Nintendo Switch: Faulty Joy-Cons to be fixed for free after years of issues
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The Switch's Joy Cons can now be fixed for free by Nintendo
Nintendo, the company behind the Nintendo Switch and the Mario games, say they will offer free repairs for Switch users' Joy Cons.
The Joy Cons are the small coloured controllers on the outside of the console, that can be removed for playing in some models.
For a few years, there have been complains about Joy Con drift - where the control sticks cause random movements for people playing a game.
Since 2019, Nintendo had been offering free repairs in the US, but now that has been extended to the UK and Europe as well.
What was the problem with Joy-Con drift?
After the switch was released, some users had issues with the controllers moving things in the game without them pressing anything.
One family even sued Nintendo for the issues.
In 2019, Nintendo released an official statement about issues with Joy-con drift. They encouraged users with Joy-con issues to go to the Nintendo website, where they could get support.
Then, in 2020, the president of the company formally apologised for the problems caused with the controllers.
We are continuing to aim to improve our products.
Nintendo then had a special page of the website for Joy-con support, and in the UK you had to fill out a repair form.
People could also get their controllers fixed if the switch was bought under a warranty, which is a legal promise that gives people time to have free repairs and support on something they buy.
If you have a new phone or tablet, it might have a warranty.
Joy Cons are the small, often brightly coloured (unless you have a special version) controllers that sit on the outside of the Switch console.
On the Nintendo Switch Lite they can't be removed, but they can on the other versions.
The controllers can be used separately, or put into a case to use them like more traditional console controllers
What are Nintendo saying now for Joy Cons?
The support for free repairs in the US has now been extended to the UK and the rest of Europe.
Nintendo says it takes pride in the Switch, and will be "continuously making improvements" to it, which includes the free fixes.
The company has some big games being released in the next month - including the new Legend of Zelda game in May.
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