# Quick Questions: ACNH Character Moves Left By Itself - Character Drift



## Leann (May 2, 2020)

I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.

My character slowly walks left when I am not even touching my controllers...
Sometimes this interferes with gameplay, and makes terraforming a complete nightmare...
Running away from tarantulas is also hopeless, as sometimes my character, despite my best efforts, walks left towards the tarantulas...
Putting up fences, and furniture is frustrating...

*Animal Crossing is the only game this happens on.* I also have Pokemon Shield, and Let's Go Eevee and this doesn't happen when playing those games.
My boyfriend also tried recalibrating the controllers, and updating the controllers from the systems menu, but it did not fix the problem...

So is it me? The game? The controller? Anyone else experiencing this?


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## lieryl (May 2, 2020)

same thing is happening to me lol i hope it’s not joycon drift because i changed out my shells


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## Leann (May 2, 2020)

It's so frustrating...

I'm not sure what to do, and new controllers are pretty expensive...


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## Cheallaigh (May 2, 2020)

sorry, it's the drift... you can try cleaning the left toggle with alcohol and a q-tip, it can help... but you might need to replace the controller eventually. i had to replace mine, it got so bad i couldn't function in game.


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## Nefarious (May 2, 2020)

If it’s shown to be drifting during calibrating it’s 100% joycon drift. It’s probably more likely to show itself when you’ve been playing Animal Crossing for 100+ hours. 

You should try the q-tip fix and if that doesn’t work, you might have to send them to Nintendo for repairs or buy new ones entirely.


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## Cheallaigh (May 2, 2020)

NefariousKing said:


> If it’s shown to be drifting during calibrating it’s 100% joycon drift. It’s probably more likely to show itself when you’ve been playing Animal Crossing for 100+ hours.
> 
> You should try the q-tip fix and if that doesn’t work, you might have to send them to Nintendo for repairs or buy new ones entirely.


i was forced to buy new ones, since the repair places are currently closed(i did make a ticket with them though), lucky i found a pair of bright green at least... not a single left one of any colour was available for me to find.


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## Leann (May 2, 2020)

NefariousKing said:


> If it’s shown to be drifting during calibrating it’s 100% joycon drift. It’s probably more likely to show itself when you’ve been playing Animal Crossing for 100+ hours.
> 
> You should try the q-tip fix and if that doesn’t work, you might have to send them to Nintendo for repairs or buy new ones entirely.



You are pointing to the possibility that it's a problem with the controllers... But *the controllers work fine in other games*...
When recalibrating, my boyfriend said the "+" is dead center and doesn't seem to have any problems...


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## Cheallaigh (May 2, 2020)

Leann said:


> You are pointing to the possibility that it's a problem with the controllers... But *the controllers work fine in other games*...
> When recalibrating, my boyfriend said the "+" is dead center and doesn't seem to have any problems...


mine didn't show off-centre for calibration and since i'm only playing AC right now i can't confirm if it did or didn't affect other games. what i can tell you, it made me terrified of spiders even more than my typical phobia, because i couldn't even try facing them to capture them. the control was always trying to turn left or spin up and walk/run on its own. it was gradual at first, i noticed it was hitching/stuttering a little when walking/running straight down, then it started spinning occasionally left and then walking left, as it got worse it would spin to straight up and run. because it kept moving it kept cancelling things, i'd go to dig or place something and end up spinning around and digging up/placing wrong. i have a pro controller so i was using that for the last two weeks and that was a pain, because gods forbid i bumped the joycons, i'd have to restart the game to get it back to the pro controller... since thurs i've been able to play fully hand-held again, which is a relief.


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## Leann (May 2, 2020)

NefariousKing said:


> If it’s shown to be drifting during calibrating it’s 100% joycon drift. It’s probably more likely to show itself when you’ve been playing Animal Crossing for 100+ hours.
> 
> You should try the q-tip fix and if that doesn’t work, you might have to send them to Nintendo for repairs or buy new ones entirely.



Do I need to take apart the controller?


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## Nefarious (May 2, 2020)

Leann said:


> You are pointing to the possibility that it's a problem with the controllers... But *the controllers work fine in other games*...
> When recalibrating, my boyfriend said the "+" is dead center and doesn't seem to have any problems...



Maybe his only started drifting? Mine started out small but has become progressively worse to where changing stuff in system settings is a pain. It can be really subtle when calibrating. Move the stick just a bit and if after a while they stutter or move slowly back to center, more so than they did before, than that does indicate the start of a drifting joycon.



Leann said:


> Do I need to take apart the controller?



For the q-tip fix, no, you apply rubbing alcohol around the joystick (make sure you lift up the protective sleeve it has) using a q tip. There are other fixes if that doesn't work out that does involve taking the joycon apart, but honestly, if you don't feel sure about doing that yourself, you're better off sending your joycons to Nintendo to get them fixed that way.



Cheallaigh said:


> mine didn't show off-centre for calibration and since i'm only playing AC right now i can't confirm if it did or didn't affect other games. what i can tell you, it made me terrified of spiders even more than my typical phobia, because i couldn't even try facing them to capture them. the control was always trying to turn left or spin up and walk/run on its own. it was gradual at first, i noticed it was hitching/stuttering a little when walking/running straight down, then it started spinning occasionally left and then walking left, as it got worse it would spin to straight up and run. because it kept moving it kept cancelling things, i'd go to dig or place something and end up spinning around and digging up/placing wrong. i have a pro controller so i was using that for the last two weeks and that was a pain, because gods forbid i bumped the joycons, i'd have to restart the game to get it back to the pro controller... since thurs i've been able to play fully hand-held again, which is a relief.



_Oh man, yeah, I'm having this same problem. I'm dreading running into Scorpions now because of this really bad drifting problem. _Replacing Joycons is really expensive, so I was holding out till this pandemic blew over to send mine in for repairs, but at this point I'm tempted to just replace them entirely or get a pro controller.


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## Lilette (May 2, 2020)

Mine first staring drifting in Let’s Go Eevee, so I got a used left joycon right before Swoed came out. At first it also drifted but only in Sword and only on the map. 

It now drifts in all my games and in the calibration menu. I bought a repair kit and will try fixing my older joycon since it’s drift is worse than my newer one. :/


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## Cheallaigh (May 2, 2020)

NefariousKing said:


> Maybe his only started drifting? Mine started out small but has become progressively worse to where changing stuff in system settings is a pain. It can be really subtle when calibrating. Move the stick just a bit and if after a while they stutter or move slowly back to center, more so than they did before, than that does indicate the start of a drifting joycon.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


it gets really fun, when it's like spinning a wheel when you go to click on any menu/bag item, and you pray it stops on what you wanted. it took about a month for mine to get that bad from when i noticed the stuttering/hitching when running/walking, which is sad since we bought the switches in feb(we have one each my hubby and i)... his so far doesn't have the same issue. we weren't happy about buying me new ones(though i was really happy with the colour!), had to really search to find ones that weren't sold out in my area and 2 weeks to deliver thanks to the virus. i bought the pro controllers for both of us about a week after i knew i had the drifting issue and no real way to fix it(couldn't even find the replacement parts). hubby doesn't use his hand-held as much as i do, so he could probably wait a while at least... but there is no telling how long before we can send mine in to be fixed and it was unusuable without the pro controller at this point.


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## Leann (May 3, 2020)

Hmm I see...

would the rubbing alcohol damage anything in the controller? 

I thought it would be an Animal Crossing issue... I read somewhere that this happens as you fill you island with more things...


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## Stereokay (May 3, 2020)

Leann said:


> Hmm I see...
> 
> would the rubbing alcohol damage anything in the controller?
> 
> I thought it would be an Animal Crossing issue... I read somewhere that this happens as you fill you island with more things...


Use a small amount and be sure to let it dry about an hour. You can also try updating the controllers in your system or using compressed air and leaving the controllers on their sides for a while.


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## Bugs (May 3, 2020)

My left joycon has drifted since shortly after a bought it, I refuse to replace it since it's so expensive and it will most likely just happen again since it's an actual design flaw 

I've got a wireless GameCube controller thing for the switch now to play when it's in handheld mode but I have to have it stood up on a table, and a wired controller for when it's docked. Hope Nintendo fixes this issue because frankly it's ridiculous. I know the joycons have a lot of technology in a small compact space and they were brilliant when they worked, but £40 for one is just not fair when they are essentially guaranteed to break.

Rant over haha sorry for not adding anything helpful.


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## Chris (May 3, 2020)

I started experiencing this recently. On April 29 I was noticing just my character walking left on their own, and then by May 1 the game was unplayable with that controller: it was rapidly cycling through dialogue options and Ables/wardrobe items with no player input.  I already knew that the controller was having issues prior to this because I couldn't use it to play games that required more accurate/sensitive joystick movements  (such as _Cooking Mama_),  so when I started having problems in ACNH as well I decided it was time to retire* it and ordered a new one.

*Just a note that if you use a controller that is only licensed by Nintendo, rather than produced by them, that joystick calibration is* not *supported. Or at least my PowerA one wasn't.


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## dragonair (May 3, 2020)

Vrisnem said:


> *Just a note that if you use a controller that is only licensed by Nintendo, rather than produced by them, that joystick calibration is* not *supported. Or at least my PowerA one wasn't.


This is correct, if your controller is produced by PowerA Nintendo will just send it back unrepaired. You need to reach out to PowerA customer support for repair options!


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## InkFox (May 3, 2020)

This is scary, so many people having the very same problem, I have a switch lite so I wouldn't even be able to replace the controllers if they started drifting.


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## Leann (May 3, 2020)

Bugs said:


> My left joycon has drifted since shortly after a bought it, I refuse to replace it since it's so expensive and it will most likely just happen again since it's an actual design flaw
> 
> I've got a wireless GameCube controller thing for the switch now to play when it's in handheld mode but I have to have it stood up on a table, and a wired controller for when it's docked. Hope Nintendo fixes this issue because frankly it's ridiculous. I know the joycons have a lot of technology in a small compact space and they were brilliant when they worked, but £40 for one is just not fair when they are essentially guaranteed to break.
> 
> Rant over haha sorry for not adding anything helpful.



If it's a design flaw, does that mean if I buy controllers not made by Nintendo, this problem won't occur anymore? Any controllers that you can recommend?


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## Bugs (May 3, 2020)

Leann said:


> If it's a design flaw, does that mean if I buy controllers not made by Nintendo, this problem won't occur anymore? Any controllers that you can recommend?


I know you can get third party joycons but I've never tried them, however the wired controller I use is a PDP Zelda fight pad:






And the wireless one I use when it's in handheld is a Power A wireless GameCube style controller 






If you can't tell, I really like the GameCube haha

I always slide the broken joycon out of the switch and then reset the controllers to only use the wireless one when I'm playing in handheld, otherwise the joycon will still make the character move


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## Chris (May 3, 2020)

Leann said:


> If it's a design flaw, does that mean if I buy controllers not made by Nintendo, this problem won't occur anymore? Any controllers that you can recommend?



No, the problem still persists. See my comment *above* about my PowerA controller joystick drift.


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## Leann (May 3, 2020)

Vrisnem said:


> No, the problem still persists. See my comment *above* about my PowerA controller joystick drift.



I'm sorry. I just don't really understand...

If it's a design flaw with the original joycon, then shouldn't controllers that are designed differently not have that problem?

If all controllers have that problem regardless of manufacturer, than is it really a controller problem or instead a problem with the system console, or game itself?


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## babi98 (May 3, 2020)

This is why I never went for the switch lite and hate that Nintendo has been pushing them so much lately to sell more consoles following the release of New Horizons. With a regular switch you can always buy a 3rd party controller (which is what my boyfriend and I have been forced to use as the OG joycons are basically useless in this game due to drift). No idea what can possibly be done on a lite though? Better to spend the extra money in the long run sadly.


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## Cheallaigh (May 3, 2020)

Leann said:


> I'm sorry. I just don't really understand...
> 
> If it's a design flaw with the original joycon, then shouldn't controllers that are designed differently not have that problem?
> 
> If all controllers have that problem regardless of manufacturer, than is it really a controller problem or instead a problem with the system console, or game itself?


it's made by a different company, but to the exact same specs... aka identical to the official nintendo, so can have the exact same issue, it's the design that's causing the problems(since they don't carry the brand name, they are sold for cheaper usually). even the pro controllers style can drift(busted a non-nintendo in the first month), but they are made to take more abuse and it is more uncommon to happen to them.

nintendo isn't officially saying it's a product defect... but they went from charging $40 to repair them, to refunding anyone who had sent in ones for repairs, and making the repairs free now... which does F-All right now since their repair centres are closed due to the virus.

	Post automatically merged: May 3, 2020



babi98 said:


> This is why I never went for the switch lite and hate that Nintendo has been pushing them so much lately to sell more consoles following the release of New Horizons. With a regular switch you can always buy a 3rd party controller (which is what my boyfriend and I have been forced to use as the OG joycons are basically useless in this game due to drift). No idea what can possibly be done on a lite though? Better to spend the extra money in the long run sadly.


anyone who owns a lite, has a glorified paperweight, until the repair centres are open again if they get the drifting. it's why i avoided the lite as well.

	Post automatically merged: May 3, 2020



Stereokay said:


> Use a small amount and be sure to let it dry about an hour. You can also try updating the controllers in your system or using compressed air and leaving the controllers on their sides for a while.


just keep in mind... eventually this won't work anymore as the innards gunk up more and the wear path gets worse.


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## Leann (May 3, 2020)

Bugs said:


> I know you can get third party joycons but I've never tried them, however the wired controller I use is a PDP Zelda fight pad:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



How long have you had them, and have they caused any problems?

	Post automatically merged: May 3, 2020



babi98 said:


> This is why I never went for the switch lite and hate that Nintendo has been pushing them so much lately to sell more consoles following the release of New Horizons. With a regular switch you can always buy a 3rd party controller (which is what my boyfriend and I have been forced to use as the OG joycons are basically useless in this game due to drift). No idea what can possibly be done on a lite though? Better to spend the extra money in the long run sadly.



I was thinking about buying the pink switch lite. Thanks for the warning...


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## Spooky. (May 3, 2020)

Is the drift something that is certain to happen to everyone? I've had my switch since december with no issues but I'm a bit concerned now.


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## Leann (May 4, 2020)

Spooky. said:


> Is the drift something that is certain to happen to everyone? I've had my switch since december with no issues but I'm a bit concerned now.



Good question... Was hoping for more replies to see how many other people are affected...


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## Millysaurusrexjr (May 4, 2020)

Mine is pretty bad on the left controller as well. I can go inside my house, standing in the doorway and not do anything, and end up in a complete different room, usually the northern room.

It's annoying but not bad enough to make me need to go get a new controller.. yet


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## dragonair (May 4, 2020)

My original Joy-Con seem to be fine which I'm grateful for, but my pink left Joy-Con and red right Joy-Con are both drifting now. ; v ; I didn't really care about the right since you don't use the right control stick much but the left is getting on my nerves now. Just gonna wait until the repair centers open back up but even then there's going to be a HUGE wait since they're gonna have so many repairs to go through.


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## PrincessBetter (May 4, 2020)

My character does the same thing.. but it doesn't happen in any other game. I switched my joycons from my original switch to the ACNH switch and it still happens a little bit.. and these are brand new so.. maybe a weird input issue?


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## yuujinchou (May 4, 2020)

Leann said:


> Good question... Was hoping for more replies to see how many other people are affected...


i had my switch since the original release (march 2017) and my joy cons only started drifting right as AC came out. (i ended up buying new ones because the repair centres are closed.) it seems to really vary.


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## Leann (May 4, 2020)

PrincessBetter said:


> My character does the same thing.. but it doesn't happen in any other game. I switched my joycons from my original switch to the ACNH switch and it still happens a little bit.. and these are brand new so.. maybe a weird input issue?



Ouch... and those are limited edition too... it's soo expensive now...


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## mkyoshi7 (May 4, 2020)

I have two pairs of joy cons and my blue left joy con has a HUGE drifting problem (its actually unusable). It goes straight up and is so bad that I can hold B and my character does the full on run. My red left joy con has a little bit of a drifting issue but is much less flagrant. I think this is a pretty decent video that details the problem if you're comfortable with actually opening up your joy cons yourself.


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## Trent the Paladin (May 4, 2020)

Spooky. said:


> Is the drift something that is certain to happen to everyone? I've had my switch since december with no issues but I'm a bit concerned now.


My launch grey joycons have finally started drifting a little, but not as badly as the neon red ones I’d been using since I got those.


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## Bugs (May 4, 2020)

Leann said:


> How long have you had them, and have they caused any problems?



I've had the wireless one for a year and the wired one about 8 or 9 months, the wireless one had an issue with of the triggers one time where it got stuck down but it popped back out and it didn't happen again, the wired one works fine except for some reason exclusively on the animal crossing keyboard where it will sometimes be too sensitive and move a few characters over now and again. In other games it works perfectly


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## morthael (May 4, 2020)

mine started drifting shortly after animal crossing came out, 300+ hours later and my joycons have gotten really bad to the point my character just starts running in random directions even when i’m not touching it. i can’t even turn off my switch with the joycons anymore ffs, i have to use the touch screen  mine was bought on launch including the extra joycons i have and both pairs of my joycons drift. i like playing handheld but it’s forcing me to play docked with a pro controller since that’s the only one that works now unfortunately.

feels bad.


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## Stereokay (May 4, 2020)

Vrisnem said:


> I started experiencing this recently. On April 29 I was noticing just my character walking left on their own, and then by May 1 the game was unplayable with that controller: it was rapidly cycling through dialogue options and Ables/wardrobe items with no player input.  I already knew that the controller was having issues prior to this because I couldn't use it to play games that required more accurate/sensitive joystick movements  (such as _Cooking Mama_),  so when I started having problems in ACNH as well I decided it was time to retire* it and ordered a new one.
> 
> *Just a note that if you use a controller that is only licensed by Nintendo, rather than produced by them, that joystick calibration is* not *supported. Or at least my PowerA one wasn't.


It's a temporary solution but remapping the control sticks in the new system settings lets you regain your movement if you don't mind trading camera control.



Cheallaigh said:


> Post automatically merged: May 3, 2020
> 
> 
> just keep in mind... eventually this won't work anymore as the innards gunk up more and the wear path gets worse.


Yeah your joy cons become a poltergeist's pretty quickly. I ordered a replacement joystick which was relatively easy to install in about 40 minutes.


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## Blueskyy (May 4, 2020)

This is happening to me too. I’ll try the Q tip. I saw a post off this site that talked about cleaning parts inside of the joycon but there’s no way I’m disassembling anything lol. It isn’t bad enough to where I need a new controller. I just can’t leave my character standing still sometimes lol


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## Leann (May 4, 2020)

mkyoshi7 said:


> I have two pairs of joy cons and my blue left joy con has a HUGE drifting problem (its actually unusable). It goes straight up and is so bad that I can hold B and my character does the full on run. My red left joy con has a little bit of a drifting issue but is much less flagrant. I think this is a pretty decent video that details the problem if you're comfortable with actually opening up your joy cons yourself.



Nope... not even gonna try opening the switch joycons. Lol I feel like I'd do even more harm...


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## Leann (May 7, 2020)

Tried looking for isopropyl alcohol during a pandemic...
Silly me, I thought I would find it...

My character no longer walks towards the left. My character now runs...

Is there another quick fix method that you guys have tried that does not include isopropyl alcohol, or is too complicated?


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## Sloom (May 7, 2020)

...oh crap.

I have this exact same problem. and my joysticks also show as completely stationary when I calibrate them
there is literally no way I can afford new joycons, they're dummy expensive and I don't even think nintendo does repairs in europe.
I'm screwed aren't I? I bet I'm screwed

edit: just wanted to add my condolences to op, hopefully we can get through this together man. I'm going to see if there's anywhere I can buy the alcohol online

edit 2: a solution that could work is changing your button mapping so that you move with the right joystick, it would be crap for some games like smash but for animal crossing I can see it working. works as a temporary fix at least ;;


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## Solio (May 7, 2020)

My jon-cons have had drift for months. It's not consistent, though. Sometimes, I can barely walk in a straight line, but on other days, I can play just fine.

People have speculated the the drift is caused by dirt and debris accumulating under the joysticks, so cleaning with alcohol and compressed air might help. I tried this myself and it usually helps for a few weeks until it becomes an issue again.


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## Neechan (May 7, 2020)

This drift I believe is caused by (and this is a theory) the control stick and the material it’s made of to ‘rub‘ on the circuit board and wears it out, hence why only some methods work only for a little while before it reverts back to auditioning as a Tokyo drift racer.

I had to replace the left joycon stick and haven’t had an issue since then (took two hours to repair)


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## Cadbberry (May 7, 2020)

This is joycon drift, I also had this occur. Due to the current world circumstances, I believe Nintendo is not accepting any fixes, BUT when they reopen they do free joycon drift repair! I sent mine in right before ACNH released and got it back within 4 days, free of charge! I was having major drift on my left joycon and despite being out of warranty they fixed it. Note that if you attempt and repairs that are obvious, that breaks all warranty clauses and they may deny you. If the issue is unfixable they will replace it for free too which I think is pretty neat!


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## Leann (May 7, 2020)

Neechan said:


> This drift I believe is caused by (and this is a theory) the control stick and the material it’s made of to ‘rub‘ on the circuit board and wears it out, hence why only some methods work only for a little while before it reverts back to auditioning as a Tokyo drift racer.
> 
> I had to replace the left joycon stick and haven’t had an issue since then (took two hours to repair)



Haha Tokyo Drift

	Post automatically merged: May 7, 2020



Cadbberry said:


> This is joycon drift, I also had this occur. Due to the current world circumstances, I believe Nintendo is not accepting any fixes, BUT when they reopen they do free joycon drift repair! I sent mine in right before ACNH released and got it back within 4 days, free of charge! I was having major drift on my left joycon and despite being out of warranty they fixed it. Note that if you attempt and repairs that are obvious, that breaks all warranty clauses and they may deny you. If the issue is unfixable they will replace it for free too which I think is pretty neat!




Thank you so much for pointing that out.

I had not thought about that. But it seems so obvious now that if I tried to fix it, that it would void all warranty clauses. 

In fact, if I took it apart, they might even deny repairing the drift for me, stating that my broken controller was due to me opening the joycon or something... 

Best advice for people who are not tech-savvy like me is to probably wait and mail it in for repairs...


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## Raz (May 7, 2020)

I can tell you guys something. I'm probably the only one here playing the game with a PS4 controller (using the 8-bitdo USB wireless adapter). My controller is in perfect condition. But when I play AC, I sometimes see my character trying to take a step towards either the right or the left. A few times, when I'm going to dig with a shovel, my character digs in the opposite direction (it doesn't happen that often).

A controller used on the switch like this is recognized by the console as if it was a Pro Controller. 

This issue is exclusive to AC: didn't happen in Runner 3, Celeste, Mario Kart 8D, or any of the games I played on the PS4 (rip).


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## Cheallaigh (May 8, 2020)

Raz said:


> I can tell you guys something. I'm probably the only one here playing the game with a PS4 controller (using the 8-bitdo USB wireless adapter). My controller is in perfect condition. But when I play AC, I sometimes see my character trying to take a step towards either the right or the left. A few times, when I'm going to dig with a shovel, my character digs in the opposite direction (it doesn't happen that often).
> 
> A controller used on the switch like this is recognized by the console as if it was a Pro Controller.
> 
> This issue is exclusive to AC: didn't happen in Runner 3, Celeste, Mario Kart 8D, or any of the games I played on the PS4 (rip).


there was am issue with other controllers, that's what one of the most recent patches was about, but it's NOT the same issue as with the joycons... with them it's bad design. there is graphite where the motion detectors are (it's the same thing as in a lot of older lead pencils or artists' graphite pencils), it's a great low friction and can be used in locks and such... downside is it can wear quickly once the initial barrier is broken and produces dust basically, it can also be soft and get grooves. the reason it's most likely showing up in AC is simple... quarantine. a lot of people are spending massive amounts of time on the game, so it's showing up there.


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## RhinoK (May 8, 2020)

Leann said:


> I was wondering if anyone else is experiencing this.
> 
> My character slowly walks left when I am not even touching my controllers...
> Sometimes this interferes with gameplay, and makes terraforming a complete nightmare...
> ...



YES!! I'm literally on this forum watching my character walk left on my Switch next to me LMAO

The same thing happened on Animal Crossing GameCube, weirdly enough...


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## Gurgi (May 8, 2020)

I'm also having this issue. It's minor right now...my character will walk very slowly to the left, and I can easily correct it, but it happens often enough. Also,the stick on my right Joy-Con has an issue when I try to look up (like for wishing on stars), it won't register the motion sometimes, and other times it does. 

My problem now is that I'm playing on the ACNH edition Switch, and when I looked at Nintendo's repair page, it says that if they can't fix it, they will just send you grey or red/blue ones instead...NO WAY! I don't want to lose the ACNH Joy-Cons! But...I don't know if this drift will get worse to the point of being unplayable...


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## Ichiban (May 8, 2020)

i'm worried about what i'll have to do when mine starts drifting, i have a lite so i guess i'll have to ship my console off :/


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## Pretty.boy (Jun 2, 2021)

Leann said:


> It's so frustrating...
> 
> I'm not sure what to do, and new controllers are pretty expensive...


Mines been doing this for a while too. I think after you log over 100 hours of gameplay that’s when it starts happening. it happens to all my friends as well. Don’t waste your money buying new controllers, I’ve already done that and the same problem still occurs with the avatar moving on its own. I don’t think there’s any real way to fix it honestly.


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## DragonLatios (Jun 2, 2021)

Sometime my Input on the stick will not be 100% reading right. when you try to run right or left it act like you pushing it to the right or left halfaway. I Had to blow it out with a air can and move the stick clockwise or counter clockwise while blowing air into it. It take a few try and it get it to work right. It only happen like 3 times from when i got the system. but i have not need to blow it out for a solid 3-8(( I forgot)) mouths after the 3rd time blowing it out. Normaly it take 3 weeks or less for the stick to act up from the each blow out cleaning.  Only time  will tell if i need to blow it out.

	Post automatically merged: Jun 2, 2021

I Do not know when the last time i blow my switch lite sticks as i not as heavy on my switch like i use to when i got the game. but i do play it when event happen and so on from last year update to the today.


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## xara (Jun 3, 2021)

i’ve also been dealing with this issue since i first bought my switch + new horizons and it’s uh,, frustrating as hell lol. it started off with my island rep occasionally slowly drifting to the right all on her own and my joycon would sometimes stick when trying to have my island rep walk on the right side but it was manageable. it’s still somewhat manageable these days but it’s certainly gotten a lot worse. now, my island rep will slowly drift off to all sides instead of just the right and hovering on an item/diy/etc that’s on the ground so that it’s name pops up is like pulling teeth lol. my switch is still usable and i’m still able to play but it’s definitely a pain in the ass.


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## Starboard (Jun 3, 2021)

I have a Lite and I'm always scared my character will randomly start walking without me! I live in Australia and don't even know if they repair the joystick for free here. I'm hoping if I do get drift they'll release a new Lite version by then so I can just buy that :/


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## CylieDanny (Jun 3, 2021)

Mine are off and on, sometimes he drifts, sometimes he doesn't. If I just flick the right joy stick up, that sometimes stops it for a bit. Not all the time,

Usually works when I'm trying to spell something out, but it's also the cause of how I mistakenly time skipped to 2028, because the joysticks were going crazy while I was setting the time

I've just kinda grown used to it, it's really annoying. I always put my character in the happiness reaction if I need to go off, or in the studio, just so he doesnt move, run into villagers. They don't move from the reaction regardless of the drift,


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## JKDOS (Jun 3, 2021)

Cheallaigh said:


> sorry, it's the drift... you can try cleaning the left toggle with alcohol and a q-tip, it can help...



I had really bad drift and this worked for me. I think I may have also followed up with a hair dryer on cool setting. 

EDIT: It's probably important to add the alcohol I used was in the 90% range. 93% I think. I say this because a lot of stores sell stuff in the 70% range.


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## xxcodexx (Jun 3, 2021)

ive had that same thing happen to me as well. i had to invest in another controller. the refurbished ones arent so bad in price, the new ones are ridiculously expensive.


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