Second Nintendo Switch Lite Teardown Hints At Different Analogue Stick Design

Nooooooooooooooooo ! Xxx

If they have a different part number surely they’re... different? No?

I love everything about the Switch except those damn joysticks! Thankfully it's an easy enough problem to deal with on the Switch since the controllers are removable, but it seems like it will be a fatal flaw on the Switch Lite.

Hey but at least it has that sexy D- Pad right?.... No?

Ok I tried...

Wasn't the smaller battery already known?

Maybe the drift is software related as well. I can't see a multi billion dollar gaming company making the same mistake. It doesn't add up...

If it's a different parts number, it could be improved still.

‘Thankfully it's an easy enough problem to deal with on the Switch since the controllers are removable, but it seems like it will be a fatal flaw on the Switch Lite.’ @Mountain_Man this. I can’t imagine they wouldn’t do SOMETHING to address the problem with the Joy-Con, considering they are now fused to the Switch Lite. We have two Switch in our house, my Joy-Con that Nintendo replaced last year, not fixed, replaced, are currently back with Nintendo UK right now, and my sons left Joy-Con has major drifting issues, basically unplayable. My two nephews BOTH have Switch of their own and both have drifting Joy-Con. Maybe one or two of us could be put down to our own neglect or misuse, but not all, not every single pair, including the replacement pair.

@Matthew010 Has to be, surely.

@Neofan99 No, it’s hardware related. The physical components are the problem.

As a victim of joycon drift (3 of my 4 joycons are suffering badly) this is terrible news. I won't be buying the switch lite as a result.

@Orpheus79V It was in the official Nintendo tech sheet, so yes.

Who cares? Just dock it! Oh, wait, this supposed "home console" that only replaces the failed Wii U (another home console) can't be docked or display on a television, which despite that is still considered a home console on Wikipedia. Hmmm...

Even if it has the same design if the part is better quality so it doesn't wear off as easily it could still be an improvement.

One of the best features about the Switch is removable joy cons. I am a victim of having 3 left joy con with drift issues. Now my hori d pad left joy con controller is drifting smh.

These sticks look the same but hopefully they last longer than a year on the Switch lite because none of mine did. It will be a nightmare for Nintendo if that same problem continues with this new console.
Only time will tell.

@Matthew010 Yeah, I don't think it's a problem with the design. Almost all analog sticks use this design. They changed the materials used, so I think drifting won't happen. (Except for normal degradation which exists in all moving buttons and sticks)

@Neofan99 That's what I'm starting to think, it wouldn't make any sense

Bullet dodged 😁😁😂

When you say “2017 joy-cons”, are first year models the only ones reporting the issue? Has Nintendo revised it with the ones released in 2018 onward?

My guess is no because we keep hearing about it, but I’d like to just chalk it up to the perils of early adoption if possible

@The_Mysteron seconded. Thankfully the joycons are easy enough to repair and you can get 2 sticks plus tools for £9 off Amazon.

Nintendo UK still don’t do free repairs.

Patiently waiting for Nintendo to send me back my joycons... pretty sure it’s been over 2 weeks now... I guess I should contact them.

While the material is similar there is a likelihood they may have made slight revisions to the manufacturing process in order to reduce the odds of drift

....Well this'll be fun.

Fingers crossed. I own two pairs of JoyCons since 2017 and none has drifting issues. Makes me anxious to hear a lot of users having problems with their hardware. Looks like, it’s only a matter of time until mine start drifting too.

@Lando_ the day mine started, i was like f**k, what's going on. Then i came online, and found out it was a thing with the controls. Horrible experience if you ask me. E.g playing mario odyssey & Zelda at that time wasn't funny 😒. Mario odyssey especially.

Well I bought one because I think it's a perfect handheld, and...

I'll believe this when I start seeing widespread reports of drifting issues in the wild. My kids are getting a switch lite around Xmas. Given they are much softer on the controls than I am, I think drift will be the least of their issues...

@Wolfgabe It still uses graphite pads. The design is flawed.

Oh boy... this oughta be fun. (/s)

All switches are diseased, so just take your pick and have fun while it lasts!

@JayJ like the phrase "i also like to live dangerously 😁" between i like your enthusiasm for that. I trade careful with the epidemic called "drift"😆

I haven’t even bothered getting mine fixed since Nintendo UK doesn’t do it for free. At this rate I’m tempted to just buy a pro controller and write the joy-cons off.

Joycon drift is fake news, ask the Donald.

When my JC started to drift I just send it to repair. Waited a month while using my sweet Pro Controller and all good, JoyCons got back.

However, that situation here means you cant play on the Switch whatsoever :/

Yikes

It's entertaining to watch Spawnwave tear down consoles so casually.

@JayJ nice touch with the gif

“A class-action lawsuit has been raised against Nintendo on this matter, and the company has started to repair impacted Joy-Con for free.”
Not in Europe, they haven’t. And all 4 of my Joy-con are drifting.

@nessisonett that is one of the reasons why I bought a pro controller but I have 2 sets of joycon controllers and both use to drift. Try electrical contact cleaner underneath the skirt of the joycons. It’s cheap to buy and hopefully will fix yours even if it’s temporary

Guess that means I won't buy it for myself or my kids. Ill stick to getting another pro controller instead. All we need to do is wait until about March when tons of them start failing and the nrgativet press will force Nintendo to do something

For those that think the Pro controller doesn’t drift, guess again. My main Pro controller has had drift, which I had to correct via system tools. It hasn’t gotten bad enough to be unusable though, but it is there now and then.

Oof, this is gonna be a disaster if a whole run of these went out with bad sticks. I have a hard time believing Nintendo isn’t addressing it, but things move so slow in the corporate/manufacturing space. Very plausible that these were already off the line before Nintendo acknowledged the flaw. I’d certainly be holding off for now on the Lite, it’s a real shame.

I’ve been saving up to get one with my brother so we can both have a switch and this is EXTREMELY disappointing. Why the heck would they do this? I mean Nintendo can be stupid some times but we’re talking 6 month old’s brain level decisions. SMH

@nessisonett Nintendo replaced mine last year for free and they’ve either repaired or replaced THAT pair for free, due back with me on Tuesday. Send them in, it’ll cost you nothing and they’ll inspect them & let you know if there’ll be a charge. If you choose not to proceed they’ll just send them back.

@MartyFlan @MartyFlan Technically yes. But it is unknown how long-term use of the console will affect the analog sticks. This article is clickbait. Spawn Wave said himself that the analog sticks are manufactured and appear identical, but they have different part numbers, meaning that somewhere in terms of the material and assembly it is slightly different in some way, but they are still technically the same analog stick.

Spawn Wave said that we'll just have to wait and see. It's the same analog stick but something about it is mildly different. Nobody knows what exactly, and the drifting issue could actually be fixed.

Very surprised they didn’t address this, and very glad that I didn’t buy a launch model.

Nintendo should simply bring a system software update, which increases the deadzone of the analog sticks from 0% to 2-5% or so. I do not understand why it is not solved that way.

@MartyFlan yep, i tried buying multiple joy cons but they all drift

I'm one of the lucky ones... 4 pairs of joycons and no drifting issues...yet🙌

@Neofan99 I sure can... sigh.

@MartyFlan I'll try and source a printer, trying to actually print just a label is rather hard nowadays to be honest. I'm not really a fan of the joy-cons anyway, other than the HD Rumble.

@nessisonett the guys I work with printed it for me, I guess a library is an option too? Hope you get a solution

@nessisonett If you are out of the warranty period, you should honestly do the replacement yourself. I was really nervous about it, but it proved to be pretty easy, as long as you take your time. I followed NintendoLife's guide, and it didn't steer me wrong. A two pack of the sticks on Amazon UK goes for about £10, and tri-wing screwdrivers are quite cheap.

This could be a disaster for Nintendo... At least the Switch standard has replaceable sticks.

@Moonlessky It's not just regular wear and tear from general use that is causing the problem.

It's dust and debris that built up within the joystick that eventually causes the wear and the drifting.

I've had drift on my Pro Controller too (in addition to my joy-con), so I've really been hoping for Nintendo to publicly say that they found the problem and have engineered a fix. But as it stands I seriously cannot allow myself to purchase another first party controller, despite how much I love the Pro Controller otherwise.

Using said that, I'm not entirely convinced by Spawn Wave's prognosis regarding the cause of the problem - other people claim that Nintendo's stick design isn't that different from Sony's or Microsoft's. I'm not sure what to think but will just limit my controller purchases to reliable third-party manufacturers for the foreseeable future.

@Skeletor1979 interesting idea. Indeed , why don’t they do that?
Could possibly create other side effects?

I'm very worried about Nintendo's new CEO. It looks like his priorities are cutting costs and maximizing profits. Nintendo is at serious risk of devaluing their brand under his leadership if this kind of decision-making continues.

I see many similarities between Nintendo's new CEO and Apple's Tim Cook. After everything that's happened under Tim Cook's wing, from butterfly keyboards to his distasteful obsession with profits and becoming a trillion dollar company, I think much less of Apple as a brand. Apple products no longer evoke inherent quality like it did with Steve Jobs. Jobs had a vision, which was to achieve excellence above all else, and that principle turned the company into what it is today.

In parallel, Nintendo's principle of quality in both software and hardware also made it what it is today. I am very concerned about Nintendo's future if the new CEO continues to lead the company in this direction.

Nintendo are being very pedantic about the joy con issue, they know it's there, they know they can fix it, they were about to be sued for it so they let everyone fix theirs for free outside of the warranty.

But for the dumbest reasons unknown to anyone but them, they refuse to make new models that fix this issue.

This will kill the Lite dead in the water.

Taken me nearly 3 weeks to get my damn Joy Cons repaired after they started drifting.

No way id be okay with sending off my whole console for repair. Nintendo's repair centre is genuinely inept.

@Mountain_Man "Easy enough problem to deal with"? Maybe if you already bought extra joy cons you can afford the time and money to send the malfunctioning ones off for repair and wait however many weeks it takes to get them back in the mail, but for most people this is extremely inconvenient. Furthermore, for many people who spend $60+ on a new Joy-con just to have the same issue within weeks or even right out of the box, this is unacceptable.

Not only is this a major blunder for any company, but it is also a significant black eye for Nintendo's reputation.

@RadioHedgeFund I'm getting mine repaired for free through Nintendo UK - but i sent them off on the 1st of the month and i still dont have the damn things back. Due back on Tuesday though.

Obviously i purchased new ones but still... the fact that i have to buy two new joy cons to fix Nintendo's problem is beyond stupid.

Man, I'm glad I didn't buy one

This is spreading potentially bad information... there is no way to know if the sticks will have the same issues until they are in use for a period of time.

Even if it weren't a different part number, the problem could have been addressed in Quality Control.

This is shameful in my opinion.

So...when the inevitable drift happens... Ninty will replace the entire system for free? Cool! Lol

So if this is true,the lite is truly pointless

It’s possible they may have toggled the sensitivity of the sensors which may make it less likely the sticks will pick up signals off the debris that seems to rub off the pads but only time will tell. Won’t be buying a lite until I know it will last. Having those faulty suckers stuck to the console could be fatal.

@nessisonett worth trying, I live in UK and Nintendo UK fixed mine no charge (though it was in the initial
12 months warranty)

For my switch i just bought new joycons when my first release ones started to drift, i wonder if you can chop off the side of your switch lite and buy a new one

Because of the two-year guarantee in Europe, I think that Nintendo should make sure that the sticks are not rubbish like the joy-con sticks are. Otherwise, they are going to be fixing consoles for free until September 2021.

@Trajan From what I have gathered they seem to be using the sticks from the newer joy con models so why dont we wait and see

@Wolfgabe they both still have the same physical flaw. Those pads are designned to wear away. Once it wears away....

I got to see the Lite up close tonight and there seems to be some sort of guard under the stick that’s different from what I see on the joy-cons. Perhaps this protects against debris? Anybody else notice this?

You think the joysticks are broken you should see their online.

Oh boy. This is gonna be a _____show

@ItalianBaptist The issue is the debris produced by the graphite at the bottom but not by the dirt that could get in from the outside. If the materials are the same the problem remains, if Nintendo changed something they should say it. Why they don't say anything?

Noone has had any drift issues but that sure hasn't stopped everyone pretending they will....
God, why is gaming such a garbage heap now a days...

Electrical contact cleaner spray. Seriously, I had drift on three of my joy cons, and I used electrical contact cleaner spray on them, and they all work good as new. I don’t know why this solution isn’t more widely known.

i already made up my mind. if my switch lite ever drift this will be the end of my support for nintendo. i can't believe they haven't addressed the issue despite it being quite common.

Thankfully my day 1 joycons and pro controller are still in top condition

Those drift cons would kill switch lite sales

@gamefreak77 lol, wikipedia, did you go to school? 😉

So now people are worry about drifting joysticks on a handheld? So the last 6 ones were okay then?

Don't worry, with a new class action lawsuit, Nintendo will repair the Switch Lite for free.

Ah s**t, here we go again.

Ah, that's a bit disappointing. Both of my Joycons have the drifting issue, though I was able to send them in to Nintendo for free repair (a.k.a. replacing the sticks) a few days ago and they are on their way back.

@LunarFlame17
Because... Your solution isn’t a solution at all... seriously!

He said it looks like the same design for the anolog stick so far, but there's no test for drifting yet with the "new model number" so who knows, there's a 5% chance they did some improvements. But that's not the real problem, the problem is you have to tear down the whole Switch Lite to replace a joystick smh.

@nessisonett The Pro Controller also has a design issue due to the materials used and this leads to drift as well. Save your money and buy a leading brand alternative to any of Nintendo’s Joy-Con or Pro Controllers. Ludicrous that this is the situation but hey ho.

For a decent D-Pad, I recommend the HORI Pokken Controller. It can be had for less than £20.

For a controller with joysticks, I have pre-ordered the new 8-Bit Do Pro+ it’s gotten good reviews online. That one was pricey £40 approx but I am simply not prepared to shell out for a second Pro Controller from Nintendo.

You have been warned but good luck and hope you find a more reliable controller to enjoy your Switch again.

Enjoying my Nx lite so far

@ItalianBaptist Actually Nintendo revised the JoyCon just recently with the release of the "red box" Switch.

@Razer that’s exactly the same as me, sent them off on the first, due back on Tuesday! Hope we both get them! I have a pro controller but getting the TV to play on is the problem...

@DaoubleDizzle77 Why not? I tried it, it works. Lots of other people have tried it, and it worked for them, too. Go look it up for yourself.

@MartyFlan Still flabbergasted at how everybody else seemingly purely has drifting joy-con, while I've never been able to find any in existence.

I sometimes wonder whether Denmark somehow just got "the good batch" every time, or what it is. I even tested a bunch of used joy-con at a gamestop my friend works at for the fun of it - like 45 pairs - and nothing. Obviously small sample size, but man. For someone trying to hunt down drifting joy-con, they're bloody hard to find xD

Strange stuff.

@RadioHedgeFund Would you recommend doing the repair yourself? Is it easy enough? Is there soldering involved?

@The_Mysteron this depends on the person in question.

If you are good with electronics and you can work on delicate things without breaking it then you should be okay.

The thing is, this is a particular gift.

My friend done his first time and i have a bumbling director at work who hasn't managed to fix any of his 4 broken joy cons - actually their broken because he tried to fix them lol.

@Blizzia I’m delighted you haven’t! I have a cousin, niece & nephew with no problems, but myself (two pairs!), my son, two other nephews & some of their friends all have fallen foul of it unfortunately.

@LunarFlame17 when you say electrical contact cleaner, what is the actual product are you using?

@Blizzia lol i haven't found any joy cons that haven't started drifting. Aside from brand new ones. I can't wait till the lite starts drifting. I wouldn't touch that thing with a long pole now.

The thing is as well, its not some small issue. Some games are genuinely unplayable because of drift.

@MartyFlan It’s WD-40 electrical contact cleaner spray. Here’s a link to the Amazon page: https://smile.amazon.com/WD-40-Specialist/dp/B07WYJH9W8

What you do is you lift up the flap at the base of the stick with tweezers, stick the nozzle underneath, spray a tiny little bit, circle the stick around a few times to spread it out, and then let it sit for an hour or so to dry. I did this for 3 joy cons that were drifting, and they all work great now.

@Razer I'd be fairly confident in my ability with electronics. I've taken apart and rebuilt a couple of PCs so I think I could manage the joycon repair, provided there's no soldering involved. It's just something I never learned to do. My wife can do it, so maybe I'll ask her if its needed! 😁

@LunarFlame17 thank you, yeah that’s what I had in mind I was looking at it on Amazon this morning, but it doesn’t deliver to Northern Ireland for some reason. Thanks though, I’ll look for it locally

@MartyFlan Oh that’s weird. Well I hope you can find it. There are other brands that work, too.

@MartyFlan as the article says, same design and materials used. So the same flaw, which is the graphite contacts that wear down over time.

@Razer People say it's a big issue, but eh, never stumbled upon this big issue. Between me and some friends/family there's like 12 launch pairs being used several hours daily with zero signs of drift, and I usually check out any pair I come across for it, with zero signs so far.

Again, terribly small sample size so pretty much irrelevant but still

Really hoping for those who bought it that they don’t drift. For me it was a primary concern. If it is true, I can’t believe Nintendo went ahead and launched it knowing this was eventually going to be a problem.

@Blizzia don't worry it's only a matter of time - this is a hardware defect. Doesn't matter when it happens but it will happen 😛😜😝

@Razer @Blizzia

If I may weigh in, I’ve had the problem on 3 occasions, so it is a major concern for the lite. I have never had any problems with any of my older consoles — Nintendo or otherwise, so it’s not that I’m rough on them either. Some people get lucky, some do not, but as time goes on, the chance of drift will become more and more likely as they get used. It’s a hardware flaw that was overlooked in R&D. And the fact that Nintendo is fixing them for free right after a lawsuit got filed, tells you all you need to know.

@Baker1000 the article ACTUALLY says, ‘Spawn Wave is of the opinion that they are, in terms of design and materials used, identical to the ones on the original model.‘ So he’s making an educated guess, or an assumption. I’m assuming that with a different part number, they are not identical. Time will tell.

@Razer People always say that about these supposedly major hardware defects. I still usually end up sitting there a decade later without the issue. Not saying that it won't happen, buuut usually it doesn't.

@MoonKnight7 They're only being fixed for free in the US. It's pretty much just a common way of damage control, regardless of whether you're a guilty party or not. The fact that they're only doing it in the US... Tells you all you need to know.

I’ve never experienced this problem. My Switch is the original model, plus I have three sets of joy cons, which I move around in handheld mode to spread out the usage.

I’ve seen this problem from comments and watching videos, so I understand the frustration. My Switch gets a fair amount of play, but there are weeks where it sits around unplayed. Could it happen to me? Sure. Hasn’t yet. Out of all my consoles, my Switch is the most played; the other systems house the dust.

Spawn Wave has excellent content, usually he’s pretty good at seeing future, but I’d wait and see. The Switch Lite is a different unit from V2 or the original, so they could have made some adjustments to it. The same parts may hold better under different circumstances, too.

My joy cons have been fine since launch, despite close to 2500 hours of use. Maybe Lite folks will get lucky and get sticks like mine?

@Blizzia

“They're only being fixed for free in the US. It's pretty much just a common way of damage control, regardless of whether you're a guilty party or not.“

Lol, what?? If they’re not guilty they wouldn’t have a bunch of joy cons to fix. There is obviously some truth to the lawsuit.

“The fact that they're only doing it in the US... Tells you all you need to know.“

Um, right — that’s where the lawsuit was filed. If Nintendo had no wrongdoing then they wouldn’t be fixing them for free and would have just stuck to their guns, and continued to make money on repairs and pitting the blame on consumers. Its not often Nintendo backs away from a fight, especially one concerning quality. It is admitting the fault in a discrete way cause they want to avoid the word “recall”. The US is one of the largest markets, so it is pretty remarkable that you just shrug it off as no big deal cause other regions don’t have it set as their policy.

@BarefootBowser Thanks for the info. Sorry to be a pain, but could you send me a link to the kit you used? I've heard some horror stories about cheap screws stripping their heads during installation.

@Blizzia Well i guess you're just lucky😜. Never had a red ring of death then?

Also you're wrong - they fixed mine for free and im from the UK, i have a good friend from Germany and they fixed his for free too and i know their fixing them for free in the US and Japan too... so...

Also i can show you my order details when i raised the repair order and their messages and how they acknowledged the drift issue and they fixed the issue and have now dispatched it back.

I more than happy to forward you all the emails if you really want to be proven stupidly wrong online - we can go that far if you wish it 😝😝😝

@MoonKnight7 yeah i know but some people are still living in denial because they have yet to be effected. Like children who put their fingers in their ears and start singing to avoid listening to what others are telling them.

I doubt this guy has a whole extended family who all own a Switch.

I find that harder to believe than his inability to accept the blatant problem that even Nintendo have indirectly acknowledged.

@BarefootBowser You rock. Thanks buddy!

@MartyFlan How long does it generally take from the time you send them to the time you get them back? (hopefully less than 3 weeks?)

@diablo2 it has actually taken a little over three weeks this time around, that’s assuming I get them back on Tuesday as indicated by Nintendo UK. I don’t believe it took that long the last time to be fair, and they said that ‘our Repairs Team is currently experiencing a larger than expected queue, this is causing a delay’

@MartyFlan Ahh, i see. This is not too toooo long of a wait, but it's also highly inconvenient for avid gamers. Huge problem for Lite owners, if this issue persists.

Thanks!

I don't understand why they didn't just use the 3DS circle pads for the Lite, especially to make the system more slim to slip in your pocket.

Contact Cleaning Spray!
I cannot recommend this enough in the case of drifting joycons.
My blue stick was drifting up almost constantly until i used some WD40 Contact Cleaner. Since then it’s back to flawless.

Not reading all 128 comments to see of this is already mentioned.

@The_Mysteron No soldering, you:

1) unscrew the Joycon back (need tri-wing screw driver)
2) unscrew the analog stick shield
3) flip up a very tiny grasp-clip to release the Joycon analog-stick connection wire
4) remove the bad analog stick
5) connect the wire from the new one
6) put everything back in place (the hardest part), so that it fits within the Joycon frame again
7) rescrew the back plate.
8) pray ‘drift’ doesn’t happen again

@MartyFlan I’m curious what people’s experiences have been with the newer Joy Cons.

@LunarFlame17 It’s pretty widely known, but sadly it doesn’t work for everyone. Mine had to be replaced, even after trying contact cleaner. Apparently there is something in the stick hardware that disintegrates over time. Not sure on the specifics on that, but Nintendo needs to start getting their act together cause if not, I know they will lose customers.

@Antraxx777 Useful and informative!

@Octorok385 same, never had an issue with joy con drift. I did however have a few issues where the joycon would lose connection briefly because my fat hands were all the way around them

@The_Mysteron not at all. It involves unscrewing the Joycon she’ll and then removing a couple of inner parts. It’s pretty straightforward but requires some patience.

There are plenty of guides on ifixit and YouTube if you want to research it first.

Great, just great. I just bought one.

It seems like the stick clicking mechanism has been altered in the Switch Lite joysticks. Whether that reduces drift has yet to be determined.

I think they made the resistor part under the joystick that tracks movements out of scratch lottery tickets.
It looks just like it.
And if you're a lucky winner your joycon/Switch Lite won't drift.

Is it possible to have a bigger capacity battery replace the switch lite one? Means, is there space available? That would be nice.

@Ulysses
I didn't say it was necessarily cheap to deal with, only that it's easy enough compared to the Switch Lite. At least with the Switch, you can buy a second set of controllers whereas the Switch Lite, you have to send the whole console in for repairs.

But I agree, I'm very disappointed with the joysticks, especially with Nintendo's reputation for making virtually indestructible hardware.

@MartyFlan hi Marty. Can I ask if Nintendo UK are wanting to charge you for the repair? Thanks!

@EvaEeveeFan

Good for you...

@Mr_Muscle

Yes, @LunarFlame17 ‘s surefire method is just a bandaid if that. The graphite contact pads wearing off is the heart of the matter. No amount of WD-40 will fix that.

@DaoubleDizzle77 I mean... it worked. Maybe my joy cons will start drifting again someday, but I’ll just...clean them...again... It’s really not that big of a deal...

@idtgatt Hi, no they didn’t charge the first time, last year, they just inspected and replaced them. They have not charged this time either. I sent my 3DS in for repair years ago, a broken hinge, and they did charge for that, but the broken hinge was my own fault & the 3DS was out of warranty.

I'm not into the Switch Lite to begin with, but no way would I ever buy one if it's prone to the the drift. OG Switch is annoying, but at least your just down a Joycon and easily replaced whilst one is out being repaired. This will cripple the Lite entirely and you'll be without one at all while it's being repaired.

@Neofan99 because it's false news. Guaranteed that most of the people having an issue will be a direct result of poor handling. Only a small percentage will have an actual issue, as defects are known to exist. I have two launch model Switch consoles whose joycons work perfectly.

@MoonKnight7

"Lol, what?? If they’re not guilty they wouldn’t have a bunch of joy cons to fix. There is obviously some truth to the lawsuit."

Facepalm. That's the same thing as saying they'd be guilty of hardware defects if they had switch units to fix. "Oh my God they're actually REPAIRING SWITCHES? Must be hardware defects. Let's sue!" kek.

"Um, right — that’s where the lawsuit was filed. If Nintendo had no wrongdoing then they wouldn’t be fixing them for free and would have just stuck to their guns, and continued to make money on repairs and pitting the blame on consumers. Its not often Nintendo backs away from a fight, especially one concerning quality. It is admitting the fault in a discrete way cause they want to avoid the word “recall”. The US is one of the largest markets, so it is pretty remarkable that you just shrug it off as no big deal cause other regions don’t have it set as their policy."

The way I see it, fixing them for free during the course of the lawsuit is common business sense, because you're essentially minimizing damage if things go south (and, as is widely known, regardless of what the truth is, the "good guys" don't always win. This doesn't mean I'm saying Nintendo is innocent, but I'm not saying they're guilty either.)

To me, this is a case of "fighting cleverly", not backing away from a fight. Lol. Fools run in first, and they're the first to fall.

@Razer

"Well i guess you're just lucky😜. Never had a red ring of death then?"

I did not.

"Also you're wrong - they fixed mine for free and im from the UK, i have a good friend from Germany and they fixed his for free too and i know their fixing them for free in the US and Japan too... so..."

People are sending them in from all over with various issues, but you know the issue that people typically go to Reddit to whine about? Drifting. There's probably a daily thread there, and the usual complaint is "wtf, i gotta pay for this despite it being free in the US".

So obviously there's another reason for you not having to pay that doesn't have anything to do with the drifting.

"Also i can show you my order details when i raised the repair order and their messages and how they acknowledged the drift issue and they fixed the issue and have now dispatched it back.

I more than happy to forward you all the emails if you really want to be proven stupidly wrong online - we can go that far if you wish it 😝😝😝"

This says more about you than it does about me tbh. Also, there's not really any proof to be had, because Nintendo support works like so many others - every case is an individual judgment, two cases with the same issue can have two different outcomes.

The operator in charge of your support decides your fate.

Strange. The teardown i watched showed that the controllers got the updated design. No idea if that fixes the drift but they are updated.

Thank God i bought the original Switch. i knew i made the right choice.

I have heard of issues arising from the Pro Controller, but it's not anywhere near as bad as the drifting from the Joycons. I keep my Pro at home, never leaves the house. Have had it for over a year (bought it pre-loved), and no issues as of yet. I guess if it starts doing the drifting, i'll either buy a new official Pro or one of the many 3rd party ones available if they are of better build quality.

So in other words, don't buy this under any circumstances.

@Blizzia I'm really not sure what you're talking about because i haven't seen a single person get denied free repairs here in the UK.

Don't believe the crap you read on reddit because i just called their customer support and they just verbally confirmed to me that they are fixing them for free here too.

I am honestly done talking to you as you seem to be mentally incapable of grasping this fact.

@Razer Resorting to personal attacks clearly helps your argument /s.

Just called em myself too, they said they'll repair them for free if they're covered by the warranty, otherwise you'll be charged.

So which is it.

@Neofan99 It's not just a Nintendo problem, all analog sticks are prone to develop such a drift. X360, PS4, X1, WiiU all are prone to it too, it's just that the Joycons have even tinier parts so they're even more fragile and likely to fail. Unfortunately the problem is inherent to the hardware itself, and it's not a Nintendo design, they just buy the part from the same company everyone does.

Short of making the springs and such out of titanium it will keep happening, but that would double the cost - and even then it's only good so long as the sensor itself isn't out of calibration, which also happens easily. Software calibration can compensate for a linear offset, but not for a varying offset.

Raises hand - yeah, have two joycons with the drift issue myself. Put me off the lite big style this.

@Blizzia

“To me, this is a case of "fighting cleverly", not backing away from a fight. Lol. Fools run in first, and they're the first to fall.“

Lol, Nintendo never runs for anything. Clever little line, but no one is running. Nintendo mostly ignored this problem for the better part of a year. Then we got vague statements with “some users are experiencing...” Now, they’re fixing them for free in the States.

There’s always going to be people like yourself who get lucky and never have to address any problems, and I’m happy for your sake. But come on, you don’t think Nintendo rushed these out the door without proper testing? It’s happened to me far too often. Just from my experience with all of my consoles, over 30+ years, I’ve never been on the phone more times than with Nintendo regarding my Switch joy cons. Did I just get that unlucky? Maybe. But then again, if there seems to be enough evidence to build a lawsuit, I’d have to side with there being some truth to it.

And sure, always minimizing the damage is a good place to start, but Nintendo wouldn’t do it if they had a rock solid case. Maybe they’ll get away with it in terms of the law, but it’s hard to deny that there’s definitely a design flaw that conflicts with the Nintendo brand— and Nintendo knows it.

@MoonKnight7 I agree with you alot and plus You will need to buy a new switch and hope it doesn't have drift This is why I like the old switch..

That guy's first video about the cause of joy-con drift was baloney in the first place, he was just ****ing guessing.

Why is this site promoting this ****?

Careful what you watch on YouTube. Especially couch potatoes who think they know better.

Only time will tell, I suppose. It's hard to say this early in the game since the Switch Lite just released a few days ago.

I wouldn't have paid attention to the same sticks claim. For a start Nintendo are penny pinchers and it would make more sense for them to modify the design to avoid the insane influx of repairs/replacements free of charge on OG Switch.

It's a recycled post...

Really? This is headline news? I’m questioning Nintendo Life’s editorial board choices. They’re the only ones reporting on it.

The Lite just came out. We won’t know about Joy-Con drift for now. Wait and see. My opinion, they probably have two versions running: one for the Lite and a new version for the Joy-Cons moving forward.

In defense of Spawn Wave, I watched his video and he said he was unsure it would occur. The part looked the same, but could have changed for the Switch Lite. He finished the thought up by saying it’s all a guess until reports start coming.

Reports of drifting are already coming out.

I thought I saw a few minor differences on the first comparison, despite it looking to be similar in construction. And if it has a different model number, there's a reasonable chance the design has been improved in a meaningful way, but time will tell with that.

@DaoubleDizzle77 Source please

@Neofan99 I guess we'll see in the future if gradual updates might include a software component offsetting the physical wear behind drifts? (Perhaps through somehow better being able to detect the conditions causing drift and correcting them on the software side of things?)

@Wolfgabe
https://gizmodo.com/new-videos-suggest-the-nintendo-switch-lite-might-have-1838363969

You have it all wrong, this article is pretty bad. this new video doesn't show what's inside that metal casing, spawn waves's video does show the inside and it's identical. the new video only shows the casing which is useless to verify if it's any different at all for the drifting issues. the new video only proves that it's interchangeable to to original one, which only proves more that both are pretty much identical. why this article exists?

@Koxen Your entire post is a freaking word salad and is barely readable. Mind fixing that so everyone can understand you?

@Neofan99 yeah, a game can change how a part of the console works and looks like maybe. yeah, realistic scenario

I like this The Retro Future guy much more than SpawnWave. The Retro Future guy has a nicer voice and accent and does a more delicate work tearing the consoles down.

The mystery of the Lite sticks LOL Will d**n Nintendo say something?

@DaoubleDizzle77 Okay I find this pretty dubious for several reasons. First off how exactly does drift occur this soon out of the box. Second how do we know he wasnt just using another joy con or a pro controller off screen.

@DTfeartheBEARD,

This sort of logic will never sell on here, the new Switch Lite joycons will drift just as the original ones did, i does not matter that the console is in it's infancy and any rational person would at least wait a while before making judgement.

@Wolfgabe My switch lite's left joystick started acting up 34 days after I bought it. The right one started acting up 2 weeks after that. All I played was animal crossing.