How to Replace Your Nintendo Switch Joy

Replacing your Switch Joy-Cons can be a tricky process where you can often get lost. Fortunately, we've got a guide to help you every step of the way.

Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons come in a huge variety of fun colors, but they simply might not appeal to you. Perhaps you’re trying to recreate the Animal Crossing edition Joy-Cons, or your old shells are damaged and need replacing.

Regardless of your reasons, swapping your Joy-Con shells is a tricky process that can easily go wrong. In this guide, we will walk you through every step, so you can replace your Joy-Con shells safely.

Replacing the shells on your Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons involves voiding the warranty. With most other controllers, this might not be much of an issue. But Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons develop stick drift at a much faster rate than other controllers do, so you might find yourself needing to use that warranty sooner rather than later.

Understanding that you cannot send your Joy-Cons away for a free repair if you swap your shells is very important. However, the process of changing your Joy-Con shells teaches you exactly how to replace the joysticks on your own if you should ever need to.

Swapping your Joy-Con shells is fiddly but quite simple if you have the right tools. Here is a list of everything you will need for the job:

You might be tempted to substitute the screwdrivers for other similar ones if you don't have the right size, but that is not recommended. The screws in your Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons will strip very easily, especially if you are using the wrong-sized tools.

Swapping your Joy-Con shells involves opening them and fiddling around with the most delicate parts of your controller. Before you begin, there are a couple of things you should note. Firstly, make sure that you are always applying gentle pressure and treating everything with care, especially when it comes to the motherboard and ribbon cables.

It's also a great idea to take note of where everything goes when you are taking your Joy-Con apart to help you when it comes to putting it back together. If you ever forget where something goes, take a look back over the images in this guide and follow the directions in reverse order.

In this example, we will be showing you how to swap the shells on the right Joy-Con because it has one extra component. The rest of the process is near identical when it comes to the left Joy-Con.

Now that all the pieces of your Joy-Con have been removed from the old shell, you can begin reassembling your controller by following these same steps backwards.

If your controller was drifting, replace the joystick with a brand new one during the reassembly process to completely fix your Joy-Con drift. Now is also a great time to check your battery to see if it's bulging. If it is, it's time for a new one, and there is no better time to replace your Joy-Con battery than when it's already taken apart.

Replacing your Joy-Con covers is intimidating, but this guide should make the process much easier for you. The main thing to remember when opening up your Joy-Cons, whether it be to replace your joystick, battery, or shells, is to treat everything as delicately as possible to avoid any damage.

Thankfully, components are cheap to find and replace online. So if you were to snap a ribbon cable or even damage the motherboard, it would certainly be inconvenient, but you can replace it relatively easily.

Laura-May Randell is a Lvl 30 gamer and writer based in Australia. Gaming was her first passion in life, ignited by Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot on the PS1. Since then, the Nintendo Switch has taken over as her console of choice.After completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English, Laura was able to turn her love of both video games and writing into a full-time career in 2022.When she’s not writing or playing through The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the one-millionth time, you can find her streaming on Twitch or creating Nintendo content on YouTube.