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GuliKit Hall Effect joystick upgrade kit said to eliminate Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift

GuliKit sells the upgrade kits in pairs or as a 4-pack. (Image source: GuliKit)
GuliKit sells the upgrade kits in pairs or as a 4-pack. (Image source: GuliKit)
Nearly six years have passed since Nintendo revealed the Switch. While the console has remained a household favourite since its introduction, Nintendo has done little combat Joy-Con drift, an infamous issue with the device's controller joysticks. Instead, a third-party manufacturer has released an upgrade kit that allows people to upgrade their Joy-Con controllers to Hall Effect joysticks.

The Switch has remained a reliable income stream for Nintendo since the console's release nearly six years ago, with over 114 million units sold since March 2017. For reference, the Switch has matched lifetime Wii and Wii U sales combined and is only a few million units shy of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. However, the Switch has been notorious for Joy-Con drift, a hardware problem that results in joysticks steering in certain directions, often without user input.

While several workarounds have emerged over the years, GuliKit now offers a permanent solution, although you must confident with disassembling a Joy-Con. As the image below shows, GuliKit now sells Hall Effect joystick sensors separately, having included them in the likes of its KingKong 2 Pro. In short, Hall Effect joysticks utilise a magnet to detect movements, eliminating any mechanical wear that leads to drift with the joysticks that Nintendo uses.

Purportedly, these Hall Effect joysticks also consume 50% less power than the originals and support different keycaps, should you prefer a different profile or height. The GuliKit Hall Effect upgrade kit is available to order in multiple markets, including Europe, the UK and the US. At the time of writing, GuliKit charges £29.70 and US$29.70 for the kit, respectively. Please see the manufacturer's website for more details; third parties like iFixit have demonstrated how to disassemble a Joy-Con too.

(Image source: GuliKit)
(Image source: GuliKit)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2023 01 > GuliKit Hall Effect joystick upgrade kit said to eliminate Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift
Alex Alderson, 2023-01-25 (Update: 2023-01-25)