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Nintendo was able to fix Switch Joy-Con issues with a tiny piece of foam

Matthew Wilson March 23, 2017 Console

Update: Nintendo has confirmed that a “manufacturing variation” was the source of the Switch left Joy-Con syncing issues. The foam fix that we first caught wind of yesterday will now be put into place for all future Switch units, meaning anyone picking up a Switch when stock returns should not face this issue.

In a statement send to CNET, Nintendo said: “A manufacturing variation has resulted in wireless interference with a small number of the left Joy-Con. Moving forward this will not be an issue, as the manufacturing variation has been addressed and corrected at the factory level.”

Original Story: The Nintendo Switch release has been incredibly successful but not without its problems. One of the larger, more persistent issues was the left Joy-Con, which couldn't provide as strong a wireless signal as the right Joy-Con, causing issues occasionally in games. Now after some investigating, it appears Nintendo has found a very easy fix.

As we discovered from previous teardown videos, the left Joy-Con antenna was sitting right next to a metal plate inside of the chassis, which was likely the cause of poor signal due to interference. As reported by CNET, Nintendo's solution to this is a small piece of conductive foam.

Image Credit: CNET/Sean Hollister 

This piece of conductive foam will have been treated with either nickel or copper and is used to shield the antenna from radio frequency interference. The foam sits right on top of the antenna's PCB traces, allowing to to block the interference caused by the nearby metal plate.

This is a simpler solution to what was previously suggested. One YouTuber in particular was able to solve the issue by soldering a piece of wire to the Joy-Con PCB, extending the antenna and directing the signal away from the metal plate.

KitGuru Says: I am glad Nintendo has managed to find a simple solution to these connectivity issues. Hopefully this piece of foam will be implemented into all Switch units going forward so those buying after the first wave don't need to worry at all.

 

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