The Nintendo Switch is officially out in the wild and we’ve been having fun with it here at Nintendo Today, but I’ve noticed something rather strange when playing using the two included Joy-Con controllers. Sometimes the left Joy-Con controller will periodically disconnect and then reconnect, which can throw off your groove if you’re in the middle of a fast-paced battle in a game like Breath of the Wild.
Left Nintendo Switch Joy Con
Nintendo has a bunch of fixes you can try on their official support page, but people on the internet who have this same issue have reported varying degrees of success for these issues. Here’s what I’ve found that actually seems to work and doesn’t require you to send your system to Nintendo for repairs.
- Add more players to compatible games with a left Joy-Con Controller (Grey). A grey Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controller Strap comes included. The versatile Joy-Con offer multiple surprising new ways for players to have fun. Two Joy-Con can be used independently in each hand, or together as one game controller when attached to the Joy-Con grip.
- Package - Nintendo - Switch 32GB Console - Neon Red/Neon Blue Joy-Con and Joy-Con (L/R) Wireless Controllers for Nintendo Switch - Neon Pink/Neon Green. User rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars with 47388 reviews. $379.98 Your price for this item is $379.98.
Each Joy-Con has a full set of buttons and can act as a standalone controller, and each includes an accelerometer and gyro-sensor, making independent left and right motion control possible. New (2) from CDN$ 114.94 + CDN$ 40.00 shipping.
You need to completely disconnect the controllers.
Left Joy Con Blue
Nintendo’s support documents suggest that you should un-sync and resync your controllers if you’re experiencing this disconnect issue, but their recommended method of doing that doesn’t seem to be as effective.
- Go to System Settings on the Nintendo Switch.
- Select Controllers and Sensors.
- At the bottom of this screen, there’s an option for “Disconnect Controllers.”
- Do this and then power cycle the console by holding down the power button until it turns off.
- Turn it back on and resync your controllers.
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Blue Left Joy Con
With this done, you should be able to play the game will absolutely no issues. I discovered this on the weekend while playing around with my own Joy-Con controllers trying to get them to stop desyncing momentarily. It was enough to drive me crazy because it would happen in the middle of fights in Breath of the Wild and I’d end up dying because I couldn’t move or my controller spazzed out and I couldn’t get away.
Have you experienced any problems with your Joy-Con controllers? Let us know in the comments.
Left Joy Con Not Working
Not only that the Wi-Fi signal of the Nintendo Switch is weak, but the Joy-Con Bluetooth wireless signal as well.
If you’re more than 8 feet away from your Switch, you will start noticing that your Switch is not responding to your control or even worse, if you were going left with your character example, it will keep going left even if you try to go right and this, until the Joy-Cons are paired back properly. Bloggers and Youtubers have reported that the problem is affecting only the left Joy-Con. I am having the issue with my Switch, but it’s affecting both Joy-Con. The left and the right, but worst with the left one I can confirm. The given reason is the lack of a Bluetooth antenna on the left Joy Con. The right one has one, which would explain why the left Joy Con has a poor wireless range. Here is one guy that fixed his problem with the left Joy Con by adding a copper wire.
I know for a fact that it’s not a problem with the Switch as with the Pro Controller, the range is identical as other consoles. Could the poor WiFi signal be fixed with this guys’ solution by adding a copper wire? If Nintendo won’t do returns/repairs for these problems, that might be the last resort and to be honest, it’s a simple fix(talking for the Joy-Con, opening the Switch is another species). You can see the blue Joy-Con(blue one) on this picture(source iFixit.com that tear it down) that it does not have an antenna.
It looks like Nintendo is having is a bunch of hardware issues with its new console and its accessories and it’s hard to imagine that they were not identified previously. Another problem reported being with the docks scratching the Switch’s screen. The dockgate is probably the biggest issue as your Switch has no value and no easy fix. Nintendo has removed all their too very expensive docking stations from the shelves. That’s right; you can’t buy an extra one at this point. Nintendo has stated that the reason is that they are all back order.
Nintendo has a long reputation of making quality hardware. We are pretty sure that shareholders won’t tolerate too many more days of angryness about all of these issues. Everyone is waiting for Nintendo to offer a repair/return/replacement program. Here are a list of all reported issues :
- Poor Wi-Fi signal (antenna problem on the Switch)
- Poor Joy Con wireless range (antenna problem on the controller)
- Switch is freezing
- Switch gamma/brightness/contrast issue
- Switch screen flickering
- Cardridge not detected