Here's Why The Nintendo 3DS Was A Nightmare To Work On 

Every single 3ds that I have repaired at my old job was a nightmare. Because every person always broke the top screen. They never broke the easier to take out bottom screen.

Nintendo: "I'm sick of taking everything apart just to fix the top screen!" [Makes 2DS]

I wish I took apart my old controllers and consoles back in the day when they stopped working... so I’d at least know how they work and junk

Really makes admire the amount of time and effort put into manufacturing and assembling a 3DS, still have my 2011 model and never knew how complex it was inside!

I love the design of the original 3Ds

Back in the days, ppl was afraid they need to solder. Now they afrait to puzzle ribbon cables back in xD

Med school lost a surgeon on you. I mean I'm glad for you doing tech news but man, your patience, knowledge and skill with finicky procedures is mesmerizing :o

Jon, even as an IT field engineer who has to repair PCs and laptops, you do stuff that freaks me right out and make it look easy. Hats off to you mate.

It's amazing how much Nintendo crammed into the 3DS. So yeah it's a complicated mess inside. Also GameStop doesn't always format the systems, I had a friend get one with the old owner's data still on it. Even better another friend got a 2DS ad GameStop, the recharged "refurbished"... Which stopped functioning when my friend updated his firmware... Because it turned out the system was hacked with custom firmware. So yeah, GameStop shouldn't be allowed to call anything refurbished, when they don't even flash the firmware to factory default on a soft modded system.

Am I a freak for thinking this looks like fun? Looks really frustrating, too, but fun.

I'm TERRIFIED by even the thought of opening an electronic/console, let alone a handheld 😂

I can relate so terribly... I’m really new to working with electronics and wanted to have my first take at a refurb on one of my 3ds. It went terribly- I didn’t completely understand what I was doing, as most of my experience was with the bottom half. I also used a hairdryer to loosen the adhesive on the top half of the system and just about burned my fingers. To top it off, I didn’t notice the handy slit in the center joint and thought I had to fit the ribbon cables through the hole in the top and the bottom halves of the case. Needless to say, I destroyed the ribbon cable connecting to the camera and the thing never came back together right. It was a Learning experience for certain and I regret choosing the 3ds family as my first challenges as a developing technician...

When I read "work on" I thought it meant "develop for" which would have been weird to me considering all that I've heard about 3DS development... As for repairs, yeah, the charging port on mine is coming loose too, which is just one of the reasons why I want to upgrade to a New 2DS XL...

I'm addicted to your refurb vlogs. Fascinating to see how these things tick.

Nintendo's been doing the same arrangement with the hinge since the DS Lite, adding cables each time. Getting them wrapped tight enough to fit through that metal ring is a pain, extremely easy to rip a cable doing it. At least the microphone / Wi-Fi antennas are much easier to replace as you don't have to mess with any of those cables.

These tech waves are amazing. Jon. You are really talented. Nice work man. I would have anxiety with all those parts. Lol

I enjoy watching your teardowns and the explanations of the parts, design issues or pluses, or the cpu gpu memory specs of things.

Damn dude your F'N amazing taking and putting these systems together I don't how you gather the patience for this . but big kudos to you keep the tear down videos coming.

You need to put an anxiety warning before this.

i really liked your video and have had the chance to take apart one of these before. It wasn't easy but my problem was re-wrapping the ribbon cables back into the frame. I had a broken top screen. I couldn't fix it. Ripped the cables was very frustrating. I know you already uploaded this video but i would like to see a slowed down clip of how you put the curled ribbon cables back in when you re-assembled it. Thanks for the great videos! I do enjoy them a lot!

So much quality content! 2019 looks to be the year of Spawn Wave and I am so excited to see what’s next! 😁

these are some of the coolest videos dood; would be cool to know how long all those montages take in real time

Damn! You had to take apart EVERYTHING! Did not expect it to be that much work!

Another great video. Very informative. Thank you.

I love the hardware tear down videos. Keep them coming!

Do the 3DS XL, man. I think these vids you are doing are a real confidence builder for us average tech savvy folk. Like you stated, I too would love to see a really in-depth 2DS XL tear down. I’ve done few of my own repairs successfully, and these no holds barred, no bullshit are super fascinating and really inspire me to dive a little deeper. Thanks for the great content and news, dude!! Keep it up! 👍🏻

For some reason I went back to your old vids and omg you lost so much weight. Amazing work.

Awesome tech wave video Jon(SW). Wow man what a job, the 3DS looks a complete nightmare too work on especially too replace the screen.

These type of vids are awesome, thanks 👍👍

Id really love to see a teardown of the New 3ds. The not XL version. Since it wasn't that big of a widespread US release I can't seem to find like any videos on taking them apart!

Damn this is such a great series I love watching you open these consoles up

Interesting video John, like these kind of videos!

Wow, that was really impressive work, you really are a pro!

First off I LOVED the video! They are always so informative and help to show how these things are cleverly crafted! Only part you (kinda) left out: removing the analog stick. It was GENIUS (almost to the point of being rocket science) how you had to spin the analog stick to get it in & out (which of course i only figured out about after breaking one ...)

A+ work sir! Such skill! Very impressed.

Damn we can see your level of dexterity and professionalism you have i was scared just by watching this thumbs up buddy!

Dude you are seriously the king of repair. Love this content!

It would be awesome if you posted an updated set of teardowns on the later DS systems! You're one of my first stops if I'm opening up some hardware and I still have several of these things I want to mess with

everytime you film here, i imagine you laying down on your back and the boxes are actually on the floor instead of hung up makes the video better

Thank you for doing this, i had been contemplating opening mine up for a while now but after watching this that'll be a big bucket of nopes for me!

I like how your videos are like pros and cons about tearing down whilst tearing down

I've really enjoyed all of these tech waves. Taking a look at the other 3DS models would be cool to see how the system was revised over time. Some of the older Nintendo consoles and hardware would be cool to look at, too, like the N64 and the rumble packs and memory packs for it.

These videos are incredible. Thank you for these!!!!!!

I've been trying to take mine apart but getting the screws out from under the initial backplate has been a nightmare. I've tried for like thirty minutes only to get 1/9 out lol.

It is sooo cool seeing you take this whole thing apart and then put it back together for it to work as intended. You are a genius sir.

Your content is top notch my friend!

Have you ever disassembled a DS lite on camera? I may have to do this in the near future, and while there are obviously already videos online another one made by "the master" would be sweet.

Very nice! I'd be interested in seeing how it compares to both the 'new' models and older ds models, cheers.

I’m taking on my first disassemble/reassemble of a 3ds to replace the speaker ribbon cable and totally clipped the top screen ribbon cable lol. It’s a labor of love to do this work, that’s for sure!

I actually tried to replace the top screen of my 3DS XL a while back. There are a few differences with this one and the XL, but many of the same issues with replacing the top screen are the same. I had never tried to do a repair before, so I was nervous. I spent 4 hours trying to take it apart and put it back together, and I still ended up making a small tear in the screen cable when trying to get it through the hinge. Never tried to do a repair again because I thought that I just wasn't good at it lol.

As someone who owns a 3DS but can’t repair anything beyond changing out the AA or AAA batteries I found this really interesting I’d love to see you do more hand-helds in general... Maybe even a DS stylus or some Skylander figurines / Creation Crystals or one of the Portals of Power

I got stressed just watching this.. i changed the screen on my sons DS lite and had a major headache with that ribbon cable you mentioned (the one that wraps around)

I appreciate the time and effort you took to make this particular video. I'm now going to buy two spare units so I (hopefully) never have to disassemble one! LOL

I have a feeling someday I'm going to need this video with my 3DS. Thank you so much!

Really interesting video, great job.

I like this type of video from you thanks for sharing

I would love to see you do a Tech Wave video taking apart the Sega Nomad. Very curious to see how that system is built.

Hi spawn! I love your work keep up the good job!

I am actually amazed at the amount of stuff in there!!! Kinda makes me regret selling my original 3ds when I upgraded to the newXL :-/ ...Great video as always!

Honestly I never thought about repairing these but, I've taken these apart so many times to reshell mine and friends that this just looks like a cup of coffee and some enjoyment lol.

I love taking apart consoles I put a translucent green shell on a DS lite that was broken and its just on a shelf looking cool now.

Congratulations on your transformation spawnwave!

Do the VITA. A friend of mine is an expert in taking that thing apart and putting it back together. Quite fun to watch because there are so many parts, it's the swiss clock of handhelds.

Could you do a video on how to remove stripped screws?

Great job/video. I'm all up for a challenge, but I'm certain I would've been working on that thing for at least 2 days, no kidding. Yikes!

Nice job! I'd like to see you year down a New 3DS XL. I have one and it may want a few repairs soon. The joystick is getting a little sticky. 😶

Awesome video man keep these coming please open up a switch dock or a wii disk drive

Ah thank you for the heads up. Ahaha thanks for taking apart your entire DS just to show us!!! Taking one for the team man, very helpful!

Yeah, I have accidentally broken the ribbon cable of my joystick and the digitizer screen.. Now I am currently waiting for my replacements to arrive.

Yes. definitely do the other models. So informative and awesome. Thank you!!

Two of my friends who are twins, Angelo and Juan, had a red og 3ds and a blue 3ds xl, respectively. The charging port of Angelo’s 3ds stopped working and then the xl’s bottom screen didn’t turn on anymore. They couldn’t get their systems repaired (and now I know why) so they got a New 3ds xl for their birthday. I wouldn’t get one until much later.

Definitely my favourite channel very informative and no e begging

threading those three ribbon cables through that damn hinge is such a nightmare.

Love your vids. If haven't already done so I would love to see you go over the GBA.

This is weirdly nostalgic for me. I did a full housing swap, plus screen and camera replacement, when I was about 15 or 16. Those three cables were a PAIN, I think feeding them through in the right order took me about an hour iirc. The system ended up having a parental lock on it, and the previous owner refused to tell me the code :(

I need to fix my charger port on mine. I needed this video. Thank you!!!!

you should make a video about how to clean the L/R buttons, im tired of blowing into them to get them to work

For me, the only thing that really ever failed consistently was the shoulder buttons no longer working. I was kinda hoping that you would go into what caused those mechanical failures and what would be needed to replace broken parts, but once you removed the part that houses the shoulder buttons, you never returned to it. Could it maybe have been that those cables came unplugged?

I have memories of repairing a NDS Lite and it was too a pain in the ass to work with the top side. Very similar to this, except for the camera. I hated the hinge cylinder!

My 3DS XL's lower shell broke, around the control stick. I ordered a new part for the shell, but in my attempts to replace it the ribbon for the top screen got cut. So I had to order a whole new top screen as well. That hinge is a real troublemaker.

You sir, are a genius! I enjoy watching brilliance.

I would like to see 3DS XL. Hope it isn't difficult to replace the joystick. Always love your tech waves.

My daughter had one of these, (my wife and I have the XL). She broke the top screen. I am accustomed to modifying controllers and consoles, so I figured I could replace the screen. I bought a new screen and got it all apart and back together, mostly. I forgot to run the ribbon cables through the hinge so they would lay flat and at some point they got twisted. On my second attempt to remove the cables, they broke. RIP that system.

That shiny metal plate under it looks like one of those blocks in Mario 3 that come alive, be cool if it winked at ya or just came alive....one of those mornings :p

Wow that looked like a nightmare to open up! It would of been a pain to replace the button that broke and it didnt help that I stripped one of the screws. Can you take apart a new 3dsxl?

Really cool video and I love the 3ds! Is it basically the same thing for everything in the 3ds xl, New 3ds, New 3ds xl, and New 2ds xl?

I'd bet u would make a great surgeon. Your good with your hands and can put things back together.

There looked like there was a lot going on in the 3DS. I can understand why when you said, people don't like dealing with them. By the way, what's the name of the track used when putting together the 3DS and the end of the video?

Back in 2016 I straight up gave up repairing my circle pad. I have stripped 4 internal screws. 4 damn screws.

I did a case replacement once 'cause the original cracked after a few drops. While it was annoyingly hard to take apart the bottom part. Getting the top part out of the hinge nearly gave me a breakdown. 15 year old me first time doing something like this and this is what I get into. Well after putting it together it all worked so it went fine. But little did I notice that the replacement case was cheap af, only about 70% of the screw holes lined up and everything was pretty much loose in there. TLDR: It was a hard time and not really fun

I've noticed you are able to get into things pretty quickly with that screwdriver.. must be all that practice repairing top screens.

Trying to perform this disaster repair right now to try and fix the screen ribbon cables... God knows if I'm getting this back together

Would be cool to see you take apart one of the New 3DS models.

Hey there, long time watcher here. I just took the back cover off my original 3ds, same exact model as the one in this video. In doing so, the L-trigger flex cable became severed. Already have a new cable coming. Basically the issue here is that in taking apart the L-trigger assembly, I seem to have a very small square-shaped washer that came out? Where exactly would that go back in. Thank you!

So you were the guy that would reball all those ps3 chips. That's cool. I recently tried to repair my old phat ps3 the one that was fully backwards compatible with ps2 and ps1 games. The system originally got the YLOD many years ago and was given to a "friend" who could "repair" them but I was a kid at the time and didn't understand what needed to be done. Anyway I got the system back in a box of parts and was told it couldn't be fixed. Only recently I put it back together and when I go to power it on the fan spins momentarily and the red standby LED just flashes. I tried to reflow the main chips using a heat gun but it was no good. I understand that it needs a reball to properly fix it but I do not have the means to do that and it is not worth it to me to get it done professionally. I also didn't get my hard drive back from the guy that tried to fix it. I did notice when tearing the system down just how nicely it is made though and how the components are of nice quality. Shame that these old systems were plagued by the YLOD. Was this just down to a flawed design?

Great vid, it does look like a pain! I'd love to see specifically New 3DS XL, as that's my main system as far as 3DS line of systems go.

I had to replace a Digitizer last week for a friend. It was hell to get the ribbon cables to the top screen back on haha. Almost broke the SD card slot off as i forgot to attach the screens ribbon cable, the metal solder broke off on one side but luckily still works. In the end the battery was a dead one so im having to buy a new one 😰

Nice video. I would really like to see the New 3ds XL too in order to upgrade screens from TN to IPS. And another thing, can you give some tricks to conserve the battery for a brand new 3ds console you want to keep in working condition (like the special edition BNIB)? Thank you for your videos

I had to disassemble my 3DS XL a few months ago just to change the lower shell where the buttons are, it was a nightmare to change it, you HAVE to disassemble EVERYTHING from the lower part and even some stuff from the upper part just to get that out.

This was really interesting, looks frustrating in a way but I can see why it can also be fun. M ! Great video ! Thanks for going through this to show us whats inside ! J