How to Finally Fix Joy-Con drift on Your Own

What is Joy-Con drift?

For those of you who don’t know what “JoyCon Drift” is, consider yourself lucky – this is a common problem that most Nintendo Switch users encounter at some point. After enough use, the tension on the JoyCon thumb rocker mechanism will loosen and the thumb rocker will shake slightly, resulting in accidental input detection; In other words, even if you move on the screen, the cursor, characters or menus will be on the screen moving. Do not touch the controller.

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This is a major issue affecting the gameplay and usability of the Nintendo Switch. Frankly speaking, it has gone beyond the hassle and become the main flaw that hampers the hybrid power of other great portable home consoles.

Both Nintendo and users are trying to find a way to overcome the drift. The solution has never been inconvenient (such as sending your JoyCon to Nintendo for repair, or purchasing a replacement pair) to potentially harmful (such as using rubbing alcohol to clean the joystick sensor, or opening the JoyCon and replacing the joystick by yourself). ). However, although almost all of these solutions have worked (with varying degrees of success), none of them provide a permanent solution. At some point, the tension on the joystick will relax and JoyCon drift will resume.

However, a YouTuber named “VK Channel” claimed to have found a permanent solution, and it was surprisingly simple.

How to fix Fix Joy-Con drift

As the VK channel (for simplicity, we will call it “VK”) is shown in the video below, applying pressure to the outside of the JoyCon can eliminate joystick drift. Therefore, to ensure that there is always enough pressure, VK opened JoyCon and placed a thin paper behind the thumbstick sensor. VK said that this immediately fixed the drift, and the problem has not yet appeared.

Can’t confirm whether swiping a piece of paper on your JoyCon is indeed everyone’s long-term solution, because it was discovered only recently, but based on comments on VK and social media. , Which seems to work so far.

Is it safe to Fix Joy-Con drift on your own?

In theory, as long as the paper size is correct, filling the small gap between the JoyCon housing and the back of the thumbstick sensor is enough to hold the housing in place: the paper (or cardboard, cardboard, etc.) should be only about 0.5 mm high. The larger ones are not suitable. If the paper is placed correctly, it will not affect anything on the controller and there is no need to worry about the risk of heat generation or conduction (remember to turn off your JoyCon first).

What you’ll need to fix Joy-Con drift on your own

I plan to test the solution on a couple of JoyCons that I gave up due to extreme drift issues, but I lack the right tools to get the job done; This brings up some important caveats that Switch owners should heed before trying them out on their own. .

To complete the VK bypass repair, you need to remove the four small three-headed screws on the back of the JoyCon. Most Switch users may not have a triangle screwdriver. If there is, it may not be the right size (a 1.5mm triangle screwdriver can do the job).

But even if you have a suitable screwdriver, opening JoyCon is risky. First, it can invalidate the JoyCon warranty (if you’re using a Switch Lite, or even your console’s warranty), which means that if something goes wrong, you won’t be able to send them to Nintendo tech support. Fortunately, the only part you need to handle is the four screws; apart from placing a small piece of paper or cardboard behind the joystick housing, you don’t need to touch any other components on the controller.

Nevertheless, although VK’s paper hacking does not require technical precision, DIY repair is risky. Extra dust may accidentally enter the internal components, and small parts may crack or fall off and be lost. If you don’t like to take the risk to enjoy JoyCon’s warranty and ease of use, please contact Nintendo and request professional drift service, or just buy an extra pair. However, if you are ready to deal with the problem yourself, try this solution at home.