Good news if you are a victim of the famous Joy-Con Drift on your Nintendo Switch. The manufacturer now pays for repairs, even after the 2-year legal warranty has expired.
Since its launch in March 2017, the Nintendo Switch has been dragging a hell of a ball under its feet: the Joy-Con Drift. And if you own BigN’s hybrid console, you may have been a victim of this phenomenon: without warning, your character starts moving for no reason, your kart drifts off course, etc.
This is a drecurring fault on Nintendo Switch joysticks. For a long time, the Japanese firm turned a deaf ear to the problem, before finally taking responsibility in May 2022. Since that date, it is possible to have your controllers affected by the Drift repaired, provided that they are guaranteed.
In fact, if the two-year manufacturer’s warranty had expired, you had it in your baba. Fortunately, third-party companies have since developed accessories to correct this problem.
Nintendo is finally fixing the Joy-Con Drift, even without a warranty
But good news, we have just learned that Nintendo updated its policy this Monday, April 3, 2023. Indeed, the Japanese company announced on its official website Support for repairs of your “drift” Joy-Con, even if the warranty has expired!
“In the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Nintendo will not charge you repair costs until further notice in the event of a stick responsiveness bug that is the result of a manufacturing defect or fault. ‘abnormal wear’, writes the constructor.
Nintendo may refuse in certain situations
Please note, however, that Nintendo reserves the right to refuse the free repair of your Joy-Con in the following situations:
- If the Drift bug was caused by an accessory or other item intended for use with the controller, but not produced by or for Nintendo
- whether the controller was offered for rental or commercial use
- if the bug is the result of accidental damage
- if the bug is the result of your negligence or that of a third party
- if the bug results from abnormal use
- if the bug is the result of an unauthorized modification
- if the serial number of the controller has been modified, defaced or removed
- if the controller has been opened, modified, repaired by a person or company other than Nintendo and its authorized partners
On this last point, Nintendo puts a little water in its wine. Indeed, the manufacturer specifies that if there is no correlation between the opening / modification / repair of your Joy-Con and the appearance of the Drift, repairs will be covered free of charge. If you are affected by this problem, you must submit a repair request on the Nintendo after-sales service site.
