Latest news with #iFixit
WIRED
3 days ago
- WIRED
iFixit Says Switch 2 Is Probably Still Drift Prone
A teardown of Nintendo's latest console has found the core tech that causes joystick drift is still there. Plus it's even harder to repair than the original. The long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2 finally dropped this week, and while it makes a number of big improvements on its predecessor—things like a better screen, beefier internal specs, and more accessible controls—there is one thing it's worse at. According to the repairability advocates and gleeful disassemblers at iFixit, it's even harder to fix than the original Switch. Perhaps most worrying for new owners is that, despite a new 'from the ground up' redesign for the Switch's Joy-Con controllers, the root cause of stick drift—something that many owners of the original have long complained of—doesn't seem to have been truly addressed in the Switch 2. Stick drift is something that can happen to joysticks, usually over time or under heavy usage, where movement is registered without user input. iFixit points out that less-drifty joystick tech that relies on magnets instead of potentiometers, like Hall effect or Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors, can help prevent this, but it found neither of those present in the Switch 2. 'From what we can tell, the redesign didn't include a revision to the core tech that causes joystick drift,' iFixit writes in its blogpost. 'Unless Nintendo is using some miracle new material on those resistive tracks, or the change in size magically solves it, the best fix is going to come from third-party replacements again.' Even worse, iFixit found that replacing the Joy-Con controllers is actually more difficult this time round. 'Whatever tech they use … joysticks are a high-wear component. They can still break in a drop, even if they never suffer from drift. Being able to replace these things is a high priority for game console repairability.' Overall, iFixit has given the Switch 2 a repairability score of 3 out of 10. That's one point lower than the 4 out of 10 it recently retroactively gave the first Switch, and lags behind the likes of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, both of which got 7 out of 10. In its teardown video of the new console, iFixit's lead teardown technician, Shahram Mokhtari, showcases all the bits and pieces of a powerful device that's bound to perform about as well as the people buying it expect it to. However, he also highlights all the things that would make putting the thing back together, should you need to repair it, an ordeal. First off, there are no repair parts available or repair documentation available for consumers. Next, the device's primary storage is soldered into place, as is the previously replaceable game card reader and the charge ports. The battery and display are both glued into place as well, making all these parts hard to remove if you need to replace them, and even harder to put back together. Throw in a ton of Nintendo's signature tri-point screws, three different types of thermal paste and what iFixit tells us is 'TOO MANY DAMN STICKERS' to highlight any 'tampering', and the 3 out of 10 score isn't hard to understand. 'After all this time, is this really the best Nintendo could do?' Mohktari asks. Here's hoping the console fares better in our full review next week.
The Verge
3 days ago
- The Verge
iFixit says the Switch 2 is even harder to repair than the original
After retroactively lowering the original Nintendo Switch's repairability score from an 8 out of 10 to just 4 out of 10 to reflect 2025 standards, iFixit has found the Switch 2 to be even harder to fix. Following its full teardown of the new console, iFixit is giving the Switch 2 a 3 out of 10 repairability score thanks, in part, to a battery that's once again 'glued in with powerful adhesive' and flash storage modules and USB-C ports that are soldered to the main board. Nintendo continues to rely on the tri-point screws the company has been using to assemble its consoles and handhelds for decades, and on the Switch 2, many are hidden behind stickers that get damaged in the process of removing them to access the screws. The company has never released repair parts or manuals for the original Switch, and there are currently none available for the Switch 2, so you'll need third-party alternatives to reassemble the console. Components like the headphone jack, speakers, microphone, and microSD reader on the Switch 2 are easy to remove. As are buttons that are soldered to breakout boards, and the console's cooling fan that's held in place by three screws. But iFixit describes removing the Switch 2's battery as an 'absolute mission' and 'just as bad as the original Switch.' Lots of isopropyl alcohol and a 'whole set of pry tools' were needed to remove it, and in the process the foam Nintendo glued to the battery was left disintegrated making a future battery swap a difficult and messy endeavor. The Switch 2's gamecard reader, which was modular and relatively easy to remove and replace in the original Switch and Switch OLED models, is now soldered to the console's mainboard as it is on Switch Lite. iFixit also found three different types of thermal paste used in the Switch 2 which in the original Switch would solidify over time making it hard to remove and less effective at preventing the console from overheating. Even the new Joy-Cons on the Switch 2 are harder to disassemble, which is problematic because the joysticks are using the same potentiometer technology as the original Joy-Cons that rely on a resistive material that can wear away over time. That's one of the causes of the original Switch's notorious joystick drift issue and this time around it's going to be even harder to do repairs or replace the sticks altogether with Hall effect or TMR alternatives.
Engadget
3 days ago
- Engadget
You probably won't be fixing your own Nintendo Switch 2
The techs over at iFixit have completed their teardown of the Nintendo Switch 2, which launched this week . After completing a thorough analysis of the newest Nintendo console, it appears this generation of Switch is even harder to repair than its predecessor. iFixit has assigned the Switch 2 a repairability score of three out of 10. This represents an even lower score than the retroactive four out of 10 they awarded to the original model. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. A substantial consideration in iFixit's scoring system is the availability of repair parts from the manufacturer for the device in question. While there was some hope that Nintendo would have to comply with Right to Repair laws, sufficiently stringent versions of these regulations have yet to materialize , and OEM parts are almost impossible to come by. Further complicating the repairability is that the charge ports, main storage and a game card reader that are all soldered to the board. The USB-C charge ports are a particular pain point here, as disconnecting and reconnecting the charging cable wears on the charge port over time. A bad yank on the charging cable or a fall while it's connected could damage the charge port, which would require re-soldering a new one. iFixit found that the battery was also frustratingly difficult to remove — another major detractor to repairability, as batteries by their nature degrade over time. Beyond being difficult to access without the proper tools, it's held down with strong adhesive that requires a lot of effort (and isopropyl alcohol) to remove. So if you happen to get your hands on a Switch 2, buy a case and baby that battery, because if it needs any repairs you'll likely be shipping it to Nintendo and paying a pretty penny .
Tom's Guide
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Nintendo Switch 2 has just got its first teardown — here's what we learned
Today's the day many a gamer has been waiting for. The Nintendo Switch 2 has officially been released, meaning everyone that was lucky enough to pre-order the console should be receiving it. But while most people will be off playing Mario Kart World, others are diving into the Switch 2 to see what the console is made of — literally. The first teardown of the console has made its way online courtesy of ProModding and it's an interesting watch. This is able to show us exactly what's inside the Switch 2's interior and how the console has been put together. While it doesn't delve into specifics like repairability, there are some insights to be gleaned from the teardown. Right at the very end of the video ProModding notes a few key details about the phone. One of the most important is that the screen has the same film as the Switch OLED, and it's already been widely reported that you should not remove this. Not if you want the screen to actually work in handheld mode. The Joy-Cons also sit tighter than they do on the original Switch, but they can still be wobbled slightly. The thermal paste is also the same as that on the original console, which ProModding notes means that the gray paste will have dried out in around a year and a half. The Verge notes that people have replaced the thermal paste on their original Switch consoles for better performance, and that may be something that the more intrepid Switch 2 owners start doing in the near future — after the warranties have already expired. Finally the YouTuber describes the Switch 2's rear kickstand as "obviously too flimsy." Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Apparently moving it from only a single edge means putting the stand at "high risk" of breaking. So be careful if you plan on using the console in tabletop mode. No doubt this is the first of many teardowns of the console, and it's likely that we'll see a lot more analysis on how the Switch 2 (and Joy-Cons) is built over the coming days. Needless to say, in light of this quick analysis, and iFixit retroactively changing the Switch 1's repairability to 4/10, you may want to be very careful with your new purchase. Especially since it may not be easy to get a new one.
The Verge
5 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
Look inside the Nintendo Switch 2 with the console's first teardown
It's already June 5th in some parts of the world, which means the Nintendo Switch 2 is now out in the wild. Before the first reviews of the new console have appeared online, the YouTube channel ProModding has already shared a 17-minute teardown video of the handheld that includes close-ups of its custom Nvidia processor. Aside from Nintendo hiding a few screws and release latches beneath stickers on either side of the console, the teardown appears to be relatively straightforward if you already have the tools needed to carefully remove ribbon cables and other connectors and don't care about voiding the Switch 2's warranty. The teardown doesn't provide many new insights into the Switch 2's internal hardware, but ProModding did share a few observations of the new console. The Joy-Con controllers do sit tighter when attached to the Switch 2 than they did on the original, but can still be wobbled. Nintendo appears to be using the same types of thermal paste it used on the first Switch, which some gamers have replaced to improve performance and prolong the life of their consoles. They also note that the folding support stand on the back of the Switch 2 is 'too flimsy' and that there is a 'high risk of breakage' when attempting to unfold it from only one side. If you want to know how repairable the Switch 2 is, you might need to wait for iFixit's teardown. Yesterday, iFixit retroactively reduced the original Nintendo Switch's repair score from the 8 out of 10 it gave the console in 2017 to a 4 out of 10, based more on its battery setup and progress made by competitors like Valve's Steam Deck than the finicky Joy-Con sticks.
