Joy-Con Drift is Still a Huge Problem 3 Years Later | IGN opinion piece

Aether · May 11, 2020

Just poping in to ramble: fuck this.

We still dont know it they rectified it with the new batches, and from what i see around, not really. on amazon there are 10 different sticks, from 17 -30€, to replace myself. hach.

I thougt about buying some new ones, since i cant play portable anymore...thought "at least you can get them für 70 on amazon":
a) the ones i would like (mario red, animal crossing) are not buyable (mario red is on the nitnendo store, but cost 80€+13€...)
b) the regular ones are sold out

Just... hach. Its frustrating

Deleted member 23381 · May 11, 2020

Between me and my switching owning friends it's happened to literally all of us, crazy.

I've just kind of stopped playing my switch because of it tbh, and will side eye nintendo hardware from now on.

WarpSpeedMolasses · May 11, 2020

-shadow- said:
I'm curious why Nintendo still hasn't designed a custom stick internal yet instead of the self parts they're using right now. It's been three years with US branch offering free repairs now and the EU branch offering an extended warranty (officially anyway, unofficially they offer free repairs). Anyone know how NCL handles this themselves?

Yeah this is so bizarre to me. They've been selling controllers foe decades. I can't imagine coming up with a revision that doesn't actively destroy itself would be out of reach for them.

I'd also imagine the front-loaded expense of having a revision with a small complimentary exchnage period for previous owners would be worth not dealing with free repairs and further brand damage.

Hugare · May 11, 2020

Solid said:
WD-40 Electrical Contact Cleaner Spray. Just being specific cuz spraying regular ol' WD-40 lubricant into your controllers may lead to a bad time and at best will still smell

Thank you for correcting me

I used the normal one because I was broke and getting really mad with the drifting, so I said "fuck it"

But I didnt turn on the controller until it was dried, of course

fluffydelusions said:
Contact cleaner would be the better option for electronics but glad it worked for you. I saw other people who used WD-40 on reddit...some it worked long term others just short term.

It's been going strong for 2 years now, thank God

Yup, contact cleaner would be the better option. A friend of mine that is an electronic engineer almost had a heart attack once I told him that I put WD-40 on it lol

lenovox1 · May 11, 2020

This is very much like Apple and its butterfly keyboard issue. They committed to a certain technology without proper reliability and use testing and we, the consumer, are forced to wait it out until the end of this product's lifecycle.

_RT_ · May 11, 2020

My 5yo took to switch like crazy this year. Drift just arrived this past weekend. Right stick. Disaster trying to aim on BOTW now. 😶

Fulminator · May 11, 2020

One of my joycons has been drifting like crazy. Super annoying to plan with. Didn't want to bother dealing with Nintendo so I just bought some replacement joysticks and am going to repair it myself.

cyklisten · May 11, 2020

Razorrin said:
I've heard the Chunky and amazing Horii Daemon X Machina controller doesn't have drift issues.

Can anybody elaborate? I love the look of it, and I'm interested in using it on it's physical aesthetic alone!

I have one. It works very well. It´s big, but it handles well (the feeling of the buttons and sticks are superior) and is way more comfortable than the OG joy cons. The machine kinda looses its portability by having them attached though. It´s not something you pop down your back for your busride. They are way thicker than the console also. Definitely check out some videos.

Thorakai · May 11, 2020

Razorrin said:
I've heard the Chunky and amazing Horii Daemon X Machina controller doesn't have drift issues.

Can anybody elaborate? I love the look of it, and I'm interested in using it on it's physical aesthetic alone!

As I mentioned on the first page I picked these up precisely because I was fed-up with dealing with drifting joy-cons and was not gonna shell out money for another pair while waiting for the pandemic to blow over. The joysticks themselves are completely different from what are used in the joycons, so presumably they aren't nearly as prone to drifting. But as I learned the more I investigated the issue every controller with analog sticks is at-risk for drifting, so if you see a few complaints about that I wouldn't take it as confirmation that its widespread issue. So far my sticks have been fine and my play sessions are much more comfortable than before, plus I haven't seen any impact on battery life like I've read on other reviews. The only thing to get used to is that the travel time for the HORI joysticks are a bit longer than standard joycons, but its something you get used to pretty fast. Oh, and of course lack of rumble, NFC, and only working in handheld, which wasn't a big deal for me.

ThisOne · May 11, 2020

Anecdotal but my Dualshock 4s have never had a problem with drift. My very first one had the issue where the thumbstick grip would start to peel. Since then, they've all been fine especially considering they have significantly more playtime than my joy-con. My left joy-con started getting drift and the WD-40 electrical spray stuff helped for now but it's really annoying especially considering the controllers are hard to find in stores and are very expensive (and never on sale).

Celine · May 11, 2020

From my experience an electronic contact cleaner spray solved my joycon's drifting issue.

What-ok · May 11, 2020

Just replaced the left joycon stick with one of those cheapo Amazon ones. They come with the tools needed and some extra stick covers. It was easy and fast and it's working great. I will wait and see if it lasts.

Razorrin · May 11, 2020

cyklisten said:
I have one. It works very well. It´s big, but it handles well (the feeling of the buttons and sticks are superior) and is way more comfortable than the OG joy cons. The machine kinda looses its portability by having them attached though. It´s not something you pop down your back for your busride. They are way thicker than the console also. Definitely check out some videos.

Thorakai said:
As I mentioned on the first page I picked these up precisely because I was fed-up with dealing with drifting joy-cons and was not gonna shell out money for another pair while waiting for the pandemic to blow over. The joysticks themselves are completely different from what are used in the joycons, so presumably they aren't nearly as prone to drifting. But as I learned the more I investigated the issue every controller with analog sticks is at-risk for drifting, so if you see a few complaints about that I wouldn't take it as confirmation that its widespread issue. So far my sticks have been fine and my play sessions are much more comfortable than before, plus I haven't seen any impact on battery life like I've read on other reviews. The only thing to get used to is that the travel time for the HORI joysticks are a bit longer than standard joycons, but its something you get used to pretty fast. Oh, and of course lack of rumble, NFC, and only working in handheld, which wasn't a big deal for me.

ThisOne said:
Anecdotal but my Dualshock 4s have never had a problem with drift. My very first one had the issue where the thumbstick grip would start to peel. Since then, they've all been fine especially considering they have significantly more playtime than my joy-con. My left joy-con started getting drift and the WD-40 electrical spray stuff helped for now but it's really annoying especially considering the controllers are hard to find in stores and are very expensive (and never on sale).

From what I've heard, I'm more likely to run into more "Traditional" drifting issues with these then "Joycon" drifting issues, so I appreciate the advice!

Mine are coming on the 28th, can't wait to replay Daemon X Machina with the official merch!

Pryme · May 11, 2020

Murdy Plops said:
At least they offer to repair them. Certain other companies won't touch the controller's outside of their feeble 90 day warranty... Which to me; is a much bigger issue

which other Companies has an issue as widespread as this?

Yatahaze · May 11, 2020

The longer the repair center is closed the bigger the buildup is going to be too. This could end up being a massive backlog of repairs for these things.

Zedelima · May 11, 2020

CISphil said:
US only...

Nope, here in Brazil they fixed for free too

RingRang · May 11, 2020

Happy to see a major website highlighting this bullshit from Nintendo.

atomsk eater · May 11, 2020

We've had this issue within the last few weeks, it's a massive pain in the ass.

Neuroxia · May 11, 2020

My left joy-con is drifting and i don't even use them since i play docked with the pro controller 99% of the time. Plus Switch is probably my least played console anyway.
Thought about also getting a slim for my collection but i changed my mind after seeing that Nintendo is doing nothing regarding this issue.

Equanimity · May 11, 2020

Neuroxia said:
My left joy-con is drifting and i don't even use them since i play docked with the pro controller 99% of the time. Plus Switch is probably my least played console anyway.
Thought about also getting a slim for my collection but i changed my mind after seeing that Nintendo is doing nothing regarding this issue.

Switch is my least played console as well, but I guess the amount of time I spent playing BoTW had something to do with the drift. I can't remember the last time I spent 230 hours in single player.

I Wanna Be The Guy · May 11, 2020

Nintendo's handling of this is embarrassing and downright scummy. They are purposefully selling faulty hardware. They are taking customers money for a product they know is broken.

.exe · May 11, 2020

Massively disappointing response by Nintendo. Any interest I had in getting new color controllers for the novelty of it went out the window as soon as I got these reliability issues. Not buying a Nintendo controller again. Only third party until they resolve this.

Their hardware has been a bummer and a half for a while now. Dust getting behind the screen on their handhelds across several devices, unreliable hinges, poor clam-shell design that causes screen scratching, paint coating that cracks and peels off, irregular screen temperature calibration, unreliable buttons/d-pads, etc. Nintendo has been awful with maintaining a semblance of quality control since like the Wii era.

ANTiFanboyDevon · May 11, 2020

The video mentioned that even the pro controllers are having drift issues? I wonder how wide spread that is. Thankfully I'm drift free so far.

Neuroxia · May 11, 2020

Equanimity said:
Switch is my least played console as well, but I guess the amount of time I spent playing BoTW had something to do with the drift. I can't remember the last time I spent 230 hours in single player.

Damn, i remember having 45 hours in the first 3 days. I had so much fun just by exploring and doing shrines that i completely forgot about any plot or objectives. My current save has 128h, but i played it on a Wii U.

When the game launched i knew i wanted to play it but i had no console that could do it, so i had to decide between a Wii U and Switch. Ended up getting a Wii U because it had backwards compatibility and a bigger library compared to a new system.

Got my Switch later that winter. Other than left joy-con drift, mine also has a small crack on the back of the case, near one of the screws. I read that some users had the same problem first year-ish units. Something Like This, only mine is on the smaller side.
I take really good care of my consoles and as i said before, it was barely used. I was quite disappointed to have these issues.

Fishsnot · May 11, 2020

Fixed all of mine and a pro controller with contact cleaner.
Worked like a charm

Larrikin · May 11, 2020

I fucking love the joycons. Ive never had a more comfortable gaming experience, particularly just being able to lie down in any position i want and still play regardless of arm position, or play eith my hands in my jacket pockets on a cold day. The directional buttons are far superior to the Pro's D-pad and I would love to use a sinilar split controller on other consoles.

Unfortunately, both my sets of L Joycons are drifting to hell and back and it makes playing even chill games like Animal Crossing an absolute fucking nightmare, let alone anything more active like Hollow Knight or Mario Kart.

I hate it. And I can't send them in due to the pandemic, and I'm worried that using contact cleaner or any other DIY solution might somehow break the warranty if I ever do send them in. (In Australia)

Nintendo are a fucking joke the way they've handled this. They won't do anything until they get sued.

logan_cadfgs · May 11, 2020

ANTiFanboyDevon said:
The video mentioned that even the pro controllers are having drift issues? I wonder how wide spread that is. Thankfully I'm drift free so far.

Pro controller drift theoretically shouldn't be as big of an issue, considering the sticks use the same mechanism as the past three generations, more or less. Joycon sticks are unique in their potentiometer implementation, which is stupidly sensitive to dust or residue (including wear-and-tear from regular use, oof!)

Oliver James · May 11, 2020

Worst flaw of the Switch for me, personally. I hope they make new ones that fix this.

logan_cadfgs · May 11, 2020

Larrikin said:
I fucking love the joycons. Ive never had a more comfortable gaming experience, particularly just being able to lie down in any position i want and still play regardless of arm position, or play eith my hands in my jacket pockets on a cold day. The directional buttons are far superior to the Pro's D-pad and I would love to use a sinilar split controller on other consoles.

Unfortunately, both my sets of L Joycons are drifting to hell and back and it makes playing even chill games like Animal Crossing an absolute fucking nightmare, let alone anything more active like Hollow Knight or Mario Kart.

I hate it. And I can't send them in due to the pandemic, and I'm worried that using contact cleaner or any other DIY solution might somehow break the warranty if I ever do send them in. (In Australia)

Nintendo are a fucking joke the way they've handled this. They won't do anything until they get sued.

I know it's not ideal, but cleaning up the contact pads worked like a charm for me. If you're comfortable with opening up small electronics and are feeling adventurous, Wal-Mart sells Y-tip screwdrivers!

ApeEscaper · May 11, 2020

Im still in disbelief nothing has been done about this still

bixente · May 11, 2020

Nintendo should partner up with WD40 and bundle it with Switches :p

TheGreatMightyPoo · May 11, 2020

Samusaran said:
Im still in disbelief nothing has been done about this still

You're acting like it's an easy fix...

Just the testing process alone would take time.

Larrikin · May 11, 2020

logan_cadfgs said:
I know it's not ideal, but cleaning up the contact pads worked like a charm for me. If you're comfortable with opening up small electronics and are feeling adventurous, Wal-Mart sells Y-tip screwdrivers!

My partner warns that using anything like that could void my warranty, plus no Wal Mart in Australia.

Aether · May 11, 2020

Thorakai said:
As I mentioned on the first page I picked these up precisely because I was fed-up with dealing with drifting joy-cons and was not gonna shell out money for another pair while waiting for the pandemic to blow over. The joysticks themselves are completely different from what are used in the joycons, so presumably they aren't nearly as prone to drifting. But as I learned the more I investigated the issue every controller with analog sticks is at-risk for drifting, so if you see a few complaints about that I wouldn't take it as confirmation that its widespread issue. So far my sticks have been fine and my play sessions are much more comfortable than before, plus I haven't seen any impact on battery life like I've read on other reviews. The only thing to get used to is that the travel time for the HORI joysticks are a bit longer than standard joycons, but its something you get used to pretty fast. Oh, and of course lack of rumble, NFC, and only working in handheld, which wasn't a big deal for me.

Yeah, all sticks can develop drift, but usually after heavy wear, after years of gaming. My N64 stick became a bit lose after 5 years, and my GC sticks started to slightly drift after 4 years of abuse with smashbrothers.Its the amounf of drift and how early it sets in, even with hardly used switches thats the problem.

TheGreatMightyPoo said:
You're acting like it's an easy fix...

Just the testing process alone would take time.

The first cases were in the first year of the switch, we are in the third. They had enough time to test this.
Or better: this problem is so whitespread that it should have been caught in the early testing befor release.

The Boat · May 11, 2020

Larrikin said:
I fucking love the joycons. Ive never had a more comfortable gaming experience, particularly just being able to lie down in any position i want and still play regardless of arm position, or play eith my hands in my jacket pockets on a cold day. The directional buttons are far superior to the Pro's D-pad and I would love to use a sinilar split controller on other consoles.

Unfortunately, both my sets of L Joycons are drifting to hell and back and it makes playing even chill games like Animal Crossing an absolute fucking nightmare, let alone anything more active like Hollow Knight or Mario Kart.

I hate it. And I can't send them in due to the pandemic, and I'm worried that using contact cleaner or any other DIY solution might somehow break the warranty if I ever do send them in. (In Australia)

Nintendo are a fucking joke the way they've handled this. They won't do anything until they get sued.

I'm kind of on the same boat. I love the joycons (although I'd love a slightly bigger version with a grip like form), but the terrible bluetooth kills it for me. Curiously, I've gone through tons of them and never had drift, only terrible connection issues. Now the lights and R on the right Joy-Con died and I have problems connecting them in handheld mode sometimes.

ss_lemonade · May 11, 2020

georaldc said:
My analog stick part just arrived. Will attempt repairs later. Hopefully it is easy to replace

Done replacing stick on left joycon. Process didn't seem too bad, just had to deal with some really small cable ribbons. New stick looks and feels great

Deleted member 12833 · May 11, 2020

The drift issue has cemented it as one of the worst controllers in console history.

karmitt · May 11, 2020

Happened to both my wife's and my Switches this year. I happened to want a new set of joycons, and she happened to want to replace hers with the Animal Crossing model. The timing of both of our left joycons having issues within a month of each other was a bit crazy, but I can see the issue is very real.

Even if Nintendo doesn't want to own up to this being an issue I really wish they'd at least secretly fix it with new batches. This and the Pro Controller D-Pad. To have such a successful system and do nothing about either of these issues is really shitting on the fanbase.

LiftGammaGain · May 11, 2020

Tofer said:
The drift issue has cemented it as one of the worst controllers in console history.

Agree.
And the reason I will never get a Lite.

Equanimity · May 11, 2020

Neuroxia said:
Damn, i remember having 45 hours in the first 3 days. I had so much fun just by exploring and doing shrines that i completely forgot about any plot or objectives. My current save has 128h, but i played it on a Wii U.

When the game launched i knew i wanted to play it but i had no console that could do it, so i had to decide between a Wii U and Switch. Ended up getting a Wii U because it had backwards compatibility and a bigger library compared to a new system.

Got my Switch later that winter. Other than left joy-con drift, mine also has a small crack on the back of the case, near one of the screws. I read that some users had the same problem first year-ish units. Something Like This, only mine is on the smaller side.
I take really good care of my consoles and as i said before, it was barely used. I was quite disappointed to have these issues.

45 hours in the first 3 days?! That is something. How was your experience with it on the Wii U? I read that it struggled quite a bit on the performance side.

Like you, I take really good care of my devices too, so when my joycons started to drift I couldn't think of anything else except a manufacturing defect.

I hesitantly bought a new pair for £70 because Nintendo doesn't offer free repairs in UK. I find it rather strange that people haven't made a bigger fuss about it.

Firebrand · May 11, 2020

finally said:
The left joy con accuracy is way too much I keep aiming up or down randomly I have to be very precise while aiming, is this normal?

Which game, are you sure it's not the gyro interfering?

oatmeal · May 11, 2020

It's absolutely mind boggling. I have two Switch's and both are completely unusable in handheld. I bought some PowerA controllers because I couldn't afford anything else - their shit is so overpriced.

finally · May 11, 2020

Firebrand said:
Which game, are you sure it's not the gyro interfering?

Cuphead, it's frustrating.

digit_zero · May 11, 2020

For now, since we are lucky NoA is willing to fix them for free, it is manageable for now.

What is concerning about it is its been three years and they have shown no willingness to correct the issue, which as someone who holds on and plays his old consoles for decades... Feels like we are heading towards a N64 Joystick type issue where years down the line they are all garbage, but this is even worse, since it can impact gameplay so much.

Aether · May 11, 2020

digit_zero said:
For now, since we are lucky NoA is willing to fix them for free, it is manageable for now.

What is concerning about it is its been three years and they have shown no willingness to correct the issue, which as someone who holds on and plays his old consoles for decades... Feels like we are heading towards a N64 Joystick type issue where years down the line they are all garbage, but this is even worse, since it can impact gameplay so much.

As an european... its not managable. the postage alone would cost me 10€, thats 14% of a new pair... (amazon shipping is free for >30€)
The repair would probably cost me half the amounf of a new pair... or even more.

Myself · May 11, 2020

PeterVenkman said:
And frankly connection issues. I bought a switch during quarantine and can't believe how frequently the joycons lose connection in docked mode. On top of missed inputs. These things are a total nightmare.

Yeah they are appalling - in lockdown I've been playing a lot of MK8 with the kids, and they steal the pro controllers and I use the joycons. There seems to be not only drift, but input lag and then it'll just drop connection for a bit and I can't steer. You have to be really close to the Switch for this not to happen. I was only sitting about 3m from the machine.

Brazil · May 11, 2020

TheGreatMightyPoo said:
You're acting like it's an easy fix...

Just the testing process alone would take time.

Three years, mate. And it's not like this is Nintendo's first analog stick.

Gio · May 11, 2020

Razorrin said:
I've heard the Chunky and amazing Horii Daemon X Machina controller doesn't have drift issues.

Can anybody elaborate? I love the look of it, and I'm interested in using it on it's physical aesthetic alone!

I have the original Hori left joycon and it drifts. I wouldn't count on the DxM joycons being drift-proof.

Bigwombat · May 11, 2020

CISphil said:
EDIT: Nintendo of America only.

Stop quoting me now please. I get it should have said NoA, the point was made the first time. I was only trying to get across that this wasn't company wide thing, that they didn't really admit fault, and that people like me in Europe would (most likely) be told to piss off.

I think they do in Mexico

DannyClash · May 11, 2020

This entire issue makes me mad, played Nintendo since NES (including Wii U) but abysmal build quality has made me stay away from the Switch, and it's put me off Nintendo.

The inflated price and dodgy online as well...my god it just stinks

Hope it was worth it Nintendo

Joy-Con Drift is Still a Huge Problem 3 Years Later | IGN opinion piece

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