After a fair bit of bad publicity and even a class-action lawsuit filed against them, Nintendo has agreed to fix consumer’s Joy-Con drift issues free of charge, according to recent VICE report. The report also stated that those who have already paid the company to fix their drifting Joy-Cons will be able to request a refund for the amount paid to have them fixed, which some claim to be over $40 if not covered under warranty. As an added bonus, even drifting Joy-Cons out of the warranty period are to be covered under the new repair plan.
The VICE report stated that they had received an internal memo from an anonymous employee at Nintendo. “Customers will no longer be requested to provide proof of purchase for Joy-Con repairs. Additionally it is not necessary to confirm warranty status. If a customer requests a refund for a previously paid Joy-Con repair […] confirm the prior repair and then issue a refund,” reads the memo as reported by VICE. Nintendo had also released a statement to “various publications over the weekend,” according to the report.
At Nintendo, we take great pride in creating quality products and we are continuously making improvements to them. We are aware of recent reports that some Joy-Con controllers are not responding correctly. We want our consumers to have fun with Nintendo Switch, and if anything falls short of this goal we always encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.com so we can help.
Reports of the issue really exploded after a report from Kotaku shed light on it happening. Many people commented on the report stating that they had similar issues, some even contacting support for an answer. Commenters also suggested possibly purchasing replacement thumbsticks and doing the repairs themselves for far less money.
If you are experiencing Joy-Con drift yourself, you can submit support ticket through Nintendo or call their customer service number at 1 (800) 255-3700, available seven days a week from 6 am to 7 pm PT.