Adventures in Nintendo Switch Joycon repair.

The two left side controllers we have were experiencing a lot of “drift,” caused by failing thumbstick sensors. It’s a common issue, which Nintendo hasn’t bothered to fix. Whatever.

Here’s one culprit.

We start by removing four tiny tri-wing or Y0 screws. These things are minuscule. So glad I have my iFixit kit.

A guitar pick or other plastic pry tool will open it up quickly, but be careful. There are two fragile ribbon cables attaching the two sides.

Under the batter is a small tray with five Philips head screws, hiding even more ribbon cables. Only three need to be removed. The other two hold the PCB beneath, which also holds the D-pad. Loosening the PCB can cause the D-pad buttons to wander around and cause problems.

(Ask me how I know. )

The ribbon cables are held by these ridiculously small zero-insertion-force (ZIF) sockets. They’re fragile.

(Again, ask me how I know. )

Out goes the bad one.

I don’t know what the difference is, but here are the two. New third party thumbstick on the left with the green cable. OEM on the right with the blue.

This little guy, the L button, also likes to wander off. Make sure the spring gets aligned in its little notch.

After reassembly, we have a pulse.