How to Fix Stick Drift on a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con

Hi, this video shows you a simple way that can temporarily fix stick drift on a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con. It will only work if the Joy Con is dirty or has had liquid (fizzy drinks) split onto it. It will not help it if there is a broken part inside the analogue stick. It will probably need doing again if/when the problem reoccurs but if you haven't got the skills needed to replace the analogue sticks or the money to buy new Joy-Con then it may help you. It only takes a couple of minutes to do so it is worth a try. If you still have your warranty on your Nintendo Switch then you should contact Nintendo before attempting any repair as it may be replaced/fixed for free.
Stick drift is when the stick moves without any input from the user so you may find your character walking on screen without you moving anything. In this video the problem is delayed inputs which can be seen at the beginning with the analogue stick slow to reset to the central position.
Many thanks, Vince.

[jefflaclaire]

$70 controller vs some dust.
Who will win?!?!

[lanedj]

I’ve officially named this problem
“Tokyo Drift”

[flyingplantwhale]

How did Nintendo allow something like this pass? Cant get a goddamn joystick right. Both of mine do this and they've been treated perfectly since the day of purchase. Less than a year later, they're useless.

[olivecool]

Step 1: create an entirely new controller design and send it to nintendo to use

[JerseyDevils]

There's something wrong with mine, my left joy con keeps going up and stays up, then hesitates to go up when going down. I hope this fixes it, thanks a lot Vince

[Neverdeadly]

Omg...

By the power of My Mate Vince, rubbing alcohol worked.... all I did was lift up the rubber part with a tooth pick and gently swab it with a Q-tip ear cleaner and some rubbing alcohol. I then calibrated the controller with the system settings and the controller no longer drifts. I can play Smash Bros ultimate again!! Thank you Vince you are a hero!!!

[metalfacemartinez]

Stick drift in Fortnite is great practice in learning how to control rage.

[JacobKinsley]

I did the contact cleaner one and pressed a button and had a heart attack because the lights didn't come on... Then I realised my jacket sleeve was covering the lights and I just couldn't see it at that angle.

[tylerheard]

Dude, thank you for this. I didn’t have any fancy electronics cleaner, but I used some tweezers to lift that flap and gave it a few good ol’ fashioned, hearty blows into the control stick. Must have blown free whatever had been stuck in there, and relieved me of a problem that had been driving me nuts for the last 3 months. My stick was much worse than yours though. The thing had a mind of its own. Thanks again!!

[darthvader]

I don't like sand. It gets everywhere. Even into my JoyCon.

[angelaheart]

Didn't even know the calibrate Controller was an option, fixed my drift by re-calibrating and it works flawlessly now. If it ever comes to dust though I'll be sure to come back and watch this again though. You sir are a hero. Thank you for this tutorial!

[emmasealey]

I had problems with my left controller kept moving left whilst playing games. Which was a nightmare. I've done what you shown in the video and used the spray and now the controller is working fine. Thank you for sharing this.

[BowsetteKoopa]

This definitely worked for me, Thanks again for this video! I honestly had no idea about that little flap on the analog! Hahaha! Now my left JoyCon works exactly as it should and I'm no longer accidently walking off cliffs in Breath Of The Wild!

[nattyb]

Just tried it. I was a bit sceptical but wasn't prepared to fork out for another controller, just yet. Its actually worked! My son can finally stop losing his hours spent creating is Minecraft town! A very happy boy and parent 😊. Thanks for sharing

[theanimationmaster]

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH NONE OF THE COMMENTS DONT TELL YOU HOW MUCH THIS ACTUALLY HELPED.





If you need help i recommend getting a cotten pad and ripping a tiny bit of wool from it and stirring it inside of the mechanism with a tooth pick (NOTE MAKE SURE THE SMALL PIECE IF COTTON ISNT FURRY THAT CAN END UP MAKING THE STICK DRIFT WORSE). Be cautious to roll the cotten up into a ball and slowly put it in the white part. Carefully stir it around and it can pick up the deepest dust. The next best thing you can do is open it with a toothpick and BLOW AS HARD YOU POSSIBLY CAN

[iFail]

Wow... A little isopropyl alcohol did the trick.... Been playing like this for ages... Even made me put the switch down for months because it was so annoying. Shame on Nintendo for cheaping out on hardware.

[Arwy_Vaticaa]

Yay! I have been playing with a drifted joy stick for ages whoop-

[sjoerdb.]

I had the issue where the left joycon stick wouldn't fully navigate downwards anymore. Within the calibration menu, the indicator would move down perhaps 50% instead of all the way. Often noticed characters walking forward too and was close to purchasing a new left joycon for alot of money till I found this video and lifted the little rubber cap underneath the stick and sprayed some dust dissolving spray into the mechanism. It worked surprisingly well! Went back to the calibration menu about 10 seconds after spraying and it works as if it were just out of the box! Thank you so much for this video!

[bchesh]

Worked a treat! Little bit fiddly but got there in the end. Thanks very much!

[MrHoneygrams]

every issue ive looked up on youtube as far as console issues you have a video about fixes for it. i was already a subscrber due to the retro content but thankyou for what you do. VERY HELPFUL