Nintendo Switch Left Joy-Con Shell Replacement

Written By: Jose Castro

Comments: 16

Nintendo Switch Left Joy-Con Shell Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

30 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

This guide will help you replace the shell of the Left Joy-Con on your Nintendo Switch (model HAC-015).

If your Joy-Con shell is cracked or showing discoloration, you may want to replace it. The Joy-Con shell protects its inner components while also giving it an aesthetic appeal. A damaged shell will eventually damage the inner components and can also make it uncomfortable to play.

You can find replacement shells on Amazon, where they are much cheaper than buying them through Nintendo. These come in many different colors and designs.

When following the steps, be sure not to strip any of the screws or remove any components using too much force. Any small damage can cause your Joy-Con to not work after reassembly.

If you would also like to replace the Right Joy-Con shell, there is a helpful guide on iFixit that can walk you through that process.

Tools

Step 1

Start by unscrewing the four (4) tri-wing ("Y00")from the back panel.
Keep the screws somewhere safe and organized.

Step 2

Insert an opening pick into the seam at the bottom edge of the controller (opposite the L and ZL buttons).
Slowly slide the flat edge of your opening pick up the side of the Joy-Con.

Step 3

With the charging rail facing away from you, open the Joy-Con like a laptop.
Do not fully remove the back panel yet; there are still two ribbon cables connecting the charging rail to the motherboard.

Step 4

Gently pry the battery connector straight up from its socket on the motherboard using a plastic spudger (avoid metal ones to reduce the risk of shorting components). This will keep the Joy-Con from powering on during the repair.
Use caution while working around the rumble's module cable which runs in the vicinity of the battery connector.
When handling electronics and/or batteries, it's a good idea to wear at least an anti static bracelet.

Step 5

Insert a spudger between the battery and the Joy-Con housing.
Gently pry out the battery.
The battery is lightly taped in place.
Be careful not to deform, puncture or damage the battery.

Step 6

Remove the three (3) 3½mm golden Phillips #00 screws from the midframe.

Step 7

Carefully flip the midframe over, away from the motherboard, as if you were turning the page of a book.
The ribbon cables are extremely fragile. It is advised to use non-sharp tweezers rather than bare hands.

Step 8

Use tweezers to flip the ZIF connector lock opposite the cable.
The ZL button is locked in place by a small ZIF connector on the motherboard.
Use tweezers to gently pull the ZL button flex cable out of its ZIF connector socket. The midframe is now disconnected and can be removed.

Step 9

Unlock the rail's top ZIF connector and then disconnect the cable.
Unlock the rail's bottom ZIF connector and disconnect the cable. We can now remove the rail from the back frame.
Remove the L button and its spring.
Be careful because the spring tends to fling away.

Details for removing the ZL trigger are Step 12

Luke Lucas - 07/04/23

I think this guide mean L button and spring instead of ZL button since that is attached to the mid frame which was removed before this step.

Callum M. -

Step 10

Remove the screw holding the rail in place. Remove the rail from the back frame and set it off to the side.

Screw is Philips #00 as well

Doc Halstater -

Step 11

Remove the latch button and set it off to the side.

Step 12

Depress the latch underneath the trigger using tweezers. Gently pry the trigger off.
Make sure to note the position of the two springs under the trigger as they will need to go back in the same spot on the new mid-frame.

Ahh nevermind. Figured this one out via brute force. Press and hold near the bottom of the trigger button—to keep the springs from flying away—then use a prying tool (I used a flat pick) to separate the top of the button from the midframe. The trigger button is held in place from behind with two circular indentations near the top of the button. Pry the button straight away from the midframe to release them.

synthmage -

Step 13

Remove the screw holding the circuit board for the trigger in place.
Remove the circuit board.

Step 14

Remove the screws holding the joystick in place.
The top-left screw is covered by the L button's flex cable.
Unlock the ZIF connector and remove the ribbon cable using tweezers.

Unlock the ZIF connector and release the ribbon on the left that is covering a screw before attempting to remove the screws

Luke Lucas - 07/04/23

Step 15

Remove the joystick.

Step 16

Remove the screws holding the flex circuit (marked by a red circle) for the minus and L buttons.
Remove the flex circuit.

Step 17

Remove the minus button.
There will be a silicone membrane covering the minus button. Make sure to put it back over the minus button during reassembly.

Step 18

Remove the screws holding the motherboard in place.

Step 19

Using the spudger, gently pry the rumble pack out of its housing.
Remove the rumble pack and the motherboard.

Step 20

Remove the remaining five buttons from the shell.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Jose Castro

Member since: 16/01/20

917 Reputation

11 comments

This guide was very helpful! A picture of the latch location on the trigger (step 12) would have been a big help, that step took a minute because I was putting pressure on the wrong spot.

I also noticed that most of the #00 screws were more receptive to a J00 bit. Might be worth noting in the tools section since swapping between them can strip a screw.

Fitz Montville - 28/05/20

Used this guide for reference on the tools needed, someone else pointed out to use the J00 bit instead of the P00 and I’ll second that as the fit for the screws was much better, thanks for the guide much appreciated!

Lee Whittaker - 09/08/20

Exactly what I needed! Dropped a set of controllers on a tile flow and the rail popped out and pulled the ribbon cables too. I picked up another iFixit toolkit with some J bits to put it back together. I don’t know why I waited this long to fix it. Charged the controllers overnight and I’m up another set now!

energy96 - 13/10/20

Others above have mentioned that they needed to use a J00 bit instead of P00, but mine did not work with a J00 and was better with a P000

Jeremy Johnson - 27/12/20

Small thing. In the tools list, it incorrectly says Y0 while the rest of the post correctly says Y00 for the back screws.

William Doering -

Thanks!

Just need a review for add the instructions for removing the L button, between steps 8 and 9 ;)

kazulius -

Nicht ohne Lupe, Pinzette und Spudger als Brillenträger an diese Reparatur gehen. Die Verbindungen der Flachkabel sind verdammt klein. Eine Gute Anleitung. Hat bei mir funktioniert!

Gerd Paßmann -

I followed these instructions and everything works perfectly except my Switch doesn't think the joycon is attached anymore; it thinks I'm using it wirelessly even though it's docked into the system. Any advice?

Dani Watson -

It means you did not situate your Joycon rail correctly, since it does not “click” with the console. Take it apart, make sure the detach button and rail ribbons are secure, readjust, and reassemble your controller

James Conklin -

Please help...

So I followed the instructions step by step, however now the left joy con does not want have a connection status on the switch, it thinks it is disconnected.

Leonard -

Great guide, used it to mod my shell and replace the thumbstick at the same time. The only thing I would say is that if you are replacing the rail and slide locks you'll need a bit of extra guide via YT or something (not sure if there is one on here.) As others have said 'depress the latch' for the ZL button is tricky (kind of just pulled about on mine until it came off, still not sure where the latch is.) And one final thing, it says ZL button at one point but ZL is a trigger - they mean the Z button. But again, great guide, far less issues than expected - thank you to the author.

Luke Lucas - 07/04/23