The Nintendo Switch 2 is out now, and I'm sure the last thing on your mind is repairing it. But, the time may come when you need to give it some love or send it into the shop for a fix. According to one repair site, that's not going to be easy.
IFixit, a site that sells spare parts and provides guides on how to fix your tech, has given the Switch 2 an abysmal three out of 10 for repairability. "Is this the best Nintendo could do?" asks the iFixit team.
Unfortunately, they reckon the Joy-Con are still going to be prone to stick drift. That's because, as far as they can see, the redesigned controllers didn't revise the technology that causes stick drift in the first place.
After taking the console apart, they say it looks like the same potentiometer tech used in the Joy-Con, so unless Nintendo has decided to use new material on the resistive tracks, or if for whatever reason the difference in size served as a fix, iFixit suspects the best fix will come in the form of third-party replacements rather than the first-party hardware.
On top of that, many parts are held in place with adhesive that needs to be carefully melted or pried off, including the battery, which will make replacing it tricky. There are also lots of anti-tamper stickers that will make it very obvious if you've tried to fix the machine yourself. That being said, iFixit notes that it's been illegal in the US since 1975 to void your warranty for an independent repair, so keep that in mind.
There's also an anti-shatter film attached to the LCD screen, which apparently scratches very easily. So, look after your screen so this film doesn't scratch and become an eyesore.
The device that reads the game cartridges is soldered down to the motherboard, as are the two USB-C charging ports. These parts are going to get a lot of wear when you plug in a charger or change games, and replacing them doesn't appear to be easy.
There are no spare parts or repair manuals available directly from Nintendo, so if your Switch 2 does get damaged it's not going to be easy to figure out how to repair it yourself.
Fortunately, the fan, microphone that you'll use for the new chat features, headphone jack, and headphone jack, microSD Express card reader are all able to be removed much more easily.
All things considered, it's easy to see why iFixit gave the Switch 2 just three out of 10. They advise you not to repair it yourself unless you're quite experienced.
For now, instead of worrying about your console breaking, check out all the best Switch 2 games you can try out right now, or our Switch 2 review if you're still undecided on the console.
