Nintendo Switch Joycon Teardown -
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- I disassemble the Nintendo Switch Joycon controller to see what makes it tick. After I completely disassemble it I show how to reassemble it without breaking anything.
First the screws on the back need to be removed, then the shell just has to be snapped out of place. There are several ribbon cables still attached that are easy to break. After those ribbon cables have been removed I remove the battery and battery holder. Then the analog stick. After that the motherboard comes out. I then remove the new style vibration motor which is held in place by an adhesive strip.
While torn down I show the internal parts of the Joycon controllers and find that they are very modular and should be fairly easy to replace parts if/when needed. These Nintendo Switch controllers look to be built well and should last quite a while.
►Tools & Parts I Use (affiliate link): www.amazon.com...
►TronicsFix Game Console Repair Forum: www.tronicsfix...
Web: www.tronicsfix....
Facebook: / tronicsfix
Instagram: / tronicsfix
Twitter: / tronicsfix
Tools I Use (affiliate links):
-Protech Toolkit: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/90il5y
-Torx Security T8: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/AEcBvZL
-PH00 Phillips: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/YGVSSv
-Tweezer Set: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/t0VrlcX
-Electric Screwdriver: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/2wbHzJ
-Thermal Paste: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/q2Prd
-Canned Air: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/CPYy
Equipment Used (affiliate links):
-Hakko Hot Air Station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/y2JDR
-Nozzle for hot air station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/zpEWlT
-Hakko Soldering Station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/MTL0qb
-Hakko Air Filter: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/Gqznh
-Microscope: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/WBO3b
-Kester Solder: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/ETXUh
TronicsFix assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. All material provided within this TH-cam channel is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. No information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result.
TronicsFix does not make any claims of the safety of the projects, techniques, or resources listed on this channel and will not take responsibility of what you do with the information provided by this channel. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not TronicsFix. Please do not attempt anything contained in this video unless you accept personal responsibility for the results, whether they are good or bad.
(*We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.)
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Hello. I'm a 43 years old french and I always explain to my childs that we must try to repair all we can ourselves before spending too much money at the shop. My son Jolan and I watch your videos everytime there's a new one, and you helped me to open and repair my PS4. So thank you very much, still go on tearing down all the new hardwares, we apriciate a lot. Bye !
Hi! So glad my videos help you guys...thanks for the comment!
I’ll give you a very late word of warning, if for any reason, your or any third party repairs don’t work, Nintendo won’t accept the warranty
My parents are literally opposite
And no we’re not rich
That’s why I’m on this video
@@Tronicsfix what would happen if you tried to put joycon batter in ps4 controller
I'm only here because I wanna do the method on how VK removes drift from his joycons.
plz no cuts! It's important to see how you open and place things!!!
Yessss, I was gonna comment the same thing!!
Yep, went on this video to figure out how to put the ribbon cables back in and he cut it out both times. Don't do cuts in tutorials, it's going screw someone up.
That's a sale salesman after all. He won't teach you how to fish but ask you to send it for repair 💸
Just put it back together the same way you take it apart, it's common sense.
goliath david ok but taking out the ribbon cables is easier than putting them in
For one month...one month I was not able to put the ribbon cables back together after my Switch fell down on the joy con and it popped open. Just looked at your video and realized all you needed was tweezers. Poof! In just two minutes I put the controller back together, which was taking me hours to do. YOU ARE A TIME SAVOR! THANKS!!!!
the same thing happend to me dropped my already damaged blue joycon L becuase the joystick black cover BROKE OFF when it fell WHen it dropped RIGHT ON THE EDGE of the L joycon IT ripped off from the console and the black bar was just sitting in the switch and now im waiting for my dad to get home so i can fix it with him
@@Stevoisiak you dont need to shove it all in
@@Stevoisiak when you see and feel it goes in as far is it goes pop in the security
I still cant get one of my ribbons in. Do I have to take it all the way apart?
Wow...
You really should have looked over the right Joy-con. While it is a similar configuration, there's different components inside that have unique ways of removal, like the NFC, IR reader as well as a black plate that sits beneath the circuit board.
Beta Shadow yea I really wanted to see how it was dismantled for months now, but I can't find a single video that covers the right joycon.
I have opened my right joycon yesterday, and it turns out he was right. It really is pretty simmilar inside. The only diffirence is that infrared sensor, which is not attached to the case at all, so you can remove it easily.
I totally agree with Beta Sword, I have a defective R button(which requires some soldering and it is the worst button that can break down on the joy con imho). While similar there are also some differences between the joy cons. I found another video that shows both joy cons opened and closed.
Very true. I also noticed many teardown videos are only doing the left side and they are also not talking about or taking apart the side with the rail or the rail.
This video helped me to disassemble what in the right order. Someone spilled soda on mine and I had to clean out the stickiness.... All cleaned, put back together, and in proper working order. Thanks so much!
Never delete this video towards the future
This really help me learn alot, and I need to buy a motherboard...
I came here because my L button was broken, and loved how you called it out. I was able to buy a replacement part off Amazon for $6 (and splurged on the same toolkit I can tell you used in the video) and was able to fix it with your help. Thanks!
I watched a 20 minute video on this and decided I won’t paint the joy cons. Then I saw this one less than half the length of the first one I watched and I understood WAAAYY better. Guess who is getting pink joycons!!
Hope it goes well!
TronicsFix It went great!! I did the left baby blue and the right baby pink. I’m going to be the envy of all my friends. Thank you so much for posting this!
Nice ove heard so many horror storys of custom stuff im glad it went well!
Im gonna get pink joycons too :D
Thank you for doing this video. I'm going to try and repair my left joycon drift in a few days. I appreciate the teardown so I have an idea what I'm doing.
Good luck! Hope it goes well.
Came here to learn how to make my own custom joy cons. (Custom shell, buttons, analog stick colors, etc...) I have beeb watchung these types of videos for about a year now.
Think you for your video. I really like the fact that I could fix my joy con. It only cost me $6 to order a new joy stick and was fairly simple to fix.
huh? I was expecting the rumble motors to be... fancier I think. they made it sound like the rumble was put in all over the controller. oh well. thanks for the video!
They are pretty fancy when compared to the old way of doing rumble motors (a spinning motor with weights).
indeed that is fancier. Though I'm someone who used to watch old 80's sci-fi movies so my idea of HD rumble pads was different than what they turned out to be
Nearly spent silly money on new joycons instead of repair. This video had just saved me a few ££. Analogue is only £10 and appears real easy to replace. Thanks!!
Thumbs up for Nintendo making the Joy-Cons very modular and thumbs down for using proprietary screws.
Agreed!
So... in total just a fist for Nintendo?
@jackthegamer be super careful with the ribbon though they are so delicate
Helped me a bunch to replace one of the drifting joycons on my brother's old switch. Thank you!
I wanted to open my joycons to paint but now it seems like too much of a hassle. Lol
Do it, you will feel proud and of the finished product. Don't let the controller intimidate you, just do it step by step and it will only take a matter of minutes. I'm 13 and I can do it so i'm sure you can can to!
MyNameIsDave , haha thank you, this actually helped motivate me to do it. Just don't want the chance of breaking my joycons.
I’m hoping to do it with the help of my mom and I’m only 12 but she is a master at that stuff.
@@menot6245 im 29 and im scared shitless lol.
@@yoon5848 have you done it?
So did you find the Ice Cube's Nintendo Said you can feel?
CKkio CKkio they probably melted by the time the system got to him
HD Rumble
@@spicasusl3 whoooooooooosh
do you get it???
whooooooooooosh
Master of your craft indeed , thanks for sharing.
Thanks! I found this very helpful. I spilled wine on my controller and everything was sticky. This guide made things a lot easier than I expected. The only hard part was reconnecting the first two ribbon cables, because they need to be reconnected before the battery holder is screwed in...and everything is so ridiculously tiny; my hands are not.
PERFECT! I went out looking for a Joycon disassembly video, and you were the exact person I was hoping had made one, and you ended up as the first result.
Thank you so much. Was having horrible drift issues with my Joycon and after buying replacement sticks this helped me to safely replace them in less than 30 minutes.
As my kids broke one of my joy cons, this a great help for repairing it, thanks for this tear down video it looks easy enough for me to do it my self.
You're welcome!
Thanks for the vid dude! I got a hell of a deal on a used switch today and noticed that one of the controllers had been dropped and the ribbon was out on the left controller. I was able to remove the small broken bit of plastic and put the ribbon back in place before further damage could happen thanks to your video. Works like a dream.
when you put the two screws in for the mobo, you put them in the wrong place, the holes you used were for the screws that went through the battery holder as well, if you follow this method keep that in mind people!!
Just remember everyone, you don't have to be an electronics expert to clean and repair the insides of your controllers and consoles! As long as you take your time, are gentle, and really look over how stuff's put together, the chances of breaking something are severely mitigated. You should always ground yourself first, and use the right tools for the job (in this case, the tiny ribbon cables warrant tweezers, for example). Checking this video out before I replace the slide locks and joysticks on both Joy Cons just for a general idea since I'll be livestreaming the process to all my Facebook friends and I wanna *look* like I'm an expert.
This is so difficult, I mean putting the ribbon cables back. I genuinely threw my chair in a fit of rage.
Thank you!! I recently modded my Joy-cons and the shell manufacturer's instructional video was rather lacking. I absolutely needed the information in this video in order to complete my project. Very informative, super useful.
Just so everyone knows, Nintendo wanted a minimum of $40 plus shipping for the most common repairs, so imagine the money that would have cost just to fix something so simple. So, you are a money savor as well! Only spent $5 for a complete tool set for the Switch and that was it.
Thanks to your video I can now put my joycon back together. It was the right hand side. But you said they were pretty much the same. So I will be attempting it soon.
Thanks for the video. I had no idea where that spring came from lol
The ribbon cable at 6:58 is the biggest frustration of my life
Quite complicated setup, but thank god is modular... easier fix for us :) Great video TronicsFix, as always.
Yes...I love that you can replace parts.
Hey thanks I just had to attach the ribbons back have no idea how my kids pulled that thing apart but I fixed thanks to you 🙃
Thank you so much, my left shoulder button was jammed after dropping it taking it apart and putting it back together is all it took!
Very helpful for replacing the chassis :)
Love how you decided to cut right where is most important to see.
This guy sounds like my science teacher
For anyone wondering, you can use a joystick from a right controller in a left one (and vice-versa) and they work just the same.
I broke the white part where you connect the ribbon for the zl button. Do I need to replace the whole mother board. It seems like it. Advice anyone?
Thabks, helped me to change analog in the joy con.
If it was drifting then apparently you can just put a 1mm thick piece of paper
Awesome Thank you fixed it in 10 mins after watching your video cheers mate.
Glad this helped!
Thank you tronicsfix. Your channel is awesome. I repair a lot of stuff myself but looking at someone who does this professionally first is very nice for so I don't do any mistakes by being to harsh or something. Awesome!
This looks like the battery will be super easy to replace if your joy-con is still working but your battery is dying. Makes me more hopeful that this controller will have a long life.
Battery replacement shouldn't be super hard.
Man you made the battery look so easy to remove... I've already killed 2 batteries and motherboards on accident by breaking the plastic before the connector ever came apart. ;-;
I've done a bunch of these types of repairs.
@@Tronicsfix you aren't supposed to remove the connector from the motherboard, its two pieces. The cable part comes off and the second black plastic stays on the board.
What if the ribbon cables come unplugged? Specifically the 2 holding the attached to the controller
just did it, its as simple as taking the plastic part off of the top of the controller that holds the battery and they are right there, I did it in a matter of minutes and it works like a charm now!
Nice the joycon looks deceptively simple surprisingly.
Great video tronicsfix.
Think i'll be getting a switch in december.
Hey thanks! It's a fun console.
Thanks so much it help alot
Well awesome video the oposite of those controls my first controls that have 6 parts repaired and all the same using new original parts .
I dont know why im watching since i dont have a switch... BUT GOOD VIDEO!!
thanks for the video. had to repair my left Joy-Con but had to give up
You're welcome! At least you gave it a try
Very Nice work bro.
Good video, nice and clear helpful In my repair
Both my joysticks don't work, and this video is helping me a lot foibding how to replace them. Thanks you very much !
(sorry for bad english, I'm french, etc.)
You're welcome. I have another video coming about how to replace the joystick.
Thank you so much man m'y joycon has broken but your vidéo is very good👌💪❤
i still need to know how i can get the LZ button off the middle piece
Love your videos!
I love to fix stuff just for fun, give me so much joy:) I definitely now have moderate skills:)
Bought Nintendo with issues, that’s how I found your videos. One of joy con is not working. I will take a pat and clean up. Hopefully will fix all. I would like to ask you: where I can find spare parts for joy con if something needs to be replaced? Thank you! Watching all your videos:)))) be healthy and happy, with this crazy nonsense around I more afraid of crazy people not viruses:))))
I was almost done putting the Joy-Con back together, just screwing the back to the front (your guide worked like a charm), then I realized I might not have put in the battery correctly. I started to unscrew what I had done and found that I had worn the top of the screw down and it was stuck. Don't know what to do, and I was so close to being done.
I want to paint my joy cons yellow or buy new shell so thank you this will help
MyTTr I recommend buying a new shell. if you paint the joycons, flakes of paint can fall into the joycon and might mess it up.
This is great. Close up and clear :) Thank you
Could I ask if you can make a video on how to take a wii mote apart? I always damage the plastic clips towards the top of the controller (where the infrared sensor is).
Maybe someday...I'll look into it.
My biggest obstacle was not realizing that the locking mechanisms on different sides for different ribbons. After, I figured that out, it was cake.
Would love to see if you could transfer parts from the joycon to the HORI split pad pro to make the split pad work detached from the switch.
thanks for the hard work
My pleasure!
Does the black film have any importance to the electronic side? Or why didn’t you take that out? Just wondering as I am going to paint mine. Thank you.
It doesn't really matter now, but I would have appreciated if you would have done the Right joycon instead of the left since they are so similar. I have no idea how to correctly dissasemble mine.
Thank you! My ribbon cables got folded and all my buttons wouldn't work except for the joystick
The switch controller is the easiest to fix and replace parts that I have ever seen. You don't even have to solder several important parts.
I really appreciate this! Thank you! One comment though, please explain how to open the locking tab of the ribbon cables for the part where the side L + R are attached. You cut that part out and unfortunately when I tried releasing the locking tab for the one away from the L trigger I broke the locking tab. Other than that, this video really helped!
How repairable would the springloaded catch for the Joy Cons that holds them securely to the switch? The small catch attached to the button on the back near the shoulder buttons.
It seems like it will be common for them to wear out, causing Joy Cons to fall off the switch, and knowing how to repair them seems useful
Great video! May I know how to connect those flexible cables between 2 side of the joycon back? I accidentally disconnected them while disassembling it. And it seems very difficult to connect it back without any tools.
Ya, they are difficult to connect with tools. If you're trying to do it without tools I have no advice for you. Not sure how you would ever do that.
what tool did you use?
Thanks Dude! Helped me fix one!
Thank you - this video helped me.
My right joy con keeps on getting out of my game and opening up the side menu. It would also sometimes pause my game whenI play it. Please tell me what to do. It’s the home button that is broken and sometimes the + button sometimes presses by itself
note to everyone looking to replace sticks in both joycons, the right one is build a little differently. there's more stuff crammed into it, screws are in different locations and the ZR ribbon cable is significantly shorter.
also, this black stuff you have to be careful about when you remove the sticks, jesus it's annoying. it always gets caught on the stick and its a pain to get back into place.
good day, could you provide the sizes of the screws, i know they are tri-wing an philips.. but could you gi the sizes so i can buy spares. best regards
My R button stopped working so I'm guessing the contacts wore down or something. As someone who's not savvy with taking apart electronics & putting it back together, it looks way too fiddly. I bought a replacement joycon & damn they're expensive (especially the discontinued grey), I wish 3rd party joycons were allowed to have all the standard features.
I can’t find anything small enough to unscrew them :(.
Yeah... 😕
Thanks so much for showing reassembly. Usually the teardowns only show disassembly.
Im having trouble getting the 2 ribbon cables that go from the rail to the board back in, any tips? Im really afraid i may have stripped or damaged especially the lower one since my joycon now wont work in handheld mode and only on wireless. Consequently it wont charge the controller either. Any tips would be appreciated
On the battery removed need to have a close up shot to see how it is removed, when I did mine I broke in of the motherboard rip😢
I thought there would be balls in it from 12 switch lol
How much of this could you theoretically remove without actually disconnecting anything? I'm looking to paint and would like to leave as much intact as I can. Awesome video! It's going to help a ton.
Not very much. If you are painting then you'll likely want to strip the entire Joycon so you will have just the shell. It's not going to look great if you don't remove everything out of it.
would you make a video of the inside of the analog-pot please? I'd like to consider a possible way to replace the analog stick in the joycon with something like the analog sticks in the Switch-pro controller. I don't think the analog sticks on the joycon have enough analog movement vs. range-sensitivity.
The inside? So you want to see the analog stick disassembled? I may do that in the future.
TronicsFix exactly! If I could replace the joycon's analog stick box with one from the switch pro controller, that'd be my dream portable joycons lol
The other remote has an IR blaster and the toggle stitch has a sensor that the one you took apart doesn't have.
So....why is there no mention of the removal and reinstallation of the ZL/ZR buttons? It was barely even glossed over "Just put the pieces together and snap it shut, then install the triwing screws" doesnt mention the triggers or the spring that comes with it. (You talked about L and R, but not the Z Triggers).
Hello! Great video. For what I've seen in the comments there is no replacement for analog joystick for the Joycon yet. Could you tell me where should I be looking (besides ebay) for updates on where to find this when available? Is there an specific forum that I should be monitoring? My right joycon joystick jammed after dropping the unit. Now you cant lock it in (as for the telescope in Zelda) I'm not sure if its repairable without replacing the joystick unit. Thanks in advance
Hello, great video. Really like your stuff.
On Ebay and such I only find the "left" shoulder trigger (L button) for the joy cons. Just wanted to ask if those are the some on the left and right ?
Because my "r" button is broken probably because of heavy use.
I highly doubt that there is a different because I haven't found one only for the right. But just wanted to make sure and ask a pro :)
He cut right when assembly the only thing I am having a huge problem with in 6:55
Same! it's like the ribbon lock doesn't want to stay closed..
Hi, Does the Nintendo Switch know the difference between an attached Hori and a attached Official Nintendo Joycon? I'm curious what kind of information that little joycon slot sends to the console
What about the trigger? It's still attached to the middle piece that holds the battery.
One of the y screws completely stripped. I was using correct screwdriver. Any info on how to get them out?
the problem is that nintendo keeps changing where they put the stuff in the joy con. if you dont see where something is it is prpbably moved somewhere else to fix the many "problems" with the joy con
Good stuff but we you could use a video for the right joycon as well. It isn't exactly as easy as the left one.
You skipped the only thing I was looking for: how to remove the joystick ribbon cable.
Thank you!
Whatever it is inside, it’s probably why joy cons are often defective/breaking so easily
Nice tear down video. I’m having the necessity of reduce or totally eliminate the traveling/force needed for pressing buttons. This is because a friend’s daughter has a disease that doesn’t let her press buttons, son a solution could be having “press-less” ones. Any ideas on how to accomplish that ?
I wish I could help you out there, but I have no idea.
The tri-wing screws on my joy-con won't unscrew, the faces are fine must be a problem with the threading.
is it just me or do this conrtoller not have what a 2019 controller does? mine has something sticking out from it that this doesnt
hey help. i dropped my right joycon and the analog stick dosent click in anymore and it wont go all the way to the right. Do i need to replace it. if so were can i buy it
You probably would need to replace it...unfortunately, there is nowhere to buy that part yet.
any updates on this? My right joy con has this problem due to wreckless kids.
Send it to nintendo they will replace it
This happend to me
Bobadooba 123 did you get it replaced mine broke off as well
Would you recommend this to someone looking to paint their joy con a different color? Like to remove all of the inside stuff to get the shell by itself
Life Hacks TH-cam Dude with the Rock my dude I'm here for the same reason. Idk
And make sure to brush it thoroughly so that no paint dust remains.
I got Y000 and Y00 screw drivers and I managed to get one screw off but stripped the last 3.. how did you get them off so easily and what should I do now?
I've got a lot of experience and a good quality tool set. You can try a screw extractor or you can drill them out.
I happened to have an iFixit 20 pc screwdriver lying around with a Y0 bit and that worked like a charm. Look for a Y0 bit. :)