Hardware Misc Switch 2 shell + stick swap

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AZOZx

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so yesterday i finally swapped the shell of my switch 2 + replaced my sticks with hall effect ones and i'd like to share my experience in case someone is thinking of doing it for himself.
i know my way around hardware but i never worked on something this painful before , it took me about 10+ hours give or take. The backshell is easy enough obviously but i have never seen anyone anywhere talk about how easily the screws on the switch strip , in my time working on it i have stripped a total of 4 screws and i wasn't forcing anything i was going as delicate and gentle as possible on them. every guide i watched says the kit Extremerate gives you is fine but in my opinion its not i highly recommend you have your own i fix it kit or whatever is equivalent.
the ribbon cables on the joy cons are a pain a lot of people say that but i cant stress it enough , after i swapped the sticks the ribbon cable on them feels that it does not sit right on the mobo even though i tried adjusting it multiple times but i guess that's how its designed because i noticed the cable on the oem ones is wider but they work fine as intended , they feel stiffer but honestly i like the feeling of them more than oem and ppl say after a while of breaking them in they will smooth out. But overall they feel alot nicer in my opinion ( the buttons on the sticks feels way better than oem ).
and that pretty much sums it , just please make sure you get your own screwdriver kit or you will end up stripping a ton of screws.
 

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Assuming the screws are the same as Switch 1, it was widely discussed that the screws in the joycons are very soft and you're best off replacing them before they get stripped. Shells usually come with replacement screws of a more sensible hardness. I didn't really see it discussed in the same way for the screws on the tablet body, but when I asked, I was told the same applies.

So yeah be very gentle and careful getting the original screws out (good shout on ifixit, quality tools), and then replace them with better screws straight away.

I did make the mistake on my first joycon reshelling of deciding to keep using the original screws because I'd be careful and it would be fine. First time in and out , it was fine. After going back in and out a few more times to get all those fucking fiddly cables seated properly, one of the screws was kinda fucked. Don't be like me.

Anyway nice job! Enjoy.
 
Dunno how to feel about those images on your Switch's back but thanks for sharing your experience.
It's something I wanna do to my Joycons as well, sooner or later. And I can't say I'm looking forward to it after I read your "journey". Guess I'll wait until the first stick drift kicks in.
 
Assuming the screws are the same as Switch 1, it was widely discussed that the screws in the joycons are very soft and you're best off replacing them before they get stripped. Shells usually come with replacement screws of a more sensible hardness. I didn't really see it discussed in the same way for the screws on the tablet body, but when I asked, I was told the same applies.

So yeah be very gentle and careful getting the original screws out (good shout on ifixit, quality tools), and then replace them with better screws straight away.

I did make the mistake on my first joycon reshelling of deciding to keep using the original screws because I'd be careful and it would be fine. First time in and out , it was fine. After going back in and out a few more times to get all those fucking fiddly cables seated properly, one of the screws was kinda fucked. Don't be like me.

Anyway nice job! Enjoy.
Great point i actually didn't thought of that , i only replaced the stripped ones but i'll keep that in mind if i ever want to torture myself again lol
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Dunno how to feel about those images on your Switch's back but thanks for sharing your experience.
It's something I wanna do to my Joycons as well, sooner or later. And I can't say I'm looking forward to it after I read your "journey". Guess I'll wait until the first stick drift kicks in.
lol fair i just didn't wanted it to be a basic swap so i added a little "flare" but meh im kinda having second thoughts about them but honestly fuck it unless its a modchip i aint opening this thing again , and tbh i think the oem sticks have a pretty good and long life span because i've been stressing them since i bought my switch 6 months ago and they are fine. i only swapped them bcs i said to myself : fuck it if im gonna open my joycons might as well do it once and "future proof my self".
 
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