Topic: Are joycon serial numbers attached to the system? (warranty question)

Hey everyone. I have a white OLED Switch and purchased a second white right joycon off eBay for my system after losing the first one.

This joycon has now started drifting and I wanted to send it into Nintendo for repair. The system itself is still under warranty (and the joycon should be since the OLED switch isn't even a year old), but the joycon obviously isn't the one that came with the system.

My concern is, when sending this into Nintendo for repair, will they void my warranty or reject my warranty claim? As in, is there a way they can see through this joycons serial number, that it wasn't the joycon that came with the system?

They're requiring proof of purchase for the system attached to the RMA form (which I have and is fine), I'm just concerned if they can see whether the joycon was the one purchased with the system or not.

Thanks for your help!

@ZippyCloud yeah. they are a bit Strict on things like that. You will get the console fixed for free, under warranty, but you will have to pay for the joy cons.

@ZippyCloud

I think they fix joy cons for free. I’ve sent mine in and haven’t had to pay. The only thing is if you have to pay for the package to be sent to them.

Their website says nothing about that either:

https://joyconrepair.nintendo.com/

Hope this helps.

@Ninfan so are you saying they will be able to see that this joycon didn’t come with the system? Do you know how?

Thanks!

Thanks for your response so you dont think they can see if this joycon was purchased with the device?

@ZippyCloud Why not call and ask? Just just say you can't find proof of purchase. Heck, I don't know if I can find my receipts for my joycons and pro contorllers from over a year ago. If they say they need proof of purchase, well, then you know. Worse they can do there is tell you, "no".

They will look up your Nintendo account, know you own a switch, which might be enough?

See article link below: This was the position Nintendo of America had taken July 2019 after all the lawsuits. They stopped asking for proof of purchase, but I don't know if it's the same for every region. I guess you'd have to call AUS nintendo support to find out if they have taken the same position.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/07/nintendo_will_repor...

@ZippyCloud

No. They shouldn’t. I mean, I dunno how they would really track them or why they’d really care unless they use the serial number. Plus, I’ve sent in ones I’ve bought (separate from console) and they’ve still been fixed.

[quote=WoomyNNYes]@ZippyCloud Why not call and ask? Just just say you can't find proof of purchase. Heck, I don't know if I can find my receipts for my joycons and pro contorllers from over a year ago. If they say they need proof of purchase, well, then you know. Worse they can do there is tell you, "no".

If you’re Still not sure you should call them like @WoomyNNYes said.

@ZippyCloud they have all that on record for the warranty of any of there products. Its in record till the warranty is up. I mean if the joy con you bought has proof of purchase then it under warranty. Simple as that, fix it for nothing. I think if you ask for a box to send it in they will send you one ( you have to ask ). I sent my "new" switch to fixed twice and got an extra years warrenty, each time I sent it ( there was actually nothing wrong with it. Tele I had needed a sound bar, so things did not sound good on the TV and with all the talk about drift and switch getting to hot, I thought there was something wrong with the switch.

@ZippyCloud I'd be surprised if they didn't match the serials of the joy-cons to the system they came with, but whether they'd actually check when repairing is doubtful.

If you are only sending the joy-con then they wont be able to tell if they are linked to your Switch anyway as the proof of purchase won't have your Switch serial# on there. It would likely just be a case of checking the item description matches the proof of purchase - your receipt says white OLED and you're sending them a white joy-con so should be good. Worst case, they tell you it's no longer under warranty and give you a price for repair.

As far as I'm aware, only North America officially got free repairs out-with the warranty period, but I've heard folk here in the UK say they've sent older joy-con back for repair, often with no proof of purchase, and got them fixed for free.