you may need to get it repaired.

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/webform.jsp Ask here ^^. They helped me for a few things and they replied fast!

my god how do you guys end up getting something to not work lay low on the pressure, give your systems air cuz i never had a shoulder button go awol on me i must of either not pressed hard enough or didnt have grease on it

Most of the stuff happens because of the way its carried around, like the cause of my button may have been the fact I sometimes stick it in my back pocket of my pants, I'm guessing left side down?

Also when more than one member of a family is using a handheld, anything can happen. My sister's was really sad looking, the matte surface was chipped and scratched, left button stopped working.

Same as mine: fat DSes are sturdy.
L & R buttons on the Lite and DSi suck.

Glad you love your toys, kids. I heard about a few flaws, I pretty sure if I the first, it would be the same.

I still have a Lite and it has kept together pretty good.(glad I haven't let my sister have it)

In the mean while, I need to find a efficient cover.

If its been 1 year or (in the case with redgistering your serial # on club nintendo) 1 year and 3 months than the warrenty is no good

@elrond1369: Wow, your reply is over 8 months late, hopefully those with issues already have had them solved, but even if you're out of the coverage period, I'd still encourage you to contact Nintendo anyways, they're pretty good about taking care of their customers and dead shoulders are a known issue on DSi units.

I got mine fixed back in teh summer from Nintendo, I sent it in, and they fixed it up just like that. The L, the R, and added some of those grippy things on the bottom. I got it for free because it was still under warranty, but if yours isn't its around a $70 payment.

If you send it in to get repaid, is it possible for it to happen again?

Yeah mine doesn't really work either, but when I blow on them, they work a little better.

I've got this problem too. Blowing on the buttons doesn't help anymore. Even opening the system and cleaning it with pressurized air didn't work. Does anybody know if there's anyplace to buy those clicky shoulder button components for DSi? Don't have a DS Lite so I don't know if it uses the same components for the shoulder button triggers.