• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

My Switch Lite joystick is already busted

Deleted member 8901

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,522
So I got my Lite at launch and I have about 100-150 hours logged on it since I bought it. Noticed while I'm playing Animal Crossing that my character randomly switches from running to walking pretty frequently so decided to test the calibration...

imgur.com

Switch Lite Joystick

661 views on Imgur: The magic of the Internet
imgur.com imgur.com

I guess it doesn't totally prevent me from playing games but it's pretty disappointing considering it hasn't even come close to a year old yet.
 
GrimGrinningGuy

GrimGrinningGuy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,478
That's exactly the same for my daughter. We bought it a few days after AC and she's been playing nonstop. About 10 days in she complained how she just stops running and walks. I did the controller test like you and it's 100 percent like that. She's 120 hours into AC And there is no way to transfer the data so she's just living with it for now
 
Nugnip

Nugnip

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,744
Return it! 150 hours is nothing for a game system, and it will definitely get worse very quickly.
 
Lukar

Lukar

Unshakable Resolve - Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 27, 2017
23,395
GrimGrinningGuy said:
That's exactly the same for my daughter. We bought it a few days after AC and she's been playing nonstop. About 10 days in she complained how she just stops running and walks. I did the controller test like you and it's 100 percent like that. She's 120 hours into AC And there is no way to transfer the data so she's just living with it for now
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This is my situation. I want to swap it for a normal Switch because of the issues (I can replace Joy-Cons, but I cannot easily fix this), but I don't want to lose my AC save. Fucking Nintendo...
 
diablogg

diablogg

Member
Oct 31, 2017
3,269
That's truly insane. I wish Kotaku did like a big article about how badly Nintendo's controllers are messed up this gen. Every single one is messed (Pro, Joycons and whatevers attached to the lite)
 
Azurik

Azurik

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Nov 5, 2017
2,441
Exact same problem here. Less than a month old. I can't return mine because the shop I bought it from does not accept any returns at the moment and I have to wait until their shops reopen. At least they extended the return window
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 8901

Account closed at user request
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,522
Jorden1506 said:
Well return it under warranty
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah, I'm going to look into it but given the situation we're in I feel like I'd be lucky to get it back in a month.

GrimGrinningGuy said:
That's exactly the same for my daughter. We bought it a few days after AC and she's been playing nonstop. About 10 days in she complained how she just stops running and walks. I did the controller test like you and it's 100 percent like that. She's 120 hours into AC And there is no way to transfer the data so she's just living with it for now
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I was thinking of moving to a regular switch where I could at least replace the joycons but it's pretty annoying that my islands going to just be gone.
 
Shoichi

Shoichi

Member
Jan 10, 2018
10,454
I wouldnt trust sending in to warranty unless you are okay with data loss.
Heard stories of people being told that it wouldn't happen and still got a reset. Especially with AC having no way to even emergency transfer it yet which Nintendo said they would add at a later date

I'm lucky enough to never run into a joycon issue in any of my Switches. Maybe I'm just not hard enough on my joystick or something.

As others said, try the contact cleaner spray
 
ozfunghi

ozfunghi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,175
I used electric contact cleaner (spray) on my regular switch today... works good again!

EDIT: i peeled the rubber flap underneath the joysticks up, and used the straw provided with the can, to spray ever so slightly into the joystick. After doing some random movements for about a minute, let it dry for ten minutes, it worked again. A big improvement.
 
Majora's Mask

Majora's Mask

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,562
Just yesterday I was entertaining the idea of buying a Lite since they've been sold pretty cheap here in Mexico but was wondering the state of the joy-con issue with these. Guess not.
 
ozfunghi

ozfunghi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,175
Azurik said:
That's what I meant. From the outside, but into the stick. Will try that later too. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I have replacement sticks coming in the mail, but corona is having me wait longer than usual for the package to arrive, so i tried this first.

daxy said:
This is peak Nintendo. Faulty hardware that they didn't care to fix. Obtrusively designed save system. No backups.

đź’©
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The save system works pretty good, i use my cloud saves/backups daily to proceed on one Switch where i left off with a game on my other switch. It's just stupid that they didn't allow it (yet) for Animal Crossing.
 

Abhor

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,236
NYC
I started having this issue as well on my Switch Lite after a few months of use. Just picked up Tales of Vesperia and at times my character will walk instead of run. Annoying, but I can deal with it for now.
 

Deleted member 16876

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
39,148
Things like this just makes me wonder how the hell Nintendo gets away with it. At the very least they should make AC's saves transferable.
I just don't get it. What do they lose if they let people use their saves on other devices?
 
JangleLuke

JangleLuke

Member
Oct 4, 2018
1,604
I have the same exact problem and it SUCKS, but if I spray the joystick's insides with compressed air the issue goes away for a couple of days.

I think I will also invest in an electric contact cleaner in the future, like everybody seems to recommend.

Also I'm super nervous about potentially going through the whole warranty process, because I'm socially awkward and I've never done this before.
Also my country does not get Nintendo's free repairs and is in lockdown due to obvious reasons.
 
PhantomArtifice

PhantomArtifice

Lead Administrator at Final Weapon
Verified
Apr 24, 2019
393
USA
That's unfortunate, sorry about that.

I would try to get it replaced if it's still under warranty.
 
LegendofLex

LegendofLex

Member
Nov 20, 2017
5,465
Richter1887 said:
Things like this just makes me wonder how the hell Nintendo gets away with it. At the very least they should make AC's saves transferable.
I just don't get it. What do they lose if they let people use their saves on other devices?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
They should (and it sounds like they will) do it, but I suspect there's some technical thing that needs to be created to facilitate the move of a save that isn't owned by a single account. All of their standard transfer and backup tools are account based and assume that each save file belongs to only one user.
 
Waluigilicious

Waluigilicious

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,497
I just don't get it. I don't get how gaming websites and channels aren't making an even bigger fuss about this. Yes people have brought it up, but it should be a constant battle. Every single joy con and Switch Lite out there becomes unplayable after x amount of time, and the dpad on the pro controller doesn't work properly.

Why are people not questioning Nintendo at every opportunity? At every interview?
 
TheMadTitan

TheMadTitan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,225
ozfunghi said:
I have replacement sticks coming in the mail, but corona is having me wait longer than usual for the package to arrive, so i tried this first.


The save system works pretty good, i use my cloud saves/backups daily to proceed on one Switch where i left off with a game on my other switch. It's just stupid that they didn't allow it (yet) for Animal Crossing.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Wait, cloud saves are on a per game basis and not something that's baked into the OS universally?

Why does Nintendo continue to be backward on online connectivity?
 
cowbanana

cowbanana

Member
Feb 2, 2018
13,691
a Socialist Utopia
I can't believe that the mad bastards at Nintendo continue using and selling this busted, shit stick design instead of making and implementing a new design long ago. They even put it in the Switch Lite... for fucks sake... well knowing it is utter shite. This is beyond incompetence, it's well knowingly selling broken shit. Some would call that malicious intent.

I've had three drifting sticks in my joy-cons now, two was on the same joy-con. It started drifting after 6 months of light use, Nintendo swapped it and then it shit the bed again after roughly 6 more months. Now I have another joy-con with drift beside the first one. Fuck Nintendo and their garbage hardware.
 
LegendofLex

LegendofLex

Member
Nov 20, 2017
5,465
TheMadTitan said:
Wait, cloud saves are on a per game basis and not something that's baked into the OS universally?

Why does Nintendo continue to be backward on online connectivity?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Cloud saves ARE baked into the OS, but developers can choose to disable them.

In Animal Crossing's case the game uses a multi-account save system that the single-user account-based cloud backups aren't designed to handle. (It's kind of like Minecraft servers, except the saves are local to a specific machine since they need to be accessible without an internet connection.) Hence why they have to develop a non-standard solution.

Edit: I feel like I should add that I'm currently also being affected by a Switch hardware failure (bad fan) with no easy access to repairs or replacement parts, and I'm PISSED they didn't have that Animal Crossing backup/transfer solution at launch given that the game was delayed already.
 
Last edited:
Nessus

Nessus

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,916
Is this just Joy-Con drift? If so contact cleaner should fix the problem (I've had a 100% success rate with it over 4 different Joy-Cons that were all drifting).
 
ZugZug123

ZugZug123

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,412
As nice as the Lite is, as soon as I learned they did not change the mechanism of the joystick it went on my do not buy list. At least with the regular Switch I can replace them even it's a $80 "repair".
 
Mars People

Mars People

Comics Council 2020
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,191
This is the biggest reason to not get a Switch Lite.
With the regular you can at least replace the dodgy ass thing.
 
Phil32

Phil32

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,568
I'm so sorry, OP, especially because of your Animal Crossing save file being tied to the Lite. Hopefully Nintendo will be able to transfer your file in this occasion to a new Switch Lite once its repair operations reopen.

Regardless, that's inexcusable that your analog stick is already drifting, and more so that Nintendo still hasn't managed to offer a suitable solution for Joy-Con drift.
 

T0MBraider

Banned
Mar 4, 2020
55
Richter1887 said:
Things like this just makes me wonder how the hell Nintendo gets away with it. At the very least they should make AC's saves transferable.
I just don't get it. What do they lose if they let people use their saves on other devices?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I sometimes wonder who the fuck at Nintendo makes these obtuse decisions, they're a very strange billion dollar company
 
chrisPjelly

chrisPjelly

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
10,494
There must be a stupidly unfixable engineering flaw that must make it difficult for Nintendo to swap/adjust parts. Shame they went from the best quality control and foresight of the big three, to arguably the worst. I want that Pro model and Pro Joycons asap :/
 

Deleted member 16876

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
39,148
LegendofLex said:
They should (and it sounds like they will) do it, but I suspect there's some technical thing that needs to be created to facilitate the move of a save that isn't owned by a single account. All of their standard transfer and backup tools are account based and assume that each save file belongs to only one user.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I hope they do fix it.

I just find it strange Nintendo do weird design decisions each gen. Like back in the 3DS days where you couldn't just delete a game right from the main menu. You had to go into the options and then find it and delete it. Meanwhile other platforms way older than the 3ds allowed you to delete anything easily.

It is like they step one step forward and a bunch backwards. What happened to them exactly? They used to be better.
 
HardRojo

HardRojo

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,120
Peru
I suppose electric contact cleaner will work as it does on regular Joycons, so you could try that before going for more severe options. Also, yeah it sucks that your AC data can't be backed up so you could risk losing it if you send it in for repairs. This whole things is part of the reason I wouldn't recommend making the Lite your main Switch even if portable mode if your main way of playing.
 
Pancakes R Us

Pancakes R Us

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,344
Shoichi said:
I wouldnt trust sending in to warranty unless you are okay with data loss.
Heard stories of people being told that it wouldn't happen and still got a reset. Especially with AC having no way to even emergency transfer it yet which Nintendo said they would add at a later date

I'm lucky enough to never run into a joycon issue in any of my Switches. Maybe I'm just not hard enough on my joystick or something.

As others said, try the contact cleaner spray
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
FYI Nintendo said that they're currently *considering* adding the option to transfer later this year or at a later date. So it's not even confirmed they'll add it!
 
InspectorJones

InspectorJones

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,621
I just don't understand how Nintendo can't have fixed this issue yet; and their seeming inability or lack of caring to even fix it makes me wish that they face consumer backlash and have non-stop press coverage on how their hardware is fundamentally broken. Like how hard or expensive could it be to redesign?

Fuck man, I don't know what else to say. I can honestly say that it'll make me hesitant to buy any other Nintendo hardware going forward.
 
Buff Beefbroth

Buff Beefbroth

Chicken Chaser
Member
Apr 12, 2018
3,012
GrimGrinningGuy said:
You can't transfer your animal crossing data so if you do that you're entire game is gone.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Lukar said:
This is my situation. I want to swap it for a normal Switch because of the issues (I can replace Joy-Cons, but I cannot easily fix this), but I don't want to lose my AC save. Fucking Nintendo...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Kingpin Rogers said:
If he does that he'd lose his animal crossing save probably. Which is incredibly stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
ozfunghi said:
The save system works pretty good, i use my cloud saves/backups daily to proceed on one Switch where i left off with a game on my other switch. It's just stupid that they didn't allow it (yet) for Animal Crossing.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The joycon situation is bad enough, but the above is just insane to me. I don't want to hijack OP's thread, but this shit is just beyond the pale in 2020.
 

Deleted member 8593

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
27,176
If you're "lucky" like me, a contact cleaner is basically part of your Switch inventory. Had to use it on three pairs of joycons and a pro controller. Beats the headache of going through repairs/replacements even though you seemingly cannot prevent permanent damage over a long time. Basically lost me as an early adaptor forever.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.