YouTuber Fixes Switch Joy-Con Drift Issues With Paper

Any Nintendo Switch fans who have controllers suffering from the dreaded drift issue know how frustrating the problem is. The Joy-Con drift issue happens when characters on-screen move even when no pressure is applied to the analog joystick. The drift issue can make some games virtually impossible to play.

So far, Nintendo hasn't been helpful with remedying the issue and has been reluctant to replace some impacted controllers. Nintendo's reluctance and the widespread nature of the issue have led to some lawsuits. For anyone suffering from the drift issue, a YouTube channel called VK's Channel has shown a very simple solution to the controller drift issue.

A video posted to the channel yesterday shows that pressure on the controller case eliminates the drift issue. The fix involves opening the case of the Joy-Con controller and inserting a small piece of paper or cardboard roughly 1 millimeter in size where the analog stick is located.

According to the video, the fix works on both the Switch and Switch Light consoles. The video isn't long, and the fix isn't difficult to apply. The entire length of the video is 7:31 seconds, with some of that time allotted to explaining what drift is. The instructions on fixing the issue start at the 5:55 second mark.

While the fix reportedly solves the issue of control drift, anyone planning to crack their Joy-Cons open should know that it will likely void the warranty. That will mean that should Nintendo ever come out with an official fix; you may be ineligible. Along with devising a fix for the drift issue, the video also discovers the exact cause of controller drift. It appears the prongs inside the controller lose contact with the pads over time. The piece of paper or cardboard shoved inside puts pressure on those contacts resolving the issue.