Nintendo PSA - FREE nintendo replacement OEM JOYCONS if you DRIFT

Finally, my years of delivering tofu on dangerous mountain roads are PAYING OFF!

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is it confirmed that they have actually fixed the design issue that causes the sticks to wear out and drift, or are they just replacing with the same part that will eventually fail

 
is it confirmed that they have actually fixed the design issue that causes the sticks to wear out and drift, or are they just replacing with the same part that will eventually fail
I won't buy any switch hardware until it can be confirmed that they've actually corrected the issue with a hardware revision.

 
I already got my new ones...they are different, i can confirm, and CamperinaBush can also confirm, he saw them himself

It’s real fellas (and ladies)
 
Got the limited edition smash switch joycons...if I send those in am I going to get the same ones back?
 
I called in as I had called them a year ago and found the repair price too high to swallow. This time the phone line had a long wait, but directed me to

support.nintendo.com/joyconrepair

I just submitted my ticket and got a ticket confirmation email, will check back in with how that process goes, but probably worth checking out if you don't wanna sit on the phone.

[Update 1: 7/25 2:22pm, just over 24 hours since submitting and haven't heard back beyond the initial confirmation, if you don't mind hanging out on the phone and want your repair processed right now, may be better to call in]

[Update 2: 7/29 3:40pm, got an email Saturday informing my repair had been approved and a follow up email with a shipping label and instructions, so looking like a 48 hour turnaround if you use the above link. The shipping label is for 2-day UPS, curious to see how long until I have working Joy-cons back.]

[Update 3: 8/9 3:48pm, wondering where the hell my Joy-cons are, navigated the maze that is the support site to  finally locate where I could check my status, it says the repair center is still waiting to receive the item, however when I check tracking it shows as being delivered 7/31, not  sure what the hold up is, but I'm starting to wonder if going through the website puts you in a non-priority queue]

[Update 4: 8/20 11:45 am, got an email from Nintendo with a shipping confirmation last night at 9:00 p.m. saying my Joy-cons are being shipped back to me, so far the tracking number doesn't work, but hopefully I'll have left Joy-cons again in the next week]

 
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Anyone know anything about if they are going to reimburse those of us who repaired it ourselves because our Switch was out of warranty?

Sent from my LGUS991 using Tapatalk
 
Anyone know anything about if they are going to reimburse those of us who repaired it ourselves because our Switch was out of warranty?

Sent from my LGUS991 using Tapatalk
From the article I saw, they are. Plus, this reminds me of the RRoD debacle with the 360 where MS ended up supporting pretty much any red ringed xbox for a good number of years (while footing the bill shipping) and they ended up refunding customers who paid for repairs before that lawsuit.

it's here in the original vice article:

"Additionally, if someone previously paid for Joy-Con repairs—most reports from people who’ve contacted Nintendo in the past peg the price at $40—they can be issued a refund."
 
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Thanks OP. My second set of joycons has drifted and will be sending in for repair. I brought a pro controller but glad to hear that Nintendo is addressing this problem.
 
Did you just contact nintendo customer service?
Well my issue was so bad that I had to call almost a year ago. Because they sent me joycons TWICE that drifted again, they sent me the NEW console and the new joy cons. So i have an exception, i think they said something was wrong with the top right corner of my unit.

But ESSENTIALLY YES, just contact them, tell them the drift is bad.....i will say this, and be forewarned: you CANT fake it. If it doesnt drift, they will check it and they will send it back. Because my stuff drifted bad twice, I HAD to send my console and they kept it for testing for two weeks until they sent me a whole brand new set of JOy cons and a new console

Now, I am fortunate that I got the new console with the improved kickstand, at the same time, it was SHEER AGONY because I didnt have anything to play for a total of about two months, and they wouldn’t reimburse my lost Nintendo subscription time either, which I can understand cuz i got a new console, but still, dont penalize me for having so many defective issues, you know? Am i wrong on that?
 
So what is “drifting”? Is this only happening when undocked or even docked?

Guess I do 50/50 handheld and tv - but docked is all pro controller so maybe just lucky
 
So what is “drifting”? Is this only happening when undocked or even docked?

Guess I do 50/50 handheld and tv - but docked is all pro controller so maybe just lucky
When you hold your analog stick in one direction upon boot-up, and then when the game starts the character is walking in the direction you held the stick in, that's drift. As when you start a game, it assumes the stick is centered, and that's the middle point, that's why the character moves at the start, as the center is no longer set as the center, but to the side.

So the issue on the NS, is this is happening during games even if it's centered at the start, so there's an issue some place in the JC that's going bad with use, that's causing the problem.

 
Did anyone get a refund from a previous repair?
Has this new program been officially confirmed and rolled out yet? They said proof of repair was all that was required for the refund, and "N" will have any repairs on file, so it should be easy enough to prove once these repairs, refunds, etc begin.

 
The difference is very minute, but VERY evident. There Is that “better construction” feel of when you have an OEM vs a Chinese knock off.
The most notable difference is there are small little ridges that are on the edges of the end of the L and R buttons, that is How you know it’s definitlely of the new batch
Just a little better weight distribution and button response
It’s all very very small changes but overall, if you had serious problems with your joycons and did all the troubleshooting, you’ll be able to tell

I realize my case IS a bit of an exception to the overarching issue here, but this rollout is real, i was probably one of the cases where they realized they HAVE to roll this out before they start sending new consoles to everyone...its on and its real boys so get your tickets started before they say, “hey we did our part, too late if you didnt get em”

Get em boys, I didn’t post this for nothing
 
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Sounds like the problem is inevitable - i am not having it (yet). Weird thing is a few times yoshi walked on his own and thought nothing of it.
 
Sounds like the problem is inevitable - i am not having it (yet). Weird thing is a few times yoshi walked on his own and thought nothing of it.
Sounds like the early signs of it, I first noticed the problem in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and it went from my camera slightly turning every now and then at the beginning of the game to where it would full blown rotate around the screen endlessly if not fiddled with.

 
This sucks. I have 2 Switches that I bought at launch with BB warranty. I do not play them much because we have the other systems and life. One of the Switches will not charge on the dock or via wall charge (it will charge on car charger). Apparently this is not uncommon. BB warranty expired (launch). Nintendo is going to charge me $75 to repair. I’ll get it back and then have to deal with drift. I have 8 pairs of joy cons so it’s bound to happen. This is bull.
 
I called in as I had called them a year ago and found the repair price too high to swallow. This time the phone line had a long wait, but directed me to

support.nintendo.com/joyconrepair

I just submitted my ticket and got a ticket confirmation email, will check back in with how that process goes, but probably worth checking out if you don't wanna sit on the phone.
Thank you. Been having issues with my launch Switch joycons, just submitted a ticket. So far no issues with my green/yellow joycons recently purchased (knock on wood).

 
Edit: I'm wondering if I should turn in my joycon now or just trade in the console...I don't want my joycon to be stuck at Nintendo if a good console trade in deal towards the new version comes up.

 
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Ok... ill repeat this one more time:
I started my ticket LAST YEAR....they sent me another joy con....drifted....sent back.....another came....now the other side drifted.....sent that back....finally i sent in the console because after two replacements it was still drifting.....they sent me the NEW CONSOLE with NEW JOY CONS, in separate packages, but nonetheless, all NEW items.....

That is why I said:
1)I know this thing is real
2) MY specific case will not be like anyone else’s because of my console had something wrong with it.....BUT you can still get FREE joycons IF they really do drift or are inaccurate

They are going to ask you to do trouble shoot
If you go to “calibrate” and the motion control keeps running around, they’ll make a ticket and UPS label and send it to your email

ITS EASY, if you have a screwed up joycon, and its legit, make a ticket....go to controller problem>drift>etc...
 
Just sent my yellow joy cons in today. Hoping they just give me new ones. Mine were super jacked up. Drifting on both and the right one kept triggering the home screen button.
 
Well my issue was so bad that I had to call almost a year ago. Because they sent me joycons TWICE that drifted again, they sent me the NEW console and the new joy cons. So i have an exception, i think they said something was wrong with the top right corner of my unit.
...
Now, I am fortunate that I got the new console with the improved kickstand, at the same time, it was SHEER AGONY because I didnt have anything to play for a total of about two months, and they wouldn’t reimburse my lost Nintendo subscription time either, which I can understand cuz i got a new console, but still, dont penalize me for having so many defective issues, you know? Am i wrong on that?
Are you saying you think you have the revision with better battery life and it also includes improved Joycons and improved kickstand? Does the serial number start with "XAW" or "XKW"?

 
Yes, i got the improved kickstand, battery all that shit....i just got the console about two weeks ago, if that

Please man, just ASK CAMPERINABUSH, i showed him everything, he saw it, and i am tired of posting about it because I posted here about four times and in the nintendo thread, so i hope it was of help to you all

GOOD DAY SIR lol
 
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Anyone know how long the Big N is gonna honor this?

This IS Nintendo's Red Ring. It's funny I've called them the "gold standard" for hardware. This ain't it chief.
 
Anyone know how long the Big N is gonna honor this?

This IS Nintendo's Red Ring. It's funny I've called them the "gold standard" for hardware. This ain't it chief.
The failure of a joystick on a $40 accessory is nowhere near the level of total system failure for like 50+% of the $300-$400 systems at the time. That doesn't even include the 360's other technical failures like disc scratching

 
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Unfortunately for me, the joycon I have that drift are the pair I transplanted into clear joycon shells. Started drifting about 8 months after I did the surgery, but I'm guessing they won't be covered. Still, may move them back to the original shells and submit them for repair. Maybe.

 
Unfortunately for me, the joycon I have that drift are the pair I transplanted into clear joycon shells. Started drifting about 8 months after I did the surgery, but I'm guessing they won't be covered. Still, may move them back to the original shells and submit them for repair. Maybe.
Drifting? Shells?

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Well, I bit the bullet and submitted two pairs of joycons to Nintendo today.  All four of the analog sticks had varying degrees of drift that developed after 8-10 months of dedicated use (> 90% of my Switch playtime is in handheld mode).  Estimates indicate that I should have the controllers back within 1.5-2 weeks, so we'll see how that pans out. 

 
I assume LE controllers (Smash) would get the same sent back if I sent those in?  I'd think they'd almost have to, but, I may just ask or mention it in a ticket.

I dunno if I've noticed it a lot on my Joy-Cons, but, they definitely have issues.

I actually had drift on my Pro Controller that they repaired (for free/under warranty) months ago.  

 
I assume LE controllers (Smash) would get the same sent back if I sent those in? I'd think they'd almost have to, but, I may just ask or mention it in a ticket.

I dunno if I've noticed it a lot on my Joy-Cons, but, they definitely have issues.

I actually had drift on my Pro Controller that they repaired (for free/under warranty) months ago.
This I'd be wary of as people have sent in LE systems and controllers and did not get them sent back in return. If you send in LE joycons I would be adamant that you ask that they return your original controllers and not replace them with anything else. Generally they're just supposed to fix the analog sticks but these people give zero fucks about your property.

 
Yesterday, I had an interesting development with my joycon repair situation. 

Within 5 minutes, I received two emails from Nintendo: (1) confirmation that they received my joycon shipment for repairs and (2) a request to provide a funding source to pay for the repairs.  Following through the links on the 2nd email, it claimed that a payment of $30.00 would be needed within 1 week; otherwise, the items would be shipped back to me, unrepaired. 

Since I was of the belief that they were repairing the joycons free of charge, I called Nintendo Customer Service and, after a ~7 minute wait, talked with an agent.  After explaining the situation, the agent reassurred me that there was a glitch in the system and that the joycons would be repaired, free of charge. 

Rather than treat this as CABlogger, I figured this might be useful information to document for anyone else dealing with a similar situation (I have a feeling that a lot of people are going to take advantage of getting their controllers repaired for free).  

TL;DR - Even if you get a payment request email, calling Customer Service should rectify the problem and confirm that drift-associated joycon repairs are free of charge.

 
Mine was received on Wednesday. I got another email today that said it's shipped back. Is there any way to tell if they actually did anything to it? The email just said the components are being shipped back to me with no mention of work being done.
 
Does this only effect like earlier switch models or is it all of them?

I got my switch like 3 months ago I'd say. I hadn't had a problem yet but was just curious.

 
Mine was received on Wednesday. I got another email today that said it's shipped back. Is there any way to tell if they actually did anything to it? The email just said the components are being shipped back to me with no mention of work being done.
You should know when it gets back. Last time I had something fixed, it had a checklist included in the package on what they did. It doesn't take them long to fix things, for the most part they just verify then replace stuff, and I would imagine that depending on the color they just send you a new one and keep the old one for parts.

 
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