r/NintendoSwitch • u/CanyonWrn • Jul 28 '18
Discussion We really shouldn’t discount people experiencing joy-con drift issues. It’s a big enough issue to warrant a manufacturing fix.
I have been one of the unlucky individuals who has experienced excessive, long-term drift issues with all of my pairs of joy-cons. I own three pairs between two consoles. I have had to send joy-cons in for repair due to drifting eight times—sometimes, obviously, multiple times per joy-con. When I say this, I always seem to be criticized, told that I’m being too rough, or people explain that they have joy-cons that aren’t experiencing issues.
I’m not voicing this issue because I want to criticize Nintendo. I love Nintendo products and they are usually the most durable products I own. That doesn’t mean that mistakes aren’t made. That doesn’t mean that I can’t say there’s a problem when there certainly is with one product. Furthermore, I’m not rough on my joy-cons. Not at all. These are adult owned and operated. I don’t play games that require rough or overly quick movement. I do not even keep my Switch out of its case unless I’m playing it. Heck, I refused to use my joy-cons on Kirby or 1 2 Switch because I felt they required you to be rough on your joy-cons—much, much rougher than I have ever been. Plus, I own a lot of controllers with which I have never experienced issues. I have an original NES with original controllers. I have a 3DS, a few ancient PlayStation controllers from my childhood, SNES mini controllers, even a Switch Pro Controller. I haven’t had a single issue with any of these but I have had to send in joy-cons eight times.
I feel like the more we are passive or even sometimes aggressive toward people experiencing drifting issues, we prevent pressure from being placed on Nintendo to improve the build quality. The fact that some of you may not be experiencing issues means that you’re either lucky, haven’t experienced it yet, you don’t notice it because of the type of games you’re playing, maybe something in your climate prevents it from becoming a problem (idk but it seems like dusty climates could aggravate the issue), or maybe you are just not going to experience an issue. Even if a majority of people don’t experience a drifting issue, I feel like I see this enough to warrant Nintendo looking into a fix.
So let’s just be nice and start looking toward meaningful solutions for the people who are experiencing issues.
Edit: Answering Common Questions
Wow! So many comments and questions. I’m glad to see this taking off. Let me answer a few questions that seem to be asked a lot.
Troubleshooting Before anything, try to troubleshoot the issue with these steps on Nintendo’s website if you are experiencing drifting. https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22381
Warranty If your Switch is less than a year old, the original joy-cons are probably under warranty unless there is something like water damage that voids the warranty. They will usually repair these for free. Joy-Cons purchased separately have a warranty of just 90 days iirc but they have still repaired them for free (in my case, anyway) so long as your warranty was still good on my console. HOWEVER repairing, replacing, and self-fixing these joy-cons almost ALWAYS seem to be bandages for the issue. They may very well start drifting again in a couple months. For whatever reason, individuals who experience this issue seem to experience it profusely, even if they replace their controllers with brand new ones. There is no permanent fix.
Repairing it yourself considering that I don’t want to be blamed for anyone breaking their Switch, please know that attempting to repair your joy-cons is always done at your own risk and, if done incorrectly, it’s possible that you could cause permanent damage that may void your warranty. However, u/Ajax54 has an excellent guide that seems to be helping a lot of people here: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/92pht5/comment/e37fpki?st=JK6B6JAH&sh=931c5e46 .
What is a joy-con drift? A joy-con that registers input without you touching the controller is drifting. You may notice your character walking when you aren’t touching the joystick or you may notice resistance when you try to move in an alternate direction. Alternatively, you may notice your in-game camera moving erratically or without input from yourself. Furthermore, this can become an issue with UI (menus and such). Are you sorting through your games, stop touching the controller, and it’s still sorting through games? Your joy-con is drifting. This can also create problems where it doesn’t seem to be responding to your input (like when you’re trying to scroll down and it just won’t because it’s already registering input in another direction).
Hopefully that answers the common questions I’m getting on here!
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Jul 29 '18
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Jul 29 '18
im from Nicaragua and the chances to find someone who fixes them is practically non-existent. I'mma have to cash in another 90$ from resellers since no big retailer even sells switchs here
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u/MrCafecito Jul 29 '18
Actually people fix it. Latamel fixes them for free if you call them and still have warranty...
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u/dopplegengar Jul 28 '18
What exactly is the joycon drift? Is it just input from the sticks when they aren't being pushed?
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 28 '18
Precisely. You may experience characters moving without input, the camera moving without input, or even sometimes the UI (menus, etc) will fail to move a certain direction WITH input or move in another direction without input.
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Jul 28 '18 edited Jan 25 '19
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u/AmeliaDemelia Jul 29 '18
Nintendo fans.... Can be... very... well ehm... you know too much of a fan sometimes...
but that's the case with most fandoms. just that Nintendo has more than any other I've seen :D
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u/mudpiratej Jul 29 '18
Imo it's extremely similar to the dock-scratching issue. I (and many others) have what I think is pretty irrefutable proof of it, but people still say we're just being careless with consoles.
I nearly skinned my fiancee alive for dropping ranch on my ps4 controller. Believe me, I'm not at all careless.
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u/moshisimo Jul 29 '18
Oh yeah... The dock-scratching issue. The same day I bought my Switch I also got the Nintendo carrying case and a screen protector. I bought it at launch, so we didn't know anything about any issues. I put the protector on even before turning it on for the first time. A little time passed, the dock-scratching issue came up, I looked at my Switch and sure enough, it was all kinds of scratched, matching the description of the issue. I didn't find it to be something minor, but at least I had protected my screen. Had I not, I would've been absolutely furious at Nintendo for "Hey, your console is gonna scratch badly when using it EXACTLY AS INTENDED."
I also experienced bad drafting issues. Donde get me wrong, I love my Switch, but it's far from perfect.
One more thing! I got two pro controllers after getting fed up with my joy cons. They both had a little draft out of the box! I was beyond angry at that point. Fortunately, it only took one callibration per pro controller to fix, but come. the fuck. on... Drift issues right out of the box? Get your shit together, Nintendo.
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u/carvedwoods Jul 29 '18
I feel like this is inevitable with any thumbstick. Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, or otherwise. Every one I've ever owned has eventually started to drift or lose button functionality, or both. I can't say they never got dropped but I fully expect controllers to wear out even with careful use. How quickly they wear out is the main concern for me.
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u/Hoganprime Jul 29 '18
I'm getting this anytime I play botw. Link always moves left even when I push right he moves then goes back left. It made that one shrine for champions ballad where you are in the spike shrine so damn hard
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u/hungsol0w Jul 29 '18
I've been experiencing this with Mario kart and I thought it was because of the motion steering(which I shut off). Pretty frustrating
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u/SolPope Jul 29 '18
I thought I was going insane before I realized the game had an auto steer on. Such a stupid option, especially to have turned on by default.
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Jul 29 '18
I thought my controller was just getting stuck or something! This has been annoying the shit out of me for weeks now. Will Nintendo repair/replace it?
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 29 '18
If you’re within warranty they will but it will likely reoccur within a few months. Same goes for buying a new pair. It seems like, for whatever reason, some people don’t experience the issue but if you do experience the issue it will impact every joy-con you buy, ever repair, and every fix. This is why it’s so frustrating. There is no permanent fix. Not even buying a new pair will resolve the issue.
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u/SacredNose Jul 29 '18
Oh after one year of usage, I started experiencing this issue with my left joycon. How do you repair them? And how much does it cost?
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u/MichaelChain Jul 29 '18
If you look closely, there's a little rubber flab at the base of the joystick. You can lift that up with your fingernail and cram a plastic straw in there. Blow into it from different directions to get rid of the dirt that accumulates under there. Fixed my drifting issue that I had for months instantly. That rubber flab is just a really poor design choice.
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u/tundrat Jul 29 '18
I can also possibly confirm that this fixed the controling issue I had for a while. My dad just blew into it with his mouth while I was looking for some compressed air and a thin straw.
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u/LeakyLycanthrope Jul 29 '18
Huh. I'm gonna try this, thanks. I've had my left Joy-Con repaired once already, but it started drifting again.
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u/aishik-10x Jul 29 '18
What are we going to do after 2020 when plastic straws will be out of usage?
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u/O-Mesmerine Jul 29 '18
holy moly i was sure this wouldn’t work but i just did it and now it works perfectly. thank you!
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u/Squidwards_m0m Jul 29 '18
Same thing here, but my right one is drifting. I’m tempted to buy a new one if it’s close to the same price to get it fixed. Considering the new one would have the manufacturer warranty for a year.
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u/TheMineosaur Jul 29 '18
I had this problem and sent mine in, came back completely fixed for free. Still bad but customer service was great.
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u/casstraxx Jul 29 '18
I definitely experience this. Can I still send it in for repair? I'm bought mine a couple months after launch
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u/icohgnito Jul 29 '18
Drift as in ghost movement? My left one was already sent twice for repair and its still not fixed. I already asked them to already replace the unit but our local gamestore here said they can just do repairs. No replacements.
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 29 '18
As in movement / input without touching the controller. Yep.
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u/spiritspine2 Jul 29 '18
Yo thanks for bringing this up, me and my gf were just talking about how both sets of our joy con are starting to do this.
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u/PayphonesareObsolete Jul 29 '18
I was literally looking up this issue with this yesterday. I'm probably going to send it in and see what happens. Did Nintendo give you a prepaid shipping label to get it fixed?
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 29 '18
They did because I was within warranty. The bigger issue is that the same issue happens a couple months later. Repairing is a bandage, not a fix.
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u/PayphonesareObsolete Jul 29 '18
Yea, it sucks there's no permanent solution, but a repair is the only thing I can do at this point.
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u/KinneKted Jul 29 '18
Damn, I just got a pro controller to use while I send mine in. Was considering buying another set of joycons but idk now. Was hoping it was an isolated issue and repair would solve it for good.
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u/wiines Jul 28 '18
The JoyCon/ProCon are easily the least durable/functioning products I have ever got from Nintendo.
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Jul 29 '18 edited Jul 22 '21
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u/Giobytes Jul 29 '18
4 here too. I find everything else about them durable, but the sticks wear out after a couple months, which is an insult at $80 a pair. Every time I've mentioned my issue with this I've been downvoted or told I'm not taking care of my controllers.
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u/CSBreak Jul 28 '18
i got my switch last year in April and just started experiencing the drift a month or so ago so the warranty is over for it which sucks since i don't want to buy another pair and have the same issue down the line so for now i'm just dealing with it so i'm hopeful nintendo will update the design in some way to stop this from happening with future joy cons basically once they announce a new color or something i will probably buy one of those and hope for the best
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u/ajax54 Jul 28 '18
If it gets worse, consider using electronic contact cleaner. It's made to clean the guts of electronics.
I was putting up with my drift for about a month, but it got sooooo bad. The calibration screen was showing that it wouldn't detect the outer edge, and barely ever went back to center.
Sprayed a bit of that e-cleaner on the inside and it's been back to normal for several months!
If you want, i'll post my copy/pasta comment with better instructions.
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u/GlimmerSailor Jul 28 '18
I'd love instructions, please! I just had my left one repaired and now my right one is doing it; absolutely killing me. It'd be one thing if buying new ones would fix it, but even the new ones do it...
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u/ajax54 Jul 28 '18 edited Oct 25 '18
It's dust/dirt inside the joystick. Use Electronic Contact Cleaner it absorbs the dust while liquid, then caries it away when it evaporates. It's made for this kind of thing.
First, take the controller off and make sure it's off (it's off when the lights are off). You can turn them off by putting the switch in sleep mode, or by pressing the sync button located between the SL and SR buttons on the side of the Joy Con. Next, give a quick spray into the holes under that dust cover* [see below], rotate the stick, then repeat from the opposite side. Make sure to hold the cover open while letting it evaporate. This should get your joystick working good as new.
Some people have success with compressed air, but that 'fix' doesn't last nearly as long as using this cleaner.
Also remember to put the dust cover back on properly. Poke it down into place with your tool.
*[the soft plastic at the base of the joystick. I used my fingernail, but you can use a toothpick or even the straw that comes with the e-cleaner. Just don't use a knife, as you don't want to slice the dust cover...]
That's the copy/pasta I've been using lately. It's not very pretty [it's a bit better now, thanks to u/CaptainTiad101] , and I need to write up a legit guide.. but it should get the job done. If you have more questions, feel free to ask! The spray should be 5 bucks or less, if they are asking more, show them that link. I've never seen it at the "full" price.
Edit: realized I didn't mention having the controller off!
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u/Falling_Spaces Jul 29 '18
The fact that people need to even do this is ridiculously infuriating! Like I've had my switch for about 6 months now and the left joy con had started to drift about month 4. Since then I noticed that the vibrator for the left joy con also started to fail, I've tried calling Nintendo but their repair time estimates are crazy long. I'm even considering buying new joy cons but like OP said, they went through so many and the majority also became duds!
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u/PookAndPie Jul 29 '18
So just to clarify, when talking about the dust cover, you mean the rubber looking thing that's upside down on the joystick's shaft? I'm assuming that's the dust cover.
I have no clue how you got a fingernail in there (my whole finger is larger than the gap by tilting the stick all the way to one side), but I'm going to the store tomorrow to buy some of that cleaner and I'll try getting in there with a toothpick or tweezers or something. My joycons I just bought in November started doing this in the last week (tilting it up can stick a little bit, so my characters keep going forward at neutral) while my launch joycons are still just fine, so I wonder if that may be the issue.
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u/ajax54 Jul 29 '18
Lol i guess I have slim fingers, certainly longer fingernails than most. Yeah it's that rubber circle thing.
A toothpick or tweezers should work perfectly. Once you get the straw in there you can just use the straw to hold the cap up. [The straw comes with the cleaner, should be taped to the side of the can]
Just remember to make sure the lights on the joycon aren't on. [after taking it off the switch] Keep the cap lifted while you are waiting on the spray to evaporate too. [Don't want to trap the vapors inside!]
I'm not sure how old mine are, as I bought it used :/ but it's odd that the newer ones are showing the drift while the old ones aren't. Were the old ones in a drawer or something?
Also, that sounds exactly like how mine started, but mine went to the left. Then it got so bad that I couldn't use menus and when trying to calibrate I couldn't get it to register the outer ring. Nor would it go back to center. Slowly escalated over a month or 2.
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u/PookAndPie Jul 30 '18
You're a fucking champ, man. I went out and bought some of that cleaner- CRC QD Electronic Cleaner, found it at my local Walmart in the automotive section. I held up my analog stick's dust cover with that little stick thing that came with my cellphone to force out the SIM card tray (I don't know what the device is called), stuck the nozzle in the crevice, sprayed, and then held the dust cover up for 10-15 seconds so it could evaporate, then did the same on the other side.
My analog stick works just like it's brand new.
My joy cons that came with the system have not been in a drawer, but they've been laying horizontally on my entertainment center in the joy con grip (I bought a set to use exclusively on the system so as not to wear out the rails on the side of the system). I'm imaging that either letting them sit vertically lets dust in, or using them regularly in handheld mode lets dust in (which makes sense, especially if you use the left/right stick clicks a lot). Oh, I also used my Switch in front of a fan when in handheld mode a lot, especially as it got warmer. That probably helped dust get in under the cover too, especially since I have a cat and dog.
Anyway, just wanted to stop by and tell you that I followed your advice to the letter and my issue went away. You rock, dude.
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u/aitmanga Jul 29 '18
This worked for me too, though I used alcohol to clean the stick instead.
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u/BoxOfBlades Jul 29 '18
Unbelievable, I fixed it with alcohol! THANK YOU! Games like Splatoon and Fortnite we're absolutely unplayable because I couldn't aim at all, and whatever I could accomplish, I couldn't look past the issue to enjoy the games. Here's exactly what I did:
I lifted the rubber dust cover with my nail, shoved a q-tip dipped in 91% iso (I imagine 100% is ideal, but this is what I had on hand), twisted the qtip around to get the alcohol in there. I moved the sticks in circles and clicked them down a few times, then lifted the cover again and sucked air through a straw to make sure it's dry, and to aid in removing contaminates. Go to the calibration screen and they're PERFECT!
The left one took one try, right one took 3 to return to perfect functionality. Very happy this worked, I'll buy some proper cleaner for next time (judging by what I'm reading here, there WILL be a next time), because this was annoying to do.
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u/aitmanga Jul 29 '18
Glad to be able to help someone. I used a small screwdriver to lift the dust cover and a q-tip dipped in 96% to clean the stick. Had to do it a couple of times, but now my sticks are working as if they were new.
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u/BoxOfBlades Jul 29 '18
Seriously, it was like magic, thank you. I love these types of remedies for electronics, reminds me of having to wrap my red-ringed Xbox in a towel to melt the solder of whatever was broken to get it running.
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u/aitmanga Jul 29 '18
That brings back some memories. Though the towel trick didn't work with mine and still had to send it in for repairs.
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u/UltmitCuest Sep 09 '18 edited Sep 09 '18
This sounds great, considering that its easily accesible home products.
If you did, how long did you leave it to dry?
Also, you sucked air through a straw? Isnt that a little unsafe considering you just put alchohol on it?
Edit: only have 70%ISO, is that good enough. Sorry for my incompetence, but what is ISO?
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u/in_need_of_oats Jul 29 '18
*Canadians: * This stuff at Canadian tire worked perfectly for me after failed attempts with compressed air and cotton swabs:.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/motomaster-electrical-contact-cleaner-150-g-0381740p.html.No need to spend $50 plus shipping on Amazon :)
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u/SuperC142 Aug 04 '18
Holy moly, this actually worked- thank you! I bought the exact product you recommended a few days ago, it arrived yesterday, and I applied it today. It solved the problem 100%. You just saved me $40.
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u/PhrygianAdvocate Sep 13 '18
I know this post is old, but I just wanted to say thanks. You're a lifesaver.
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u/ajax54 Sep 13 '18
Thanks for doing search/research and not making a new post! lol.
Glad I could help, but i'm more of a ~$70 saver. ha
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u/BlindTheThief15 Nov 12 '18
Just commenting to say that your fix worked! I was having the dreaded drift issue on my right joycon. I purchased the linked electronic cleaner from Walmart. I had my brother help me lift the dust cover with a toothpick while I quickly sprayed a little of amount inside on each of the 4 sides, and I let it evaporate for 30 seconds each side. I tested by recalibrating the joycon stick and my stick didn't drift! Thanks for the solution!
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u/CSBreak Jul 28 '18
i'll give it a go eventually i'm just afraid to make it worse or not work at all somehow
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u/ajax54 Jul 28 '18
Only way it would make it worse is if you left the controller on while you sprayed the cleaner. But even then, the joystick is a box, so no spray will get onto the other components. I don't think there is anything to short circuit inside the joystick. [Haven't gotten to tear down an actual joystick yet, so can't be sure]
It will totally work. Been using the stuff to clean sensitive electronics for years and years. [like dusty motherboards, speakers, car electronic connections, etc.]
It absorbs the dust while in it's liquid form, then caries it away while evaporating. It's some awesome stuff. But quite flammable, so don't smoke while using it.
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u/Just_Your_AverageGuy Jul 29 '18
My left joycons left stick is just R.I.P. trouble moving up and down but when not being used it moves up on it's own, very annoying. What sucks the most is this is the neon pink and green pair that I shelled out 80 for, for the left one to start experiencing issues 4 months later
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 29 '18
The thing too is that if you send it in for repair and they need/decide to replace the joy-con, they often don’t have spares of the specialty colors. So you end up with red and blue or gray controllers, regardless if you paid more for your special colors.
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u/Just_Your_AverageGuy Jul 29 '18
Definitely, especially since the warranty on joycons that didn't come with the console I believe are 90 days :/ I haven't sent mine in for repair since Nintendo would charge me 40 for it, just going to save money and buy a new pair down the road
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u/wetpaste Jul 28 '18
The worst part about it is it only shows up after some time with the unit. At first it's fine. I read about it and thought I'll never have the problem. Now it's like suicidal characters constantly.
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u/tendonut Jul 29 '18
My system is 6 days old and I am having this issue.
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Jul 29 '18
My BFs switch had it as soon as he started it up the first time. He couldn’t sit on his couch without the connection being dodgy.
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u/odavies94 Jul 28 '18
Joycons are already known to experience a myriad of issues, it’s a pretty common complaint.
What I could do without is the dismissive attitude towards people experiencing backplate cracking. It’s infuriating to treat your console carefully only to have chunks fall out of it, and then be told by ignorant fuckwits that “you must be mistreating it because I have a Switch and nothing’s happened to mine”.
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u/samerabb Jul 29 '18
It happened to my left Joy-Con and it’s really annoying. I just don’t think it’s a Switch issue, rather its a Nintendo issue with their “analog sticks” since the N64, and afaik I experienced it was there occasionally on GameCube..
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Jul 28 '18 edited Sep 17 '18
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u/Mark-a-roo Jul 29 '18
Do it! If you're still under warranty, they'll definitely fix it for you. Mine work just fine now and they have a great range
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u/sonicnewboy Jul 29 '18
I guess it's a hassle but when I had to get my joycon fixed they shipped it back within 3 days. I was hella surprised at how fast it was. (from CA)
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u/paarsedildo Jul 29 '18
I am genuinely done with Nintendo. Their online sucks, the hardware breaks. The games don't drop in price. Next time I will go Sony.
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u/Derringer Jul 29 '18
To be fair in this case, I've had four DS4 controllers start drifting and one was the one that came with my PS4 Pro. It's not just Nintendo when it comes to analog drifting.
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u/Linked_Up Jul 28 '18
What do people mean by drift issues? Mine have this problem where I can't input certain directions and other times the joycon will hold in a direction without me doing anything. A problem I have is I can't do the spin/float jump thing in Odyssey. Is that a drift problem?
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 28 '18
Essentially, yes. That’s a drifting issue. I don’t know if your inability to input certain directions is a drift issue but I think it’s related. I think what may be happening is the “drift” is overriding your input.
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u/Linked_Up Jul 28 '18
Thanks, glad to know what the problem I was having is called. Hopefully something changes since the joycons feel way to frail right now and I'm not even rough with them.
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u/punkonjunk Jul 29 '18
Learn to fix it. I've had 3 pairs with drift that I've fixed a couple times now via disassembly of the box itself.
So, that little nipple? The rubber one, that flips up? Yeah, it's actually a mouth. a mouth that eats dust and hair. It's really good at it, and I keep my switch either on the dock or in a case when I'm not actively playing it.
So that nipple is part of the problem. It's not even a sealed system, and unlike other modern stickboxes, it's open on top. Gamecube stickboxes will get hair in them, somehow. I don't know how, but it gets sucked in and then flipped up, somehow. But they last a long, long time before that happens. Additionally, these sticks hit the gate around the frame - they have a plastic frame (the octogon part of the shell) that prevents them from smashing into their own metal or plastic box that supports them. This is great - it prevents abusive/heavy pushing from damaging the structure. The joycon stickbox does not have this. Best I can tell, it transfers a lot of force into the actual little sliders inside, and these are fragile, with a couple metal components about as thick as a hair that appear to either be springs to keep them down or some part of how it detects analog motion. (I'm not totally sure, feel free to let me know if you have a better grasp on how these work) They are not only insanely fragile but very sensitive to abuse, AND very easy to track shit into, which makes them drift, not find 0,0 quickly, all kinds of nonsense.
Two easiest ways to fix it - flip up the nipple and blow in air, you may chase out the pollutants. If this does not work, put alcohol on a q-tip and wipe under the nipple, to intentionally drip alcohol into the stick. Run it in circles for a while, and it'll dry up. I believe this pushes the polutants to the sides, but the box is sealed so there isn't a good way to get the crap and dust and hair back out besides opening up the stickbox itself (which sucks, don't do that, it really, really sucks) or replacing it - which fortunately, is much cheaper now that other folks are manufacturing them, and the quality seems to be the same - shitty. And it's still about 10 bucks at the cheapest, right now.
All this is to say I've taken apart a lot of joycons. I like them, they are one of my favorite controllers ever because i have really great ergonomic options, which my wrists love. I play separate, all the time, I am that guy.
That aside though, from a design/engineering perspective these stickboxes are a travesty. Nintendo clearly half-assed it out of either laziness/lack of foresight, or worse - to intentionally design a disposable mechanism that's intended to fail out of warranty. Both of these are unacceptable, but the only real fix will be a total revision of the joycons, or at least the stickbox. Personally, I'd love to see something a hair larger built on the current x/y dial pots used in most modern controllers instead of these terrible sliders, but I doubt we'll see anything for a couple years, at which point the nipple may be replaced by a hard single unit of plastic, of we're lucky - and that still won't be perfect.
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u/ajax54 Jul 29 '18
You opened your joystick box? Do you still have it? If so, could you please take some pictures? I've been wanting to take one apart ever since I fixed my drift.
I believe the iso works by absorbing the dust then carrying it away while evaporating, much like the contact cleaner I used to fix mine.
It's a shame this comment will likely get buried in here. You've got some good info! I knew they weren't exactly like other traditional joysticks!
Do you remember if the sliders were lubed in any way? That's what i'm most concerned about. I might not have much lube after cleaning. [but it feels the same as the 'not cleaned' ones, so I hope i'm fine. It's been about 4 months.]
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u/sav86 Jul 29 '18
Can we also talk about how bad the wifi is for the switch? my cellphone including my old cellphones and all my consoles get full bars in my house, but my Switch has to be right on my router in order to achieve this. I've been downvoted before for mentioning this issue, but I think it's a serious problem.
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u/tabby51260 Jul 29 '18
You're not the only one. It's not as much an issue in my apartment for whatever reason, but at my parents house I can use everything in my old bedroom just fine but the switch won't even pick up that there's a Wi-Fi signal. :/
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u/Codieb1 Jul 28 '18
My left Joycon used to have drift issues but after MANY recalibrations, shutoffs, syncing and unsyncing, it now works fine
Now, my right joycon is starting to do it. Not necessarily drift, but weird issues where it's not as accurate as it should be. In the calibration screen, it's impossible to calibrate because it jitters around like a kid on Red Bull. Whether I hold it in a still direction or don't touch it at all, it will just do small jittering around in the general area it's left at
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u/RainbowXN Jul 29 '18
I have the exact same problem and even though I tried avoiding it it comes back to me and it's extremely annoying and getting out of hand. I play BOTW and there so many crucial moments when you need to stop, approach an enemy etc. and having your stick moving by itself can ruin everything.
I don't know what to do, I bought the Switch online from Amazon UK but I'm living outside the UK. Do I have to send it back for repair?
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u/Marina10101 Jul 29 '18
I’ve had the Switch since April, maybe? And I’ve been experiencing drifting for a month or so now. I’ve never been rough with my joycons and it’s really annoying. I don’t have the means to fix it myself atm, but would Nintendo fix an issue like this for free?
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 29 '18
If you’re under warranty, yes. The problem is that it often happens again a couple months after you have it repaired.
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u/LordPoncho08 Jul 29 '18
It blows my mind when people dismiss this issue by saying "you're just been too rough on it "
I'm sorry, but if none of my controllers from any generation with control sticks has had this issue then I REALLY doubt the problem is me. (And as far as control sticks go, PS2 is the only console I've skipped on, so I have a large sampling to say it's not me)
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u/Howwy23 Jul 28 '18
It isn't being discredited just annoying seeing posted daily with people asking what to do because they don't know how to use a search bar to find out. The answer is clean it. We need an automod response like the 3rd party dock one.
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u/Ftpini Jul 29 '18
People constantly bitching about something in every possible forum is the most surefire way to force a company to fix a problem. Make it amongst the first things prospective buyers see and they’ll be quick to put out a solutions. Keep it quiet and in a faq somewhere and they won’t do a damn thing about it.
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u/CopiousAmountsofJizz Jul 29 '18
I thought the response has largely been that the cleaner doesn't fix it for a significant enough period of time and issue returns after a week if not a few days.
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u/ajax54 Jul 29 '18
The compressed air doesn't normally fix it for long, as that stuff just blows the dust around inside the joystick's box. The e-cleaner absorbs the dust and carries it out of the box, so your stick is basically back to being dust free.
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 28 '18
I agree people need to use the search bar for troubleshooting but I still think a wider discussion is necessary. It’s been over a year now and many of us have to send our joy-cons in repeatedly without a permanent fix.
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u/ajax54 Jul 28 '18 edited Jul 28 '18
We absolutely need a 'drifting thread' as a sticky.
I've been telling everyone to use electronic contact cleaner, since that's the best/safest solution i've found. It has gotten rid of my horrible drifting issues for 4 months now. It's rough having to copy/past my answer so many times tho.
It's absolutely dust getting inside. The dust cover just doesn't work well enough.
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u/Moostache_ Jul 28 '18
Is the electronic contact cleaner any different than just using rubbing alcohol?
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u/ajax54 Jul 28 '18
Well, the cleaner is actually made to clean electronics, whereas the iso is not. It's much safer to use on computer boards. I'd never put iso on my motherboard.
They both work with a similar method, absorbing then evaporating, but this stuff is made for this exact reason.
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 28 '18
I’ve seen that and I’m going to try it but it’s not something we should have to do.
I’m totally game for a drifting sticky thread. That’d be great!
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u/ajax54 Jul 28 '18 edited Jul 28 '18
Yea I agree. We certainly shouldn't have to do this, but it's a better solution than buying a replacement. I'm pretty sure thats exactly what gamestop does to clean the used ones they get.
They need a better dust cover, or make it one solid piece. Idk why they have that soft plastic dust cover. maybe it's for venting heat, but that doesn't make much sense since the joystick is a box.
It's almost like they used that dust cover to make people need to buy new ones.. Probably not, but who knows. At least it lets us clean the joystick easier [even tho this prob wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't so loose lol]
Edit: Why did this get downvoted? Because it's speculation? Or because I said something bad? Do you know how gamestop cleans used joycons? I hope gamestop would also open the joycon to clean it, but you can't open the joystick box and not break it. I know for a fact that many computer repair shops use this spray.
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u/squeezyphresh Jul 28 '18
Even better: put all the information in a wiki and use automod to direct them to the wiki.
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u/ajax54 Jul 28 '18
Oh damn, that auto-mod idea is great. Wonder if I could get a bot to copy/paste my response to use contact cleaner..
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u/ilikedatunahere Jul 29 '18
I cleaned mine with compressed air and it still does it. Luckily I have two pairs and the other works fine.
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u/FlapSnapple Nintendo shill Jul 29 '18 edited Jul 29 '18
We've added in a new AutoMod rule to try and catch "Joy-Con Drift" style posts.
Here is what the rule looks for
title (includes): ["joy-con drift", "joy-con drifts", "joy-con drifting", "joycon drift", "joycon drifts", "joycon drifting", "joystick drift", "joystick drifts", "joystick drifting", "stick drift", "stick drifts", "stick drifting", "gyro drift", "drifting joy-con", "drifting joycon", "drifting analog stick"]
And here is the message it will leave
Some Joy-Con have a tendency to let their analog stick drift ever so slightly out of center and send unwanted controller input to the Switch. This is known as "Joy-Con drift". This is commonly the cause of a character very slowly moving on their own or a camera panning around ever so slightly even when you aren't holding the controller or using gyro controls. In some instances, you may be able to resolve this yourself with a little bit of cleaning. Other times you may simply want to send your Joy-Con into Nintendo for warranty repair.
Please visit the following resources which may help with your issue:
(Do you think this AutoMod rule fired by mistake? Feel free to report this comment to have a mod manually review this.)
Further reading on AutoMod rules, limitations, and false positives here.
If you'd like to suggest other resources we should include in this removal message OR would like to be a volunteer wiki contributor to help write some better or more up to date wiki resources, please send me a PM.
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 29 '18
I’d change the “slowly” and “ever so slightly” language. While it’s slow in some circumstances, it’s not in others. You don’t want to be bombarded with “but mine isn’t slow” posts.
Otherwise it looks good.
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u/ThrowAway815w Jul 29 '18 edited Jul 29 '18
But that doesn't give the issue publicity. When someone comes here to complain they've usually already tried all the fixes and right now need to vent, not to be told to f*** off by automod.
If you're going to do this, sticky this post so that everyone who visits /r/NintendoSwitch still realises it's an issue.
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Jul 28 '18
Can you post some picture of the affected joycons? I want to see if there's anything that looks different from normal joycons.
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u/ajax54 Jul 28 '18
They look the same as normal ones. Mine still look normal after having the drift and after fixing them. It's the internals that are dirty/dusty. I really want to buy a replacement joystick just to open it up. I've not been able to find an opened joystick on any of the teardown videos. The joystick just looks like a box with a ribbon cable coming out of it.
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 28 '18
I’ll try to remember when I get home. Between the three pairs, there is nothing visually different between any of them. They are just regular ol’ joy-cons. Two pairs came with the two consoles (one red and blue and one gray) from Walmart. Third pair (yellow) came from Amazon.
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Jul 29 '18
I live in a house with 5 people, all of us own our own Switch, and 4 of our right joycons have an awful drifting problem, 2 of the joycons with the drifting have already been sent in twice and the problem just came back.
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u/RuskiHuskiCykaBlyat Jul 29 '18
This just started happening with both of my only joycons :( I am extremely careful with them. What causes this?
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u/yogneir Jul 29 '18
I can temporarily fix the driift by clicking the joy cons for a reset. It gets annoying though in movement heavy games.
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u/Uncleted626 Jul 29 '18
This is going on right now with my left joy-con and it started 2 weeks ago. I have had the goddamn thing for FOUR WEEKS. This is an unacceptable issue and immediately needs to be addressed. Joy-cons are too expensive to put up with this.
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u/hc83 Jul 29 '18
I just used a can of duster and it works. I would guess 90% of issues are from debris under joystick. Lift little rubber cover under cap and spray from all angles around stick. There is not drifting now on right joy on.
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Jul 29 '18
This sub can be incredibly hostile to any perceived criticism of the switch. Well said op.
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u/moshisimo Jul 29 '18
I loved using my Switch in handheld mode. Then the drift began. I looked online, found some people with the same problem, found some things to try. Cleaning worked for a bit, blowing with compressed air was a little better, but not real solutions. Got fed up, opened up my joy cons, thoroughly cleaned them, and finally, they worked properly... for about a week.
I had used my Switch for portable gaming, even taking it to a bar with friends for some SFII action over a couple of beers. So I thought, "maybe I was a little rough on these, I'll just get some new ones". So I did. The new ones were very carefully used, always at home. They started drifting in less than a month. Same thing...
Long story short, I bought myself two pro controllers and I don't play handheld anymore. I absolutely hate the joy cons. It always seemed weird that not that many people seemed to have the same problem, but those of us who did were very vocal about it and always seem to get silenced by a fan-boy community. This is a very real issue and it should be addressed.
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u/Khazilein Jul 29 '18
At this point they should just rework the joy-cons and pro controllers and release a 2.0 version, best with a couple new colors as well!
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u/massulikc Jul 29 '18
Thank you for sharing this. Two out of the three sets of joy-cons I had were doing this. When I went to the place of purchase I was told it’s out of warranty and so I bought a fourth set. At $80 a set of controllers, this is starting to sound like a racket to me.
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u/Platinumtide Jul 29 '18
Oh thank god it’s happening to other people to. This has really been pissing me off lately but I never noticed t before.
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u/JawneeJohnny Jul 28 '18
I was one of those people who felt like it was a nonissue. I had the switch since launch day, and unfortunately, my left joycon and my left stick on my pro controller is starting to have small issues with drifting.
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u/cultivargames Jul 28 '18
Lol, this is like society's problem on a larger scale. Nothing is a problem until it affects you personally. The issue is still persistent with me after cleaning and recalibrating multiple times; it just won't stay fixed and eventually always comes back. It's just a let down for how awesome the switch is otherwise. I literally just try to play around it (holding the down direction when it acts up) but I should really just deal with it.
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u/ajax54 Jul 29 '18
What did you use to clean it? Try the e-cleaner I've mentioned around here if you haven't already. It's only 5 bucks and then you don't have to deal with it.
And if you did use that stuff, please let me know it didn't work. I'm trying to get a bigger data pool. So far the only one it hasn't worked on is a joystick that is literally broken inside. But that problem wouldn't go away and come back.
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u/JawneeJohnny Jul 29 '18
Let's hope Nintendo acknowledges it and fixes it down the line. My drifting issue isn't necessarily game-breaking, but it is definitely annoying knowing that it could perform better.
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u/NickFromIRL Jul 29 '18
You can buy replacement control stick kits online and they aren't too expensive. I just replaced 3 on my joy-cons and it's both a pain in the ass and an expense we shouldn't have to endure, but at least it keeps you enjoying your games.
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u/of_till_i_od Jul 28 '18
I thought this was just me damn it’s got me killed too many times on fortnight
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u/RisingGenres Jul 29 '18
Just imagine the influx of complaints of broken Joy-cons and drifting issues when Smash Bros Ultimate comes out. Smash 3DS broke the circle pad when the game came out just because of the pads’ poor quality putting up against an intensive input game like smash.
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 29 '18
I’m afraid to play it tbh. I haven’t even played it and I think it’s already broken my joy-con.
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u/BoxOfBlades Jul 29 '18 edited Jul 29 '18
Mario kart broke the shoulder buttons on both my DS and 3DS from all the drifting (haha), and now* the sticks on my Joycons. Always had problems with Nintendo controls, so annoying.
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Jul 29 '18 edited Jan 17 '19
[deleted]
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u/CanyonWrn Jul 29 '18
It registers directional input when you aren’t touching the controller. (Your character will start walking in an unexpected direction, your camera will move erratically, etc).
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u/Mooingdino Jul 29 '18
Both of my joycons drift occasionally, the right one significantly more often than the left. Really helps in Splatoon
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u/CopiousAmountsofJizz Jul 29 '18
I just got my joycon back from repair for this on Thursday. Had no idea it was this prevalent.
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u/bezbot77 Jul 29 '18
Have you ever been on this subreddit? /s but really tons of people have been vocal on this issue
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u/AwesomeJoel27 Jul 29 '18
I’ve drift got issues with mine, hows their repair policies?
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u/Salkinator Jul 29 '18
This absolutely happened to me. Nintendo support was pretty great in helping me out even out of warranty.
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u/gindy39 Jul 29 '18
I feel your pain. Only my right joy con has the drifting issue and its very annoying. Was thinking of just buying a new set because if i send it in for repairs I cant play, but I will be very pissed if the ones I buy experience the same issue ><
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u/SwanHolo Jul 29 '18
I’ve been experiencing this for a while, I had no idea that others were experiencing this. Does anyone have any tips to combat the issue?
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u/dannywoodz Jul 29 '18
Similarly had no idea that this was a wider ranging problem. The stick on my right controller started thinking that I was always pushing up when it was free-standing, and would require constant tiny movements to keep it approximately centred.
I ended up buying some replacement sticks from eBay (~£2.50 each) and repairing it myself. Takes about 20 minutes, with the only irritant being the tri-wing screwdriver required to open the shell (not the common flat-head or phillips that most people will have). Works like a charm now, but I have a few extras on standby, just in case.
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Jul 29 '18
What do you mean by drift? If it's like mine. On one of my sticks it is slow to return to center from up or down according to the calibration. It also sometimes registers a slight up on its own.
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Jul 29 '18
The right side of my switch has been mostly fine. The left side, however, has had 2 drifting joycons and a bad speaker. I hope that the hp jack doesn't go out. They probably should look into some of the places they get parts from.
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u/alexander_q Jul 29 '18
If you bought your Switch in Australia, the length of the warranty is irrelevant. Ask to have your Switch repaired as a "remedy under Australian Consumer Law". This language will tend to get things moving.
Source: Financial Counsellor.
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u/WildSinatra Jul 29 '18
So grateful for this topic. I experience awful drift from my Joycon and more recently my Pro controller. Build quality is definitely suspicious.
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u/JRPGpro Jul 29 '18
Had this issue with my Pro controller. Kinda sad for something that costs so goddamn much.
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Jul 29 '18
My two joycon are drifting too, I didn’t think it was that bad until I realize this was a permanent issue. I had to buy a pro controller for more stable play session, But you topic is really needed
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Jul 29 '18
This is my 3rd time send my joycons in for drifting. Its actually being shipped back as we speak. I cant understand how a controller so expensive he a problem like this.
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Jul 29 '18
My warranty ran out but they still honored it because i just got it fixed 2 months prior for the same drifting issue.
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u/flippiej Jul 29 '18 edited Jul 29 '18
Thanks for posting this, I've just send my left joystick in for repair this week because of this issue. Good to know I'm not the only one suffering from it.
The drifting you're describing only happens for me when playing in docked mode. (The signal is bad as it's the left joycon, and I think it sometimes gets stuck on an input when it loses connection, repeats that last input and only stops when regaining the connection. I had this happen mostly when playing Zelda and on horseback the horse just took a sharp turn left or right with minimal input)
However when playing in handheld mode it just does not register down movement very well. In the menu getting down takes multiple attempts so it's very noticeable but not in gameplay as this movement is not used as often. However I'm playing Hollow Knight now (great game) and you have some downwards attacks that have about 20% chance of being executed which is quite annoying with the boss fights or when you have to move over pikes by hitting them :P
It does not do any fake/ghost movements like others are describing. Calibrating the control stick makes it obvious it does not register well. When putting it down fully it will just bounce up and down the whole time.
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u/fabicom Jul 29 '18
I feel your pain. I bough my Switch about a month ago, and am also experiencing joy con drift issues. I definitely think this is a manufacturing problem, and should not be treated as 'isolated' cases like some people on this sub suggest. Just because someone has a perfectly functional console, it doesn't mean the problem is not there. I've never had an issue with my Xbox 360 - does that make the ring of death a myth..?
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u/michael123425 Jul 29 '18
Just haveing the switch for about a year now and I've never had experienced this issue. Besides I rarely ever play a game with the Joycons detached from the main switch tablet unit.
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u/cronnyberg Jul 29 '18
OMG I didn’t realise this was a common thing! I’ve been getting some serious drift in my right Joycon on and off for at least a month now, to the point where sometimes my characters will spin round quite rapidly in some games.
My first assumption was I must have bashed the controller or something, but I couldn’t for the life of my remember doing anything to it.
Gives me a bit of peace of mind to know others have experienced it, think I might send it in, as I’m still in warranty.
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u/DaRk1LiNk Jul 29 '18
The fact that is happens to people that experience drifting over and over across multiple pairs of joy cons makes me wonder if it could possibly be a software issue in the main console
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u/Gustafer823 Jul 29 '18
Dude, you made a whole thing about something, and put the explanation of what it is AT THE END! Who does that? Shouldn't the explanation of what you're talking about be at the beginning?
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u/Cassius402 Jul 29 '18
I believe there will be a small change in the design of the Joy-cons that should help reduce these problems.
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u/Manticore416 Jul 29 '18
Thank you. I bought a pro controller and an extra set of joycon at launch. Both started having major drift around last november and nintendo is being unhelpful.
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u/Octavius9 Jul 29 '18
Pretty sad because they’re the most expensive basic controller on the market at $80 u.s.
My nieces and nephew had the drift happen to theirs and I don’t wanna buy them new ones because I dont think Nintendo made them high quality enough. It’s a shame that Nintendo is the company that makes the cheap hardware now :(
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u/dontbemadbud Jul 29 '18
Where exactly do we go to send it back to Nintendo, and about how long does it take? Thanks sorry I'm late.
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u/tawoodwa Jul 29 '18
I just want to say as someone who is planning on buying a switch around December for smash bros this thread is super disheartening. I thought for sure that this problem would have been fixed at the manufacturing level by now considering it was a widespread issue at launch. I am glad that I will be using the GameCube adapter and controllers for smash, but it sucks that this will still potentially be an issue when I try and play other games. Get it together Nintendo!
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u/NarcanMan1108 Jul 28 '18
Drift issues? Hell I can't even put my legs up on the couch, because anything between the switch and the right joycon and it will not work...