Quick Questions: ACNH Character Moves Left By Itself - Character Drift

[Sloom]

...oh crap.

I have this exact same problem. and my joysticks also show as completely stationary when I calibrate them
there is literally no way I can afford new joycons, they're dummy expensive and I don't even think nintendo does repairs in europe.
I'm screwed aren't I? I bet I'm screwed

edit: just wanted to add my condolences to op, hopefully we can get through this together man. I'm going to see if there's anywhere I can buy the alcohol online

edit 2: a solution that could work is changing your button mapping so that you move with the right joystick, it would be crap for some games like smash but for animal crossing I can see it working. works as a temporary fix at least ;;

 

[Solio]

My jon-cons have had drift for months. It's not consistent, though. Sometimes, I can barely walk in a straight line, but on other days, I can play just fine.

People have speculated the the drift is caused by dirt and debris accumulating under the joysticks, so cleaning with alcohol and compressed air might help. I tried this myself and it usually helps for a few weeks until it becomes an issue again.

 

[Neechan]

This drift I believe is caused by (and this is a theory) the control stick and the material it’s made of to ‘rub‘ on the circuit board and wears it out, hence why only some methods work only for a little while before it reverts back to auditioning as a Tokyo drift racer.

I had to replace the left joycon stick and haven’t had an issue since then (took two hours to repair)

 

[Cadbberry]

This is joycon drift, I also had this occur. Due to the current world circumstances, I believe Nintendo is not accepting any fixes, BUT when they reopen they do free joycon drift repair! I sent mine in right before ACNH released and got it back within 4 days, free of charge! I was having major drift on my left joycon and despite being out of warranty they fixed it. Note that if you attempt and repairs that are obvious, that breaks all warranty clauses and they may deny you. If the issue is unfixable they will replace it for free too which I think is pretty neat!

 

[Leann]

This drift I believe is caused by (and this is a theory) the control stick and the material it’s made of to ‘rub‘ on the circuit board and wears it out, hence why only some methods work only for a little while before it reverts back to auditioning as a Tokyo drift racer.

I had to replace the left joycon stick and haven’t had an issue since then (took two hours to repair)

Haha Tokyo Drift

Post automatically merged: May 7, 2020

This is joycon drift, I also had this occur. Due to the current world circumstances, I believe Nintendo is not accepting any fixes, BUT when they reopen they do free joycon drift repair! I sent mine in right before ACNH released and got it back within 4 days, free of charge! I was having major drift on my left joycon and despite being out of warranty they fixed it. Note that if you attempt and repairs that are obvious, that breaks all warranty clauses and they may deny you. If the issue is unfixable they will replace it for free too which I think is pretty neat!

Thank you so much for pointing that out.

I had not thought about that. But it seems so obvious now that if I tried to fix it, that it would void all warranty clauses.

In fact, if I took it apart, they might even deny repairing the drift for me, stating that my broken controller was due to me opening the joycon or something...

Best advice for people who are not tech-savvy like me is to probably wait and mail it in for repairs...

 

[Raz]

I can tell you guys something. I'm probably the only one here playing the game with a PS4 controller (using the 8-bitdo USB wireless adapter). My controller is in perfect condition. But when I play AC, I sometimes see my character trying to take a step towards either the right or the left. A few times, when I'm going to dig with a shovel, my character digs in the opposite direction (it doesn't happen that often).

A controller used on the switch like this is recognized by the console as if it was a Pro Controller.

This issue is exclusive to AC: didn't happen in Runner 3, Celeste, Mario Kart 8D, or any of the games I played on the PS4 (rip).

 

[Cheallaigh]

I can tell you guys something. I'm probably the only one here playing the game with a PS4 controller (using the 8-bitdo USB wireless adapter). My controller is in perfect condition. But when I play AC, I sometimes see my character trying to take a step towards either the right or the left. A few times, when I'm going to dig with a shovel, my character digs in the opposite direction (it doesn't happen that often).

A controller used on the switch like this is recognized by the console as if it was a Pro Controller.

This issue is exclusive to AC: didn't happen in Runner 3, Celeste, Mario Kart 8D, or any of the games I played on the PS4 (rip).

there was am issue with other controllers, that's what one of the most recent patches was about, but it's NOT the same issue as with the joycons... with them it's bad design. there is graphite where the motion detectors are (it's the same thing as in a lot of older lead pencils or artists' graphite pencils), it's a great low friction and can be used in locks and such... downside is it can wear quickly once the initial barrier is broken and produces dust basically, it can also be soft and get grooves. the reason it's most likely showing up in AC is simple... quarantine. a lot of people are spending massive amounts of time on the game, so it's showing up there.

 

[RhinoK]

I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

My character slowly walks left when I am not even touching my controllers...
Sometimes this interferes with gameplay, and makes terraforming a complete nightmare...
Running away from tarantulas is also hopeless, as sometimes my character, despite my best efforts, walks left towards the tarantulas...
Putting up fences, and furniture is frustrating...

Animal Crossing is the only game this happens on. I also have Pokemon Shield, and Let's Go Eevee and this doesn't happen when playing those games.
My boyfriend also tried recalibrating the controllers, and updating the controllers from the systems menu, but it did not fix the problem...

So is it me? The game? The controller? Anyone else experiencing this?

YES!! I'm literally on this forum watching my character walk left on my Switch next to me LMAO

The same thing happened on Animal Crossing GameCube, weirdly enough...

 

[Gurgi]

I'm also having this issue. It's minor right now...my character will walk very slowly to the left, and I can easily correct it, but it happens often enough. Also,the stick on my right Joy-Con has an issue when I try to look up (like for wishing on stars), it won't register the motion sometimes, and other times it does.

My problem now is that I'm playing on the ACNH edition Switch, and when I looked at Nintendo's repair page, it says that if they can't fix it, they will just send you grey or red/blue ones instead...NO WAY! I don't want to lose the ACNH Joy-Cons! But...I don't know if this drift will get worse to the point of being unplayable...

 

[Ichiban]

i'm worried about what i'll have to do when mine starts drifting, i have a lite so i guess i'll have to ship my console off :/

 

[Pretty.boy]

It's so frustrating...

I'm not sure what to do, and new controllers are pretty expensive...

Mines been doing this for a while too. I think after you log over 100 hours of gameplay that’s when it starts happening. it happens to all my friends as well. Don’t waste your money buying new controllers, I’ve already done that and the same problem still occurs with the avatar moving on its own. I don’t think there’s any real way to fix it honestly.

 

[DragonLatios]

Sometime my Input on the stick will not be 100% reading right. when you try to run right or left it act like you pushing it to the right or left halfaway. I Had to blow it out with a air can and move the stick clockwise or counter clockwise while blowing air into it. It take a few try and it get it to work right. It only happen like 3 times from when i got the system. but i have not need to blow it out for a solid 3-8(( I forgot)) mouths after the 3rd time blowing it out. Normaly it take 3 weeks or less for the stick to act up from the each blow out cleaning. Only time will tell if i need to blow it out.

Post automatically merged: Jun 2, 2021

I Do not know when the last time i blow my switch lite sticks as i not as heavy on my switch like i use to when i got the game. but i do play it when event happen and so on from last year update to the today.

 

[Xara]

i’ve also been dealing with this issue since i first bought my switch + new horizons and it’s uh,, frustrating as hell lol. it started off with my island rep occasionally slowly drifting to the right all on her own and my joycon would sometimes stick when trying to have my island rep walk on the right side but it was manageable. it’s still somewhat manageable these days but it’s certainly gotten a lot worse. now, my island rep will slowly drift off to all sides instead of just the right and hovering on an item/diy/etc that’s on the ground so that it’s name pops up is like pulling teeth lol. my switch is still usable and i’m still able to play but it’s definitely a pain in the ass.

 

[Starboard]

I have a Lite and I'm always scared my character will randomly start walking without me! I live in Australia and don't even know if they repair the joystick for free here. I'm hoping if I do get drift they'll release a new Lite version by then so I can just buy that :/

 

[CylieDanny]

Mine are off and on, sometimes he drifts, sometimes he doesn't. If I just flick the right joy stick up, that sometimes stops it for a bit. Not all the time,

Usually works when I'm trying to spell something out, but it's also the cause of how I mistakenly time skipped to 2028, because the joysticks were going crazy while I was setting the time

I've just kinda grown used to it, it's really annoying. I always put my character in the happiness reaction if I need to go off, or in the studio, just so he doesnt move, run into villagers. They don't move from the reaction regardless of the drift,

 

[JKDOS]

sorry, it's the drift... you can try cleaning the left toggle with alcohol and a q-tip, it can help...

I had really bad drift and this worked for me. I think I may have also followed up with a hair dryer on cool setting.

EDIT: It's probably important to add the alcohol I used was in the 90% range. 93% I think. I say this because a lot of stores sell stuff in the 70% range.

 

[xxcodexx]

ive had that same thing happen to me as well. i had to invest in another controller. the refurbished ones arent so bad in price, the new ones are ridiculously expensive.