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Topic: Opening Switch for Repair - Stripped Screws

Posts 1 to 16 of 16

Joekun

My launch day switch stopped recognizing when a right joycon is attached. Both of my right joycons work fine wirelessly, but no luck attaching to play handheld.

I did a bit of research and found some comments about people with the same problem. Some opened the system and found the connector cable became detached so I figured I didn’t have anything to lose just opening to take a look. Boy was I wrong! I have all the right tools for the job, but the 5 screws on either side of the console were on pretty tight. I managed to get 7 of them off, but stripped 3 pretty badly.

Now I’m thinking Nintendo may not even accept it for repair if I send it in with stripped screws. Anyone have any experience removing/replacing these things that can offer advice? Or have you ever sent something to Nintendo in similar condition?

Thanks!

Joekun

Rambler

I have a slightly rattly left joycon for that reason (replaced both thumbsticks, once of which was cracked!)

The only useful bit I could find when looking it up a while ago was to Dremel the head off the screw and then unscrew using needle nose pliers.
Something I may attempt one day with a joycon, but, for me, a step to far with the actual switch. YMMV depending on skill level.

You could araldite something to the top of the screw and attempt to unscrew, but the torque may be too much and break the join?

Not much help really, but I feel your pain

Rambler

WoomyNNYes

@Joekun If you search youtube for how to remove tiny stripped screws, you can see some videos, and they have common tactics, like using a rubberband to help the screwdriver grip the head of the screw. If that sounds ridiculous, I would absolutely agree, but when you see it, it will make more sense.

Edited on by WoomyNNYes

Extreme bicycle rider (<--Link to a favorite bike video)
'Tendo liker

Joekun

Thanks everyone. @WoomyNNYes I did try the rubber band and super glue tricks, but with no luck. I think the head is seated too deep (and isn’t wide enough) to try a dremel without damaging the case.

I bought some aircraft grade solution that is supposed to help remove stripped screws. Don’t have a lot of hope that it will work though. I may have to start looking around for a local shop that does repairs.

Joekun

SwitchForce

Look at YouTube to get some answers for this. But worse if this is warranty contact Nintendo Support first.

SwitchForce

Joekun

@SwitchForce Oh, if I were under warranty I would have called Nintendo first. This is a launch day unit.

Joekun

SwitchForce

Joekun wrote:

@SwitchForce Oh, if I were under warranty I would have called Nintendo first. This is a launch day unit.

That's whom you contact and if the color joycon doesn't matter other then getting Grey they should fix it under warranty. Day Launch ??? What launch day are we talking about?

Edited on by SwitchForce

SwitchForce

Joekun

@WoomyNNYes Yes, I bought it on the day it launched in 2017.

Joekun

Joekun

@SwitchForce My Switch is out of warranty, so I would have to pay for any repairs. Which is fine, I’m just worried they would say it has been tampered with and refuse to fix it ever again.

Joekun

HeavyMetalWario64DS

I had a similar issue with my switch where the left joy-con would randomly disconnect while in handheld mode. I was able to fix it by cleaning the switch contacts on that side with rubbing alcohol. I used a piece of the paper from the N64 cleaning kit to get in there, but anything that's stiff, holds the alchohol, and will fit in the side of the switch should work. Just stick it in the notch on the bottom of the switch rail on the side and move it up and down a bit.

As for the Nintendo repair thing, I recently sent in a joy-con that has the rubber grip on the stick come off. I had opened it and it had some physical damage to the outside as well. I got an new one back with a note saying they couldn't find the problem (eventhough the grip was clearly off), so they had sent me a new joy-con instead. Not sure if the experience would be different with a console, but they did work with my joy-con that had been opened.

HeavyMetalWario64DS

Joekun

@HeavyMetalWario64DS Thanks. Appreciate the info. I did try some contact cleaner, but didn’t do any scrubbing at all. Maybe it’s worth a try.

Joekun

Joekun

Thought I should report back. I decided to risk sending it to Nintendo, and they repaired it. I was a little concerned they might mark it as tampered with and refuse to fix it ever again, but after reading heavymetalwario’s experience I thought it was with a try.

@DomGC I get what you’re saying, but I’ve opened up many out of warranty devices and done small repairs. Would never have imagined unscrewing a few screws would be so difficult, never had that happen before. I think Nintendo put some of them on a bit too tight.

Edited on by Joekun

Joekun

WoomyNNYes

@Joekun Now, that's interesting. Thanks for the update. This is the first time I've seen a confirmation that Nintendo will do a repair on hardware that the owner already worked on.

Extreme bicycle rider (<--Link to a favorite bike video)
'Tendo liker

truckermaster

I'm glad Nintendo took your console in for repair and fixed it, although I doubted it before. I'm curious how you had a dialogue with them and how they responded, as I had a similar problem back and needed help fixing it. I even contacted support to write an explanation of the situation, but I didn't wait for a response. So I solved the issue on my own. I ordered similar replacement screws from Scrooz fastener suppliers online at https://www.scrooz.com.au/hardware/angle-brackets/, as I could find what I needed from the large selection of fasteners. You're a big lucky guy, and I'm happy for you.

Edited on by truckermaster

truckermaster

Joekun

@truckermaster Well, I didn’t say anything to them about the fact that I opened it. I just told them the issue and they gave me the info to send it in. It came back fixed. I noticed that they didn’t bother to replace the stripped screws, they just took them out.

Joekun

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