How to Swap Out Your Joy-Con Shells 

For anyone wanting to know how to swap out the SL/SR buttons, I finally got around to creating a video for you. Sorry it took me so long 🙃 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UjvbBeWxYIQ.html

For beginners wanting to give this a go - this video is the best one. He takes his time, talks through most of the trickier bits and really helps you do this. I only had to slow it down for one or two little bits. My thanks to Fetching Tech for this excellent tutorial!

I found this video before considering switching shells, and it was what made me confident enough to try it. Coincidentally, I actually ended up ordering my shells from your store! I scanned the QR code the shells came with and was surprised to see this familiar video. The swap went perfectly because of this video, and I'm super happy with my new joycon colors. Thank you!

If you're nervous about doing this, you're not alone. This video is the best and easiest to follow - HUGE thanks to @FetchingTech for this video. The payoff is worth it, folks. You got this! Pro Tips: Watch it a couple of times first before diving in, so you can get mentally ready. Pack your patience and take your time. Get the right tools first. Avoid distractions, if possible. For removing ZL and ZR, I used a large ziploc, and removed them while the joycon was in the bag in case a spring popped out and could be easily rescued.

Tip: A better technique to get the ZR / ZL button is to use a wedge tool at the top corner of the button, that way you 'pop' it out without the springs flying everywhere. Hover your finger over the bottom side of the button (minimal pressure). Hope this helps

This is the best tutorial for swap the joycon shells: good camera, good narration, good angles and no stupid introduction or over-explanation. Thank u so much!

I wanna do it but I'm scared that I'll mess up my joycons

I recently bought a red transparent shell for my joycons and thanks to your guidance I was able to safely swap the original shells with the new ones! Thank you so much!

It’s my first time ever actually taking apart something so complex for me. Thank you for making easy and simple instructions, with good camera angles and lighting. I can’t say how much I appreciate it!!!

This tutorial was extremely thorough! And the camera angles were very helpful too. I did find though that the Y00 screwdriver actually worked better for me. The Y0 was too big for the screws on my joycons… but thank you for this great tutorial! There were no gaps or changes in the clicking of buttons when I finished.

I’ve bought a pair of custom joycons but I’ve always wanted to try my hand at doing it myself. This video makes it so much easier to follow because I learn better with visuals. Thank you!

You make this looks pretty easy and simple. Thanks for the tutorial. I’m planning to change my shell anytime soon for the first time. Hopefully I can do it well !

I bought tools and shells from your website and wanted to say thank you so very much! Everything was packaged neatly and arrived very quickly! I followed your video tutorial as well and it turned out perfectly! My switch is so unique now!!!

*_THANK YOU_* for taking the time to upload this! Because you did, I was able to easily do this project. After the first one, I was able to do two more pairs without this video due to how simple yet thorough you made it.

When I tried it for the first time, I got so many errors in several parts that I even had to start all over again once. But after 3 hours, I can't believe I did it, a perfect joy-con appeared in front of me, your video really helped me a lot, thank you! Remind other people who want to try it, be sure to double check if you are right. After the first one, it is best to take a break and drink some water. The more anxious you are, the more you can't continue. I also recommend you buy some double-sided tape, Because mine doesn't have it, so. I'm worried about the battery shaking during games.

Just followed you tutorial. From never opening a joycon up in my life, both joycon shells were replaced successfully!!....Thanks for this buddy. It's a shame I then went to change the backplate and stripped the first screw..... 😞

I know this vid is 3 years old but I hope you understand how helpful this is. You made this look incredibly simple. Gonna look up the tools, pick out some nice new shells and come back to this vid. Much appreciated!

Great tutorial, the camera work is perfect. Thank you!

Nice video. Just finished changing my shells using your video and everything I needed to know was mentioned. Good camera work and good explanation. Keep it up man!

Ive gone through so many videos and none of them were as clear as this one ! Thank you I appreciate you made this task doable and easy to follow!

If your joy con is super old, you might as well buy new joysticks while your at it. their gonna drift anyway. Also, make sure to download joy con toolkit on your pc to change the color of the joy con when you connect it to your switch

Thank you for sharing! You make it look so easy. I followed your guide and it took my about an hour each. Mind you I have no experience in DIY technical electronics skills but I just watched your techniques handling each component and was able to completely change out my shell successfully. Again, many thanks!

Thank you for zooming in.

Thank you! I changed shells without a hitch. People like you are really appreciated. 🤝🏾

I am preparing to shell swap a pair of joy cons shortly, this is by far the best guide I have found. Very well-structured and you present fluidly and clearly. Keep it up, I'm going to explore your channel a bit more.

Just finished changing my shells using your guide, and everything works! Thank you! ❤

This tutorial helped a ton! The clear camera shots made it really easy to follow along step by step 👍

Thank you so much for this tutorial. Too many of these that I find elsewhere just don't break things down enough. This was well explained throughout & set a good pace so nothing was missed.

I followed this guide and DIDNT mess up my JoyCons. Great vid. Now i have clear Joy Cons thanks to you, dude...

Dude, thank you SO much. Really clear and patient instructions. Never thought I'd be able to do this and it worked perfectly!

Tip: There are stickers next to the ZR/ZL buttons that are white with read dots, these turn color when they get wet. If you want you can move them over and that way can know if your joy cons got water inside them if you ever want to.

Best video on the process on RU-vid! I go back and reference it any time I need to open up a Joy Con for any reason. Masterfully done tutorial! 👍

Your channel has helped me out randomly throughout the years and it wasn't until now that I realized this. So I thank you!

great work! swaped my whole switch case with your tutorial, was alot easier than it seems to be!

This video helped me do a shell swap from my gray joycons to the Splatoon 3 ones that I found on etsy! So thankful for your detailed video! I didn't break either joycons thankfully! :D

Thank you so much, this is the best video of the process I've ever seen. I got both my joycons swapped to Atomic Purple in about 35 minutes total with your help. Thank you again!

This video may be a year old but the instructions make it so easy to see what to do when replacing all of the parts. Thank you so much

Now i consider myself one of a professional idiot... But this actually worked and I'm so proud of how i kept optimistic 😭✨ And friendly TIP for the SCREWS! (Considering i thought i had a "mystery screw" at one point lol and this is one of my first times working this immersive) ..... Most of the SMALL screws go on the bottom board, around 3 screws are not screwed in until the 2nd layer comes on, there is ONE SMALL screw that goes on the slider- black thingy- at the end though. I hope that helped! But again, thAnK yOu-

You make it look so easy! I wanna do it but I know il mess it up 😂

This video is so helpful. Just switched my shells while I replaced a joystick and I couldn't have done it without this. Thank you. I did pull off the connector for one of the vibration motors trying to unplug it but I can live with that.

Thank you! I was nervous but had faith and it wasn’t too bad! I did it and I’m so happy you posted this video. Thanks again!

Just used your tutorial to change my shells! It was my first time swapping shells and the process was SO smooth and easy. Thank you!! Definitely one of the best, if not, THE best tutorial on RU-vid :))

Thank you for this video! My brother and I were referencing it tonight when we were swapping my Red/Blue shells for some transparent ones with some Super Famicom buttons (action buttons only, as the kit I got had the same color scheme for the DPad buttons, but I opted not to use them)... They look awesome!

I watched a few tuts before this but it all clicked when I watched this one. Amazing tutorial, thanks!

I had been thinking about switching the shells out for a long time since I can't find joycons anywhere. I watched this video before I even bought them, then when I purchase them and decided to put it all together I used this as a walkthrough and it helped me out extremely. Thank you for your step-by-step, greatly appreciated.

I felt like I was doing surgery

Just changed my joycons to transparent ones and it looks great! You have the best tutorial up here and it would be even better if it includes changing of buttons but nevertheless you have the best slow and detailed explanation which I came back watching over and over again when I’m in doubt. Tips to note : - SL/SR ribbons are EXTREMELY fragile. I have ripped one accidentally and the other one was disconnected if I bent it (so it’s basically useless too - I bought replacement ones online and backup for the near future lol) - The white vibrator is giving me huge heart attacks moments whenever I try plugging out…so I just thought I leave it be and be extremely careful with it 😅 - Do not rush/panic yourself when in doubt, take a sip of water or have a break before coming back to fix it. - Always check if your buttons are clickable after the finished product. Go to Settings>Controllers & Sensors>Calibrate Control Sticks (To check if your joycon drifts) and Test Input Devices>Test Controller Buttons (To check if all your buttons are working)

Thank you so much for explaining this in the easiest way possible. I started to swap my left joy stick 2 YEARS ago and today I decided to see if I can try it again And now I just finished both left and right! Thank you so much sir! 🤘🏻

I finally swapped my colors after 2 years. This video really helped. The ZL button took me *2 hours* to get on though

I really appreciate this video as I've been terrified of swapping shells as I've heard how tedious and frustrating it can be. On top of that I didn't wanna pay $60 for someone to do it for me But following this video made me realize how simple it is. Only tough part for me was dealing with the springs lol

I was a little hesitant about doing the swap but thanks to this guy I didn't have any problems and the job turned out perfect for being my first time❤❤❤❤❤❤

absolutely amazing video. i wanted to customize my joycon shells and buttons but was nervous about actually taking apart my joycons and accidentally breaking something or doing it incorrectly. this video showed me how to take apart and reassemble my joycons step by step. even though i had some difficulties with my second joycon and one of the screws stripping, i did it successfully and i love the new color scheme of my joycons. thank you so much for this!!

here is a tip for people that are beginners. Keep the battery and hd rumble plugged into the motherboard, because if you are not careful, you can end up breaking their connectors (speaking from experience here)

Absolutely fantastic video! This is so much better than the IFixIt tutorial. You're vid has made it to my "Useful" playlist.

Just did this while following the video. Best tutorial I've seen and the easiest to follow. My joycons work perfectly and I'm horrible at technology.

Thank you so much for this video. I'd already swapped out buttons once, but I had forgotten the order of things, and this video was so clear and perfect, I will definitely come back if I have to do this again.

Loved the video :)

The best advice is, don’t mix the screws up because you’ll end up poking the front of the shell with one of those long screws and you’ll ruin it.. (talking from experience)

Swapped my joycon shells today with help from this video. Good stuff!

Thank you! I followed you step by step and I have fully swapped two working Joy Cons!

Very useful guide, works very well as a supplement to iFixit's guide. Allowed for a flawless shell swap and got me to a point where I could replace my buckles for metal ones.

Thank you for this! really helped took me about 4 hour since i’ve never done it before but it worked!

this is an amazing tutorial, if i had not found this video i would not have had the confidence to do this project. thank you for taking time and explaining each step in detail.

Just swapped out my shells tonight while upgrading the control sticks to the GuliKit. It helped me tremendously, and I'm very pleased with the end result. Thank you for your thorough video!

13:30 this part took me way too funkin long😅

Don't forget y'all. You can change the color of your joy-con in software via Joy-Con_Toolkit_v5.2.0, so the shell matches what's on the screen.

Amazing tutorial, followed everything and it all went smooth. Thanks!

The way you explain that is so smooth!! Thank you so much i was tired of that blue and red color really 🫶🏽

I just got new shells for my joycons and your video is super informative, but i also wanted to change the buttons on the "inside" of the joycons (SL and SR), can i just unscrew the motherboard directly below them or are they not to easy to swap?

Hey FetchingTech! Thank you for this video! Have you ever considered a send-in service where if we send in our joycons you will replace the shells for us? I would love to do this myself but am *way* too scared and I would be happy to pay someone to do it for me.

Thank you for this!! This was my first time taking something apart and I felt so calm with the tutorial!

Just bought two translucents from you recently and now getting a joy stick! (I forgot to for my drift). Thanks so much again! Best tutorial I seen so far and calming!

Excellent tutorial! Thank You!

I didn't realize how shakey my hands where untill i did this to my joycons lol. Anyway the right joycon was alot harder then the left one, so having done the right joycon first like you did gave me the confidence to know i can easily do the left one. One thing i forgot though is to apply some sort of double sided tape for the battery on the right controller, will i be fine without it? Or should i put tape in it asap?

The best tutorial, that explain each step and zoom in. Not like others that go fast and bad. THANKS

Thanks to your video, I was able to replace the shells on a pair of my joy cons. I checked out your Etsy store and ended up buying a few more shells and some joysticks to replace my older joy cons - thanks for the amazing how-to, you should post more!

Would you ever consider creating glow in the dark (blue) products, such as a glow in the dark joycon casing, joycon buttons, or joycon joysticks? Or perhaps UV-reactive products? I know it is probably not a super high priority, but I thought it might be worth it to ask.

FYI, I was able to do this without disconnecting anything. I messed up my cord on my first attempt so I bought a new set of joycons and did it without disconnecting anything and it worked great. 👍

I love that all it takes is one of your ribbon locks to break off, somehow, for you to have to buy a whole new one.

2 years later and still useful asf, I've probably swapped out at least 10 shells so far, but I always come back to this video since I forget how to do it every single time lol

Finally nintendo switch oled model homemade🗿🗿🗿

Thank You, Took Me 3 hours lol

so helpful, concise and honestly a fun calming watch. Thank you for making this.

I used this vid to give my left joy-con a d-pad. The d-pad wasnt working at first, but I noticed the trigger was stuck, so once I went back and fixed it, it was perfect!! And I love the d-pad! Thanks!!! It was very helpful and thorough!

Honestly, thank you so much for posting this. I got gifted a replacement shell for the switch, joycons and dock, and I’ve never really done anything like this. My only warning comment is that the screw drivers provided were absolute hot garbage. I smoothed a couple of the outer shell Y screws, which was horrible. I managed to extract them by running a drill in reverse with what I felt was a huge amount of pressure.

this literally looks so scary im scared to change out my joycon shells

I watchted a few vids for this but yours gave me enough confidence to actually go for it and I did exactly what you did and it worked out perfectly. So thank you!!

thank you so much! i was scared but your comments on persistence and patience gave me courage to try it. took me about three hours but it came out awesome!

its literally IMPOSSIBLE to get the trigger on after you take it off. Springs fly into another dimension and never stay straight

Woah!! My son wanted a new case for Christmas on his switch and I was able to put it on thanks to your video and clear instructions. Thank you !

I’m so glad I came with you when changing them out. Now Thanks to you I have a nice unique touch to my switch!

This is truly the best tutorial on swapping joycon shells on youtube

I DID IT! Let’s gooooo. Thank you man :) You gave me confidence to buy and try.

11/10! Doing my first controller was super challenging and frustrating since I had no idea if I was going to mess it up, but once I started the second one I was comfortable and it took me half of the amount that it did for the first one. Super easy to follow!

Thank you so much for the video. This helped me, a complete novice at stuff like this, knock it out in a few hours. The trigger one the right joycon is a bit stiff but it still works and it's not the end of the world. Edit: I figured out why the trigger was stiff. I was two springs completely interlaced. Couldn't tell when I first installed it. It works flawlessly now.

You made this whole process a thousand times easier. My switch look great!

This guide is amazing and it helped me get used to the controller and how to open it properly without breaking anything this guide is recommended for all

Thank you so much. I was going to buy new Joy Cons, but now swapped shells and joysticks with your help. :)

I've watched a couple video tutorials already and i must say this video made it look easy. the best tutorial so far. not even close to IGN's. this one's clear and simple. will use this when I change mine. thanks for this!!!

I’m currently repairing two broken joy-cons, this was very helpful! Definitely subbing!