My left Joycon's stick just started drifting massively.

[Elfotografoalocado]

Pretty self-explanatory, the up-down movement works fine, but side to side its very unresponsive, sometimes it takes the input, others it doesn't, sometimes it drifts to the left. The stick feels a bit wonky and harder to move than usual but not all that much. People on Reddit say when this happens the step 1 is lifting the rubber to clean what's beneath. What else can I do?

 

[SkekesisVR]

Had the same issue. People on reddit said to use canned air to spray the dust out from under the analog flap, but that didn't fix the issue for me. Was about to buy a new controller when I read about trying QD electronic contact cleaner instead.

https://www.amazon.com/CRC-05103-Electronic-Cleaner-11/dp/B000BXOGNI

Did this 2 months ago and haven't had an issue since. My right stick used to drift every 10-15 seconds making shooting games impossible.

 

[Egida]

Happened to me some weeks ago.
This is what they told me to do:
- Try to resincronize the joycon.
- Update it.
- Calibrate it.
- Set the calibration to factory settings (in the calibration screen, press Y).

In my case, nothing of this worked, so I had to send them to the maintenance service.

 

[TripaSeca]

Happened to me as well and I fixed it by opening the controller and taking out the analog stick, opening it and removing a tiny bit of dust that was messing with the contacts. Such a bitch.

 

[reminio]

I have this issue and its fucking annoying. You think controllers as pricey as the joy cons wouldnt have this issue...

 

[oatmeal]

Yeah when I play BOTW, if I hit left he continues to walk that direction for a bit even after the stick is centered.

 

[Ranmo]

https://www.amazon.com/CRC-05103-Electronic-Cleaner-11/dp/B000BXOGNI

Did this 2 months ago and haven't had an issue since. My right stick used to drift every 10-15 seconds making shooting games impossible.

Click to shrink...

Hmm, I might have to try this for my Wii u sticks. It's been annoying and I haven't been able to fix them. Thanks for that link.

 

[Sceptre]

iv had this problem for months. iv tried everything, and nothing worked. finally, this solved my left con's drifting issue

Spoiler

but now my "-" button is completely unresponsive. probably sprayed too much, and while it was on.

 

[Stuntman]

Happened to my right joycon, cleaned it from the outside but happened again after some hours of playtime. I just ended up opening my joycon, tearing down the stick enclosure and cleaned it all, now it feels like brand new.

 

[cosmickosm]

Just started noticing the same thing a few weeks back. Makes for 4 player Puyo Puyo Tetris a bit frustrating for one player.

I tried updating and calibrating it but that didn't seem to do anything.

 

[Deleted member 15538]

I"ve never removed them from the bulky litlle tablet but I really should as I have 6 months warranty left lol.

 

[Deleted member 71]

This happened to me about a year ago. I had to send it off to Nintendo to repair it, fortunately they paid for the shipping.

 

[lowmelody]

Same damn thing happened to me and was worried that it got damaged some how. Made playing Okami an existential crisis.

 

[eseqko]

Had the same issue. People on reddit said to use canned air to spray the dust out from under the analog flap, but that didn't fix the issue for me. Was about to buy a new controller when I read about trying QD electronic contact cleaner instead.

https://www.amazon.com/CRC-05103-Electronic-Cleaner-11/dp/B000BXOGNI

Did this 2 months ago and haven't had an issue since. My right stick used to drift every 10-15 seconds making shooting games impossible.

Click to shrink...

So how did you apply it? I'm having the same issue and compressed air isn't working.

 

[HighFive]

Happen to me. Remove the cap of the joycon ( be very careful if your doing this ) , clean up, put back cap and work like a charm. But , now my cap is not looking perfect like it was, but it fixed the issue for me. Its just hard to put back cap as it was, its not perfect.

 

[BaloneyFraise]

Seems to be happening with me too, makes trying to build something in Minecraft a real pain.

 

[mrpoopy]

Fixed mine with some WD-40. Just sprayed it on the bottom part of analog stick. No need to take it apart .

 

[Bitanator]

mine will drift downwards, in the eshop I will not be touching anything and it will scroll down. Hollow Knight was a pain because of this

 

[ElGoldur]

Happened to me. Sent mine to Nintendo maintenance service. Got a new one.

 

[Elfotografoalocado]

Yeah, contact cleaner is what I thought of, problem is I just moved last week and I have no tools whatsoever hahaha.
My girlfriend does, so I'll make her bring it tomorrow and update on how it goes.

 

[Tito]

OMG, I have the same, can someone post a step by step solution?

I have contact cleaner and WD 40, but if I'm going to open it, I need some guide it something.

 

[Noobcraft]

I just had to send one of my joycons to Nintendo for repairs (free) because of this. Pretty disappointing given the cost of the controllers but at least it happened under warranty.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

People, try lifting up the rubber thing underneath the top of the stick and air blasting it.

Worked for me and I sent one in for the problem ages ago and probably wouldn't have had to.

Of course it's not necessarily that though.

 

[MattD]

Happened to me a while back. I sent it to Nintendo, they sent it back and it was like new. Then I started having even more severe drifting issues with the new one after a month or so. Still haven't done anything about it after all this time because I have no faith that they'll actually fix it lol.

 

[Squid Bunny]

A friend of mine used WD and it fixed his issue, but now his Zr button and joycon LEDs stopped working.

 

[Nacho]

I've had to recalibrate my left stick every month or so since release. It also stopped clicking in eventually so I wound up just getting a new pair. It now occurs to me that it'd be super easy to just replace the joystick and buy the part for cheap

 

[BAN PUNCHER]

Have you tried Eurobeat?

 

[Shadow]

Tried the canned air thing before and that just works temporarily. After a week or so it just goes back to drifting. I've tried this on about 4 joycons too.

Sent a set of joycons to Nintendo and they replaced it, but 6 months later it's back to its old self.

Took the joycon apart and took out the control stick, but I didn't take the control stick apart because I've read it's pretty hard to get it back together.

Here's a link on how to do it if anyone's brave enough. https://www.instructables.com/id/Nintendo-Joycon-Drift-Fix-Not-Software-Related/

I bought control sticks from eBay and will probably brave taking the old one apart now.

This is a hardware flaw that'll most likely affect everyone after a period of time. I hope they fix it in a future revision.

 

[mrpoopy]

OMG, I have the same, can someone post a step by step solution?

I have contact cleaner and WD 40, but if I'm going to open it, I need some guide it something.

Click to shrink...

Just spray some WD-40 directly on the bottom of the stick and wiggle it a bit to loosen it up. No need to open it .

 

[SkekesisVR]

So how did you apply it? I'm having the same issue and compressed air isn't working.

Click to shrink...

Used a similar approach to compressed air. Lifted the flap and gave it a very quick and small spray. I rotated the joystick a few times after spraying to make sure it hit all of the contact points.

 

[Devil]

Wait for the pink sparks for a massive boost!

Spoiler

Sorry..

 

[Sal_S]

Happens to my Wii U Pro controller and used to happen to my left Joycon (down insted of left tho). The pro controller gets (temporarily) fixed by blowing on the inside while spinning the stick.

I dont remember how I fixed the Joycon, but it might've been that or just re-calibrated. It's fine now.

 

[Perona]

It's been happening to me for months and seems to be pretty widespread. It's so dumb that a little dust can ruin the joycon like that.

 

[hiro_x]

Happened to both of my joycons. I used WD-40 contact cleaner, spray it on qtips and wipe under the flap. My right joycon worked fine after doing it once, the problem comes back with my left joycon about once a month and just do it again if it comes back.

After wiping with qtips with the WD-40, do a circular motion with the analog pressed down then let it dry.

 

[Alek]

One of my four shipped like this, I just dealt with it. Seems super common.

 

[Vishmarx]

Happened with both my joycons. Started right ass i began playing bayonetta. No cleaning solutions worked for me. Its just shoddy low quality springs.

 

[Herb Alpert]

Yeah I've got the same issue with the right one :/

 

[EdwardTheHuman]

Electric Contact Cleaner

 

[BlackRainbowFT]

I was on the same boat after 3 months of heavy use (only the left joycon).

I bought some canned air and tried to clean it to no avail... But, during my umpteenth attempt at fixing it, the can released some liquid (because I tilted the can too much) and... That sort of fixed it.
It used to drift -all- the time, making Mario Odyssey more like Mario's Calvary... Now it drifts once every few hours and it's not even noticeable. Yesterday I collected my last moon. All's well that ends well (for now).

Edit: Imma buy some electric contact cleaner like a few people suggested.

 

[The Three]

1. Get some Electronic Contact Cleaner (heaps of brands make it, including WD-40 but DO NOT USE regular WD-40).
2. Detach Joy-cons and make sure they're turned off.
3. Move the joy-con stick to one side and, using a toothpick, needle or similar, peel up the small rubber flap underneath the joy-con stick.
4. Spray a small amount of cleaner into the opening under the rubber flap. Note that doing this whilst keeping the rubber flap up can be very finicky.
5. Repeat on the other 3 sides and wait 2-3 minutes for the cleaner to dry.
6. Attach and re-calibrate the joy-cons.

 

[Misterman]

Send in for repair if nothing works.

 

[StraySheep]

I feel like we shouldn't have to do anything but send it to Nintendo? The lengths you guys are going to...

 

[depward]

This is wild. Having this issue with my right joycon and seemingly... very much not alone! I'll have to try some of these suggestions.

 

[The Three]

I feel like we shouldn't have to do anything but send it to Nintendo? The lengths you guys are going to...

Click to shrink...

Buying a $5 can of cleaner and going through a 10 minute process feels like less hassle than sending your controllers to Nintendo though.

 

[Chae3001]

I recently tore down my out of warranty joycons to replace the cases (used a Dpad conversion case for the left), and simply replaced the joystick. They are 13 bucks on Amazon, so as long as you have the right tools, some magnifying glasses, and some time, it's a straightforward (but I won't say easy). I was only brave enough to try as they were an extra pair, as you can easily ruin a ribbon cable connector (learned my lesson from ruining a PSP during a case swap).

 

[Brandon]

I have this issue and have tried every fix I could find and none worked.

The only thing I haven't done is send it in.

 

[JershJopstin]

Happened to me as well and I fixed it by opening the controller and taking out the analog stick, opening it and removing a tiny bit of dust that was messing with the contacts. Such a bitch.

Click to shrink...

Happened to my right joycon, cleaned it from the outside but happened again after some hours of playtime. I just ended up opening my joycon, tearing down the stick enclosure and cleaned it all, now it feels like brand new.

Click to shrink...

Just did this today myself after canned air was proving not to work. There's a bit of mechanical deadzone horizontally in the center now though; do either of you experience this? Basically, if I'm pressing straight up or down, it'll be biased towards whatever side I pressed last. I think it's because I noticed one of the contact arms was bent out of shape (probably because of me, I was a bit clumsy) and I tried to bend it back, but might've messed it up. Either way it's far preferable to the drifting stick.

 

[Birdseeding]

I used an old toothbrush and some hand desanitiser, it seems to work fine now.

 

[Elfotografoalocado]

1. Get some Electronic Contact Cleaner (heaps of brands make it, including WD-40 but DO NOT USE regular WD-40).
2. Detach Joy-cons and make sure they're turned off.
3. Move the joy-con stick to one side and, using a toothpick, needle or similar, peel up the small rubber flap underneath the joy-con stick.
4. Spray a small amount of cleaner into the opening under the rubber flap. Note that doing this whilst keeping the rubber flap up can be very finicky.
5. Repeat on the other 3 sides and wait 2-3 minutes for the cleaner to dry.
6. Attach and re-calibrate the joy-cons.

Click to shrink...

Oh, I know, people use regular WD40 on the strangest places. Seen people use it as degreaser for bikes, and even on the brake calipers :(
Thanks for the more detailed process. It's not necessary to wipe down the dirt, or is it enough with some circular motions?

 

[Dussck]

I have an issue with the left one where it sometimes registers an 'up' input when I clearly just go left or right. This is litterally killing me sometimes in Hollow Knight.