Hardware Potential Joycon drift fix?

[GBADWB]

Skip to timestamp 5:55 to go to the fix and the explanation without the fluff

Saw a thread on Reddit that's gaining a lot of popularity on a potential fix to the Joycons


The concept of the problem is that over time, the metal plate holding the bottom of the Joycon gets bowed overtime by force from the spring and pressing it, which eventually causes the readings on the pads to be imprecise. If anyone has any Joycons that haven't been fixed to try the pressure method of seeing if it fixes it(doesn't require disassembly) to see if its actually the housing that could be causing it.

If this actually works for the masses, I'm surprised a multi million dollar company couldn't find the reason why it happened.

 

[g00s3y]

I thought about this being the issue, with the hundreds of sticks i've replaced for people, I always noticed the bottom of it being a bit "pushed out", but never thought that just pressing it back could fix the issue for another year or more.

Maybe this is why Nintendo is "fixing" them for free if you ask. All they do is open it up and press down. Would explain why they have a cutout in the middle joycon piece (battery holder), right above the joystick.

 

[victorstk]

I thought about this being the issue, with the hundreds of sticks i've replaced for people, I always noticed the bottom of it being a bit "pushed out", but never thought that just pressing it back could fix the issue for another year or more.

Maybe this is why Nintendo is "fixing" them for free if you ask. All they do is open it up and press down. Would explain why they have a cutout in the middle joycon piece (battery holder), right above the joystick.

yes and speaking about that cutout its is really weird that only the section of the analog stick has a BEVEL instead of an Emboss
it's almost as if Nintendo already knew about that

also notice on how most of the drift videos showcase it happening with breath of the wild (a game that has a lot of analog press inputs)
particularly my joycons started to drift after I started to play ninjala and smash bros with ninjala being the game that uses most of the analog press inputs

and thanks for sharing my video man!

 

[GBADWB]

The reason why the video got me thinking because my (replacement) joycons actually have a different problem that's possibly related. I have a right stick that was replaced that randomly presses R3(stick click) often, as after I replaced it, i played a lot of games where stick click was common. My original sticks were worn out due to stick clicks, and may be related.

 

[zerofalcon]

My right joy-con started to drift weeks ago again after a temporay fix, we'll see if this trick can fix it once and for all.

 

[rob4]

I fixed my left joycon with this guide. Thank you so much, i was about to buy a new one, and the fix is so easy to do.

Thanks again!

 

[r5xscn]

Wow, I am amazed by this fix. I fixed mine with a little bit of stretching on the spring. Will definitely try this fix if mine drifts in the future.

 

[kylum]

I can confirm that this works. Miles will vary. I cut a piece of business card behind mine in the same fashion at least 2 years ago and it’s still working like new to this day. I tried the same on my buddies son’s joycon and it did not work. FYI his son is hard on controllers and I have replaced several USB ports and analogs on both ps4/Xbox controllers. So I’m pretty sure his joycons analogs had internal damage.

 

[Arrrchitects]

Performed this fix a few days ago and so far it seems to have worked. That said, I haven't played many games since that utilize the right analog stick. That also said, I haven't had to flick the stick around because it was auto scrolling through menus which is what my most recent problem in Hades was.

tl;dr

Shit seems to have worked for me.

 

[Reploid]

My joycons started to drift pretty soon. I bought new pair from aliexpress for like a dollar, and now for 3 years had no problem at all. Which means nintendo makes shitty sticks, the are so shitty that any noname offbrand company can do much better job.

 

[CloudStrife1901]

I wonder if this potential fix would work on the ps4/ps5/xbox controllers?

 

[GBADWB]

I wonder if this potential fix would work on the ps4/ps5/xbox controllers?

the stick and sensor design are fundamentally different for standard controllers. For standard controllers, the sensor that goes bad is typically found in the potentiometer on the sides of the stick boxes. Sometimes the metal prongs are loose due to being over flattened (in the same vein as mice who suffer double clicking issues, which is caused by an overly flat metal piece) applying pressure to those sticks boxes would actually make the problem worse.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

My joycons started to drift pretty soon. I bought new pair from aliexpress for like a dollar, and now for 3 years had no problem at all. Which means nintendo makes shitty sticks, the are so shitty that any noname offbrand company can do much better job.

Or it means you haven't been using the JoyCons that much. My dad has replaced the sticks twice on my brother's Switch already, they only last maybe 6 months, and my brother is careful with his things.
Meanwhile my launch Switch still doesn't suffer from drifting, but I only play it when there's a new game and once I'm done with that, I don't touch it again until the next big game. And I don't play crossplatform titles on my Switch as I can play them in higher resolution/framerate and better quality on my PC. Plus I have a Pro Controller which I much prefer using when I'm playing docked, I'll even play tabletop over handheld when I play Splatoon 2 when not at home because the game is actually easier with a Pro Controller.
It's all about how much use the sticks get, and what type of games you play (some games wear out analog sticks more than others) and your play style. A sample size of 1 original stick and 1 noname stick is hardly a big enough sample size to say with any accuracy that Nintendo's sticks are somehow worse than the competition. The knockoffs are identical clones (more or less) to the originals, likely made from the same blueprints, maybe even at the same factory, so there's no reason they would last any longer, as the issue stems from a design flaw.

 

[The Catboy]

I tested this on a joycon that used to drift immediately upon using them and it’s fixed now. This really seems like Nintendo was extra neglectful when making the joycons if they missed such an obvious flaw

 

[ucupetuks]

why ppl complaining joy con drift, its simple buy 5 bucks couple analog replacement + toolkit, and change it, no need to roar is like big problem for simple solution

 

[Arakon]

Cause the new sticks will start drifting as well. A new stick is not solving the problem, it's just starting the problem from the beginning.

 

[BaamAlex]

Cause the new sticks will start drifting as well. A new stick is not solving the problem, it's just starting the problem from the beginning.

I replaced the sticks already. And i dunno why, but these sticks doesn't drift. They are not from nintendo.

 

[ucupetuks]

Cause the new sticks will start drifting as well. A new stick is not solving the problem, it's just starting the problem from the beginning.

my dear every analog stick will have issue drifting in some cases, not to mention switch, this happen naturally when you get faulty device, i'm replacing my analog because the responsiveness not to great and sometime doesnt response on left/bottom movement, opposite with drifting, now after replacement, my lite working like charm, only 5$ 2 analog + toolkit, its easy to replace analog, whats wrong with people complaining this thing, its like is bad product

 

[Gep_Etto]

my dear every analog stick will have issue drifting in some cases

I have owned every Nintendo console and portable since the NES and GameBoy Color, plus an assortment of PC game controllers from several brands and two XBox 360 controllers. The only time I have ever had drifting issues was with the JoyCons. I wore out my N64 analog sticks so much that their deadzones were pretty much 90% of their total movement range (thank you, Mario Party!) and broke my 3DS's analogue pad from overuse and I have never had drift issues. I still use three of my Gamecube controllers with the Mayflash adapter and have yet to experience drift in any of them despite their several years of use. I also do not personally know anybody who has ever had drift with non-JoyCon controllers.

Does that mean it never happens? No, of course not. But it does mean that "every analog stick will have issue drifting" is very far from being true.