Poll: Is Your Switch Lite Suffering From Joy-Con Drift?

I think user abuse has to be taken into effect. Many people are into competitive gaming which unknowingly cause them to be rougher on their equipment. Myself I play all genres of games and usually move on from a game if I catch myself getting to worked up. On my day one Switch and two additional sets of joycons I've had zero drift

@BarefootBowser
It's kind of like the ten articles and videos about the Switch Refresh and Switch Lite unboxings. Nothing was truly different but they milked the crap out of it

@BarefootBowser

How is a user poll poor journalism exactly?

I thought the drift was due to te wear and tear of the materials used to trace the sticks movements? Why on Earth would people have issues straight out of the box? In the earlier article you had 3 videos of this drift, one was a Youtuber trying to get some clicks the second was trying to be "first" with the issue and the third was just some guy holding left on the stick

Yes, I know it's a big issue. But I find it funny that majority of Switch owners who's experiencing drift treat this as if it's a Switch exclusive defect. To the point people initiated a class action lawsuit. My dualshocks drift at times. My Xbox controllers (even my elite) drift at times. Heck even my 3DS circle pad drifted (once). Sony and Microsoft's probably smirking right now seeing Nintendo getting the short end of the stick.

For over a year and a half after launch this wasn't a big deal. Yes, issues need to be dealt with but my question to you is: why now? Some are experiencing drift regardless if it was old or brand new. Why didn't anybody care when the dualshocks were drifting? [Almost] nobody had the issue until just a few months ago. Aside from a few reddit posts the only complaint I keep seeing then was the connectivity issue and the Pro's crappy D-pad.

I guess having this issue get big enough is a plus so that Nintendo can act on it. But still. Kinda unfair that the Switch gets badmouthed when it's not the only system that has a constant problem with it.

You could call it "thumbstick drift" . Such beautiful little console, what a shame... 😥

@BarefootBowser I've had my Switch since launch and have only seen light drifting in Mario Maker 2's build mode but a quick messing about of the stick stops it, my other 3 pairs have had no issues at all.

As @Zyph says I think I've had some issues with all controllers I've ever used and a lot of it is caused by dirt or grease from your hands over time. The earlier pads were much easier to fix though and developers know this can happen with analogue controls and that's why they put dead zones in their games, Doom on Switch for example you have to move the stick much more than elsewhere. I've had issues with PS4 controllers, one of which was the opposite of drift as I could barely turn left even at full tilt. I think the only console with analogue sticks that I've never had any issues with was the Gamecube and after 2 years with my Switch that isn't even near the top of the list

@BenAV
I think you may be rougher to them then you think. It's weird that you have had a mountain of issues and I've had none. I play my Switch about 3 to 4 hrs undocked a day

@Zyph

I've only ever experienced it on Switch. No other consoles.

@Zyph tbh, the drift issue on the switch is a different beast. Almost all of my controllers drift once and a while. However, the drift issue only happened to my wife's joycon but it wouldn't stop. I wasn't able to reset my controller and fix it like my other controllers. Which at that point makes it an issue.

Nintentroll Life seriously? If anyone is getting drift already it's a lemon out of the box. Got to love your clickbait over the overblown drift on used systems. Ever wonder if a good bit of the issue is the environmental conditions or player usage that causes it? I guess that wouldn't make a headline right?

How many of these poll votes are trolls? Not even a week old and people are already having severe drift? not buying it. now we can’t trust any of these polls and get accurate counts of anybody actually seeing this issue.

@carlos82 that is not why dead zones exist. they exist because your average person can’t hold still enough for a stick without a dead zone to not fire.

@Old_Man_Nintendo I think it's funny that your response to all joycon drift issues is "you must have been rough on your controller."

@Old_Man_Nintendo I am with you in that, and in fact all consoles controls have their issue, I have a 3 set of joy-cons and pro controller for almost 3 years and zero issue, I just tray to no abuse the hardware, I even tray to no use the click buttons of the joystick if possible

The people that put the answer for "severe joy-con drift" are probably just joking around or Switch Lite haters.

@Chunkboi79 Sure. But the same happened to a new DS4 controller I bought a few years back. Nonstop drifts from day 1 but I didn't sue anybody. Though I get you.

@Username77 or they might be OG Switch users

all the videos i've seen is of people trying to artificially create drift by moving the stick very slightly and slowly...no videos of drift where it just appears during normal gameplay.

I had a PS Vita that had messed up controllers. This lead me to believe and stay away from a Switch Lite. I'm sorry for all you that are having controllers doing highwire. Nintendo should do something about the drifts.

There you go. I gave you a click. Happy?

pretty sure more teardowns have shown that the part is different than the launch Switch. Hopefully this bodes well

@manu0 I agree. They are fake.

These articles are getting ridiculous. About two a day on this page since the Lite came out.

This poll is ridiculous, no matter how you vote you’re playing into their theme: “Joy-Con drift will happen and everyone voted on it, even those who said no.”

This isn’t the same issue as drift surely! After a mere couple of days? Come on.

If you have problems this far into production, that is not good. Maybe they need to have another company come in and solve the problem.

@BarefootBowser @BenAV Coincidentally I happen to be having the same issue with my R button. I started noticing the issue ~1 year back with the button only occasionally recognizing my inputs. It seems like the more I use it, the worse it gets (which seems obvious) but I’ve also had it operate without issue for about a week after leaving the Joy-Con untouched for a while. For the record, the button still works fine (it presses down) and when I opened the controller up to replace the stick, the spring seemed to be in the right place.

@Zyph while this is somewhat true - it was 4+ years until i got minor problems on my Xbox One controller.

It happened with the Switch in a little over 1 year and it was not minor - the issue was so big that some games became almost unplayable due to my character running to the left all the time. This certainly was not the case with my Xbox One controller.

So your statement is half true, Microsoft and Sony do have this issue but its nowhere near as big and as frequent as Nintendo's. They have clearly done a lot more in this regard to avoid the issue.

All this said. Im seriously having trouble believing the problem with the lite are this bad only 2 days into launch.

4 months in. Joycons still fine. I play maybe 3-5 hours everyday. Fifa, Monster Hunter, BOTW. But mostly Fifa and MH. I've been very careful especially with the left joy-con. Still hoping it won't drift.

i think its far too early for any accurate results, of course a lot of the votes are gonna be no. this should be the kinda thing done after several weeks or months even. letting the lite get its use

@Username77
I am an OG Switch user who dislikes strongly this "switch" lite and haven't participated in the poll.

I just simply won't buy the thing. In this case money has more power.

But to all those people who buy it, of course I wish they get the most out of their console and money. To each their own.

@Old_Man_Nintendo

User abuse? The Switch Lite has been out for less than a week.

This is just actually a horrible and pathetic problem. Half of my Joy-Cons drift, one has broken right joystick which no longer registers being pressed down, one constantly disconnects/reconnects. All of these issues started when they were basically brand new, having seen less than 10 hours of use.

Worst Nintendo hardware I've ever owned. Basically a worse flaw than the easily worn out N64 joysticks.

@Razer
I never used xbox. Only playstation. And I can remember that I did experience drift, on the ps2, but around year 5 after the purchase. Plus the controler was used extensively. But on the ps3 and 4 no drifts.

On Switch, 6 months after the purchase - drift. Awesome

@Old_Man_Nintendo

My first console was the Mega Drive back in the early 90s so I've been gaming for some time; none of my other controllers with sticks have ever had drift. Cut to holiday season 2018 when I first got my Switch, and within just 4-5 months both my Pro Controller and Joy-Con were drifting. Meanwhile my 8bitdo SN30 Pro which I use more than my Joy-Con (I use it on Switch and my Android TV box) suffers no such problem.

Care to use your old man wisdom and explain to me why?

@mlj11
I use the same controller for my switch now. Awesome product.

I don't agree with automatically writing this off as not an issue on the Lite. But I also don't agree with jumping to the conclusion that it's still definitely a problem without waiting and seeing.

With that said, I thought this poll was poorly designed as it's missing an important "I don't have a Switch (Lite)" option. Polls are easily skewed when there isn't a clear option for people who just want to vote (especially such a massive group). On second thought, considering the cheeky tone of this article it may have been done on purpose.

I have had issues of drift myself but I was easily able to resolve it for my original joy cons with a quick recalibration while my red and blue joy cons just needed some good ol WD 40. If people are claiming to get drift this soon then its most likely just due to a handful of defective units which are not uncommon in the initial batch of systems

I think that Nintendo should issue a press release clarifying the quality of the new sticks because the original ones were rubbish. I plan to use my Lite a lot and if it has such problem there is the two-year guarantee (in Europe) and I will contact Nintendo to do their job.

I don't believe that 10% of the voters have "quite severe drifting" in a 4-day old console though. Add 7% of people with a slight drift issue and you get that 17% of Switch Lite owners are suffering the drift issue in four days. That's impossible, right? On the comments nobody has complained about the new sticks so far.

@BarefootBowser not really.

According to this poll 16% of Switch lite owners are experiencing drift issues after just a few days of it being on the market.

Electronic manufacturers usually have 1-2% failure rate so this is well above the norm already.

Whether you like it or not this is Nintendo news. Don’t click the article if it doesn’t interest or affect you.

Anyway I agree with the article in “its disappointing to see no effort made to rectify it”. At this rate Nintendo need a fix sooner rather than later...

@mlj11
I've been gaming since 1986 on the probably Nintendo Entertainment System.

There are two reasons why:
1.) You are exceptionally rough on your joycons compensating for their small size

2.) A small percentage of any electronics have faulty units.

Both reasons don't equate to the joycon drift being on the same level as the red ring of death

@BenAV @BarefootBowser I have absolutely no idea. I’ve looked online for other people with the same issue, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen someone mention this.

I guarantee you that 10% of the poll respondents here are not playing with their Switch Lite and experiencing severe issues. It’s probably 0% real Switch owners, and 100% trolls. The reporting on the issue based on a few alleged anecdotes out of the tens or hundreds of thousands of units in the hands of consumers is reckless and irresponsible.

If you say you have drift already you are a liar.

This article and practically all the articles about drift in switch lights feel like that reviewer who said that zelda is practically unplayable, it's all about the clicks.

As said, the videos posted earlier are simply no proof and the wording of this poll is pretty sad.

@Zyph Yeah I have gone through several Dual Shock 4 controllers on my PS4 because they kept breaking for various reasons. I had a couple of launch controllers fall apart on me, like the analog stick just literally started degrading and falling apart, a well noted issue for early PS4 owners. Then I had a later DS4 that just suddenly stopped working entirely. This isn't including the many DS3 controllers that I went through on my PS3 for various reasons. I have no idea why people act like Nintendo is alone when it comes to controller issues, I have had far more issues with Sony controllers.

Okay. This is bad. Like. Really.

@BarefootBowser Yeah I am probably going to stop going here if this is the road this site is going to go down. This is sensationalist garbage.

@Old_Man_Nintendo

1) You missed the part where I said my Pro Controller also drifts. Fun fact, I actually use my Joy-Con very sparingly because I play mostly docked... Furthermore, your "small controller size" theory doesn't explain why my Pro and Joy-Con both drift, yet my SN30 Pro - whose size lies between the two, and which I use more often than the Joy-Con - doesn't.

2) I see you've made a concession that perhaps not everybody with a different experience outside your own limited anecdotal data behaves like a rough idiot on their electronic wares. Progress!

3) Nobody is saying this is a red ring of death scenario. Even if this problem might not reach such heights, there are still enough reports of people falling victim to this issue to suggest a problem on Nintendo's end instead of being caused by consumers.

I don't understand why the more fortunate people like you can't extend a little sympathy to those of us suffering from the problem, instead of pilling on our misery.

@Zyph I am not saying that suing was necessary. However, it did get Nintendo's attention. They shouldn't be charging people for repairs for faulty issues on a going on three year device. It also looks good PR wise.

@mlj11 dude, don't even try to argue with the guy. He's the kind of person that if it doesn't effect him then it doesn't exist.

NL is trash. Recommendations for other Nintendo news sites anyone?

i think my normal switch is getting some drift now, but I don't play it in handheld without the pro controller very often to notice it. I am however not getting a switch lite because normal switch is plenty good, and I prefer to play mine mostly docked.

"They're lying, you're all lying, the drift doesn't exist, I'm not crazy, you're all crazy, REEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" s'what I keep hearing.

Hmm, going by the poll, just shy of one fifth of users are affected by the problem. I guess it's not 99.999%, so it's not 'widespread' .

Out of all the consoles I've had that have analog sticks (ps2, ps3, psp2000/3000/go, vita, 3dsxl, new3dsxl), I've only ever had drifting problems with my first psp. But it was tiny constant movement right out of the box, so it was just misalignment or something, got replaced on warranty and had no problems since, and I used all my handhelds for multiple years. Hell, my vita is 7 years old and not a single instance of drift.

Meanwhile, out of 5 joycons I have, 4 started drifting, sent them in for repair, two for fixed, 'found no problem' with the other two. Of course the ones they found no problems with were still drifting once I plugged them in, I guess they didn't bother to use them for five minutes, as that's about as long as it takes the drift to kick in on their case. And one of the fixed ones started drifting again after two weeks. And the left one of the set I bought to replace my original ones started drifting before the month was over after purchase.

Though, not like I was going to buy A Switch Lite anyway, the lack of rumble sucks too much for Skyrim lockpicking. :B

Cya
Raziel-chan

This is ridiculous.

Drift comes from wear. This has been well established. It took months, even years for people to truly start seeing it with enough frequency that the media caught on.

NOBODY is wearing their sticks in 72 hrs. It's just not happening. Thus, any issues seen are going to be from a defective unit, stick out of calibration, faulty unit, etc. A small percentage of every console will have that.

And unfortunately, you can't trust polls here for the same reason you cant rely on User Metacritic scores. You mean to tell me 20% of Switch Lites have drifting analogs out of the box? Gtfo with that nonsense. Even IF the issue isn't fixed (and maybe it isn't) there would still be no worse of an issue than the original Switch had. And NOBODY was having issues with analogs 72 hrs after OG Switch launched.

Switch Lite very well may have a drifting issue in due time. In fact I suspect some units likely will. But this is just sensationalist garbage, as 2-3 random claims on the internet out of a million systems sold are the foundation of mass hysteria, and I just dont have the patience for this kind of nonsense anymore.

I'm fully aware drifting is an issue. One of my 12 joycon actually got the drift (fixed in 15 min with contact cleaner). But that took nearly 3 years to happen. Switch Lite may have issues down the line. Absolutely. But now isn't the time.

Frankly, I'm just tired of this issue being regurgitated ad nauseum. I own 3 Switches, 12 joycon and a Switch Lite. I got drift one time on one analog stick in 3 years. Yeah that sucks. But this is getting WAY out of hand with the hysteria.

@Old_Man_Nintendo

I have had three of my four joy-cons experience some major drift. At this point I feel like the forth is a matter of time. The two left ones that drifted both happened within the warranty period, the right drifting stick was a couple years after launch.

I don't feel like I am rough on my controllers, and I have taught my kids to be the same. I know the drift issue has to do with wear but I have not had issues like this with my other Nintendo controllers (and the old ones still work fine when I play them) so the joy-cons seem to wear out a lot faster than other controllers.

It's great that you and others have never had problems and hopefully you never do, but for those of us who have problems I really don't think you can chalk every case up to user abuse. Perhaps you take the utmost care of your joy-cons and perhaps that is why you've never had problems. Perhaps you are just lucky. Either way, I don't think you can paint everyone having issues with the same brush.

My only hope is that everyone who is ACTUALLY experiencing an issue is bringing it up with Nintendo support, twitter accounts, whatever they can do to get the message across in an official and orderly way to Nintendo. Making YouTube videos, jumping on comments sections, going on Reddit, none of that does a lick of good. Like not even close. In fact, the more unhinged or manic a social media community looks, the less likely a company will pay attention to it.

@Sean161 It's when you get bored of your games and set down the controller to go to ebgames to purchase a new game. Drift away. Then come back to play some more.

Even though I don’t have one, it is still to early to tell. This pole is pretty bogus as most of these reports about drift are just failing you tubers trying to be controversial

The poll is bs. If there really were 10% with severe issues, there would someone be complaining in the comments about it. Bullocks. Either people who didn't read that this is about the Lite or trolls.

@Barbara001 please read my comment above. It's not a poll that people use correctly. So calm down.

@sportvater yeah I thought after commenting that not everyone is honest and some people just love to troll. I think you're right.

I'm concerned about the longevity of the control sticks as much as the next person who isn't sticking their fingers in their ears and saying joycons work perfectly, but this is the kind of conversation to be having in a few months at minimum. Most joycons don't break in a week.

@Barbara001 actually, this is the first article or poll on NL that really annoys me. I hope someone from the editor team (great job btw. Normally. Honestly.) Reads this and sees the confusion they created by this. Hoping there will be some learning. Greets to you Barbara! 😁

oh man the trolls are out and spreading click-bait stories already.

@Barbara001 and you probably couldn't be more correct.

@chipperkwah nintendoeverything.com is quite good. Occasional trolls in the comments now and then, but generally quite good. Currently no clickbait articles or rubbish reviews like NL and they usually report Nintendo news days before NL does, or news NL doesn’t report on at all! Like the Amnesia Collection that was stealth released on Switch, NL still hasn’t mentioned that.

@sportvater I guess that's because that's polls about what you're buying and about which gamecube game was the best (still can't choose btw). But this is something else entirely. I'm just going to wait for official reports a few weeks and then decide what to do with this nifty little console!
And greets to you too 😁

@SwitchForce whyyyyyy with the trolling. Why would you deliberately annoy people? Like being with the bullies in kindergarten all over again 😤.

I think those with the drift with the Lite either used the stick like crazy or did something like a durability test

@BarefootBowser Good, keeping Nintendo aware we worried about drifitng.

@Dezzy "Nothing so far" suggests something will go wrong..How about " No" as an answer instead?

@stevenw45
Let's see, purchase a $200 Switch Light. Abuse the joystick and cause a drift in it's first week of release. Record a video, and post it. Make a couple grand on all the click baiting views you knew you would get.

Just got this, only had it 10 days. Had left joycon disconnecting issues straight away with my first switch at launch, sent back to nintendo to repair. That same switch and another switch then got joycon drift after a year, replaced the sticks myself. Now this.

This is really poor

@Username77
I had my first Switch from it's original release, and just recently got rid of it for the new revision with the better battery life. No issues with the joycons.

@Barbara001
He's not bulling anyone he, like myself, believe any stories about Nintendo Switch Lite stick drifting stories are one of the following:
1.) Complete lies for click bait
2.) Defective Units that simply need to be replaced from the store they got them from or Nintendo
3.) Abusive Switch Owners who are too rough on their equipment

@Old_Man_Nintendo no, no, no, you misread, I meant that I believe the ones who are saying their sticks drift on switch lite are bullies, who are trolling just to get attention and try to create some views by reporting an issue everyone is dreading, just to get some clicks. So basically I think the same as you do 😊