Nintendo Switch Right Joy-Con Shell Replacement

Written By: Matthew Cheney

Comments: 14

Nintendo Switch Right Joy-Con Shell Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

45 minutes - 2 hours

Introduction

After heavy use or excessive force, the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con casing may become worn or cracked. This may expose the Joy-Cons’ electronics, putting them at risk for further damage. However, Joy-Cons may remain functional without a new shell. We suggest replacing the shell before you have to buy a new pair of Joy-Cons. If you wish to fix a worn Switch casing, use this guide to replace the right Joy-Con shell.

Note that the procedure for repairing the Left Joy-Con is different.

Though replacing a Joy-Con shell involves only unscrewing and moving electronic parts, some steps require precision to re-attach small parts.

Because the Joy-Cons are separate from the main system, you do not have to turn off your Switch before replacing the Joy-Con shells.

Tools

Parts

Nintendo Switch Right Joy-Con Shell

Step 1

Remove the 4 tri-wing screws on the back of the Joy-Con.
These are the only tri-wing screws on the Joy-Con. All other screws require a Phillips head screwdriver.

Step 2

Flip open the back shell to expose the battery.

Step 3

Remove the screw connecting the rail to the back shell.

Step 4

Remove the battery and disconnect it from the motherboard. You may use tweezers or your hands to pull connections from the motherboard.
The battery may be difficult to remove due to adhesive. A spudger may help to detach it from the casing.

I messed up the pins for one of the ribbon cables trying to remove the battery connector, be careful with this one, had to order a new motherboard for my joycon

Milky Manz -

Step 5

Before performing the next step, take note of how the antenna cable is seated for proper reassembly.
Remove the small antenna chip (shown in second picture) and disconnect it from the motherboard.

Step 6

Remove the 3 screws holding the battery casing in the shell.

Step 7

Remove the ribbon cables connecting the rail and battery casing to the motherboard. Unlock the cables by flipping the connector upwards with a spudger, then pull the cable out of the connector.
You may even choose to leave the rail connected, though it will be unwieldy.
Be careful not to lift the connectors in the wrong direction. The connection nearest to the shoulder buttons lifts up away from the rail (the black part), and the connection nearest to the rumble motor lifts in the opposite direction, up toward the rail (the thin grey part.)

Gibt es die Platine für die beiden Taster an der Ladeschiene auch als Ersatzteil? Wenn ich der Joy-Con zusammengebaut ist und damit das Flachbandkabel zusammengedrückt wird funktionieren die beiden Taster nicht. Wenn der Joy-Con auseinander gebaut ist und das Kabel langestreckt ist, dann funktionieren die beiden Taster.

Ich hoffe, dass es am Kabel liegt und nicht am Kontakt auf dem Motherboard.

Schulte Kippen - 13/03/21

HEY, BE CAREFUL WITH THOSE RIBBON CABLE CLIPS.

The clip towards the R/ZR buttons releases from the side the cable plugs in.

The clip towards the rumble motor releases from _the opposite side_ as the cable.

Mr. Llama - 23/05/21

Thank you for this! I was wondering why it wasn’t coming up lol

pattie -

Um… what happens if you accidentally push on the gray part of the one near the rumble motor?

Elise Glover -

I found out… it breaks the ability to dock your controller to your switch, you will only be able to play wirelessly and won’t be able to charge your controller. Don’t be like me.

el15ecg -

Step 8

Remove the rumble motor by disconnecting the white 2-pin connector.

WARNING

do not attempt to remove the connector if it can be avoided- it is held in place by two incredibly thin metal strips that can easily bend and warp, making it impossible to put the connector back into place.

The Nones -

Step 9

Remove the black ZR button from the battery casing.
Remove the button sensor by unscrewing it from the battery casing.

Step 10

Remove the two Phillips screws holding the joystick to the motherboard.
Disconnect the joystick ribbon cable from the motherboard.

The joystick ribbon cable releases from the side _opposite_ where the cable plugins in.

Mr. Llama - 23/05/21

Step 11

Remove the two screws anchoring the motherboard to the shell.

Notable omission: be sure to disconnect the Ribbon cables near the bottom left (directly next to the rumble motor connector). You will have to swap the IR sensor and whatever the gold ribbon cable goes to/is (apologies, I don’t really know). Both are loosely held down with adhesive so just do that when you swap the buttons in the next step. When reconnecting the ribbon cables to the motherboard, I found it MUCH easier to put the ribbon cables back in place before screwing in the motherboard. I am amateur at this (only have fixed a couple iphones and few sets of joycons) but I found the angle to be particularly challenging if the motherboard was screwed in.

Garrett Catlin - 05/12/20

Also omitted: be sure to transfer the NFC antenna. It’s the black rectangle that surrounds the joystick that connects to the motherboard with a light brown cable. It’s lightly held in with adhesive, so a little prying should get it loose.

Mr. Llama - 23/05/21

Step 12

Transfer all buttons to the replacement shell.
If any silicone button covers are missing, they may be stuck to the back of the motherboard.

Conclusion

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

Author

Matthew Cheney

Member since: 16/01/20

1065 Reputation

4 comments

Not quite as thorough as the other Joy-con tear down but always a handy thing to have, going by the pictures it gave me all the information I needed personally concerning the screws, so I was able to strip the whole controller down and swap it into another shell. It is straight forward once you get in to it and have to give the author their much deserved credit for posting this up!

Lee Whittaker - 09/08/20

Very good detailed guide, only thing I would change is I’d probably take the rumble motor out right after of even before the battery. It’s pretty easy to remove, you can do it at anytime after opening, and it gets the wires out of the way to make other parts easier.

Dominic Garcia -

I am having difficulty removing the ribbon cable next to the rumble motor on step 7. It would be nice to have a photo of which way the clamp is expected to swing; I suspect I know the correct direction, but my tools are bending it instead.

earthexe -

In fact, this step is unnecessary unless you are replacing the buttons or rail case. The rail may remain attached if you are only replacing the front, back, and middle casing.

earthexe -