Fix Your Loose Nintendo Switch JoyCon 

I actually did this mod a week ago. It's been good and secure so far, no damage. If anyone thinks of doing this, make sure you are putting in the correct latch as there are specific ones for each joycon.

This should be nintendo's concern and not the user's

I used this same kit on my daughters switch and it worked great. Here's a tip... the tools the kit come with have a very sharp-pointy tip which is what tends to strip the screws. Rub the tips of the screwdrivers on concrete, brick or something hard only 2 or 3 times to smooth out the tip and it will grip much better.

Yesss thank you John this has been bugging me with my left one for like a year

Literally had this happen in less than a month of getting my console. no troubleshooting or warranty for this issue from Nintendo, and $40 shipped to get it repaired. EXACTLY the fix I was looking for thank you

Honestly, I wouldn't use the metal locks. The reason they're plastic is that incase you drop your switch, the locks will break first rather than joycon/switch rails. I wouldn't mind getting plastic ones again.

I saw this video pop up in my notifications this morning and I ignored it, then a few hours later I pick up my switch and the joycon comes out of place. Spawn Wave you are a wizard

Next do drifting joy con fix

Mine just started doing this yesterday... Thank you Spawnwave! Always ahead of the game 👍

my left neon red joycon has been loose for a while and i was afraid that i'd just have to buy a new joycon but you making this video has allowed me to just replace the clip in just 20 minutes and i can't thank you enough. keep being awesome man.

does soulja boy sell these kits on his website?

Thanks!!!! Took me 20 minutes to do both sides using this video. My joycon are solid now.

4:22 "even saving one screw saves quite a bit of money" Maybe that's why the RTX 2080 Ti is so expensive?

Your channel is amazing. You give us news, rumor updates, tech break downs, tech reviews, and all as a cool likable person. Keep it up @spawnwave!

Thanks for doing this John! Good to know the metal clips likely won’t wear down the Switch’s rails.

Don't expect spawnwave to respond, but I did this fix not too long ago and live by it. The metal clips are spot on to the platic and have and extremely satisfying *click* when you put them in. It's VERY important to TAKE YOUR TIME as to not damage anything but the end result is FANTASTIC.

Thanks so much for this easy tutorial, I have just changed 1 of my joycon locks as it was damaged, took me about 15 minutes and was easy follow your instructions. The joycon works and now locks firmly 👍

This is great, thanks for taking the time to show joycon replacement locks in a proper video. I've had two sets of joycons' locks become unreliable, sometimes they become unlocked during handheld play and interrupt a game with the joycon connection screen. I'll definitely be curious to see plastic vs metal differences and wear, but I might replace one set of joycons for now.

I’ve had my Switch for 10 days and the red joycon already keeps slipping off.

It was a little more tedious than I would’ve liked but your video definitely helped in making this repair a lot easier. Thank you 🙏🏼

My left joycon was loose and the way I fixed it, is by placing 2 thin layers of clear tape on the joy con controller to the left and right of the SL and SR contacts and its solid as a rock. Slides in and out fine and has been working for me since launch. No problems charging or anything at all.

Thanks for this! Some suggestion though. Maybe invest in a set up that can be closer to the object.

My left JoyCon is loose. Thanks for the fix.

I did this about a year ago. Noticed my switch joycons were able to slide out with a bit of force. Opened it up, and saw the plastic locks were shaved a bit. I went on Ebay to buy the plastic locks, and saw they had metal locks. Immediately bought those. Replaced them as soon as they came in and a year later it's fantastic. I even did it on my extra pair of joycons before it got shaved.

i just bought a new nintendo switch oled. out of the box the left joy con was wobbly. this is so frustrating...

Perfect! Just ordered the kit as my right joycon's been doing this for over a year now. Clicked that amazon link in the description as well so I hope you get a little kickback for helping out! Great video, left a like!

Has anyone in here bought a Switch recently? I bought one for my girlfriend and, oh... I’m loving that UPGRADED KICKSTAND! It’s about as strong as it needs to be and the change in texture was a nice touch. Plus, the bottom edge has this rubber end that helps prevent it from closing if the table wobbles.

I literally did this like 3 days ago myself and yes it helps tremendously. I personally did it because I used my switch so much that the plastic was starting to round causing it to slide away from the switch while gaming.

I feel like it might be dangerous if you drop the switch and they land on the Joy-Cons. The plastic clip might be there for a weak spot so the Joy-Cons get damaged and not the Switch itself.

Honestly I thank you so much for opening up stuff like this (really anything but mostly console stuff). As I am too poor to be able to buy new controllers or consoles etc. in case anything goes wrong it helps tremendously to watch your videos and get a feel for how the inside looks and how to dismantle it. Also, thank you so much for the warning about that spring in the locking mechanism!

I have issues with the right joycon drifting right and my left joycon drifts upwards. I need help with that. Keep up the great work Spawn.

The only issue I see with using metal clips, is because you want the rail on the system to be the more durable part, since you can't (easily) change that out. The way it's designed right now, if something does break, it's designed to be the joycon itself which can be replaced or fixed much easier. I rarely take mine off the system though since I have a Pro controller, a spare set, and a charging grip.

To prevent my new Joy-Con from getting loose I just always press the button when sliding them on. That way the plastic will not get damaged

Sometimes I suspect that spawn wave is hiding in my closet and when I have a problem he'll rapidly make a video about it

Funny you made this video now, my left Joycon just broke yesterday out of nowhere, a piece of the small plastic had broken off without me noticing it and now the Joycon slides off without much pressure to it, really annoying. Found a set similar set on Ali-express for around 4 euro, so good to know it works great :) Thanks for a great guide, keep up the good work.

Another option to keep the joy con firmly attached is to use a grip in handheld mode. The joy con I got when the console released are a little loose and can come out without hitting the button. When attached to the Satisfy grip it applies enough pressure to hold them in place and I don't need to worry about them falling out.

Thank you for this video. You made the repair process a breeze for me to do. I had my one joy-con have a drift and lock problem. With your videos, it took me less than 20 minutes to fix!

Me when you’re trying to pick up that one screw inside the joycon: USE THE TWEEZERS!

I bought the smash edition switch, and my controller is already loose, I've ordered one of these sets. This video is great!

I did this months ago, and it has made a tremendous difference!

Thank you so much for this video! About 2 weeks into my ownership of my switch at the time, I had already worn the left joycon's plastic clip pretty bad from using the joycongrip grip that came with the system (i guess i just got one with really rough/sharp edged rails because the Nintendo switch proper's rails are just fine). After that Ive felt like Ive had to baby them anytime i take the joycons out of my switch and i stopped using the grip entirely.

Thanks for this. Been using largely as a handheld and been having this issue a while. This is super helpful and informative!

Thank you! FINALLY someone who made a video about this.

Awesome! Great video!

"It can happen from a drop" Me: wow! Did u see when I dropped my switch by accident and the blue joycon slipped off and became loose? (Also my screen is just fine luckily)

Someone really needs to call Nintendo out on their Joy Cons. These are some of the cheapest "controllers" I've ever had. Fifteen years after I got my Game Cube, my GC controller barely started malfunctioning this year. Meanwhile with the Joy Cons, I've already gone through two pairs! The buttons are so cheaply made and the anolog sticks are the worst part about these controllers. Literally everyone has had drifting problems at one point or another. Nintendo really needs to up their quality with these controllers.

An Alternative to this if you don't wanna open up your joycons is to put a bit of scotch tape on the outside edges of the SR and SL buttons (over the arrow signs and then the blank part on the bottom). 3-4 layers is what I added to mind and it stopped the wiggling my neon ones had.

This is a problem I noticed just a week ago. Perfect timing on the video! Bad news for me is that my joycon have custom skins on them, so I guess I’ve gotta cut those at the seam. Wish me luck. 🤞

I got mine replaced with metal pins I still have problems with my analog drifting it’s so annoying

yeah, i was a bit disappointed and annoyed with my brand spanking new switch OLED wiggling. what worse was the latch. I have since upgraded the latch to the metal match to a secured lock.

Spawn wave - I love your videos 👍

I had a left joy-con that had this issue a few months back. I got a similar kit from ebay with metal clips and swapped it out. It's been fine ever since. The only real difference is in the clicking sound. It has not worn down the other side of the Switch, and I have a few pairs of joy-cons (different colors) and I have no problem using ones with the original clips on the same system.

I just tightened the rails on the controller that comes with the switch to fix this issue... The joy cons are really solid on there now. I imagine the same can be done to the rails on the Switch itself.

Thanks

Never had this problem until I had the Mario Red Joycons after 2 years. The left one started doing that about a year ago but the right one started recently since I’ve been using the right one frequently. Already ordered some.

Whenever I put my joycons on my switch I hold the button until the joycon is all way on instead of letting it click then when it's on I let the button go same thing when taking it off just dont like stuff to wear out but hey that's just me lol

I hold the release buttons down as I slide the joycons ON and let go once the joycon is in place. You dont get that nice click sound, but you keep the plastic from rubbing, which is the cause of the problem. Easy fix.

I replaced mine on Christmas after getting an ifixit precision toolkit, probably one of the best things I got this year.

Thanks! I just got some new ones, but this and the drift Bering fixed will fix them. I have a certain kind of drift, though, where it just moves without being touched.

already did the con locks, was planning to do the whole case swap anyway so it made sense to do the locks as well, especially since the left one had indeed come loose...

I changed mine out with metal latches. They work fantastically and it's easy to do.

for those who think the plastic is a safety feature, it is not an intentional stress point. think about if both your joycons no longer latch in and the direction the switch slides when holding the joycons, the switch would fall out and hit the floor without the joycons protecting the edges and would be a higher chance to break it than the joy con hitting first and the clip not failing. it's better if the joycons clip in sturdy. my clips are worn just from clipping it in and out, never dropped mine, right doesn't hold well anymore. also plastic is cheaper to make therefore cost savings for nintendo, doubt it was to protect anything

I replaced 3 JoyCon locks today. Thanks Spawn Wave.

I've known about these kits for about a year now, everytime I get a pair of joycon the first thing I do is replace those buckles and it gives a more satisfying click imo. I'll admit the only downside is that dropping your switch is more likely to actually damage it as the joycon are no longer act like shock absorbers and unlatch when struck. Of course you have to drop your switch in a very particular way before that becomes a failsafe so I really don't see it as a downside.

Also don’t forget if you still have your free one year warranty, call Nintendo to schedule a joycon repair. My left joycon was loose after dropping it but after sending it in, they fixed it.

I purchased a kit similar to this quite a bit ago after dropping my Joycon grip once it completely defeated the Joycon-R's latch making it a 2-way slope. Unfortunately, the quality of the latches I got were very poor and required far too much adjustment and fiddling for them to function properly. Hoping to find better ones so I'll give these a shot.

I will try this on my right joycon, it sits rather loose and deregisters sometimes. Thank you for this walkthrough!

We've got like 5 sets of joycon in this house with two Switches and this hasn't been an issue at all. Then again, We also have like 5 Pro Controllers so while I use the joycon attached to the Switch all the time in handheld mode I only ever take them off when my other joycon need to be charged.

⁠I’ve just replaced mine in both pairs of joycons I own. They now lock perfectly and don’t slip out during play as happened before. I’ve never repaired any piece of electronics before so that tells you the process is relatively simple. I did make a couple of mistakes along the way however. For anyone out there thinking about doing theirs this may help: 1: when taking the 4 screws off on the back, press firmly against the screw head to loosen it then unscrew as normal. Take care not to damage the head of the screw. I dropped one on the carpet and have not been able to find it. Perhaps do it on a white towel!? The ones provided in the Amazon pack (I bought) were useless imo. 2: When you prise open the joycon be careful with the 2 ribbon cables as I accidentally knocked both out on one attempt. When I put the middle one back the lights identifying which number joycon wouldn’t work. I found a vid that explained I had to lever out the battery, take out 3 screws from the plate to remove it and get access to the ribbon connector. I opened the clip, fed it in and pushed the clip down: it works perfectly now. 3: There is a small screw that needs to be removed so you can remove the back plate making it easier to work with. 4: After unscrewing the metal plate holding the plastic bit you are replacing, take a flat headed screwdriver and gently lever out the metal plate. When you take out the plastic piece be careful not to lose the spring. 5: When replacing the plastic piece for a metal one, realise there is a left and right bit so make sure you put the correct one in. I hadn’t fully read the instructions and missed this. Dumb luck of 50/50 meant I got them the right way around. 6: when putting the plate back on don’t over tighten the screw (as I did) as the button will stick. You can test this (as I should have) before reassembling. 7: Reassemble ensuring you fold the ribbon cables in the right way so as not to damage them and enjoy a controller whose joycons no longer slip out.

Watching in 2024, thanks man!

Already have a kit ready to do this. Been needing it for about 6 months or so. Mine aren't failing to latch, but they are easy to convince to come off without the button

Thanks you so much. I did This mod also, and it's been treating me. Well, thank you again.😊

Mine haven't had this problem yet but I bet I'll be referring to this video down the road! I love these hardware videos! Oh yeah, nice t-shirt! 🤩

I’m baked watching this Johnny

I replaced mine a few months back. I ended up having an issue with the contacts on the joycon and was able to spaw back to plastic and get it repaired under warranty. I recommend only doing it after your warranty is up tho.

Sweet, my son's brand new Switch has this issue on his right Joycon, was about to buy another one and swap em, I'll try this first thx!

Great video! Another thing I would be really interested in is how you would fix sticky buttons. I let my brother borrow my switch one day and when I got it back all the buttons are really sticky and hard to press, even the triggers. It was so annoying that I got an entirely new pair of joy-cons. I think he may have spilled something on it.

wow! I literally just noticed this happening to my joy-con like 2 days ago... I might try this!

Not just the locks though. I think the rails themselves are an issue. I changed the lock buckles out over a year ago still a little loose and both don’t like to stay connected still. Even though they are still physically attached to the Switch. Is there a part two to this? Is there a way to determine if the rails are loose?

Yea I got that joy con drifting problem as well a video on that would be great!

THANKS NEEDED THIS ASAP I HATE WHEN ONE FALLS. ALREADY ORDERED T2 KITS FOR MY 4 JOYCONS

This is why I’m subbed to you lol. my loose joycons FUCKS WITH MY OCD so bad

I never take mine off. Hopefully I never drop my switch, and this isn't ever a problem for me.

Happened since I first got it haven’t used at all cause it was so annoying found it at the bottom of my draw and looked this up thank you

My siblings’ joy con clips are broken. I might do this for their pair.

Thanks so much for this. I bought so many joycons because of this

Yes this is the content I subscribe for. Arigato Spawn San

I would love to see you do a video on the left stick getting a drift and how we can fix it as it seems to be a pretty common issue. As much as I love the switch, it does still seem that the ship date was priority over the QC testing phase.

Thank you for this, finally fixed my left joycons 🤘🏻

I've had metal locks for roughly 4 months now. They're not much different from the plastic ones but they haven't gotten loose for me yet. My plastic ones were damaged then I bought the system (second hand purchase), but I haven't had any problems since replacement.

Another great fix it video the only thing I would add is if you could have zoom in with your camera on the small parts that are hard to see other wise great infor thanks again!

Been waiting for this vid! I have 5 joycons and nearly all of them have a broken lock. Cheap enough and since I've replaced 3 analog sticks this should be a breeze.

So many people with drifting problems I feel like I got lucky 😅

I work with a lot of NSWs and those locks are always broken so this was actually very insightful!

A video about a Joy Con not making contact with the Switch would be a lot helpful. I've been having this problem for a couple of months now and It's really wierd. I have to wait until the Switch has warmed up for it to make contact with the right Joy Con and detect it. Someone suggested that I should synk the Joy Con again but it just keeps doing the same thing. Then I saw a video about cleaning the switch contact with a toothbrush and that helped a little since it makes contact a little bit faster but still have to wait for it to detect the Joy Con.

Thank you. Just thank you.

This is great stuff!

Been needing this so bad. I have so many that have loose locks on then. I'll take 20!!

installed them a couple of months ago and they are still as solid. sure, if the switch would drop they can’t break but since i don’t drop hardware and don’t let kids near it, I see no issue.

Three videos one day? Now this is christmas.