
When the Nintendo Switch launched there were some valid and frivolous complaints around it online - one issue that had a decent amount of credence related to the left Joy-Con controller. In some cases users reported connectivity issues, and naturally the internet broke it down to an exhausting degree.
Nintendo itself responded by saying it was 'fact-finding' on the issue, and just recently an official fix seemed to be done with a simple bit of foam. Now Nintendo of America has issued a statement on the matter, saying that it's not a broader design issue - though some believe it is - but rather a 'manufacturing variation' on a small number of controllers. The full statement to Kotaku is below.
There is no design issue with the Joy-Con controllers, and no widespread proactive repair or replacement effort is underway. A manufacturing variation has resulted in wireless interference with a small number of the left Joy-Con. Moving forward this will not be an issue, as the manufacturing variation has been addressed and corrected at the factory level.
We have determined a simple fix can be made to any affected Joy-Con to improve connectivity.
There are other reasons consumers may be experiencing wireless interference. We are asking
consumers to contact our customer support team so we can help them determine if a repair is necessary. If it is, consumers can send their controller directly to Nintendo for the adjustment, free of charge, with an anticipated quick return of less than a week. Repair timing may vary by region. For help with any hardware or software questions, please visit http://support.nintendo.com.
It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. The problems do seem to vary plenty per user - this writer's had no issues, but knows others that have - and Nintendo of America for its part is offering a free fix (as it should). We like to picture a desk with an enormous box of little foam cubes marked 'Joy-Con fix'.
Have you encountered this connectivity issue with the left Joy-Con, or perhaps you've had yours fixed / replaced? Let us know in the comments.
With thanks to gcunit for the heads up.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 65
Why is it that whenever you read an article on this particular subject it always seems to show a picture of the right joy con instead of the left
Edit..... On a serious note though it's good to see they're offering a free repair for anyone that has been effected
Let's hope it stays an issue for a "small number" of controllers. The last thing Nintendo needs now is expensive hardware that doesn't work!
Design issue, manufacturing variation, it's a hardware issue either way.
so in other words they was a mess up at the factory and some wasn't built properly
Really? I never noticed.
@Marios-love-child
"Why is it that whenever you read an article on this particular subject it always seems to show a picture of the right joy con instead of the left"
@Marios-love-child I'm sitting here holding my left blue joy con in my hand. Are the colors switched in different territories?
So, you're telling me that it isn't a hardware defect, despite the fact that they literally have to alter the product with a foam mod in order to fix it? It's still not a defect though, because PR reasons.
@faint
I've honestly no idea but look at the picture at the top of the article.... It's the right hand joy con
I initially figured the issue was with my setup, but i then moved the dock and the issue didn't really improve like it should have. Direct line of sight should not be required at 8 feet away. I called Nintendo and sent mine in fpr repair this afternoon.
@Tarvaax it's not a defect with the design but a skrew up by one of the manufacturers.
So thats one issue possible resolved, now what about the battery issues that people are facing, it can't be software related as we all have the same software and not everyones device has a poor battery , well that i'm aware of.
its rather annoying as i have logged it with nintendo but i've not had the best experience with support so far. Also they are filling repairs under wiiu because hey haven't got the system in place . i mean they've had what 4-5 years to sort that out.
when i got a manager on the phone and told him the issue his response was comical he actually said "are you sure your not pressing any buttons that can run the battery down"
like i told him it was fully charged, undocked, no joy cons attached , totally powered off ie not in sleep mode.
So why would i be pressing any buttons and why would pressing buttons on a powered down device drain the battery and why would you be sitting pressing buttons on a powered off device to begin with ?? there is no reason for me loosing nearly 40% of my battery. when its not been used in the space of a few hours.
Also the thought of loosing over 30 hours of zelda has soured my experience and when i questioned it , i mean its 2017 and there past consoles have not had this limitation , there was no lack of concern or sympathy .
You could tell he just wasn't interested and despite wanting to escalate my complaint i got no where.
i've already been waiting nearly a week for the return label to which i need to go now buy packing etc to return it because they cant be bothered to provide the customer with any packing for they're defective goods, like you've not already spent enough & your wallets lined with gold. plus i have to hope nothing dodgy goes on after i ship it , as they are listing your device as a wiiU on they're systems.
it's a sad experience all around & i'm really thinking of just selling it and cutting my losses can't be doing with the hassle , obviously this machine is not ready but anything so they can charge for online down the road but what about the user today ?
I have left Joycon desync and no response issue since day one, i can't use it more than 1.5 metres away. I have emailed Nintendo UK no response from them, i might try call them in a few days. my right joycon works perfectly. i'm neon coloured one
if it's not design issue why the right joycon which has a extended antenna never got a problem? i don't like Nintendos attitude this time, blaming manufactuer, where's your QA then?
@Wyk126 Call them. I tried email, website, etc. for weeks. Got a return label with a 5-minute phone call.
What we need is a tear down of a left joy con that works fine, to compare to one that needs the foam, to see what the difference is in factory 'variations'.
Either way, mine works, so yah, boo, sucks to be you if yours doesn't
@faint the pack of color joy cons you can buy separately comes with the colors switched.
Although that one in the picture does seem to be the right one.
@faint Nintendo is selling sets of Grey, Blue and Red Joycons. They also are selling a Red Left Joy Con and a Blue Right Joycon, for people who bought the Red/Blue Switch Bundle, and want to have a complete set.
@ThomasBW84 Holding my mouse over the image of the right blue joycon and having a message appear that says Left-Joy-Con.jpg made me laugh. Thanks.
Haha, have I got it the wrong way around? Darn! I have the grey ones...
@ThomasBW84 it seems that one is also the right one.
@Meowpheel
Hahaha yep still the right hand one
Hey guys! Super Mario Run is now available on Android!
Now that's solved, what about the wifi signal strength?
I wonder what the fail rate is with the grey compared to the coloured?
I have grey and mine work fine, so too my friends.
Maybe it's just the neons.....
Anyone know?
Btw, the so called wifi issue, I live in a 2 story house, my router etc is upstairs and my Switch is downstairs and I have nearly full strength.
No problems.
I sent my left joy con in on a monday and received a new one as a replacement the next wednesday. No problems since. I live in the Netherlands. Just call Nintendo and return the thing is my advice.
The main manufacturing issue is switches are so rare! Spent hours looking today and went to at least 15 stores but nothing. Also looked about an hour and a half yesterday but still nothing.
I ordered a Switch yesterday through Gamestop, should arrive later in the week. I'd like to know if this one is from a batch that has been remediated.
Free of charge? Thats very generous
If they would sell me one, I would be glad to test it out.
From 2 Million of Switch, i'm sure at least 0.5 - 1 % of them are Flaw.
Nothing is Perfect.
Do we know if it is from only the neon version, or all switches?
This made me chuckle. They're using such fancy and ambiguous wording for inserting a foam square.
My original left con was experiencing issues. Nintendo Support was very good, and I will be returning the con tomorrow. Thankfully I also bought a second pair of perfectly functional cons, so my weekend will not be ruined!
@GamerGuy82 I'll buy it off you for $250.
Going to give them a call soon and get mine fixed. I don't care what it is. If they fix it, and it works then that is all that matters to me. I'll have to go on a Zelda break since I have no spare controllers, but it will be worth it for a fix.
Haven't had to send a repair in ever since my launch Wii. That GPU overheating issue. They were super quick then, and from the looks of it, that hasn't changed.
Standard Damage Control procedure. Classic text book example of how to avoid a global recall at all cost.
Great. There's your expected statement of address. Can we shut up about this now and move on?
... Probably not. This is the internet we're talking about.
its a controller variation.
quick put yer faulty controllers on ebay and sell them by labeling them "rare controller variant"
"Look into my eyes, look into my eyes, the eyes, the eyes, not around the eyes, don't look around my eyes, look into my eyes, you're under."
"no design issue"
"no widespread proactive repair or replacement effort is underway"
"Moving forward this will not be an issue"
"simple fix"
"there are other reasons consumers may be experiencing wireless interference"
3, 2, 1. You're back in the room.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE At least this isn't the same troll post you usually put in.
@ballistic90 This idiot has all but ruined the comment section since he began posting here, rarely scroll past the articles anymore because there's bound to be some stupid nonsense his spouted. Never have I seen a more committed moaner, is there anyway I can block his comments from showing up here?
@mozie Yeah, but at least this time they were being slightly original.
@Marios-love-child why wouldn't it be free, every console should still be under warranty. (except for hacker's or stuff, etc...)
@mozie @ballistic90 I really don't understand the amount of complaining people do about @SLIGEACH_EIRE. I mean, sure, he may be a little negative about things, in some cases understandably, but it really isn't that hard to skim over and look at other peoples comments and engage with them if it is such a bother. Especially in this case, he's just poking fun at Nintendo being a bit more dismissive of the issue than he may have wanted. There's no harm done really.
@Danpal65 Yeah, I don't understand the hate either. Sligeach is just a cynic, not an insane Nintendoomer.
@Danpal65 The "issue" I have with all the anti-Switch posters is that they invariably imply that those of us who bought Switches are idiots, and if we haven't had any problems with them we are deluding ourselves or letting Nintendo delude us. This is the tone of nearly every anti-Switch post here, including the ones above.
Yes, it's a hardware problem as it turns out. Yes, this is a manufacturing defect. Yes, in an ideal world this would have been caught before launch. But it isn't a universal problem. I think the vast majority of Switch owners are having few or no signal drops. Between my daughters and myself our Switch has played over a hundred hours of BOTW and a ton of Fast RMX amd Bomberman, and we have never had a connectivity issue. It just hasn't happened, and it sucks to have so-called Nintendo fans constantly acting like we must be some kind of shills or sheep for saying that it hasn't happened.
@GamerGuy82 it actually still can be a bug - just because its not widespread doesn't mean there isn't some kind of software issue inherent. And with devices like this, manufacturing issues happen a lot, as well as software. My local EB has told me they have had more launch PS4s returned in the first week faulty than Switches so far - as an example, issues in areas and devices exist across the board.
Surface Pro 3 and the new MacBooks experienced this exact battery issue - but not from all users. Software updates were issued to fix it and no more complaints since.
That's not to say it's not a hardware issue - and I know losing 30 hours of Zelda may seem unthinkable - but the fastest solution could be to return it for a replacement.
Its sad you have had so many issues with the representatives - I can only say it must be a regional thing. Nintendo Aus (and I have heard Nintendo US) are amazing to deal with for returns and repairs.
Hope you get it sorted soon. I know your experience has been soured by this, but it's an awesome machine! Be sad for you to miss out. I love my Xbone S - and PS4 seems to be a hit if you need to swap.
@JasmineDragon That is a fair point, and I understand where you are coming from having self played BotW as much as I could since release, but I just do not really see Sligeach as a total anti-Switch poster. Yes he is overly critical and is very fond of the WiiU in comparison, but there are a lot worse people on the internet, and these forums, who attack the Switch. Just look at some of his comments on the sales charts for this week, he is happy that Nintendo is doing well.
Sorry if it came across as me defending anti-Switch posters, I do not feel that way, I was just trying to say that I feel that Sligeach seems to take an unfair amount of flack for what he says. I feel the same way you do
Edit:
@OzHuski It's even better than that. From what I have been able to do you don't have to even return the Switch unit. I went in with my receipt to EB Games (Australia) and they swapped over the JoyCon without needing to replace the whole unit.
I've started noticing issues with mine in LoZ. Link will randomly run off in the wrong direction for a minute. I notice it's when I'm playing docked and a few feet from the tv. In handheld mode or when I'm sitting on the floor in front of my tv closer to the dock it's fine.
Well if the foam fix is true, it very well could be a manufacturing issue. That foam could have been intended all along and got left out of some controllers. That would certainly make it a manufacturing issue, not a design issue. The real question is if the foam is actually in the controllers that never had the problem in the first place.
@faint no, in every region, there are two switch bundles, the first being the grey joy-con bundle and the second being the the neon blue joy-con(Left)/red joy-con (Right) switch bundle.
If you've seen it reversed, it must be from a separate 2 joy-con set that have the colours swapped (so that you could make all red or all blue switches). OR someone bought the switch off the Japanese my Nintendo store and customized their switch purchase how ever they wanted (3 colours for each joy-con and 4 colours for each joy-con strap).
I wish Nintendo would make a my Nintendo store for all countries!
If you're curious to see the customization of the switch on the Japanese my Nintendo store here's the link:
https://store.nintendo.co.jp/category/NINTENDOSWITCH/HAC_S_KAYAA.html
It's a pretty awesome choice to have!
@ballistic90 I don't troll.
I have a pretty consistent Left JoyCon connection issue. I called it in right after Reggie said "Its not a big deal since nobody is reporting anything real". They offered to send it in next day air to "fix" it but said it's a 3week turnaround.
I didn't want to wait that long so I bought a 2nd pair of JoyCons and a Pro Controller. So it looks like Nintendo won again.
@edgedino
My point was that because it only effects a very small number of people they could simply bury their heads in the sand and pretend the issue doesn't exist at all if they chose too.
It wouldn't be un heard of for companies to do such things
I renamed my blue Joy-Con to Decepti-Con because of these problems. Not sending this for repair, because don't have spare controller. Buying Pro Controller when MK8 Deluxe comes out.
Alternative facts at it again!
That little joke at the end...STOLEN! Lifted it straight out of the comments section of the previous 'Joy-Con repair' article...not cool brah.
Bought my Switch, both Joycons work perfectly, even testing across the room and behind the back and all that. Bought second pair of Joycons, again, worked perfectly.
Opened my 2nd Switch, and to my surprise the left Joycon would cut out pretty bad if I stood across the room and behind the back. Now obviously that would never be a problem in real gameplay, but I contacted Nintendo for repair nonetheless.
So get this: I called them and they emailed me a prepaid label. I dropped it off Monday after work. Got an email Wednesday saying they received it and fixed it and shipped back to me already, and it would be overnight shipping so I'm getting it back today.
3 days round trip to get fixed. I gotta hand it to Nintendo for being on top of this.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE You might not be a troll, but you believe owning a Wii U is like being a victim of domestic violence, which is worse.
Well i wouldn't be surprised if there is... they really released the Switch way too soon. They still have to add stuff.. .i wonder why they rushed...
Good to hear them address it. They didn't say anything that most of us (except mostly the antagonizers) didn't already know: It's not a design issue and is a defect in a percentage of units. Which explains why all my issues have been even across all controllers and not specific to any left controller.
@Marios-love-child fair enough but at the same time its Nintendo and technically they are doing that with the dead pixels lol.
@edgedino What? Dead Pixels are a FEATURE! In fact you should smash your tablet on the corner of your desk to create even more dead pixels! Are you out of your mind? Go with the times man, dead Pixels are the new thing now!
I am just kidding by the way.
Fanboys swore there were no joy con issues.
Fanboys wanted anyone who said such things strung up.
Nintendo then began to fix the problem.
Fanboys response "Nobody is perfect".
@Hotfusion i think its more to the problem less people had the problem so those without the joycon issue didn't think it was real at first.
Ah that's great, many thanks mate!
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