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Nintendo Switch

Ever since the Nintendo Switch launched, there have been issues reported with its left Joy-Con controller. Teardowns and analysis confirmed the source of the trouble. Unlike the right Joy-Con, which had its ain separate antenna, the left Joy-Con's antenna was part of the circuit board and partly shielded by the player's mitt.

Nintendo has fixed the problem with the left Joy-Con past implementing a small-scale piece of conductive foam at the corner of the Joy-Con, as shown in the prototype below:

Nintendo-Foam

Image by Cnet. Click to enlarge, the new block of foam is highlighted.

That small-scale bit of conducting foam is apparently resolving the problems with connectivity for merely about everyone, as reported by Cnet. But Nintendo doesn't desire to call it a blueprint issue, preferring the label "manufacturing variation," instead:

In that location is no pattern upshot with the Joy-Con controllers, and no widespread proactive repair or replacement attempt is underway. A manufacturing variation has resulted in wireless interference with a small number of the left Joy-Con. Moving forward this will not be an result, as the manufacturing variation has been addressed and corrected at the factory level. Nosotros have determined a uncomplicated prepare can be made to whatsoever affected Joy-Con to improve connectivity…

We are asking consumers to contact our customer support squad and then we tin can help them determine if a repair is necessary. If it is, consumers tin can send their controller direct to Nintendo for the aligning, free of charge, with an anticipated quick return of less than a calendar week. Repair timing may vary by region. For help with whatsoever hardware or software questions, please visit http://support.nintendo.com.

Manufacturing variation is a much nicer sounding word than "defect," which is undoubtedly what Nintendo is trying to avoid. Nonetheless, that'south what it shipped. A product that doesn't work properly, that has to be shielded from other Bluetooth-using products, that can't manage to get a signal through pocket-size bits of the human body when the receiving device is mere feet abroad, is a defective product. It may be lacking in a minor way that's piece of cake for the company to fix, which appears to exist exactly what's going on here, but it's still a product defect. And it speaks to just how much Nintendo rushed the Switch out the door. In this case, that gamble seems to have paid off, with the Switch selling extremely well, Zelda: Breath of the Wild enjoying a swell adhere rate, and generally positive reviews for the hybrid handheld system.

The proficient news is, this problem is 1) Apparently easily stock-still and 2) Something Nintendo intends to fix, rather than simply telling anybody to run out and buy new Joy-Cons. As such, it shouldn't exist an issue for much longer.