@NEStalgia Contrary to popular belief, there's no oil in sweat (our bodies have some glands that excrete oils, but they don't occur on our hands). Sweat is mostly water, with a bit of sodium, lactic acid, urea and some other trace elements. The controllers are made from ABS, and I can only see water affecting it if exposed for long enough, but I still have a hard time believing the controller survives long enough for you to see the effects of that. UV-light (and heat) is the biggest culprit. It accelerates the break down of bromine bonds with the plastic and causes it to react with the oxygen at the surface, causing the well-known yellowing affect and turning the plastic more brittle over time.
@Spanjard Nah the "left joycon problem" doesn't always totally desync, but it's losing reception. It's not a "hardware problem" other than the known hardware problem that they do fix under warranty. But personally I think it's just that the joycons have low transmission power. if I go too far (and have a bunch of stuff blocking the direct line of sight to the console) and grip the controller too much in my hand, the same happens, but it's not just the left joycon it can be either (Link not swinging his sword on right presses etc.)
But I don't think you have some unusual defect with your left stick, I think it's the "normal" signal problem (that may be an actual defect, albeit a known one) or might just be your signal strength. I have two sets of joycon that behave similarly from too far (keeping in mind I have 2 other BT devices in the path blocking it so there's interference.)
@NEStalgia Haha, that's good to know about black stuff. As if I didn't love black hardware/software (like themes)... @Octane Well, the oil doesn't have to come from sweat. People apply lotion, vaseline, and such to their hands, ya know...
@NEStalgia It may not look it in the picture I provided, but it is just worn. First it got soft, then the raised circle part got worn off, then the tops and bottoms came off due to pressure which gives it that melted look, and dirt starts collecting in parts I can't reach.
Here's a couple more screenshots that show what I'm talking about. On the left is the joystick in question, and on the right is the other (right) joystick, which has the same corrosion to a much less degree.
At any rate, I'm glad @Vee_Flames can relate. Maybe it's a white model thing. They're much rarer after all. Maybe in order to get that color, they have to use a different material.
@Vee_Flames I'm no fan of lotion, but I'm a french horn player, and I therefore get a fresh coat of metal on my hand whenever I play for a long time, since metal erodes with sweat. Perhaps the metal on my hand reacts to the material on the joystick? That would certainly make my situation unique.
I had the laqcuer coating stripped from my horn made out of nickel sometime in 2014, and then in early 2015, I upgraded to a brass (copper and zinc) model, and have had that for two years since. Not sure what those materials do to whatever the joysticks are made out of.
@NEStalgia I do appreciate the response but it really isn't the desync issue.
For example, I play very close to the actual console. Never had a desync, I even tested it with all kinds things in between like you said.
It only happens when I push the analog stick upwards. Not with other directions, so it can't be the desync.
@Nicolaison LOL, I just took a quick look at my nunchuk's sticks... and yeah, they really don't look great. I've used them for very long... but still. My black GamePad's sticks still look lovely. After nearly 5 years of use (let's not mention that I use the GamePad for games like Smash and Mario Kart 8 (off-TV)).
Well, let this be a lesson that black sticks > white sticks. At least when it comes to Nintendo
Well, I don't think I handle metal before playing with the GamePad or nunchuk (well, maybe I do.. after I finish eating with a spoon, fork, etc).. so I'm not sure coats of metal might be the issue.
If it is, however... you can try wearing gloves.
My girlfriend just told me her theory: all of y'all eat nothing but Doritos and Mountain Dew, and it only happens to me cuz I'm the only one with a normal diet. That comment made my day 😂
@Nicolaison You need to actively avoid showers and touching things with your hands if you want the trace metals on your hands to corrode (note: not erode). Controllers are made of regular old ABS polymer that's quite resistant to chemical reactions, hence why it's used in most household products. Looking at those images, it's clear that the bromine in the ABS is the main cause. Bromine is often added to plastics for its flame retardant properties (in case of fire, they bind with free radicals to decrease the combustion rate; i.e. for safety purposes). Bromine has two side effects; It also binds with the oxygen at the surface level over time, causing discolouration (although I believe white plastics also tend to discolour on their own over time, but don't quote me on that), and the presence of bromine causes the polymer to absorb more UV-light which affects the plastic itself and turns it brittle over time. This is also true for applying heat. My best explanation is that your controller has been exposed to a lot of UV-light or heat (also heat from your hands, could also be the result of pressure), causing the plastic to yellow and deform over time. I'm not sure what the exact composition of the control sticks is, but I imagine they mix some kind of soft, pliable polymer into the mixture, when the ABS breaks down, the entire material becomes more ''plastic''/soft.
Colour doesn't affect the process, but the yellowing is hard to notice on coloured plastics. It's the reason why my GameCube controller still looks absolutely fine, while my Wii Remote turned to a light shade of yellow over the years.
@Spanjard can you go into the test panel (controls, calibrate sticks) and see if you see it dropping out in there? Just ruling out a game problem instead of hardware problem.
If it's dropping out there to I'm pretty sure you can get warranty repair. You'll want to call Nintendo, though i don't know if they'll want they whole console our just the joycon. @Jaxonh returned his to noa for repair and they sent a box to send just the joycon in.
@Joeynator3000 That's awesome! The UPS tracking, if not tonight, tomorrow morning should display the expected date that's more or less definite. Fingers crossed, that would be great!
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