Preparing the Workspace
You need a clean table. Not the one where you eat lunch. Find a hard, flat surface. A kitchen counter works, but put down a towel. You don’t want to scratch the screen or the new plastic.
Get a magnetic mat. If you don’t have one, use a small yogurt container lid. The screws are tiny. They will bounce if you drop them. Once they hit the carpet, they are gone. Trust me on this.
You need a specific screwdriver. The Joy-Con uses a Y00 tri-wing screw. A Phillips head won’t fit. If you force it, you strip the head. Then you are in trouble. Also, find a pair of tweezers. Plastic ones are safer. Metal tweezers conduct electricity. One slip and you short the motherboard.
Wash your hands. Grease and oil make the plastic look cloudy. Plus, you don’t want to slip when handling the ribbon cables. Keep a bowl of water nearby to rinse off dust if you are cleaning the internals too.
Disassembly Steps
Start with the four screws on the back of the Joy-Con. They are located near the shoulder buttons and the bottom rail. They are different lengths. The two near the rail are longer. The two near the top are shorter. Put them in different piles on your mat. Mixing them up is bad. Putting a long screw into a short hole cracks the housing.
Once the screws are out, the back cover should lift off. Sometimes it sticks. Gently pry it open with your fingernail or a plastic spudger. Don’t use a metal knife. You will gouge the plastic.
Look inside. You see the battery, the motherboard, and the rumble motors. Be careful with the black ribbon cable connecting the two halves. It is fragile. Do not pull it.
Disconnect the battery first. It plugs into the motherboard with a tiny connector. Pull it straight up. Wiggling it breaks the socket. Now, remove the two black screws holding the motherboard. They are Phillips heads. Keep them separate from the tri-wing screws.
Gently lift the motherboard. The analog sticks and the buttons stay in the bottom half. The board comes away. The ribbon cable for the screen (if it’s an OLED model) or the lights is still attached. Flip the board over carefully.
Assembly and Alignment
This is where people mess up. The new shell is empty. You have to move the buttons and sticks over.
Pop the analog sticks out. They pull straight up. Sometimes the rubber caps stay on the stick. Sometimes they stay on the button. Make sure they go back together correctly. If the cap is loose, a tiny drop of super glue helps. Just a tiny drop. Too much and the stick won’t move.
The silicone membrane for the face buttons needs to be flat. Check the corners. If it folds, the buttons won’t click. Place the membrane into the new housing first. Then drop the buttons in. They only fit one way. The flat side goes down.
Now, the motherboard. Flip it back over. Guide the ribbon cable through the slot in the new shell. Lower the board onto the posts. The screw holes must line up perfectly. If you have to force it, stop. Something is misaligned.
Check the shoulder buttons. The L and R buttons, and the ZL and ZR sliders, have tiny springs. They like to pop out. Make sure the springs are seated in the new shell before you put the board back. If the spring is missing, the button will feel mushy.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
You put the back cover on. Screw it in. The button feels stuck.
Open it back up. Look at the analog stick housing. Sometimes the plastic molding on the new shell is slightly thicker than the original. It rubs against the stick. You might need to shave a tiny bit of plastic off the inside of the shell. Use a sharp knife or a file. Go slow. Plastic shaves away easily.
Another common problem: the Joy-Con won’t sync. Check the ribbon cable. Make sure it is fully seated in the connector. The locking mechanism on the connector is fragile. You have to push the tiny brown flap down to lock it. If it’s not locked, the connection is intermittent.
The rail feels tight. New shells often have flash—extra bits of plastic from the molding process. Run a plastic spudger along the inside of the rail. Scrape off any rough bits. Slide the Joy-Con onto the Switch console. It should slide smoothly. If it sticks, scrape more.
Final Testing Routine
Don’t close everything up yet. Before you screw the back cover on, plug the battery in. Slide the Joy-Con onto the Switch.
Turn on the console. Go to the “Controllers and Sensors” menu. Check the input display. Press every button. A, B, X, Y. D-pad. Home. Capture. Watch the screen. Do the icons light up when you press?
Test the analog sticks. Push them in circles. The cursor should move smoothly. No jumping. No drifting. Click the sticks down (L3/R3). They should click firmly.
Test the shoulder buttons. Sometimes the ZL/ZR sliders don’t connect if the board isn’t seated right. Play a game for a minute. Something fast-paced. Mario Kart or Smash Bros. You need to feel the response time.
If everything works, unplug the battery. Screw the back plate on. Remember the screw lengths. Long screws go near the rail. Short screws go near the top.
Tighten them until they are snug. Do not overtighten. Plastic strips easily. Once the last screw is in, you are done. Your Joy Con shell replacement is complete. It looks new. It feels new. Just don’t lose those spare screws.