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Design Flaw with Nintendo Switch Joy-Con

Why is the wrist strap so damn hard to remove? It slides off effortlessly off the console itself and the Joy-Con Grip. Why are the straps so damn hard to remove, even after unlocking it?
 

Skyzard

Banned
Sounds like really poor design.

I still feel for that poor kid on launch day that put his on (backwards? seems they can go on the wrong way easily) and he made a youtube video asking how to get it off.

Hope you sorted it young one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb-srOfRqNc&t=4m46s


----someone has a tip in that video (the one after the kid). Uses some tool to push two black nubs up and it releases.
 
Ya, I have only used the straps once because I don't want to risk breaking the latch on the joy-cons.

Those straps need a redesign.
 

Durden77

Member
Me and my gf ran into this last night. Was also surprised, definitely not easy. Not something you wanna throw around at friends because they could easily break it.

She didn't put her's on just right and it literally took us about 10 minutes to get off because of fear of breaking the joycon.
 

Crayon

Member
Something is wrong with those wrist strap things. They get stuck. I think the latch doesn't release fully. The joycons work on the switch and the grip like butter so it's not a flaw in the joycons.
 

Schnozberry

Member
They're really bad and user unfriendly. Surprisingly so for a Nintendo product.

If they slid off with a really light touch they may not actually service their purpose. Mine have gotten a lot better with use. At first it was clunkier than I would have hoped.
 
If it's intentional I had to guess, it would be in order to make sure the wrist straps don't accidentally detach if you're playing and forget to press the lock tab.
 

sonto340

Member
Yup, it's on the correct way. It's just unnecessarily hard to remove. Makes me not want to use them.
I found them hard to remove at first but they eventually get easier.

Also make sure you aren't accidentally relocking it while trying to push it off.
 

watershed

Banned
I don't use them for this very reason. They seem to clasp on REALLY hard onto the joycon. But the bigger issue I have is that the analog stick on the right joycon feels like it's about half an inch too low on the controller. It doesn't sit comfortably on the pad of my thumb but instead right around the joint. Not a great experience there.
 

bounchfx

Member
I agree. I tried them on once, and it was so fucking difficult to get off, I'm afraid I might have damaged one of mine. I don't need to use them... fuck it.
 

Illucio

Banned
Mine come off effortlessly... So I wonder if this is just you or. I thought the strap design was amazing.

Or are you complaining that you can't remove the straps entirely?

Edit: OH you put it in the wrong way. Your pushing the wrong way.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
Sounds like really poor design.

I still feel for that poor kid on launch day that put his on (backwards? seems they can go on the wrong way easily) and he made a youtube video asking how to get it off.

Hope you sorted it young one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb-srOfRqNc&t=4m46s

Oh goodie...it's that video again.

Well on its way to being Crowbcat's most popular upload. It's #2 after barely two weeks up there. Folks love to see Nintendo face plant I guess.
 

ss_lemonade

Member
My wife also accidentally put the thing in reverse and it felt like we almost broke the controller trying to separate the 2, especially when one of them went flying to the floor (fortunately it was the strap).
 
It isn't that well designed but I always feel like this is blown out of proportion, just apply a slight bit of force and it comes right off.

Not a great design for kids but it doesn't take much to get them to slide off.
 
Yeah, the wrist straps suck. I put the first one on the wrong way and I paid for it dearly in terms of anxiety. Doubt I'll ever bother with them again.
 
Oh goodie...it's that video again.

Well on its way to being Crowbcat's most popular upload. It's #2 after barely two weeks up there. Folks love to see Nintendo face plant I guess.
I legit came watching that video for the first time. Both gets me off more than Nintendo's failure ... nothing.

The popularity of that video has nothing to do with it being close to a new console launch, or its irrefutable design flaws.

It's because people despise Nintendo
 

JustenP88

I earned 100 Gamerscore™ for collecting 300 widgets and thereby created Trump's America
Yeah, that took a moment to get used to. There's like a "snap" point and they slide right off after. Still, the snap takes a bit too much force and it's definitely the kind of sound that would make a newbie think "oh shit, did I break it?"

I think I've got it down at this point. Either that or I'm breaking them every time I pull them off. Either way, revisions to the design are in order, for sure.
 

Crayon

Member
It isn't that well designed but I always feel like this is blown out of proportion, just apply a slight bit of force and it comes right off.

Not a great design for kids but it doesn't take much to get them to slide off.

Mine stick on like a motherfucker. Way more than a bit of force for me. The way they go onto the grip or the switch is how they were meant to work, I'd imagine.
 
loooool holy shit at the guy who cut himself trying to get it off

My girlfriend tore the nail off of her thumb the first time she tried to remove it. She was pretty bitter about it for a while and spent a few days passively talking about how much she was enjoying Horizon was while I played Zelda in the corner.
 

ZeoVGM

Banned
I legit came watching that video for the first time. Both gets me off more than Nintendo's failure ... nothing.

The popularity of that video has nothing to do with it being close to a new console launch, or its irrefutable design flaws.

It's because people despise Nintendo

Uhhh... what?
 

Wagram

Member
Yeah I agree. Tried it out for the first time today and it's much more "difficult" than it needs to be. Much easier on the Switch screen and on the controller shell.
 

Aroll

Member
Never had an issue with them. I think the primary reason it doesn't feel smooth for some is that typically when taking it off the console, you have more weight and leverage with the actual system. The mechanism works smoother in this scenario. The ACTUAL rails on the straps are basically exactly the same as the console with an extra lock so they don't slide off if you let go of the Joycon.

However, you lack the weight, bulk, and leverage to make the sliding feel just as smooth. Reality is, it works exactly the same. Thus, the easiest way to take them off is to use the joycon itself as the leverage instead of the strap.

So, basically hold the joycons somewhat firmly against your chest with one hand, then use the other to slide the strap off. It comes off nice and smooth, as the Joycon is being used as the anchor.

If you think about how you take the joycon's off the system, you're not pull the joycon one way while pulling the system the other. The system instead is like a standstill anchor point, and you just pull the joycon one way. Because of how small the strap is, it doesn't work as an anchor, so you have to reverse it. Becuase the Joycon itself is also not as hefty, you have to hold against something.

I know this seems combersome, but I've played many 1 2 Switch team battles where I had to rapidly put them on and take them off for various games and I have no issues doing that this way.

So think of it what you will, but it works. I don't know that it's a design flaw perse, it's just not clearly explained HOW the Joycons actually come off.
 

Kthulhu

Member
Yeah, it's a bitch to remove. I saw a video where one guy claims that you can put them on and take them off enough then they'll go on and off real easy.


Hopefully future production runs won't be nearly as frustrating.

Edit: TBH if one thing had to suck for the Switch for me I'd rather it be the one thing I almost never use.
 

BraXzy

Member
It's annoyingly tricky, especially in something like 1-2-Switch where you're doing it mid-game on and off. It's near impossible to pull it off while holding the Joy-Con without pressing some buttons...
 

Intru

Member
I don't get why they don't just use the unlock button on the back of the joycons to unlock them. Instead you have to pull out those dumb tabs at the bottom which you have to fiddle with sometimes to get them to unlock...
 
I spent ages trying to get them off for fear of breaking something. This thread prompted me to look up what other's have been saying and I ended up on Nintendo's support site. I found this part interesting:
To detach the Joy-Con straps it is not necessary to press the release button on the back of the Joy-Con controller.
This must be true, but I had no idea! I need to try this, I'm hoping they'll be easier to remove with more leverage and the full use of both my hands.
 

Bluth54

Member
Make sure you put them on the right way, there's a little difficult to see + and - symbol on the strap. Though I've found that even if you put them on the right way they can be difficult to remove.
 

Crayon

Member
Never had an issue with them. I think the primary reason it doesn't feel smooth for some is that typically when taking it off the console, you have more weight and leverage with the actual system. The mechanism works smoother in this scenario. The ACTUAL rails on the straps are basically exactly the same as the console with an extra lock so they don't slide off if you let go of the Joycon.

However, you lack the weight, bulk, and leverage to make the sliding feel just as smooth. Reality is, it works exactly the same. Thus, the easiest way to take them off is to use the joycon itself as the leverage instead of the strap.

So, basically hold the joycons somewhat firmly against your chest with one hand, then use the other to slide the strap off. It comes off nice and smooth, as the Joycon is being used as the anchor.

If you think about how you take the joycon's off the system, you're not pull the joycon one way while pulling the system the other. The system instead is like a standstill anchor point, and you just pull the joycon one way. Because of how small the strap is, it doesn't work as an anchor, so you have to reverse it. Becuase the Joycon itself is also not as hefty, you have to hold against something.

I know this seems combersome, but I've played many 1 2 Switch team battles where I had to rapidly put them on and take them off for various games and I have no issues doing that this way.

So think of it what you will, but it works. I don't know that it's a design flaw perse, it's just not clearly explained HOW the Joycons actually come off.

Sound like yours work right. If you tried mine, you'd see. They don't release properly.
 

Ziocyte

Member
I have a friend who removed the actual cloth strap portion of the wrist strap and it makes a HUGE difference. It has the most satisfying click on and off with what feels like the exact right amount of required force. I'm probably going to do it to mine this week. It is seriously night and day.
 
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