Joy-Con drift is one of the most annoying problems when you want to play on the Nintendo Switch. Now Nintendo has offered free repairs. This is due to a years-long complaint.
Most users of a Switch are likely familiar with the problem: you play with your controller and feel like you’re always somehow moving to the left, even though you actually just want to walk straight ahead. This is the dreaded Joy-Con drift, which renders the controller unusable in the long run.
Nintendo has now agreed to offer consumers in the European Union lifetime free repairs for Nintendo Switch controllers that experience the dreaded “Joy-Con drift”.
European organization collected thousands of complaints against Nintendo
What’s behind this change? The European Consumer Organization (BEUC) had been collecting complaints against Nintendo and the broken controllers for years. According to its own statement, “almost 25,000 complaints” have been received. All come from individuals complaining about broken controllers.
In its formal complaint, the BEUC describes the Joy-Con hardware as “prematurely obsolete”. It is “high time that companies stop bringing products to market that break too soon.”
Nintendo now stated that it would repair models for free if such problems arise (via arstechnica.com):
Nintendo is very proud of developing high-quality and durable products and is continuously working on their improvement. Therefore, Nintendo offers consumers who purchased the product in the [European Economic Area], in Great Britain, and in Switzerland that, until further notice, repairs for reaction syndrome associated with the joysticks will be carried out free of charge by official Nintendo repair centers.
How do I report a repair? If you have a broken controller or damaged hardware, you can directly contact Nintendo’s customer support:
- Here you then select your product from the corresponding category. If it’s stick drift, then select the tab “Joy-Con Controller”.
- In the next step, select “Other Issues” and choose “No, I would like to apply for a repair” here.
- If you are sure that it must be stick drift, you can also go directly through the Nintendo Consumer Repair Portal.
Another option is to take the problem of drifting sticks into your own hands and fix the fun. For a simple trick, you only need a screwdriver, a bit of finesse, and a piece of paper:
You move on the Nintendo Switch without pressing anything? Here’s a solution
