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Follow this guide to replace the left joystick in your Nintendo Switch Lite. Replacing the joystick will fix the notorious “Joy-Con drift” issue. (Follow this guide to replace the right joystick in your Nintendo Switch Lite).
The Switch Lite uses JIS screws, but you can use a Phillips screwdriver in a pinch. Be very careful not to strip the screws. iFixit's Phillips bits are designed to be cross-compatible with JIS-style screws.
After the repair, recommend to calibrate the replaced joystick before playing any games.
Note: This procedure requires disconnecting the battery for safety. In order to do this, the shield plate must be removed. The shield plate is bonded to the heat sink with thermal paste, which will need to be cleaned off and reapplied before reinstalling the shield plate.
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Use a Y00 screwdriver to remove the four 6.3 mm-long screws securing the back panel.
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Use a JIS 000 driver or an iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the following screws securing the back panel:
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Two 3.6 mm-long screws on the top of the device
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Two 3.6 mm-long screws on the bottom of the device
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Insert an opening tool into the left speaker grille on the bottom of the device.
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Twist the opening tool to release the clips securing the back panel.
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Slide the opening tool around the bottom-left corner to release the clips on the left side of the device.
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Insert an opening tool into the right speaker grille on the bottom of the device.
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Twist the opening tool to release the clips.
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Slide and pry the opening tool around the bottom-right corner to release the clips on the right side of the device.
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Continue sliding and prying the opening tool along the gap on the top of the device to release the clips.
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Lift the bottom edge of the back panel, opening it like a book.
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Remove the back panel.
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Use a JIS 000 driver or an iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the four screws securing the shield plate:
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Three 3.1 mm screws
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One 4.5 mm screw
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Use a spudger or your fingers to lift the shield plate up and out of the device.
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Remove the shield plate.
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Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the motherboard interconnect cable's ZIF connector.
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Use a pair of tweezers to slide the interconnect cable out of its connector on the motherboard.
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Use the point of a spudger to pry the battery connector straight up and out of its socket on the motherboard.
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crwdns2935267:0crwdne2935267:0Tweezers$4.99
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Use a pair of tweezers or your fingers to pull the left speaker cable straight up and out of its socket on the daughterboard.
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Use a JIS 000 driver or an iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the 4.5 mm screw securing the left speaker module.
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Use your fingers to lift the speaker module up and out of its recess to remove it.
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Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the motherboard interconnect cable's ZIF connector.
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Use a pair of tweezers to slide the motherboard interconnect cable out of its connector on the daughterboard.
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Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flaps on the two ribbon cable ZIF connectors.
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Use a pair of tweezers to slide the daughterboard screen cable out of its connector on the motherboard.
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Repeat this procedure for the volume buttons cable.
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Use a pair of tweezers or your fingers to remove the volume buttons.
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Use an opening tool or your fingernail to flip up the small, hinged locking flap on the left joystick cable's ZIF connector.
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Use a pair of tweezers to slide the left joystick cable out of its connector on the daughterboard.
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Use a JIS 000 driver or an iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the two 4.5 mm screws securing the left trigger button assembly.
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Remove the left trigger button assembly.
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Use a JIS 000 driver or an iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the following four screws:
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Two 4.5 mm screws
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Two 6 mm screws
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Use your fingers to lift the daughterboard up and out of its recess to remove it.
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Use a JIS 000 driver or an iFixit PH 000 driver to remove the two 3.5 mm screws securing the left joystick.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to lift the joystick up and out of its recess.
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Use your fingers to remove the joystick.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.
Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Nintendo Switch Lite Answers community for help.
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Really appreciate the detailed pictures.
ALLEN COLLINS - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0 crwdns2950251:0crwdne2950251:0
Great guide! Circling the screws really helped as went backwards for the reassembly. Not a bad repair just very delicate components. Best of all no adhesive removal required!
lee - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0 crwdns2950251:0crwdne2950251:0
This was great, I love how every step was so simply broken down and had pictures. Thank you, my son is very happy to have his switch back in action.
Louise Perkins - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0 crwdns2950251:0crwdne2950251:0
I followed this guide, bought the tools and replacement part, after successfully doing the replacement, my switch light now won’t power on at all, how can I fix this? any help please…
lczleal - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0 crwdns2950251:0crwdne2950251:0
Hi Iczleal I had the same issue when I first did it and then I went back step by step. Turns out I didn’t plug the battery back in correctly, I recommend just repeating the steps and checking to see if everything is connected properly. Hope this helps :)
Moon Poppy - crwdns2934203:0crwdne2934203:0 crwdns2950251:0crwdne2950251:0
