DIY Nintendo Switch repair: yea or nay?

Calica

So I dropped my Switch a couple of times (I'm clumsy ok) and the screen no longer works. It works fine docked, so in theory, I could just use it that way; I just... don't. I want to play videogames while curled up on the couch or not at all, apparently.

There are guides easily available online to disassembling the thing, and it looks like opening it up to try to reseat the LCD cable would be *relatively* simple.

Arguments in favor:

• If a loose cable is indeed the issue, it would be an easy fix, theoretically
• I'm not using the Switch docked anyway, so arguably even if I break it nothing will change

Arguments against:

• I've never tried to take apart a complex electronic device before. (I built my PC, but that's Duplo compared to this...)
• If I brick it, I'm probably going to wait for Switch 2 rather than buy another, which could be up to a year

This is the firstest of first-world problems, I know :P

What do y'all think, is this something a first-timer could reasonably attempt?

see317

I don't have a switch, and haven't watched youtubery regarding switch repairs. So, keep that in mind for any advice I offer.

If some of the common issues appear easy to fix, then you might as well open the thing up and see if it's that common issue.
If you open it up, and it's not one of those common issues, you close it back up and get used to playing it docked until the Switch 2?

That said, every repair guy was a first-timer at some point.
You've got the knowledge of the internet behind you, and a toy that doesn't work in front of you.

Kragaar

I'd imagine there's a pile of Youtube videos going through the process so you could check some out and see if it is something you could feel confident about doing yourself.

My SO replaced the back plate for a new cosmetic one and thought it was easy enough, though that is simpler than doing any kind of hardware diagnosis since I don't think she had to fiddle with the internals.

Calica

Daimar wrote: »

I'd imagine there's a pile of Youtube videos going through the process so you could check some out and see if it is something you could feel confident about doing yourself.

My SO replaced the back plate for a new cosmetic one and thought it was easy enough, though that is simpler than doing any kind of hardware diagnosis since I don't think she had to fiddle with the internals.

I suspect - I hope - that the LCD cable is simply loose. If it's not that, then it probably involves soldering and I'm just going to put the backplate back on and live with it.

I'll let the thread know how it goes :P

Gilgaron

You could call around to some cell phone repair places to see what they'd charge to replace the screen as a reference, too.

Calica

Well, that didn't get far.

The backplate is held on with Y-type screws because fuck you, I guess.

Might as well take it to a repair place as order special tools.

Shivahn

Calica wrote: »

Well, that didn't get far.

The backplate is held on with Y-type screws because fuck you, I guess.

Might as well take it to a repair place as order special tools.

FWIW there exist kits that contain basically every screwdriver you'd ever need. e.g., iFixit's screwdriver kit. It is probably not worth it just for this, but if you'd like to have the ability to do repairs on whatever thing you ever have, it's a good investment. I have one and have done Switch surgery before (those goddamn sticks and their goddamn drift, man), as well as multiple laptop repairs, rendering broken laptops usable two or three times, and fixed up other random things that have required unusual bits.

mRahmani

In a pinch, I’ve opened up those Y-type screws by just jamming a small flathead in and catching two points of contact instead of all 3. If you want to pursue it correctly though, you can get the correct screwdriver for a couple bucks on Amazon.

I will say Nintendo systems are some of the more repair-hostile stuff I’ve worked on, but as you noted you don’t really have much to lose. If you damage it worse, you learned something and have to buy a new one anyway. And if it works, sweet! Ifixit usually has some decent guides, and if you pair that with some YouTube videos you can get pretty far.

Two things i like to do when disassembling something unfamiliar:

1) put down a sheet of cardboard on my work surface and draw a box and label for each set of screws i remove. Particularly useful when a component is held on with several different sizes of screws

2) ziploc bags to store parts and label, if needed.

As you get more experienced you’ll need those tricks less and less, but they were really helpful when i was starting out

zepherin

I’ve taken apart 2 broken PlayStation 2s and made 1 working one, and then used parts from the other one to fix the one that worked.

I soldiered a little bit (and part of my thumb) and spliced a small wire to fix a psp.

I’m not sure about a switch specifically.

Yellowhammer

mRahmani wrote: »

In a pinch, I’ve opened up those Y-type screws by just jamming a small flathead in and catching two points of contact instead of all 3. If you want to pursue it correctly though, you can get the correct screwdriver for a couple bucks on Amazon.

I will say Nintendo systems are some of the more repair-hostile stuff I’ve worked on, but as you noted you don’t really have much to lose. If you damage it worse, you learned something and have to buy a new one anyway. And if it works, sweet! Ifixit usually has some decent guides, and if you pair that with some YouTube videos you can get pretty far.

Two things i like to do when disassembling something unfamiliar:

1) put down a sheet of cardboard on my work surface and draw a box and label for each set of screws i remove. Particularly useful when a component is held on with several different sizes of screws

2) ziploc bags to store parts and label, if needed.

As you get more experienced you’ll need those tricks less and less, but they were really helpful when i was starting out

This is all great advice and whenever I'm taking something apart I take a ton of pictures. I've often wished I'd taken more pictures, but never had an instance where I wished I'd taken less.