Hardware HELP blowing R button causes CHAOS (kinda)(full diagnosis)

[EpikJimmer]

As you may know, I made 100.000 threads about my R button, my deepest apologies. (WARNING: Bad grammar may be detected. Please don't cringe)

Here's my full story (and full diagnosis about the R button)(If you're too bored to read, go on, leave this thread and continue with your life)
Anyway, there's that trick in every Nintendo product. It goes like this "Blow the thing and you're good to go"
And yeah! It worked for me THOUSANDS of times in the past like, broken buttons and dusty cartridges!
When I bought the second-handed 3DS (All these events started on April 2018) , I thought everything was fine but 5 minutes later after I payed the owner, I realized that the R button was broken (and he unfortunately managed to get away...) So I blew the R button and this time, unlike the DSi, it didn't work! I blew even HARDER and after that, the dust was gone and the R button worked... temporarily... it worked for 30 seconds whenever I blew it. But on June 2018... THE R BUTTON GOT FIXED! But of course, 1 month later, it got useless again. Not only that but the charger LED was enabled even if it wasn't charging! And I didn't even blow it! And then whenever I blew the button, the charger LED got stuck for 2 days or less. After a couple of weeks, more LED's got stuck for a very short period. AAAFTER that, all the LED's got stuck AND the A button was kinda sticky! And one time I blew so much that the screen had GLITCHES!

Of course, I tried cleaning the button and sucking all the dust, but it still won't wor

AND HERE I AM NOW! The problem is driving me crazy! Now some of you might be saying: switch to the 2DS which has perfectly working buttons!
Yes, it's true but it has 3 major problems! 1. The volume slider's loose 2. The sleep switch is not working 3. The input of the top-right part of the screen is messed up!

AAGHH! So many issues!

 

[AmandaRose]

You should never blow into anything electrical as moisture in your breath over time will actually do more damage than good.

 

[Itzumi]

As you may know, I made 100.000 threads about my R button, my deepest apologies. (WARNING: Bad grammar may be detected. Please don't cringe)

Here's my full story (and full diagnosis about the R button)(If you're too bored to read, go on, leave this thread and continue with your life)
Anyway, there's that trick in every Nintendo product. It goes like this "Blow the thing and you're good to go"
And yeah! It worked for me THOUSANDS of times in the past like, broken buttons and dusty cartridges!
When I bought the second-handed 3DS (All these events started on April 2018) , I thought everything was fine but 5 minutes later after I payed the owner, I realized that the R button was broken (and he unfortunately managed to get away...) So I blew the R button and this time, unlike the DSi, it didn't work! I blew even HARDER and after that, the dust was gone and the R button worked... temporarily... it worked for 30 seconds whenever I blew it. But on June 2018... THE R BUTTON GOT FIXED! But of course, 1 month later, it got useless again. Not only that but the charger LED was enabled even if it wasn't charging! And I didn't even blow it! And then whenever I blew the button, the charger LED got stuck for 2 days or less. After a couple of weeks, more LED's got stuck for a very short period. AAAFTER that, all the LED's got stuck AND the A button was kinda sticky! And one time I blew so much that the screen had GLITCHES!

Of course, I tried cleaning the button and sucking all the dust, but it still won't wor

AND HERE I AM NOW! The problem is driving me crazy! Now some of you might be saying: switch to the 2DS which has perfectly working buttons!
Yes, it's true but it has 3 major problems! 1. The volume slider's loose 2. The sleep switch is not working 3. The input of the top-right part of the screen is messed up!

AAGHH! So many issues!

Get it sent to a repair shop

 

[EpikJimmer]

i don't think repairing is a good idea as my system has extremely serious issues. It could cost over 50 euros and it would take MONTHS to be fixed
also, sending the 2DS isn't a good idea either. The repair will be very expensive because the system has 3 problems instead of just one.
To sum up, repairing isn't a great idea. Most of the repair shops in my city aren't for nintendo products.
Most of them have sub-titles like "WE FIX LAPTOPS/PHONES/PS4/XBOXONE that's it "

 

[Itzumi]

i don't think repairing is a good idea as my system has extremely serious issues. It could cost over 50 euros and it would take MONTHS to be fixed
also, sending the 2DS isn't a good idea either. The repair will be very expensive because the system has 3 problems instead of just one.
To sum up, repairing isn't a great idea. Most of the repair shops in my city aren't for nintendo products.
Most of them have sub-titles like "WE FIX LAPTOPS/PHONES/PS4/XBOXONE that's it "

Then do the repairs yourself or something.
Other than that I think you'd be sol

 

[KleinesSinchen]

@JimPlayz912 : Nobody on the forum can help you with the actual hardware repair. One can tell you where to look, and maybe directly how to do something, but nobody can do it for you. If I could reach your DS-systems with my hands through the internet cables like in a silly cartoon, believe me, I would have already done this, and tried to repair them for you.

All options I can think of:

• Send one or both damaged system(s) in for repair, wait and pay.
• Sell both damaged systems for a reasonable price and buy one fully working unit.
• Use ifixit and try repairing yourself (maybe with the help of friends, classmates, neighbors,…) There are some repair videos on YouTube, too.
• Or just wait for a miracle to occur and somebody fixes it with magic after reading your posts. (Unfortunately this did not work until now and I have low expectations about this.)

Disclaimer: No offense intended. Maybe my post sounds a bit rude – this is NOT my intention! I really want to help you. But what do you expect the forum members to do?

 

[EpikJimmer]

I'm sorry... I didn't ask you to repair it for me. I'm just looking for possible solutions.
Luckily , the 3DS owner is in my contacts for some reason! So, I'll give him a call, get the money back and buy a 2DS with that money!
As for the OTHER 2DS... I'll just give it to a relative or something...

I have another quesiton tho, if I format or update my CFWed 3DS, will the CFW be gone?

 

[Jayro]

I believe the L and R buttons are modular, and can be easily replaced with ebay parts... Why are you so stubborn and hesitant?

 

[pasc]

You should never blow into anything electrical as moisture in your breath over time will actually do more damage than good.

On that topic: If I recall right there are "canned air canisters" just for this reason. right ?

 

[KleinesSinchen]

I'm sorry... I didn't ask you to repair it for me. I'm just looking for possible solutions.

You do not need to be sorry. You're frustrated – that's understandable. And yes, you did not ask someone to do the repair for you. I just told you, I would do it, if this was possible. As I said: No offense intended. It is not easy to express things like that with text only. If I had been talking to you, you would have understood it immediately. Plus: I generally refuse to use these yellow smiley-things as a replacement for non-verbal communication.

Okay. Once and NEVER again! Maybe I should have used this one:

I have another quesiton tho, if I format or update my CFWed 3DS, will the CFW be gone?

CFW cannot be erased by a normal system format. But thing like FBI, Homebrew Launcher Loader, etc. will be removed. So you need to repeat the finalizing part of the guide. Deleting CFW is almost always a bad idea. Read the article about that by Lilith Valentine. Removing has no benefits I can think of.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

I believe the L and R buttons are modular, and can be easily replaced with ebay parts... Why are you so stubborn and hesitant?

He's previously asked how to fix his R-button. Several times in fact:

• DSi Battery HELP! (Also L and R) buttons
• R button making me SUPER MAD!!!
• R button takes 2+ seconds to be pressed!
• Volume slider is loose (2DS)

He and Mr. Screwdriver aren't on good terms.

I'm tempted to tell him a radical method of cleaning his button without opening the 2DS. The problem is that there's a very low probability of success and high risk of hard bricking. Do one step incorrectly, you kill the little handheld. I have serious doubts he's able to successfully pull it off.

 

[rip-it-up]

i used to repair these. just replace it, about 5 mins to swap with a new one. only a couple of quid,
i have blown, cleaned with a tooth brush, isopropanol alcohol, ultra sonic cleaner. these are only really a short term fix. just replace and clean the trigger while your at it,

i used to do 3ds, cant remember how easy it is to do 2ds.

 

[ghjfdtg]

Protip: Saliva is very corrosive. Just don't do it. It will fix your button for a short amount of time but if you are blowing like crazy into it you are damaging the mainboard over time. The behavior you are seeing now is the result.

 

[AmandaRose]

Protip: Saliva is very corrosive. Just don't do it. It will fix your button for a short amount of time but if you are blowing like crazy into it you are damaging the mainboard over time. The behavior you are seeing now is the result.

Didn't I already kinda say that already way above lol.

 

[ghjfdtg]

Can't be said often enough

 

[EpikJimmer]

Ok, for those who are tired of me, I'm ok, I'll just send it to one of those repair shops OR ask the 3DS owner (yes, the 3ds is secondhanded) if he could give me more details about the button. Or, you know, do both

Now, go do whatever you want, I'm not gonna bother you anymore.

I understand that you gave me a trillion of ideas and I should use them...

 

[EpikJimmer]

News update: I'll probably get a New 2DS XL around 2-3 weeks later
Speaking of 2DS, I found out that in the dsi sound app, you can customize the volume! So I installed it on my 2DS and it worked perfectly, even outside the app... but I still have the touchscreen problem and... "chewey stylus inside the stylus holder" problem

Welp, you know what they say, best of both worlds.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

@JimPlayz912,

You might want to research the n2DSXL less than stellar durability and shortcomings. I'm telling you this because I want you to be happy in knowing your handheld is going serve you well through thick and thin, and also because we don't want a repeat of you pity posting your shit broke way too easily and too soon, lol.

Unless you're like a super careful person who's going to keep that n2DSXL at home or travels with it in a hard case (and not by pants pocket!), try to instead get a n3DSXL or n3DS. Even go for another o2DS / o3DS / o3DSXL if you can live without playing New 3DS exclusive titles or those that require [ ZL / ZR / C-Stick ].

Also keep expectations in mind that certain homebrew apps like mGBA, SNES VC, and RetroArch (depending on the core) will not run well on the old series.

***

If your o2DS R-shoulder button commissioned repair job falls through and you still want to try fixing that button, let me know. I will tell what you can do (without having to open it). You just have to promise me you will do everything exactly as instructed, know that the idea might not work, and that there's a risk of hard bricking.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

@TurdPooCharger: Would you please elaborate a little on drawbacks of the N2DSXL – respectively tell where to look. I’m interested in getting one (for the sake of completeness), too. And… you make me curious with these indication about fixing the shoulder button without opening.

@JimPlayz912: Just my last two cents about the partially broken DS-Systems:
In my opinion both are not really useful for gaming anymore. Broken shoulder button, sticky main button(s). Busted touchscreen…
You can’t lose much if you open them (backup all data before!). They’re pretty much unusable now and if you break them even more… well they are unusable. And you learn a lot by trying it yourself. The shoulder button and the touch panel are really cheap; so you won’t even waste much money if the repair attempt fails.
If you successfully repair something it gives you an incredibly good feeling. The R-Button is a really good starting point for gaining some confidence.

 

[TurdPooCharger]

@KleinesSinchen, I'll send you a PM about my concerns of the n2DSXL. This isn't something that should be posted publicly as even with the best intentions, people will misconstrue it to mean bashing the n2DSXL. And while I myself am not a fan of the n2DSXL, I can understand why that model would appeal to certain people. Different strokes for different folks, sort of thing. As long as you're happy with it and know to what to expect, then my and other people's opinions about it do not matter.

As for sharing the supposed method in fixing a shoulder button without opening it, I rather not post the idea unless Jim absolutely has no other options. (Also, I need time to Photoshop some pics and write the instructions).