According to the repairability advocates and gleeful disassemblers at iFixit, it’s even harder to fix than the original Switch.
Stick drift is something that can happen to joysticks, usually over time or under heavy usage, where movement is registered without user input.
“From what we can tell, the redesign didn’t include a revision to the core tech that causes joystick drift,” iFixit writes in its blog post.
Being able to replace these things is a high priority for game console repairability.” Overall, iFixit has given the Switch 2 a repairability score of 3 out of 10.
First off, there are no repair parts or repair documentation available for consumers.
Although the eagerly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 finally came out this week, it has one major drawback compared to its predecessor: a better screen, more robust internal components, and easier-to-use controls. Repairability advocates and happy disassemblers at iFixit claim that it’s even more difficult to fix than the original Switch.
The main concern for new owners may be that, even though the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers were redesigned “from the ground up,” the Switch 2 doesn’t appear to have adequately addressed the root cause of stick drift, a problem that many original owners have long lamented.
Joysticks may experience stick drift, which occurs when movement is detected without user input and typically occurs over time or with heavy use. Although it found neither of those in the Switch 2, iFixit notes that less sophisticated joystick technology that uses magnets rather than potentiometers, such as tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors or Hall effect, can help avoid this.
As far as we can tell, the redesign did not incorporate a change to the fundamental technology that results in joystick drift, according to iFixit’s blog post. “If Nintendo isn’t using some miraculous new material on those resistive tracks or if the size change fixes the problem, third-party replacements will be the best option once more.”. “.”.
In fact, iFixit discovered that it is more challenging to replace the Joy-Con controllers this time around. “Joysticks are a high-wear component in whatever technology they use. Even if they never experience drift, they are still susceptible to breaking in a drop. One of the top priorities for game console repairability is the ability to swap these components out. “.”.
Overall, the Switch 2 has received a 3 out of 10 repairability rating from iFixit. Compared to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, which both received seven out of ten, that is one point less than the four out of ten that it recently retroactively awarded the original Switch.
Shahram Mokhtari, the lead teardown technician at iFixit, shows off every component of a potent device that should function roughly as well as the consumers anticipate in its teardown video of the new console. If you need to repair it, he also points out all the issues that would make reassembling it a nightmare.
To begin with, customers are not able to obtain repair parts or repair documentation. The primary storage, the charge ports, and the previously detachable game card reader are then soldered into place. Because the battery and display are glued into place, it will be difficult to remove them if you need to replace them and even more difficult to reassemble everything afterward.
The score of three out of ten is easy to understand when you add in three different types of thermal paste, a ton of Nintendo’s trademark tri-point screws, and what iFixit tells us is “TOO MANY DAMN STICKERS” to highlight any “tampering.”.
According to Mohktari, “is this really the best Nintendo could do after all this time?”. I hope our in-depth review of the console next week goes better.
