Nintendo Will Repair Joy-Con Controllers Suffering From “Drift” For Free, Will Refund Those Who Formally Paid

If you’re a Nintendo Switch owner and your Joy-Con controllers are suffering through “drift” issues, Nintendo‘s customer service will repair them for free. According to an internal memo procured by Vice, the Kyoto-based hardware manufacturer has informed its customer service representatives not to charge players whose Joy-Cons are malfunctioning. Moreover, Nintendo will repair the controllers whether their warranty has expired or not, and refunds will be issued to those who had paid to have their Joy-Cons fixed.

“Customers will no longer be requested to provide proof of purchase for Joy-Con repairs. Additionally it is not necessary to confirm warranty status. If a customer requests a refund for a previously paid Joy-Con repair […] confirm the prior repair and then issue a refund.”

While Nintendo representatives did not release a response to Vice‘s report, the outlet tested this new directive themselves. Vice called Nintendo’s support department and claimed their Joy-Cons weren’t working properly. The representative suggested updating the system’s software and asked the Vice writer to call back if that failed to resolve the issue. After calling back, the Nintendo rep said they would mail a pre-paid shipping label to the Joy-Con’s owner, allowing them to send it in for repair.

Notably, the drifting issue has become a prevalent one for Switch owners, and even Nintendo themselves; a class-action lawsuit is looming over the company regarding the Joy-Con drifting epidemic.