Poll: Have Your Joy-Con Been Drifting?

Does so occasionally for me, but not to a point that it annoys me.

My Neon Blue and White Joy Cons have drift issue but the White one has been fixed.
Neon Blue will be next.

The fact that you can go into settings on the Switch to calibrate the Joycon, reset them to defaults, then recalibrate them again, and update the firmware, makes me think Nintendo knew full well this was going to be a problem.

They knew.

I just replaced one because it was drifting a lot, going in the up direction on its own. Now my son's Switch is doing the same thing. It's kind of a problem.

Is it possible there are two separate issues? The one I've experienced is the "interference issue". Occasionally seemingly up to 2 seconds of input is lost from the joystick side, even after I sent in my launch day left joycons for the quick fix by Nintendo. It doesn't seem to drift so much as default to whatever position the joystick was at a certain moment in time. This issue doesn't happen at all with my pro controllers.

What I've seen described elsewhere where the joystick itself is the culprit seems to be a different issue that could be confused for the same thing. I hope both of these issues are fixed in a future revision.

3 joy con pairs purchased over 2 and a bit years. 3 right joy cons are all fine. 3 left joy cons all have horrendous drift making nigh on unplayable. Have recalibrated, tried air blowing, tried wd40 and tried taking out joy stick and replacing with new one bought on amazon. Accidentally broke one of the electrical ribbon connectors, couldn't solder it back in and now whole thing is dead. Am furious.

I have 4, but only one does.
But seeing how most people said all the time scares me

Since it's only my left ones, and I only really use them in handheld mode, I'm thinking of picking up one of HORI's wired D-pad ones. Still, this is a serious issue, and hopefully Nintendo has quietly introduced a hardware revision or something because this is something I always have to tell people when they're thinking of buying one.

My Neon Blue Joy-Con drifts frequently. Same with my Neon Red one too. Maybe it’s because i’ve had my Joy-Cons since launch date. Might have to get some new ones.

@VGScrapbook yes, in some respects this is true. The temporary loss of connection to console and therefore the control input 'lingering' is certainly a thing on the older joy cons - after 6 months or so they changed the design slightly to improve the signal, particularly ont he left joy cons.

The 'drift' comes from the stock itself being faulty.

The fact both issues are possible in a £40 device is abhorrent.

My left joycon drifts a lot. I’ll be playing Final Fantasy 12 and my character will just randomly start walking left or forward by themselves and I’m like “err where you going bruh?”

I haven’t touched Smash or Mario Kart since. In fact, all I ever play on my Switch now is Just Dance and YouTube, and even those can be a pain sometimes in the menus.

I have three sets of Joy-cons and all of them have started drifting. Time to get a pro controller...

Mine drift all the time. It would be nice if the new Joy-Cons Nintendo’s putting out are less prone to drifting, though I doubt that will be the case.

Honestly, a lack of drift might sell the Switch Pro for me at this point.

It's been frustratingly inevitable with almost every joy-con I've bought.

Mine's definitely an interference issue. Probably got the Switch too close to my router.

My switch came with neon red / neon blue on launch day.
I bought grey / grey in July of 2017.
I bought Splatoon neon pink / neon green in September 2017.

All 6 joycons drift to the point that I can't select a game with them even in single joycon mode....

My pro controller is the only way I can play my switch. My kickstand won't stay in my Switch so neither handheld nor tabletop mode work for me. I can only play my Switch docked...

It's worse on different games. Like, some have better deadspace, some have NO deadspace making it fiddly as flug.

Voted #3. I have one joycon I haven't replaced the stick for yet and that will drift. I had it bad on another one, but it hasn't happened again since replacing the stick. Before that it was "all the time".

i've got the same issue too and im not buying a pair just to replace the left one! Bought a hori dpad left joycon as a cheap replacement for now

Definitely. Happened twice, both times it's the red one and it drifts up ocasionally.

My joycons are fine, but I have had a little drift on a pro controller (corrected with re-alignment).

As far as I know I don't have the issue (I've had my Switch since November '17), but I'm now on the lookout with all I've heard of it.

It's really annoying....I feel like playing breath of the wild and running in one direction for a long time started it

Yep, launch model Joy-Con has drifting on the left joystick. Another issue which doesn't seem to get widely reported, which I would love for you to run a poll for as well because I know it's happened to a few people, is the SL and SR buttons dying.

Usually it starts with one or two, or even all four LEDs on the inside of the Joy-Con just going completely dead so you can't tell they're connected visually. Then upon testing button inputs you'll find that the SL and SR buttons are gone too, or they follow shortly after. Quite annoying if you play ARMS, or you ever want to play two-player on the go. I've had it on my left Joy-Con, sent it off to be repaired (at a cost, out of warranty) which makes it more annoying that it now has a drifting joystick. Now I have it on my right Joy-Con too. I'm not spending another £30 for it to be fixed.

Anyone else had this issue here?

@Petraplexity that's funny because I get it.

I have a launch model Switch, and both my Joy Cons drift more than a Friday night street racer.

I've had my Switch for 3 months now and they never drifted. Does it occur after a certain amount of time? Or could it be random? I hope they don't drift eventually, but sure looks like I'm in for it.

Haven’t really experienced this. I feel lucky.

I actually found a clumsy, very temporary solution for handheld mode drift.
detach both Joy Con, and reattach at the same time. they stop drifting immediately... but it happens again if you put the system to sleep, so.

Yes, it’s on the right joy con. I had a Switch since June of 2017 and the drift started happening around April of this year. Just one flick and goes crazy. I’ve tried doing what the videos I have looked at, cleaning and such but doesn’t work. It’s annoying.

I do know that this exists and it's annoying that Nintendo doesn't comment about it, but I feel like people are voting for "all the time" because it recently became popular on social media rather than actually happening.

I selected “All the time” but since I sent to Nintendo for replacement my left joy-con has been fine. But of course, now the left joy-con on my son’s Switch is drifting.

All the time. So much so that I had to get a pro controller. Absolutely ridiculous.

Guess I will say it one more time lol. I've fixed a total of 7 analog sticks so far. One being my brothers. All 5 of mine went bad and now one of my replacements have too. Am I unlucky or do we just use them a lot? Either way they shouldn't be going bad in a year or less no matter how heavy the use.

If you had launch joycons and have no issues consider yourself lucky.

Mines was drifting constantly until I used contact cleaner which cleared it up instantly but I fear it's just temporary.

Oh and I had stick kinda pop out it's socket so it was extremely loose and didn't work at all. Got a warranty repair so not all bad.

@JamesJose7 I selected all the time because I have 3 left joy cons that became unusable. I have 3 right joy cons that have always been fine. Either way I have encountered it as a persistent issue that both ruined my gaming experience and was a constant headache not just an intermittent annoyance. If a £40 controller is unusable it is bad enough to be option 1, even though other joy cons haven't exhibited it it still counts. I have become more vocal recently because until now I have been staggered that people haven't been talking about this.

I shouldve voted yes but I voted nope only because I DID have left joy con drift until I opened it up and replaced the stick myself. It was surprisingly very simple for someone who has no clue what they're doing.

Mine was drifting on some games, visited the calibration settings, and now it never happens. If you’re having this issue fool around in the calab menu for a bit. It’s very likely this is not a hardware issue.

I'm not joking here. What is Joy-Con drift?

Honestly, I actually don’t really know because I barely use them. My Smash Pro, which is my newest controller, does however. Yet to test if my standard and Splatoon Pros also drift.

I guess I’ve just been lucky so far

Yes. The left Joy-Con, and Nintendo legally should not have been allowed to ignore this situation with as many defects as there are. If it is as simple as calibration, A) how amateurish, B) that means it was manufactured poorly, and C) Nintendo could at least post up SOMETHING about calibration if indeed they learned about it after the fact.

I have 3 left Joy con that have drift issues. Neon blue, Mario odyssey red, and neon yellow all have that problem. I ended up buying both sets of Splatoon neon pink and green Joy cons and a second Switch with grey joy cons so I have plenty extra but it's still annoying. I bought 2 hori d pad joy con to use with my Switches since I mostly play in handheld. Cheaper alternative and no drifting issues at least so far lmao.

My joycons don't drift but I had a problem with the nub that holds the Joycon in wearing down.

@NotTelevision on 2 of my 3 drifting switches I could not got the controller to recalibrate - as when I pushed right it only ever went 2/3 of the way to the edge of the circle. The drift was so bad it could not go fully right. Impossible to recalibrate, impossible to fix. 100% a hardware issue - Google graphite electrical contacts and you can see some details on the mechanics on why this cheap part is failing quicker than sticks on previous consoles has been

@JamesJose7
So what? Before nobody was covering this and apologists would shut people down, the only way to get Nintendo to respond and address this problem is to be be loud and persistent.
@NotTelevision
It is a hardware issue because the calibration is setting the current range of the analog stick and offsetting to account for drift, if it was all software it wouldn’t be happening over time.

@NintendoByNature Like I said above you, I've fixed 7 and there's was no way I wasn't voting all the time even if none are atm.

I haven't run into the issue, but it seems like some certainly have. From what I have read, it is because it the dust shield for the analogue stick isn't very good. Dust and dirt get in and mess it up.

I've been using my original joy cons since I got my Switch 2 years ago, haven't experienced this issue even once. I am very fortunate with this as I usually have such bad luck and get these sorts of tech/device issues.

It did, but I replaced the shell and the joystick at the same time and now it's fine

I've had it happen with two sets of Joy-Cons now. Tried cleaning with electrical contact cleaner and that fixed it for a few days, but then it started up again. Not really enthusiastic about having to buy another set.

all 4 of mine drift and the pair i bought have broken sr and sl buttons, so i cant even connect them sideways anymore. i refuse to buy anymore joycons until they address this, i hate having to find outside solutions to a problem that shouldnt even exist

I've got my switch March 2017 and a pair of neon yellow joy con by the time they launched alongside ARMS.

I've experienced some drifting on the left ones, but it very seldom.
When it occurs I just circle them around and they come back to normal at the same time.
They,
've never drifted for a long time or many consecutive times.

So far not yet but it appears inevitable

The only drift I’ve ever had was with the Pro Controller, and that’s because it’d a dead skin cell magnet.

Surprisingly none of my 6 joy-cons from 2017 have began drifting yet, and this is coming from someone who would throw them in a backpack to take to my friends' apartment at least twice a month for a while. However, my brother has 2 drifting joy-cons out of 4 and he leaves them all in his house. Perhaps it's dust build-up but I know a lot of people on the internet said they cleared dust out and it wasn't the issue. Regardless, I know I'm one of the lucky ones. Hope to see this issue mitigate over time.

Had two sets of joycons both developed drift so ended up buying replacement joysticks and fixed them myself much cheaper than getting new joycons every time and spawnwaves video on YouTube was useful to the extreme.

No, but I barely use them. I primarily play with my Pro Controller except for Pokemon Let's Go when I have to play with Joy-Cons. I pray I don't end up with a drift. $10 off already quite expensive controllers was not a good enough discount for me on Prime Day.

I don’t have the problem, but I can’t say the same for my friend.

Launch Switch, thousands of play hours, no issues as of yet.

Haven’t encountered any drifting unless I’m playing Mario kart

My original 3 launch day joy cons are a disaster.

The two I bought since then are fine.

All the time. I gave up and bought a 2nd pair😩

Electronic contact cleaner under the little rubber flap under the joystick did me nice , well over a year ago , no problems since.👌

Yeah... here and there but hasn't really mucked up anything yet. Been happening on AC III Remastered.

I've had all my Joycon experience drift SO BAD, I had to go and get all of them repaired. Took a while, since they messed up one controller and I had to send it back. (Not to Nintendo, but a third party)

On my third set. One set I was able to fix, but the launch pair are dust. Hoping the Hori dpad one Im using for my L con lasts longer.

Yep. It’s happened to me 3 times, two times they were fixed by Nintendo, the third time I just gave up and got new joy cons. Maybe if I’m feeling brave enough I’ll try to replace the stick itself, which is what it really needs at this point.

So yeah, it’s a bummer for me for sure. I’ve never had such problems with Nintendo tech before.

Fake news
Noticias falsas
Gefälschte Nachrichten

No, but I rarely use my joycons.

My N64 controllers work 100% too.

My original grey set, left joy-con drifts all the time. My second Splatoon coloured set (left green/right pink imported from Japan) does not.

We have 3 Switches and 2 extra sets of joycons in my household and there is a LOT of drifting going on!

My left Joy Con has drifted from the beginning and I got my Switch a few days after launch. It's why I ended playing certain games almost exclusively handheld til I got a Pro Controller. It's why I always take the left Joy Con when we play a family game of Mario Kart.

I tried all of those suggestions about placement of the Switch, not having any other devices on that may be interfering with it. None of it worked. I planned on sending requesting service before my warranty expired. But I just didn't even bother and figured I'd probably just by a new one at some point

Even my right JoyCon is drifting now. Its so bad sometimes, I bring a can of compressed air with me to work so I can enjoy the occasional play sessions. Am so looking forward to Hori's split pad pro.

My Joy-Con drift has essentially rendered my entire system unplayable in handheld mode, and I’ve had my system for 2 years (bought in December 2017). The fact that Joy-Con are more expensive than other game controllers for other consoles and they offer less reliability than the aforementioned rival controllers is really off-putting.

My family owns 3 Switches. We've had problems with all of our left joy cons and one right joy con. We sent one set back, I bought a new set at a store and did the swaparoo, now the third system's left joy con is acting up.

Right joy con did this after a few months. I bought a new pair and haven't had any issues for about a year.

It happened to me once, and I bought a can of contact cleaner with lubricant and it never happened again. http://mr-mckenic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/EE1325-A.jpg

Mine happens due to the stress I put on it during the Season 5 of Fortnite - I switched to the pro controller afterward. Ironically they only drift in Fortnite - the left stick drifts to the right and the right stick drifts downward. They work fine in every other game... I haven’t noticed any drift issues in Skyrim or DOOM or games like that.

I’m stopping Fortnite once season 9 is over, so I’ll repair my Joycon with new joysticks and then start using them again for Skyrim and stuff like that.

I had drift with the launch left joy-con, but, sent it in to Nintendo and they sent me a refurbished one in the mail, and I haven't had any problems since. But, that might just be because I usually use the Pro controller or the Wii Classic controller when I'm playing.

I own 10 Joycon controllers and two systems and I don't have the drifting issue with any of them.

I guess I just got pretty lucky...?

Yeah, mine legitimately drifts. I thought it was just me and just my joy cons. I was going to buy a replacement until I found out how common it was. So instead I got pro controllers. It makes me nervous buying the Switch Lite.

Yep, both side the pair that comes with the Switch at launch and the neon red/blue pair I got a month later. Each one at different points in time with the first happening around October 2017.

Long story short, after dealing with Nintendo & the repair service and buying a brand new neon yellow joy con in Feb 2019 (with square trade warranty) to avoid more repair cost, I brought 4 replacement analog sticks on amazon and fix it myself. 3 months later and it’s still good.

Also the neon yellow pair is still good 5 month later.

Good thing handheld mode is only good for Mario Maker and whatever DS game ports y'all have

Yes. And yes.

Got myself an extra set while the first one was at repair. Now two months later they are drifting as well.

I'm sure after all the vocal minority going nuts over this, a poll like this isn't going to just suck in all the cranks and attention seekers with a few legit cases to skew the graph. Nah, must be real. hah

@Spoony_Tech it really is a terrible issue. When I called Nintendo to see if they'd fix it they immediately knew what I was talking about and said it was like $30 plus shipping to fix it. So clearly they're aware of it and should be addressing it free of charge

All three of my pairs had drift. I’m down to one set so just stuck with the procon until my replacement sticks come in from Amazon. Nintendo makes great stuff but even I see that this is becoming more common. I’ll likely just fix mine from here on out. When I sent a pair in for repair they lasted a week.

I’m afraid a class action lawsuit is gonna pop up over this. Which sucks as these lawsuits don’t benefit the anyone but the law firm.

Over a year old, 100’s of hours on Zelda, Xenoblade 2, Mario, etc. , and thankfully I’ve had zero issues. For the record I play on plain gray joy-con, 2 pair. I do have a pro controller, but as a firm Labo supporter, the Joy-Con are genius devices in my opinion. Hopefully they can address this across the board because if they fix the stick, but drop other features, I’ll be mightily disappointed.

Im not sure if I've had it and I feel I'd be sure if I actually did.

It used to be pretty noticeable, but after using some compressed air, I've got it whipped down to the point where I barely notice it.

I've never had it as bad as some people, though.

@Petraplexity Based on the number of downvotes you're getting, it seems like some people are unfamiliar with the concept of a joke. Hahaha!

Mine had the rubber casing peeled off of my left Joy-Con. The right one does not have this issue. It's been happening ever since October 2018 but it depends. Sometimes it works fine, other times it does not. Still mildly pressing down automatically on its own. Have done the syncing thing on the calibration screen, it still does not work. Left it on a flat surface (my dining room table, if you will) and it still does that problem. I don't want to risk cleaning my Switch myself. So I just left it be for now until I can go see a professional, like at Vintage Stock here in the States for those people in the UK who don't know what this store is, it's a retro video game store.

Splatoon 2, BotW, and MK8D, murdered all 3 sets. Specifically the left one for single player and the right ones for multiplayer. Hands down the worst flaw of the switch are those joyco. Sticks. They clearly werent tested thoroughly and if they were, I bet some internal documents would say they shipped them anyway with the flaws.

@NintendoByNature You know what's sad about that, I've fixed all 7 so far for about $35. The tool cost me about 8 and about $3.50 per stick. I just assume fix them myself and not be without them for up to 2 weeks. If they're charging $30 they're just making even more money off of us then they need. I decided I wasn't giving them any more money for this poorly made product pretty early on. The only reason I have 5 is I bought a used one from Gamestop when I first had the issue a year and a half ago.

The only good that can come of a lawsuit is if they take all my joycons and replace them or I get money to replace them.

Happened already to 2 pairs, it's pretty frustrating

@Ryu_Niiyama Too late, one already has a couple days ago that's in its early stages.

I've gone through three Left Joycons (the first one a launch, the latter two pre-owned) that have gone through drift. It is an issue.

joy con drift is a terrible name for the issue, but yep i experience it occasionally, right joystick reads down inputs without touching it, i tilt the stick down then it's fine for a while.

I have 2 sets. Both from the first days of release. The left gray one just started drifting up and down. Both left ones were sent to Nintendo for connectivity issues also a year ago.

Voted all the time. While I had the problem I had both joycons drift several times a day, and I play about 1-2h a day. I tried disassembling sticks and it helped for 2 days. I eventually replaced sticks with ones from Amazon, albeit I am not that happy with quality

I still have the Joy-Cons that came with my Switch, and nope, they haven't drifted for me. It's worth noting I use a wired controller most of the time, so if this is a wear and tear problem, that I wouldn't know.

Is anything I should be worried about? I usually take care of my stuff.

The left joycon that came with my switch developed drift but the two pairs i bought after have been flawless and I've been using them longer that the originals at this point.

My problem is random disconnection when they are attached to the system.

@Sunsy I've seen people complain it's happen to them after 2 months. It happens under normal use. If you don't use yours often then you might never experience the issue or maybe much further down the road. Mine started happening after about a year but we use them all the time. I personally like using the pro whenever I can even if there is no issue.

After hundreds of hours of BOTW, noticed it on the left (blue) joycon. Blowing air was a temp fix. Now, not so much. Drifts all the time. Unbelievably annoying problem. My N64 joystick works fine after thousands and thousands of hours and two decades.

Had mine since launch with no issues except the occasional disconnect, I will say I've been using the pro controller exclusively for tv play as I really dislike how the joy cons feel. Then for handheld I generally play 2D stuff so use the fake dpad, so perhaps this has limited how much use the sticks actually get

Not only does it drift, it's overwhelming for an $80 controller to damage between 5 to 6 months of usage without any known origin of the problem. I'm sure dust isn't the issue for mine, but how come it's drifting I can't tell.

@Spoony_Tech haha yeah I just found out. I’m sure I’ll get roasted for not wanting to sue Nintendo into the ground.

Wish there was an option for not anymore, but truth be told, I'm pretty sure my gray pair might be having some problems...so...yeah.

I've had both Joy-Con pairs since 2017 (April and December, respectively) and both work fine. I don't use them as much as my Pro Controller, but they've still been used quite a bit. I only learned about this drifting issue yesterday when I scrolled through the comments on Nintendo's Purple and Orange Joy-Cons tweet. Looking forward to those.

All of my Joycon have developed drifting issues. Decided not to buy anymore until they do a hardware fix.

Yep. To a point where I don’t really want to use my switch in handheld mode anymore. It sucks because it leads to me not playing much of anything anymore...

The red and blue joysticks which came with my Switch drift pretty frequently, but more so on some days, to the point of becoming unplayable. I have had the Switch for just over a year, and mostly play at home. I haven't bought additional joycons, but I have a pro controller which I use more or less 40% of the time. But what's more annoying than Nintendo's silence is some shills trying to downplay/dismiss the problem as user fault. If more or less anyone I follow online has it, it can't be just a user fault or exceptional case.

Got one (original blue/left one) who've done it... Nintendo repare it and all goes well since then! I also have the neon yellow one that goes well so far!

Bought a new Switch about a year after the launch and at around four months in, my wife and I noticed some inconsequential drift on the left stick. One month later, the left stick is entirely useless. Looked around on reddit, talked to several folks at GameStop (who asked "What the heck have you been DOING to your joy-cons!?!"). Since there was little solid info about this being a problem, I decided to buy a brand new set. Same problem within about four months. This is nonsense and Nintendo needs to start addressing this.

My original launch joy cons I bought on day one. Started drifting after two months. And it's been a constant battle. They also often disconnect from switch in portable mode and have trouble connecting to switch when split in tv mode. Also the shoulder L and R buttons barely work. Cutest and least durable Nintendo controller ever.

I did have to repair a bad right analog sick on my WiiU gamepad. I'm assuming it's a similar part on the joy cons. I have this issue on an Xbox 360 gamepad, but it's almost 8 years old at this point. I'm guessing the springs that would make this less of an issue are smaller in the joy cons so the drift happens sooner.

@rjejr I think your right man. Its definitely a problem they ran into in development and it was too late to change hardware

I have not had any drifting problems my self and I am still using the day 1 blue and red switch

We have two Switches in home with one that only sees docked play using a Pro controller. Still it's the oldest and it's joy-con's were used earlier on and do have some drift to them. The other Switch is used by the family and has drift to the joy-con's that is hit or miss but rears it's ugly head frequently. We do have a Pro controller and a few wired Power-A controllers for Minecraft sessions but most of the kids prefer the joy-con anyway. To top that off I do have three more sets of joy-con that are rarely used to try and preserve them in a way. I'm fine with replacing joysticks one day, but I'd really prefer something better than we have. For that reason I tend to just go straight to the Pro controllers.

I got my switch about 2 months after launch and it does not have any drifting issues. Neither do the second pair I have.

Literally made an account just to vote on the poll. It's absurd! I have a perfectly good full set of joy cons that I can't use AT ALL anymore because of it. And another set that I had to replace because of it otherwise I wouldn't have been able to play anything at all really, at least not hand held. Forget about warranty too, since I've lost my original Switch I had to buy this one second hand, do there goes that wonderful idea... I can't believe Nintendo hasn't done a recall on these yet, or at least just have sold the issue, so that I can feel confident enough to buy a new set. The controllers are more expensive then any other OE controller on the market, with the most problems. Not to mention completely NOT organomic.

I haven't even had my Nintendo switch 5 months the joycons have been drifting ever since I can't even afford to get a new set of joycons because the joycons cost a little over $100

Super Mario Odyssey version of controllers (the red ones) - no drifting issues.

I had joy con replaced for free because of this and didn’t get a receipt so now I can’t get new ones or repair them. They only lasted a year

Both right Joy Con are suddenly sending input without being touched, both docked and in handheld mode. Have the same problem occasionally with one of the left ones. It didn't happen until recently.

Used to be grim, playing mario aces I would charge the net every time I received a serve!! Compressed air didn't fix it, sent it back to Nintendo as within warranty and they fixed it. I bought a pro controller after that and a gooseneck stand to hold my switch and now very rarely use my joy cons. Hope they fix it for switch lite

Had some drift on left joycon when used wirelessly due to signal issues but as had pro controller from start rarely an issue.

Recently however has started happening when docked to Switch so had to buy Hori Left Joycon. Planning on sending for repairs but may wait and see if recent class action suit spurs Nintendo to extend warranty to day 1 buyers.

I got my switch on launch day it’s been great but recently the left joycon has started to drift but it’s only occasionally

@Dualmask It happend to mine and my sons to. Had to send them to repair. They had to replace the joystick with a new one one both of our joycons. Both the left and right joycon on both console. Even one of the joycon was unfixable, so they sent a new one. So yeah, I will say this is a pretty common problem!!

Sometimes but not to the point where it'll make me go all Cuphead on it.

Have had to spend £120 replacing mine and my partner's main pairs (we mostly play handheld) and can't afford to replace our secondary pair. We tried all the home remedies suggested and none worked and it became impossible to play anything properly due to the severity. Easily the most expensive console I've had to date and really not impressed.

My greys always drift (left and right) ... annoying ... So I bought another pair...hoping the new ones will work fine

They used to, all the time. Both the set that came with my Switch, and the greys I bought to replace them. Both sets went back to Nintendo several times before the issue was properly fixed by replacing the sticks.

It hasn't for me, but maybe I'm just lucky? The pro controller on the other hand...

I had to buy another Left joycon, because the character kept moving without any commands.

My left one was drifting and the problem got worse and worse. Compressed air didn't help, rubbing alcohol didn't help.
My only solution in the end was to open it up and replace the stick. It's not that hard to do just a little small and fiddly. There's plenty of guides around if anyone wants to do it

My right one was recently and so was my friend's one. Was caused by dust and cleaning alcohol fixed it.

It happened to my original ones something terrible. My second pair had the same issue again within about six months as well, but thankfully cleaning under the sticks with an old toothbrush and Isopropyl every so often has kept them working okay.

@VGScrapbook they are actually very easy to identify as if it is a drift on menus the cursor it will force to go in one specific direction (in the case of both my left joy cons it goes up) and since this week I have a similar issue with the L trigger of my blue one... Not sure how it got stuck as I treat it with care and I don't think it had water damage

Never ever had any kind of issue at all. I almost want it to happen once just so i know what everyones talking about. I have got seriously bad paint fade on them though.

All. The. Time.

I am honestly very disappointed with the quality of the Switch, considering Nintendo usually creates unbreakable, sturdy tech that last for years.

My left one drifts intermittently. Happens really bad in BOTW and Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

The best remedy I've discovered is buying a pro controller

All four of my joycons drift, to a degree that makes playing a real pain in the neck.

Both me and my partner bought Switches on release. We've both had to get new Left Joy Cons because of drift. My partners one is intermittent but the drift on mine is constant any time it is connected.

@rjejr Many systems have calibration settings. It's a common user feature. It's used for troubleshooting. It's rare to find a system that doesn't have that nowadays.

Most of my joycons have some kind of drift in them sometimes. I had to send some of them back to Nintendo.

My right gray joycon I got at the launch of the switch drifts. My Mario red ones ate still fine but I now try not to use then much. My Mario party bundle ones are good but only been used for an hour or 2 and now sits in my backpack. I have the og pro controller I also got along with the switch, plus the splatoon and xenoblade one and they all have crappy dpads. Wish Nintendo would also fix this.

My right Joy-Con drifted, within the warranty period. Sent to Nintendo and they replaced it. My sons drifts horrendously, again the right one, outside the warranty period though. We both have pro-controllers but he plays handheld a lot. Very annoying!

That's not looking good for Nintendo.

Had no issues with my two sets of joy cons (one grey that came with my launch-day Switch, and one green & pink Splatoon set) until around a month ago, when the green joy con started drifting upwards really noticeably. I dropped an email to Nintendo UK, and it turns out the Splatoon set was still covered by the warranty, so I packed the joy con up, slapped a pre-paid postage label on it and sent it on its way. I got it back less than 10 days later, with a new control stick and another 12 months of warranty on the whole set of controllers, for free. Not bad in my book!

EDIT: I play almost exclusively in handheld, so both sets of joy con got a lot of use since I got them.

Had it and ended up replacing the stick, problem (for now) solved.

Left stick was drifting, got a £7 third party stick from Amazon now works like a dream

@rjejr The fact that you think a recalibration option means defective equipment shows a lot about your knowledge of engineering.

Mine were drifting but i sent them im for repair

My joycons do not work on My switch however if i use them on a friends it works fine which leads me to believe it is console by console.. My friends controllers hooked up to mine drift yet not on theirs not too sure if it is the joycons themselves or a bug with certain switches i have bought new joycons they dont work. And this has been going on for about a year to where i have had to learn Botw again cuz i cant shoot arrows. Nintendo as of last year when i was first researching it b4 it was even named joycon drift.had said to return it where u bought it though toys r us is closed so i have not known what to do...

I had an issue on older Joy-Con, but just replaced the sticks and not had the issue since..

First the left one. Then the right one. Had to wait over a month for repair.

Disgusting quality control. My 6 year DualShock 4 never had this issue.

It's common enough that I have replaced the thumb sticks in 9 joy-con controllers for myself, friends, and family so far.

My left one used to drift too. Then I had to send both my Joycons for repair, as the SR and SL buttons stopped working (and the lights on one of the Joycons, thankfully they were still under warranty).

Since they were fixed for the buttons, I've had no drifting issues.

Started off with what appeared to be some form of signal interference where the input would just get lost for a few seconds and occasionally the left con would turn off and on again on its own as if it were trying to re-establish the connection. Changing the location of the living room dock seemed to fix the problem (or at least cut down on the frequency of incidence).
When I first started noticing the drift, it was occasional and slight and since my switch didn't get a whole lot of play, and the cons had never been dropped, handled roughly, or otherwise jostled, I assumed that it was just a different manifestation of my signal issues. Then it became near constant and much more dramatic and I looked online and learned of the "joycon drift."
Got my switch in November. Interference issues began in January. Drift became a problem in April.
My brother, however got his a year before me and has only the slightest bit of drift very rarely.
On the other end of the spectrum, my flatmate for his in December and has gone through two joycons already (he's also more careless and quite a bit rougher than I which, I assume, exacerbates the problem).
Would love for this to not be a thing anymore. Joycons are too expensive and Nintendo too large and prosperous a company for a design flaw like this to be overlooked and left unadressed.

There are four pairs of Joy-Con in our house, the one that gets the most use is my Splatoon set and the left, green Joy-Con had a drift issue which started occasioanlly and got more frequent, so I replaced the stick. Now the second most used set is also drifting on the left, blue. Again it started occasional but it got worse. I still have 2 sets that are used less frequently that are fine so far. But none of those poll options really apply.

Yeah, my right ones are both fine. Both left ones constantly drift. I'm planning on fixing them by following the last methods in your guide and if successful... I'm selling them all on in favour of controllers that actually work.

I have 3 sets of Joycons and have had no issues

My joy-cons that came with my Switch were the neon blue and red and neither one has any issues. Not sure if it's worth mentioning but my younger brother's black, left joy-con has the drift issue but not his other black nor his neon blue and red that came with his. I'm wondering if this issue is somehow more common in certain color variants or perhaps when they were manufactured?

@ricardosteve it happens with use as the sticks have a flawed base that wears off with time

Left grey joycon works like crap for me.

I can't wait the disaster with the Switch Lite because there is no replacement possible with this machine.

PS : I never had any problem with my other consoles, NES/SNES/N64/NGC/Wii/WiiU but the Switch is king when it's about problems :

Joycon drifting
Reboots
Crashes
etc...

@JamesJose7 believe me that is not the case for most of us my launch joycon started drifting about a year now and it is currently unplayable. I bought also a second pair when I sent the launch ones to fix the connectivity issue and those drift occasionally but it is a matter of time until it gets unplayable

Ive got 2 pairs and 1 single joy con 3 lefts and two right and so far all my 3 left joy cons have problem with drifting and they all only have a problem in the up direction thats it i havent noticed it on either of my right joy cons yet but what i have noticed is my three left ones its getting more frequent now when they first started doing it it was once in a while now all three if i were to switch them within one day would all sufder from drifting multiple times

Bought multiple joycon sets and multipke switches. Almost every set has experienced drift of some kind. Games like Dark Souls are extra frustrating because I've had my characters walk off ledges when I've been trying to stand idle.

The left Joycon does occasionally, especially when playing Overcooked 2 and Mario Odessey.

The worst thing about the drifting is that nintendo doesnt acknowledge the problem

Called em once where they said, nope never heard of it

Yes the drift is real, left joycon, pull it up to resolve its intermittent now though.

I have 6 joycons, I've had to replace 3 of the sticks, and I'm just waiting for the next one's to start drifting

Yep, happens from time to time on both my launch grey pair and the neon pair I bought about 6 months after launch.

Frustrating at times, but certainly hasn't spoiled my overall enjoyment of owning a Switch.

I'd hope it's no longer an issue on the newer joy-cons, and on the rumoured Switch Pro.

never had any drifting issues but a lot of unrecognized button inputs

I created an account to vote on this. I have two left joycons that both drift when I play

@PBandSmelly My son never said anything about his Switch joy cons drifting...I WAS supposed to buy my Switch tonight...I WAS pretty excited...but now not so sure....WIll I buy it? Probrably...but I don't have time for shoddy quality....hhhmmm….

Both my Joy Cons on the left analog drift downwards, really annoying when on any menu's.

Tried recalibrating them but to no avail, so now I 90% of the time use my pro controller.

I must have had the worst streak of luck because in 4 months I replaced mine 3 times due to drifting. The third set last 2 months and then started drifting but jb wouldnt replace them due to nintendo policy wanting me to send them in for repair, i said screw it and bought a pro controller, going to use my extended warranty to replace the joy cons just before the extended warranty ends, assuming the switch doesnt break before then. Just didnt want to go thru the hassle of sending them thru mail. I feel like they knew this hence their ridiculous manufacturers warranty terms.

My grey Joy-Con (release day, bundled with console) likes to get stuck for a bit when moving left and can drift a little. Doesn't matter whether it's attached to the console or not and funnily enough it only happens when I haven't used it in a while (it isn't lying around in the open when not in use so it isn't collecting dust btw). I noticed that if I keep playing it'll stop drifting after a couple of minutes and if I use that controller regularly drifting issues lessen gradually. Quirky that. I just made it a habit to play some puzzle games for a bit when I plan to use it for anything more serious so it can "recalibrate". Issues started early albeit not on day one.

Otherwise I haven't had any problems with my controllers so far and I got them when they were released.

Xbox replaced two of my RROD 360s for Free. Nintendo wants $80 Canadian plus shipping to fix two JOyCons which retail for $100. That's good customer service.

mine drift only on captain toad, and only when I play on tv...weird as f***

Yes, very frequently. It's really annoying because it started happening more often after the warranty ended.

74% of people have drifting issues with Switch and Nintendo charges for fixing them. Definitely, there's something wrong.

Had a drifting grey launch pair and I traded them for a brand new neon yellow pair that I have since a year or so. Never had issues after this trade. Like my yellows!

@0muros The issue appears after some months or a year, unfortunately.

@BlueOcean It's been 12 months and more that I have my yellows so... Thanks for your encouragement. It's really kind.

I'm pretty sure it's the launch joycons who do the drifting.

My first pair of joy cons(original grey ones) started drifting nearly a year after I bought my switch. As far as I noticed it started after I played Bayonetta a lot for period of time. First the left one began drifting then the right one. I tried to fix them by replacing the sticks for left one it worked for short time then began drifting again but for the right it didn't . Eventually it reached to the point of unresponsiveness so I was forced to buy a new pair. Now it's been 7 months since I bought my red joy cons and hopfully there haven't been any drifting yet but one reason can be that I play my switch a lot less than before. Anyways the fear of drifting is always present and that's why I back away from buying games that require button mashing and quick constant movements like smash bros and cuphead.

@0muros You are evil-minded! I am happy that your joy-cons were purchased one year ago and still work fine, I was just stating a fact because you literally said "I traded them for a brand new neon yellow pair" so I was telling you that the issue rarely occurs with brand new joy-cons.

@CharlieGirl 😂😂 , Yep mine do too.. Luckily I have a pro controller and an FC30 ..

Sent two right cons in for repair, $32- months later I went for all my left cons, 3 for $43. Week-2week wait times. Retail fix cost is $30 a joycon they say, bah.
Drift was so bad on the left ones, running in MC is impossible and really any game was no fun because of the constant northwest pull, or lack of ability to get one to register up at all past 1/5 of a upward push on the stick. A friend bought a switch for Lets Go Eevee and had drift before he beat the game 80hrs in, he still beat Zelda too after before it got worse but hes looking at sending it in before Sword and shield release.

It used to happen all the time, but after I ordered replacement control sticks on Amazon and put them in my Joy-Cons, I haven't had this issue since.

That being said, considering how flimsy the control sticks are, I expect this issue to crop up again in the future.

@sixrings You can haggle, I paid $32 for 2 cons repaired.

Had it happening me with 2 left joycons. Sent back the first one to Nintendo. Swapped the analog stick with a new one myself the second time. Never looked back.

My right-hand joy-con has literally just started drifting downwards in the last week?!? I've updated/re-calibrated but there was no change, so I've already ordered some switch contact cleaner and a spare replacement analogue stick in case that doesn't work. This is pretty shoddy really, Ninty ought to compensate us for what seems like a inherent hardware fault.

@PCkid My Gamecube contollers had drift after years of abuse, Madcatz controllers drifted within a month or three of purchase..

I have 2 sets of joy-con controllers and both sets started drifting a week after I brought my switch

Mine used to until I replaced the joystick with one that I purchased on amazon

Mine were fixed with spray, but it happened to all four of my joy-cons and the Pro at the same time!

@Dualmask my pro pad go the up direction too.and my joycon.such a shame is there a way to solve this.

1 of our 4 does occasionally and it is an original day 1 version. Hard for me to be too upset about it as it didn't start doing it until a couple months ago and my kids abuse the poor Switch and its accessories. Seems like a flaw in manufacturing but my issue could just as well be caused by us

Was a major problem on the left joycon controller but my solution was the Pro Controller.

Four JoyCons. Four drifters. Cleaning them only helped ripping the antidust cap off. Making it even worse.

No, the only issue I have is it wont show as attached to the console, but that an issue with with the console not joy con

It's not all the time. But the reason they do drift is because Nintendo used metal parts to rub against something like graphite and the dust particles make it think they are still moving. It really only happens when I play Warframe which makes it easy to fail missions and die and get stuck.

not even once in 2 years

ALL FOUR OF MY JOY-CON DRIFT LIKE THEY HAVE A MIND OF THEIR OWN! Really bums me out.....They ain't cheap, either!

I have officially replaced my Joy-cons doe the second time in a year. 🤦‍♀️

No problems for me so far but my Switch is still fairly new.

Spawn Wave Media broke it down in a video. Over time, the material under the stick begins to wear away, and eventually the sensor can't detect that the stick moved back to default thanks to this. I replaced my stick with a kit for 11 bucks on Amazon. Works perfectly.

Not the most convenient set of answers since the issue can escalate over time. My original pair came to a point where LJC stick drifted often and RJC one, at times. The second pair I later swapped out of for a different reason (a clumsy accident left "R3" stick button out of commission, and Warframe uses it for relatively important tasks) showed occasional LJC drift with time as well, although in this case the aforesaid incident makes the origin of the symptoms vaguer.

I've also experienced occasional or recurrent stick drift on my first PSP, my second Vita and even on my N3DSXL. Design issues or not, there's a damn extra reason I value the modular nature of Joy-cons. 😆

I had drift for my original joycon on the left, but managed to get it fixed a couple weeks before warranty ended.

Hopefully these and my second set of joycons work fine and without any issues moving forward.

Yes it happens with mine sometimes, the left one, but recalibrating the thing usually helps. Hasn't really been a problem yet. (fingers crossed)

I do hope Nintendo acknowledges these issues, and fixes them, seems very widespread. To me it looks like poor build quality.

I've honestly never experienced the issue, and I got my Nintendo Switch on launch.

...I should add "yet" to this shouldn't I?

So far I’ve only had one issue of drifting ( crosses finger) since I was within warranty I got it fixed free. They’re too expensive for this to be such a problem and when Nintendo charges almost the cost of a new joycon to fix a drifting one that’s a huge problem.

Didnt believe it till it happened to me. Absolute pain in the ass and the first time I've had shoddy hardware from Nintendo.

Had to replace one joy con as drift was so bad - and calibration did nothing- that I couldn’t play any game unless docked.

2nd joy con - drifts a little but calibration does fix (at the min)

Please pursue this as hard as possible for change

My Neon Blue drifts to the left so much my Switch is unplayable. I basically need to only play games that use my Cube controller or play nothing.

@ricardosteve it'll start in a few months, don't worry.

it has been drifting - and I don't care, lmao. I bought the pro controller shortly after. Probably should have sent it in, now my warranty is over.Nintendo's handling of the matter was subpar btw. Sometimes you just have to admit you made a mistake and move on.

My left one drifted for a while, especially not helfull in hardcore diablo mode when you want to teleport back to town, but after cleaning it it went away

My left one was drifting. I tried everything to fix it. At the end I bought replacement on Ali expres fo 2 $ and watched YouTube tutorial how to replace it. It works well now.

@Sabroni Well then tell me where the calibration software is on the Wii U, 3DS, Wii, Gamecube, DS and N64. B/c I've had all of those consoles but I can't recall seeing any calibration software before nor having any need to use it.

I only have this "drifting" thing when playing Collection of Mana, for some reason the sticks will randomly keep pushing to a certain direction, but only when I touch them.

@Byungsuk101 Well then tell me where. I mean besides motion for the Wii controllers, motion is different. I've had every modern home console since the PS1 and I can't recall ever using calibration software to have to recalibrate a stick. Motion controllers like the Wiimote and Move, yes, and the EyeToy on PS2 and Eye camera on PS3 and PS4.

But I've never had to re-calibrate a stick on a home console.

Tell me honestly, how many home consoles have you used built in calibration software on? I'm guessing before the Switch the answer was zero.

Same goes for you @Sabroni tell me which home consoles you've used the calibration software on for the thumbsticks. And I'm not talking just once to check it one b/c you got a new toy, I'm talking about on a regular basis to fix it.

Our original red (right) joy-con has been the worst! It drifts so bad that it is almost impossible to use! We have even already sent it off to Ninentdo to be fixed once! It was okay for a while until one of my sons took up Fortnite..

@LumpyKitty Thank you.

my two joycons are fine but then again after two years they have less then 5 hours...exclusivly pro controller user here, never handheld for anything other then that god awful motion pokemon game which is why i have only 4 hours on it cause i dont play handheld.

My right red (launch) has problems with R, but no drifting..

Not only the joy cons, the Pro Controller and my GameCube wireless one from PowerA as well, very annoying.

No, because I know what contact cleaner is.

@Swifthom Yeah thanks for the frame of reference. I noticed my character walking left in Stardew Valley and Link doing the same in BOTW. I got frustrated and fiddled around with the settings for 30 minutes and the problem seemed to disappear.

I’m not doubting anyone’s testimonies here, I’m just stating my experience in regards to the issue.

Hopefully Nintendo is able to address this ASAP, especially if they are using the same parts for the Switch Lite.

happened to first pair, already getting second pair before it happened. Not that bad though

I know this is going to sound stupid but what’s drifting? Is it when the control stick is idle but it’s still moving on screen? If so then I don’t think I’ve ever had that. I have however experienced real bad delay or no response with button presses due to loss of connection with the right joycon. Especially when playing Hollow Knight for some reason.

I have 4 and they're all perfect.

@kane38 You can fix them yourself for about $12 to $15. If you want links to help you do so I can also provide them. Even if you had the money to buy a new pair don't give Nintendo more money for a bad product.

Wow! As I'm writing this the poll says 25% have not had the problem but 75% have.
Nintendo really should do something about this fast. If not for us then for themselfs. It must cost a fortune to replace 75% of all joycons.

In Dragons dogma, you sometimes have to wriggle free of a monster. Ever since I play this game, I started getting joycon drift. But only on that specific (left) joycon. My other joycon are all fine.

My joy con sometimes has an agent movement but my joy con is really unresponsive so maybe it's a drag over from the input delay

@NotTelevision What's funny about that is my brother complained his was starting to do that so I took his and checked it out. Did recalibrate it and everything and it seemed fine. Way better then any of mine so I gave it back to him and said there seems to be nothing wrong or what I did took care of the problem. A week later he calls me back saying his games were unplayable and it was worse then before. So I took it back and then I definitely noticed the problem. Changed the stick out and he hasn't had a problem since.

I guess what I'm saying is once the problem starts you will always have it. What happens is small parts are breaking off within the housing of the analog stick. Those parts move around with use and sometimes can be in spots that don't effect gameplay. That why you're not experiencing any problems atm. Eventually those parts will find there way in a bad spot again and it will seem much worse then before. I've experienced this enough to realise when it starts just change the stick out to avoid frustration.

I am currently on my third left joycon and second right joycon because of drifting and the controls not locking onto the sides of the switch. My switch also has a huge crack down the back plate of it, just from heat.. I love Nintendo but hardware wise the switch is hard to love.

@Spoony_Tech Thanks, I'll make sure I'll pay attention to mine then if that's the case. While I don't use them much, I will use them in handheld mode if I take the Switch with me, so they do get used, just not as much.

@Spoony_Tech yep i Just went on Amazon and bought the 2 stick kit that comes with the tools for $15 or something like that. I still have another stick if it happens again. But my question is, will they replace 3rd party sticks that the user replaced themselves? I figured they wouldnt touch it being that it's not Nintendos stick..

@Spoony_Tech Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ll roll the dice with the pair I got.

The blowback from this is going to worsen, the longer Nintendo stays quiet. Problem is Nintendo wouldn’t want to respond publicly and possibly damage the company’s image when they’re riding this current wave of success. Maybe they will do a quiet revision and not inform consumers about the improved quality.

@NintendoByNature That might be a good thing that it's not Nintendo's stick lol. Not for replacement purposes mind you.

@Hervine Youre not alone on the cracking. Mine has it as well where the screw holes are. Also my vent is now totally broken off from the heat as well. It's just a large hole now. I'm playing this thing till its grave though as I dont care what it looks like as long as it plays games. Mean while my 3ds still looks good and better then my Switch.

I've had multiple joycons drift, and I've replaced the analog sticks for several friends that were dealing with really bad drifting as well.

@Spoony_Tech Oh yeah my vent is nearly there too, literally hanging on by a thread! But yeah i'll be doing the same as long as I can.

I made an account just to vote and comment this. It sucks too, because besides this Joy-Cons are by far my favorite controllers, especially when playing less intense games.

I fixed mine by replacing the stick

@LukeWarmpocket Good thing these sticks are so cheap. I've bought 8 total and only have one left. Once I use that up I'll buy some more.

This reminds me of the whole dropping Bluetooth connection thing back at launch. Nintendo argued with me that my microwave or fish tank was causing the drops. They can't ever acknowledge that their hardware isn't foolproof.

I have two Nintendo Switch (so four joycons). Two of them failed and I had to get them fixed.

I have two pairs os Joycons, and both are drifting...
It's hands down my biggest disappointment with the Switch

I had all four of my joycons repaired by Nintendo because of the drifting issue. I have had so many problems with my Switch that Nintendo gave me a new one.

My grey joy cons got really bad. I tried replacing the sticks but I goofed that up. I bought a new set and a pro controller. I usually play with it connected to my TV so that's been working really well. I'd rather spend money on games than controllers! I love Nintendo but this issue is a major disappointment.

All three of my right Joy-Cons have issues. Two of them drift, one does so a lot actually, and the analogue stick on the third doesn't click anymore when you press it, losing that functionality altogether. Disappointing, not used to these kind of issues on Nintendo hardware.

I live in Mexico and customer service here for Nintendo is terrible. Luckily some kids started fixing joycon for a mere 7 dollars, they replace the whole part, I've had the fixed joycon for over a year and it never drifted again. Sure, it voids the warranty but its a more realistic solution for people in countries where Nintendo doesn't have an appropriate attention center.

I've had 3 sets of joy-cons develop left stick drift. I end up buying new ones and then returning the broken ones as defective. I've never had had any other console break like this in my life, let alone 3 times on the same system in less than 2 years. I definitely won't be buying either of my children the lite when it comes out because you're stuck with left stick drift if it develops and the controllers cannot be replaced. I'd rather not have to take apart my systems and perform minor surgery to fix Nintendo's cheap hardware.

The poll should take into consideration the age of the joy cons. Plot the two datapoints against each other and it would paint a much clearer picture of the Joycon drift situation.

@PlzXcrash I shouldn't have to send the item in to be repaired yet alone haggle for a discounted rate on them fixing their broken product. I rarely even use my joy cons because I have pro controllers but I need them for Mario party.

My left blue one was drifting starting last summer and I finally decided to repair it earlier this year because it's darn near impossible for me to find a replacement that's not used or an obscene amount of money. None of my others have done that thankfully. Still, should be fixed for everyone since these controllers are so expensive.

My launch edition grey Switch - took about a year but now drifts constantly.

My girlfriend's neon Switch - about a year newer than mine, drifts every time it's used.

My best friend's Switch - less than a month old, drifting.

My brother's Switch...

You get the picture.

Got my blue and red Switch at the end of 2017, so far no problems.

My left joy-con wouldn't stop drifting. Got me killed a lot in Enter the Gungeon. So I got a new pair. All was good for a while until my new left joy-con started to drift. I ended up ordering new joysticks and replacing the jostick in my left joy-cons.

They've worked for the last month or so... But now one of my right joy-cons are drifting. =(

Right stick constantly drifting down and occasionally getting stuck in the down position. Left stick occasionally drifting off to the left. Always treated carefully never dropped I either play hand held or table top only. Still under warranty so once I am back to civilisation I’ll be logging a repair with Nintendo

The left joycon that came with my switch drifts diagonally left and up the moment it gets slightly nudged, but the neon green and pink joycons I got with super mario party are working fine atm

@SalvorHardin @Swifthom I'm not against it nor defending them, I just want to see accurate data because I'm curious. Regardless of the topic at hand.

"Drifting" could mean anything. I didn't know what you meant until I looked at the step by step guide. Might be good to be a little more specific in this article and not assume that everyone are just going to get it.

That said, I've had this problem with at least one joycon so far. Sometimes the character I'm playing as starts walking to the left, and I need to push the stick very hard to the right to get the response I want.

I remember sending my whole console in for repairs shortly after I bought it because it had battery issues and wouldn't charge. I didn't get the console back for about half a year after sending it in...

I can't remember if I sent a joycon in for repairs after that, but I do remember being in contact with support about it, so I might have. But then later it started happening again, so I just bought a new left con.

Another "drifting"-like issue is something I noticed while playing Let's Go Eevee. Whenever I was in the petting mode, my cursor would always slowly slide further and further away in one direction, like if the hypothetical sensor bar was orbiting around me, and I had to constantly press the re-center button.

I caught my joycon drifting so I took the car key and locked it away.

Holy crap 75% is huge. Wtf happened Nintendo?

@Liam_Doolan "Do your Joy-Con drift?" What is that, a new dance move?

I shouldn't have to pay to fix my own machine when the problem is their fault for not checking the hardware before they sell sold the system

My blue left joycon drifted very badly. It was kinda shocking to see a recalibration attempt just had the check dot drift to the outer left circle and stubbornly refuse to move. Has put me off getting a Lite.

You should do a poll on the Pro-controller dpad issue too.

My first (packed in) set drifted sometimes playing Zelda. The set I purchased later did not. I don't care. There's always some bugs early adopters have to deal with. If you don't want bugs, wait a year or two.

Surprisingly, the only issue i've ever had with my Switch is with Minecraft. Luckily i got that refunded.

No problem with the right joy con. But left side has bad drift problem. Only got the one set, original grey. Bought on day system was released. Started a few months back, mainly play docked with pro controller,
so this might of started happening earlier if I had played more handheld. This is a big issue for a lot of people Nintendo, get on it.

The grey joycons I got at launch gave me problems after one year. The red set I got 2 months later began drifting after 6 months, probably due to being my main controllers in that time. I have replaced all four sticks at this point, something I've yet to have to do to any of my controllers other than ancient N64 joystick replacements over the years, no big issue as I restored them for fun but N64 sticks are much easier to replace.

The green and pink set I got to tide me over until my parts shipped in are still running strong, but I have only had them a few months and they are usually in a case and aren't used as much. Lucky for me there was a guy on eBay selling sticks at a discount if you bought them in bulk, so I got 4 sticks for about 30 dollars.

I had to fix my Japanese imported Mario red left joy-con by replacing the stick. Not a horrible repair, but if you’ve never cracked open electronics it could be daunting.

I noticed it once, and just recently, but de-syncing the joy-con and then re-syncing them fixed it. Hopefully it stays that way.

I love the image of the drifting joy-con by the way. 👍

It shouldn't happen at all, period! Stop bundling the switch the way they do, exclude the stand, and put that money into better quality components!

My left one developed the drifting issue, I had it repaired by Nintendo for $20. Then my right one started to do the same. So I said screw it, and bought some new ones.

Never had a major problem. Every now and then I have to recalibrate the joy cons, but nothing serious. I can see this being an issue tho.

Im about to stop playing my switch cause both sets of joy cons I bought drift terribly every time I play. They're too expensive to just keep replacing. One of mine is the pink/green one of the newer joy cons and they're just as bad.

It never happened to me! I believe many people are lying to just get money from Nintendo!

I notice it the most when playing Akane. Has gotten me killed a lot. Eventually had to tag out for my other controller’s left Joy-Con. Overall the Joy-Con design is not up to the normal Nintendo standard.

Since the release of the switch in March 2017, I have bought 3 Nintendo Switch`s
All have had drift issues
The one I bought last had drift issues as soon as I unpackaged it!
I’m surprised 25% said they have no issues! My luck must be awful as all 3 of the switches purchased had Joy-Cons drifting

Started drifting after half a year of buying, sent them to Nintendo to get fixed, came back perfectly, 3 months later they started drifting again.

They seem to drift everytime I’m playing Mariokart. Which is fine if I only wanna drift left lol
I love the story image 😅

My Joy-Cons have never drifted. None of my friends have really had any issues with drifting either.

I just have to say, that joycon drift picture is the best ever

My left joycons drifts. My right one will only work in handheld mode.

I'm surprised there wasn't an option for "I have no idea."

So 75% out of a 2,000 sample. At the very least it does provide support that if you game for a significant amount of time it has a tendency to happen. Had mine since launch but only recently happened. Then again, portable play only became my main method of Switch play over the last year. Prior to that used Pro controller.

Nope, never happened to me, but I barely never use those erconomical nightmare controllers meant for small kids and dwarfs....

I'm now on my third pair of joy-con and had drifting issues on the two previous left ones. Both have been lasting around a year before they got the issue, which is scaringly short for something that should be a quality product :/ The left grey launch joy-con started acting all weird quite suddenly, but the left red joy-con on my second pair has been developing a drift up on its own over a longer period. Will be interesting to see what issue my new yellow ones will get...

Is that the thing where the connection goes away for a bit? Yeah, the few times I've used the joy-con it has happened consistently.

@Expa0 no, it's where the sticks register "phantom" input (usually in one direction) when you don't actually touch them. Can impede the gameplay when it comes to character movement or camera control. Some blame easy dust collection (especially cases where cleaning [temporarily] helped), others suspect component wear.

We have 10 joy cons that are used across 3 switches at home, we have had the joy stick swapped out on 2 of them because of drifting, i was playing Ys VIII with a drifting stick making it unplayable, i have since picked up a couple of those wired powerA controllers, they are better quality than what Nintendo is offerings, gimmicks gimmicks gimmicks Nintendo.

My original joycons drifted. As did my nephews. I bought a £10 kit with replacement stick off amazon. Repaired mine and gave them to my nephew. I bought new ones when mine started to drift. No drift yet on my newer ones.

Had my switch for 2 years, only owned a single pair of Neon Blue/Neon Red Joycons that came with the stytem and haven't experienced any drift.

my joycons have actually been more reliable than my pro controller, the pro controller left stick is loose, makes sounds that don’t sound healthy and often sticks in a direction when i remove my finger.

for comparison, i had my joycons for 15 months while i’ve had my pro controller for 7

I haven't experienced any drift, so I will stay out of the discussion. However, I did want to say that the piccy accompanying this article is great!

I've got the broken sl/sr issue on one of my two sets. It's annoying because it limits us to 3 players instead of 4. We've blamed playing vigorous Fitness Boxing...

No drifting though. Didn't even know that was an issue until I saw people complaining online in the last month or so, as none of my friends have the issue either.

@rjejr

Hi, friend. Don't go bringing logic into this. It won't be appreciated.

Blue joycon drifts.

Pro controller is great, except for the d-pad not being super precise. I put a small piece of tape under the d-pad (I watch a vid on youtube). This helped a lot!

My left analogue stick started drifting after some year and a half. I've tried to clean it with compressed air to very meagre effect. Then I used the contact cleaner. Drifting stopped but the L stick ceased to work, so I needed to buy a new pair of joycons.

If Nintendo don't fix the joycon drift im going to throw my switch away and buy a PS4

knocks on wood I haven't had issues so far, and I've used my joycon a fair amount since I bought them in May last year.

I’ve been lucky - I haven’t had issues so far, but maybe it’s due to the fact that I use the Pro Controller more. I had to fix its d-pad first though, it was terrible with the wrong inputs.

I hope Nintendo fixes the drifting issue so I can get more joycons in the future, but until then, I’m not buying any.

I do know one of mine did do some drift but I used rubbing alcohol to clean at the stick and so far it has come back. But others may actually be a hardware failure or user abused and those have to be documented to know the problem.

Jesus, as of looking at the results now, 75% have had drifting issues (which includes me). This could be Nintendo’s Red Ring of Death if they don’t do something soon.

My launch window joycons started drifting after about 10 months. I sent them back to Nintendo and they haven't drifted since. A second pair started drifting after a similar amount of time. I've used the contact cleaner trick on those and so far it's worked (about 6 weeks).

All my friends joycons have drift issues by now. There's no one I know who has regular working joycons. At first I though it was just me, but guess not😞

Nope but at same time only got my switch in march nd I only ever use my 8bitdo controller

Hope they sort this tho

@rjejr There's a joystick calibration feature on the 3DS. Go to Settings, Other Settings, Page 4, Circle Pad. It's there.

So, by your logic, Nintendo KNEW there was going to be a problem with the 3DS Circle Pad.

Except, wait. There wasn't any problem.

You know what else has calibration features in my experience? The blood chemistry analyzer that I work with every day, the CNC machining center and CNC lathe that I used to work with, and the 105 mm main gun on the MBT that I used to crew.

It's not a bad sign when things have calibration systems, dude. It's a good one.

Please note that I am NOT saying the Switch doesn't have a drift problem.

Bought new ones before smash came out, splatoon 2 was literally unplayable because of the drifting sticks

@k8sMum Not on here, not any more.

Some of these kids need a stern talking too, or a good spanking.

You know this one? This is me. Especially today. Man on the moon?

No issues since I got my Switch in March '17 and I'm playing almost exclusively in handheld mode.

Kinda bad options on the poll.

I got my switch at launch with an extra pair of joycon and two pro controllers. No issues with the pros including the dpad or the extra pair of Joycon.

The left joycon that came with my switch has really bad drift however, started about a year after I got the system.

Unfortunately for all the deniers out there the choice of material for the joystick was very poor, eventually it will happen to all of them.

I haven't tried cleaning it yet by the way but if I had less controllers I would be crap out of luck.

My original neon joycons but I have had no problems with my smash switch as of yet.

I got my Switch only 6 months ago so no

@JasmineDragon For $40,000 it better have a calibration program, those measurements need to be precise. It's why all, or at least any one worth anything, 3D printers have leveling programs, b/c you need those devices to be precise. A thumbstick doesn't need to be precise, it needs to not drift. The Switch Joycon drift. And I'm pretty sure they knew it would happen.

Thanks for the info on the 3DS, wasn't aware of that. And as you said, wasn't aware of any problems with those. But I'm still betting Ntinedo knew. And if they get dragged into court maybe we'll see the emails where they knew, and included the calibration to address the issue. Maybe even though there wasn't any problem w/ the 3DS they suspected there would be, and just got lucky?

One thing I've seen very people mention is just how disposable most controllers are. I have a home littered w/ broken and malfunctioning controllers going back to the PS1 and for every system since up to and including the Switch I have broken controllers. PS1, Dreamcast, PS2, too many too count for PS3, Wiimotes, and Joycon. It's possible my two PS4 controllers are still working, but their batteries barely last long enough to break them. But even knowing all that, that those little Joycon were going to break, their so tiny with so much in them, yes, I am still going to argue Nintnedo expected the drift to happen, and the prominent calibration software I am still going to say is a testament to that, even if they got lucky w/ the 3DS.

One good thing about a lawsuit, they may be forced to show the truth if there's anything to it. The other good thing is maybe they'll just settle, give everybody $15 eShop credit or something to help defray the repair costs. OR they'll start offering to repair them for free.

But I'm not going to believe they didn't forsee these problems, they're just too numerous, like the RDoD. Companies know.

I want to know how many of these are actually defective and not just damaged over time being thrown in a bag or sat on in the living room.

I have had no issues and don't know anyone in person who has had any with there switches, but go online and seems to be everywhere.

No. I think this is because I play 2-D action games using the directional buttons and never play very intensive 3-D action games, so I never have occasion to stress the joystick.

I am not saying people abuse their joy-cons. I am saying that I make unusually little use of the joystick for a modern gamer.

Two Switches, the Switch in the main room has its left one drifting to the right a couple weeks after we got it. The second one we have so far after a few months hasn’t started and it gets much more use. Contact cleaner helped for a little while but it doesn’t last and it isn’t something that should be needed.

@rjejr
Omg! Yep, know that one. Great reference. Just realized that Malcolm McDowell could now play the geezer!

But how do we get them all off our lawns??

Both my original Joy-Cons are drifting like a mo-fo 2 years in.

@loyalroyal1989 I am pretty sure it was playing hollow knight that killed my last joy con. 2d games can certainly stress them

I have four joy cons and I’ve had them for two years... they work fine people. Take care of your stuff.

@k8sMum "But how do we get them all off our lawns??"

I think the trick is to get them all on our lawns, then claim the "stand your ground" defense when we electrify the lawn. 😂

But honestly, civility is broken and I don't know how to fix it. Every time FLOTUS says "be best" her husband insults another woman for all the world to see and his klanspeople cheer him on. My hope is when all these old white powerful men die then younger women replace them and show us how to be polite again. I'm all for disagreements, but there really is no need for the hate except it's become the norm. Why beat someone up in real life when you can convince someone to kill themselves online? So I do my best to hide.

Though I do get out occasionally, here's me hanging with the other fossils.

@Swifthom Drifting is only on the right ones for me... could be a wider issue with the type of joystick sensors they use seeing as it's not just the one side?

Not anymore since the recalibration.

I've owned my Switch since about a month after launch. I've owned two sets of joycon including the set that came with my console, and never once have I experienced this issue. I'm sorry to anyone that has. It sounds like a pain.

I had a drifting issue when I first got mine and I was hesitant to get new ones because of it. Then it just stopped after a while, I asumed one of the updates. I ended up having to get new ones because I broke one and I am not having any issues with them.

OK, over 2,000 people (not a terrible sample size) and 75% have some kind of issue!

Anyone denying this is a thing now, or just saying it's people who don't look after their controllers... that argument does not hold up now.

@rjejr
Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, but since my Bill died time has been non-existent for me.

Though I too am sick of powerful old men running things, I honestly don't know if younger female overlords are going to be much better. So many of them have equated being equal with mirroring the same behaviour.

The hatred is poisonous. I don't know if there are enough breadcrumbs to get us back to decency, compassion and empathy.

I, too, tend to keep my head down.

@k8sMum "So many of them have equated being equal with mirroring the same behaviour."

I kind of feel the opposite - the reason those in power, ie old white rich men in power - stay in power is b/c the rest of us are too cordial and polite to do what needs to be done. Or too easily appeased by bread & circuses. (I dont' think it's a coincidence so many states are legalizing marijuana, stoned people dont' protest.) While the rich take pleasure in trampling everything under their feet, the more civilized among us try to take the high road. When's the last time one of those old men took the high road? Al Franken quit when his abhorrent behavior was pointed out to him, Kavannaugh became a US Supreme Court Justice. Epstein, More, Ailes, they're all horrible people who will never apologize or admit guilt. And the GOP politicians are all horrible horrible hypocrites who had no problem raking Obama over the coals for the same stuff they praise the resident golf course owner over. Bush JR was an idiot, but at least he sold his stake in a baseball team to try and keep up appearances. There are no appearances anymore, only white power hand salutes.

So I'm fine with the democrats finally getting up and fighting fire with fire. I'm not advocating violence like so many on the far right are, but at least stand up and speak up. I'm fine w/ getting rid of all civility now if it means a fairer future.

I mean, I really feel like the class war is lost, and that's the real war, not sex/gender, not race, not religion, those are all just cover for the old rich white men to get more cannon fodder and human shields on their side. When push comes to shove old rich white Catholic men aren't coming to the defense of other men, or whites, or women, or Christians, they are only coming to the defense of their tight little rich boys club. The other wars are all just a distraction form the class war. Which is pretty much over, we're pretty close to the rich being to rich to rich and the middle class sinking too low to do anything about it. But maybe while we're all living in poverty in the future we can all do so w/ a little respect. And the only way to get respect is to earn it. And the only way to get respect from a bully is to be a bully. So I'm ok w/ the push back. And I hope that the natural inclination of nice people returning to from occurs after the fight.

And if not, we'll at least women tend to be child molesters and rapists less often than men. I can't imagine a woman judge letting off a male rapist b/c he's from a good white family. Well at least not as many female as male judges. I'm ready for new overloads.

Don't get me wrong: I don't subscribe to the 'when they go low we go high' crap. All they do then is kneecap us.

If we're going to fight, tho, we have to be willing to get our hands dirty. The esoteric thinking has to be put on a back burner. We need to end shallowness and stop the cult of personality.

Being a woman, I may have a lower assessment than you as to our ability to be different than men when in power. I have seen some results from female judges that are abhorrent. Though it's not discussed as much the percentage of domestic abuse perpetrated by women is pretty high.

Imho we need to look at putting people in charge who are best for the position. Young/old, black/white/whatever, male/female, gay/straight: I just don't care as long as they are smart, competent and willing to put the country first.

The joycons that came up with my switch had already drifted in less than 6 months of usage! I have already swapped the left analog stick with a replacement I bought online. It was fine until a couple months ago, it started drifting again. I guess I will need to hoard a whole bunch of left analog sticks for the left joycon.... So glad I also bought the pro controller that time, it has been working perfectly until now....

@Mrnotultra I stand corrected. I'm getting my Joy Con Fixed Soon.

I own 3 sets of joy cons, all drift after 2 years, very poor design. I am able to replace those joysticks, of course, but why the hell should I as a customer fix Nintendos poor quality products?