Nintendo Switch Controller Moving By Itself Fix For Animal Crossing (Joy Con Drift)

Are you putting in serious hours in Animal Crossing New Horizons while in quarantine? You’re not the only one. Just at Twinfinite alone we have multiple people with a hundred hours or more into the latest hit from Nintendo. If you’re here though, you might be experiencing issues with your Nintendo Switch controller, AKA the Joy Con, might be moving on its own without you touching it. It’s a problem known as drift and you’re not the only one to suffer from it. Here’s what you can do to fix it.

Fixing Joy Con Drift and Switch Controller Moving By Itself

Here’s the good news and bad news. The good news first. There are a few fixes that could temporarily or perhaps permanently fix your Nintendo Switch controller. The bad news is that it’s kind of a crapshoot and there’s a chance that it could be permanently deteriorated.

Try Updating and Calibrating Your Controller First

Start by first just checking if it’s calibrated properly. You’d hate to go through everything else just to find out you needed to recalibrate it.

Head on over to Controllers and Sensors in the Switch’s System Settings menu. Go to Update Controllers and once that is complete you’ll be able to Calibrate Control Sticks. Follow the on-screen directions and then give the old Joy Con a go and see if that helped or not.

Attempt to Clean the Joy Cons

If that doesn’t work, the problem is what we feared: there’s a lot of gunk or wear and tear on the Joy Con. The gunk is potentially a fixable problem.

Below is a very helpful video from YouTuber SaveTheSunF1R3x that goes up close and personal to show you exactly how to clean your Joy Con and what you need to do it safely.

Warning: tampering or fiddling around with any part of the Nintendo Switch could lead to damage. Follow the below video at your own risk.

If you do it correctly, it may fix the issue of your Nintendo Switch controller moving by itself.

Repair or Replace

If cleaning out the Joy Con didn’t do anything, then unfortunately you probably have a busted controller. Your options at this point are to attempt to have it repaired by Nintendo or replace it entirely by purchasing a new one.

If you want to have it repaired by Nintendo, visit this official website and follow their instructions. Keep in mind though at the time of this writing, COVID-19 has shut down the repair facilities so they are on hold until further notice.

If you want to replace, go ahead and buy a new one from your store of choice. Keep in mind for the future that this appears to be a common enough problem, and it may be worth it to actually pay for some kind of extended warranty or replacement plan if your storefront offers it.

That’s all you need to know for how to fix the issue of the Nintendo Switch controller moving by itself AKA Joy Con drift. Hopefully this helped, and if not, we hope that you’re at least satisfied with knowing what’s going on so you can move on with your life and get back to playing Animal Crossing New Horizons.