Joy Con Drift Repair

Mr E

Hey folks

Has anyone sent through their Joy Cons to Nintendo for repair? I tried to do it online, but came unstuck at the post code stage - it wouldn't accept Eircodes.

I called the number and the support person said it was no problem to do the repair (he took my details and said I would receive a label to print by email in the next day or two).

All standard enough. However, he said that they need the receipt for the Switch. I don't know about you guys, but I don't have the receipt for my 28 month old Switch.

I mentioned to him that it was widely reported a month or two ago that proof of purchase was no longer needed, but he said that it was widely reported on news websites - NOT on Nintendo's own website.

He said I would need to go back to my place of purchase (Gamestop) and request a copy of my receipt, which they are obliged by law to provide.

Is this guy blowing smoke or do I really need to jump through these hoops? Has anyone got an official Nintendo link that says proof of purchase is not required?

TherapyBoy

I took my 2 joycon controllers back to the GameStop I bought my Switch in about 2 months ago, having a progressively worsening problem with drift on one of them. Initially they told me to try compressed air or an electrical contact cleaner spray (tried both but neither stopped the drift completely & it kept getting worse). I went back in afterwards with the controllers & the chap behind the counter replaced (both of them) them with no hassle from a new Switch. Have been drift-less ever since!

I didn’t have the receipt from the initial purchase and it was only 5/6 months old at most but if you’re going back to GameStop to get a receipt anyways it might be worth asking them directly if they could do anything for you. Fingers crossed!

Banjo

you probably used a credit card.
And you can probably get the statement showing the transaction online without too much messing.
That's normally enough to demonstrate that you purchased it - certainly I've used that in disputes before.

Also if you pre-ordered the switch you probably have a bunch of supporting evidence in terms of confirmation mails and such that'd stand to it.

tailgunner

I went through the same thing a couple of weeks ago. Mentioned that I was having the drifting issue that Nintendo were reportedly fixing free of charge even out of warranty, and he basically said he "couldn't comment on rumours".

Long story short, they'll fix it, but will charge between £29 and £35 .From what I understood, they only want the receipt if you want to get it repaired under warranty - like you, my Switch is 28 months old so long out of that!

Mr E

Feck it, pulled the trigger on this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veperain-Replacement-Controller-Screwdrivers-Thumbstick/dp/B07S61YG4D/

My project for the weekend. Less than €15 delivered with Prime.
I'll post an update in a few days to let you know how I got on.

Mr E

Didn't go well. Broke the joy-con.

I was jumping between Nintendo Life's guide and Spawnwave's guide. Nintendo Life recommended taking off the rail. Got everything replaced, but when I tried to reattach the rail afterwards, the black clasp on the connector wouldn't click into place so I couldn't secure the connector.

I only followed the Nintendo Life video because the camera was closer and it was easier to see what was going on.

I think I'll leave the funny videos to Alex in future, and stick with Jonathan for the tech stuff.

I am a technical person and a DIY person so this has put me in a bad mood now. F*ck sake... :rolleyes:

I'll get a single replacement joy-con in CEX tomorrow.

Andrew76

Mr E wrote: »

Feck it, pulled the trigger on this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Veperain-Replacement-Controller-Screwdrivers-Thumbstick/dp/B07S61YG4D/

My project for the weekend. Less than €15 delivered with Prime.
I'll post an update in a few days to let you know how I got on.

Going to order the above aswell and see how I get on. Left joycon drift making the Switch unusable in handheld mode for the last few months. Mostly play docked but would be nice to have the option of handheld.

BeerFarts

I'm fed up fixing these things, I'm on my third fix now due to drifting. I was playing Sniper Elite and the drift made it totally unplayable.

nedd

It is a pain. I have sent my right joy con back for it's second repair. They "lost" it but managed to find it when I kicked up a storm. Gone over two weeks now.

Andrew76

Mr E wrote: »

Didn't go well. Broke the joy-con.

I was jumping between Nintendo Life's guide and Spawnwave's guide. Nintendo Life recommended taking off the rail. Got everything replaced, but when I tried to reattach the rail afterwards, the black clasp on the connector wouldn't click into place so I couldn't secure the connector.

I only followed the Nintendo Life video because the camera was closer and it was easier to see what was going on.

I think I'll leave the funny videos to Alex in future, and stick with Jonathan for the tech stuff.

I am a technical person and a DIY person so this has put me in a bad mood now. F*ck sake... :rolleyes:

I'll get a single replacement joy-con in CEX tomorrow.

Just finished replacing the left joycon - what a pain in the arse that was! Took over an hour as the phillips head screwdriver was too bloody big for the second set of screws you need to remove. No idea why as all the repair kits list seem to have the same size one.

So had to use the try-wing screwdriver to gently ease them loose without messing anything up - worked thankfully. Mainly used spawnwave's video and NL's close-up pictures - didn't bother removing any ribbon cables except the one to get at the screw. Recalibrated and is working better now - for how long is anyone's guess though.

If it starts drifting again I'd probably just buy a new one, cba doing all that again. :mad:

keane2097

I've just got the dreaded drift as of this week. If I was to buy a new set have they sorted out the issue by now or is there a chance I'll be crying again in a couple of weeks?

sligeach

keane2097 wrote: »

I've just got the dreaded drift as of this week. If I was to buy a new set have they sorted out the issue by now or is there a chance I'll be crying again in a couple of weeks?

I haven't heard any reports of Nintendo fixing the issue. It's the same with the D pad on the Pro Controller.

Irish Halo

I had drift on the left joycon of my launch switch, it wasn't terrible but still bought a replacement set and they also succumbed and it was starting to get really annoyong.

Then I saw this video:
https://youtu.be/GURa16H_QvM?t=122 (think embedding is disabled)
I bought some isopropyl alcohol and some cotton buds at the weekend, followed the instructions* Monday night and they both seemed to have stopped drifting ...

* Dip cotton bud in isopropyl alcohol, get it in under the rubber skirt and get the alcohol to the inner workings, swivel the thumbstick for 30 seconds, leave dry for 5 minutes, test drift, repeat if necessary.

safetyboy

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Servisol-701-100UK-Super-10/dp/B000KEB6WW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=servisol+super&qid=1576595423&sr=8-1

I just sprayed that in and all was good again.

keane2097

Irish Halo wrote: »

I had drift on the left joycon of my launch switch, it wasn't terrible but still bought a replacement set and they also succumbed and it was starting to get really annoyong.

Then I saw this video:
https://youtu.be/GURa16H_QvM?t=122 (think embedding is disabled)
I bought some isopropyl alcohol and some cotton buds at the weekend, followed the instructions* Monday night and they both seemed to have stopped drifting ...

* Dip cotton bud in isopropyl alcohol, get it in under the rubber skirt and get the alcohol to the inner workings, swivel the thumbstick for 30 seconds, leave dry for 5 minutes, test drift, repeat if necessary.

I think I have some of that at home, I'll give it a spin this evening. Thanks.

Phil.x

All you need is electrical contact spray, spray it under the rubber shroud on the thumb controllers and move the d pad up and down, left and right etc etc. Give it a good spray at this stuff evaporates.

mcmoustache

Phil.x wrote: »

All you need is electrical contact spray, spray it under the rubber shroud on the thumb controllers and move the d pad up and down, left and right etc etc. Give it a good spray at this stuff evaporates.

Are there any bricks and mortar shops in Dublin that are likely to stock this kind of stuff? I think it might be a bit iffy ordering aerosols online.