I wore out my joystick during a long trading session ☹️

[Starboard]

I just need to vent a bit. I have a Switch Lite and the protective rubber part under the left joystick somehow tore off or got stretched while I was doing a looong trading (then organising and clearing out) session with my friend and I'm so sad. I didn't even realise what had happened but it was kind of stiff for a few days afterwards and I finally realised it's because the rubber thing keeps being caught. I can move it around and fix it but it can dislodge again any time.

I'm lucky it's not as bad as drift but I'm actually so annoyed with Nintendo this generation. I'm so careful with my Switch but they make it so flimsy then make a game that requires you to use it for hours at a time if you just want to collect more furniture. It's not really that feature's fault but I've been complaining since the beginning that I wish we didn't have to do all this trading and now I'm even more upset about it because I broke my console during it

I got the Lite second hand (in perfect condition) and the place I got it from has a 1 year warranty, but I don't even know if the issue is worth going through all the time and hassle to buy a new one, subscribe to NSO and move my game to it, especially since it can just happen again. I just can't believe how much I spent on everything and I've only had it for 5 months! Meanwhile my DS Lite which is like 15 years old still works perfectly. Sigh.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

 

[DarkSlayer1331]

Yeah, the joy cons seem to be a serious issue on these things. My best friend's son somehow managed to wear the rubber coverings on both sticks on his. They just removed the rubber all together and bought new covers for them. You could always try doing that!

 

[cainhurst]

That's a bummer The joycons have some serious longevity issues. Considering how pricey they are, you'd figure Nintendo would have ensured that they're better quality. (Or perhaps it's a planned obsolescence thing so they can make more money; I wouldn't put it past Nintendo, though their stuff has generally had pretty decent durability in the past.)

If I were in your shoes, I'd honestly just buy a pro controller and play that way. The pro controllers can really take a beating without any issue in my experience, but you'd then have to find something to prop up your switch on, too. Unfortunately there's really no easy or convenient fix but it would avoid the hassle of having to send it in for a repair or replacement at least.

 

[Starboard]

Thanks for the suggestions, the thing is that what's broken is the part underneath the actual thumb grip, which covers up the hole that the joystick goes in, so I'd have to take it all apart to replace that. But I think it's ok, I can get used to it as it is. The pro controller is a good idea but for now it's pretty expensive fix I think maybe all it might need is a tiny bit of glue to stick the rubber back to the stick. I'd have to be super careful about it though.

 

[Anj2k6]

That's a bummer The joycons have some serious longevity issues. Considering how pricey they are, you'd figure Nintendo would have ensured that they're better quality. (Or perhaps it's a planned obsolescence thing so they can make more money; I wouldn't put it past Nintendo, though their stuff has generally had pretty decent durability in the past.)

If I were in your shoes, I'd honestly just buy a pro controller and play that way. The pro controllers can really take a beating without any issue in my experience, but you'd then have to find something to prop up your switch on, too. Unfortunately there's really no easy or convenient fix but it would avoid the hassle of having to send it in for a repair or replacement at least.

Planned obsolescence for joycons is such bs when the LIMITED EDITION non- replaceable joycons are built the exact same way as the regular ones. I'm in love with my New horizons joucons, and the pikachu/eevee set looks really nice. If people are spending extra money on a product that won't be remade, then I think they should at least make them more durable.

 

[samsquared]

I don’t know anything really about the Switch Lite, but if you got it used it’s possible it was using the “old style” of manufacturing joycons- which were very flimsy & have HORRIBLE problems with joycon drift. i bought some joycons used and was so shocked at the poor quality. Nothing i did improved the buttons and joystick- not even taking it apart and replacing the joysticks

but nintendo did go back & remake the joycons. if you buy a switch now, brand new, you’d receive these “new joycons” with your switch and they are way better. So much better. I haven’t had any of the same problems with buttons getting stuck & joycon drift with the joycons that came with my switch. i clean my controllers regularly as well so i am sure it’s a hardware difference

one way to tell if it’s the “old joycon” vs the “new joycon” is to look at the joystick itself. The new joycon will have a small stick propping up the thumbpad away from the rest of the joystick apparatus (sorry im not an engineer i have NO CLUE what this is called LOL). The thumbpad and joystick are just one piece on the old joycon.

I know you said your problem wasn’t joycon drift, but it still might be worth checking to see if it’s the original joycon model or the updated one.
I hope you can get your Switch Lite fixed soon!!

 

[Purities]

That so annoying oh my god I feel for you
Even my 3DS that my cat sat on and snapped still works perfectly fine :/

 

[Underneath The Stars]

yeah, this is why i don't play much using the switch lite
i was about to buy a pro controller for when i'm home & plan to play for hours, but i've kind of stopped playing in a while

 

[EmmaFrost]

Nintendo really didn't build them for durability. At all. Sooo many people end up needing to replace them.

 

[Ras]

I’m a lifelong Nintendo fan, but I really don’t like the Switch. Underpowered, so slowdown everywhere. I quit Odyssey over it. Still no analog triggers. And this insane inability to make a joystick that just works. I can barely even play ACNH until I get my left joycon fixed or replaced.

 

[Starboard]

If anyone's interested I managed to fix it using a teeny bit of PVA glue, it seems to be good as new but I don't know how long it will last! And to @samsquared using your description I'm pretty sure I have the new style, so even then it's shoddy quality!

 

[saucySheep]

honestly I'm wondering what Nintendo was thinking on the switch joysticks. they're absolute trash. My brother's right joycon started to drift after a couple of months merely because my younger brother spammed smash attacks in smash bro's all the time (lol.... that's kinda funny).
Anyway.
It's so weird because we've had a 3ds, a dsi, and a wii and never experienced drift on them, after all the years we've had them - so clearly, they built those ones differently, but I couldn't tell you why. it's absurd. Nintendo has faced lawsuits and hordes of disappointed and pissed off buyers, and have not changed much about the joycons.

Anywho, I'm quite sorry this happened to you :/ I myself have a lite and worry about joycon drift a lot (though i haven't had it too long), soO YEAH :/ if it helps any, you could contact Nintendo and send it in to get fixed for free OR I think Gamestop does the same thing

 

[Starboard]

honestly I'm wondering what Nintendo was thinking on the switch joysticks. they're absolute trash. My brother's right joycon started to drift after a couple of months merely because my younger brother spammed smash attacks in smash bro's all the time (lol.... that's kinda funny).
Anyway.
It's so weird because we've had a 3ds, a dsi, and a wii and never experienced drift on them, after all the years we've had them - so clearly, they built those ones differently, but I couldn't tell you why. it's absurd. Nintendo has faced lawsuits and hordes of disappointed and pissed off buyers, and have not changed much about the joycons.

Anywho, I'm quite sorry this happened to you :/ I myself have a lite and worry about joycon drift a lot (though i haven't had it too long), soO YEAH :/ if it helps any, you could contact Nintendo and send it in to get fixed for free OR I think Gamestop does the same thing

I live in Australia so I'm not sure if I can send it in for a free repair even if something worse happened. We don't have GameStop either so I'm just praying that my Switch holds up!

And yeah since I got it I've felt like this was cheaper and flimsier than my previous consoles, but I just thought that was what modern tech felt like, lol. The last console I got was the 3DSXL which feels heavier and is obviously sturdier since it didn't break on me. Well the camera has but that was after like 6 years

 

[Livia]

I live in Australia so I'm not sure if I can send it in for a free repair even if something worse happened. We don't have GameStop either so I'm just praying that my Switch holds up!

And yeah since I got it I've felt like this was cheaper and flimsier than my previous consoles, but I just thought that was what modern tech felt like, lol. The last console I got was the 3DSXL which feels heavier and is obviously sturdier since it didn't break on me. Well the camera has but that was after like 6 years

I did some googling, and there is a repair center in Australia. I’m not sure if it’s free though

Nintendo Support

Get support for your Nintendo systems, software and services.

www.nintendo.com.au

 

[matt2019]

Yeah, they certainly are made cheaply unfortunately. Wish Nintendo would fix this stuff

 

[Starboard]

@Livia Thanks for the link Seems like it's free if you bought the console less than a year prior. Don't know how that would work for second hand ones though.