Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Not Responding or Responding Incorrectly When Used Wirelessly
Follow these steps to troubleshoot your Joy-Con controllers when these issues occur while they're used wirelessly:
- Characters seem to move on their own or do not respond correctly.
- The controllers respond intermittently.
- The controllers appear to lose connection with the console, or become desynced frequently.
Before you start
If you have changed the button mapping on your Joy-Con controller, reset the button configuration to the standard inputs for troubleshooting.
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How to reset button configuration to default settings
- Set the system to sleep mode by pressing the POWER Button once.
- Wake the console back up from sleep mode by pressing the POWER Button or the HOME Button.
- Select Reset the Button Mapping when the “The Connected Controller's Button Mapping Changed” message is displayed.
For more information, see How to Change the Button Mapping on Nintendo Switch Controllers.
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Not sure if button configuration has been changed before
- A wrench icon is displayed beside the controller in-use at the bottom-left corner of the system screen when custom button mapping is active.
- If you don’t know or remember the custom configuration for your controller, you can set the system to sleep mode. Upon waking up the system, you’ll have the option to reset the button mapping.
- A wrench icon is displayed beside the controller in-use at the bottom-left corner of the system screen when custom button mapping is active.
What to do
- Confirm that your console has the latest system update.
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How to check for the latest system update
- Select System Settings on the HOME Menu.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the System Settings menu and select System.
- Select System Update to start the system update process.
- The system will check to see if an update is available.
For more information, see How to Perform a System Update on Nintendo Switch 2 or How to Perform a System Update on Nintendo Switch.
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How to check for the latest system update
- Ensure the Joy-Con controllers are charged.
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How to check the battery life for paired controllers
- From the HOME Menu select Controllers.
- The approximate battery life will be displayed for each controller that is paired to a Nintendo Switch system.
For more information, please see How to Check the Battery Life.
- From the HOME Menu select Controllers.
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How to check the battery life for paired controllers
- Decrease the distance between the Joy-Con and the Nintendo Switch console.
- Ensure that the Nintendo Switch console is placed to avoid wireless interference. It is best if the Nintendo Switch console is placed out in the open and that it is not:
- Behind a TV.
- Near an aquarium.
- Placed in or under a metal object.
- Pressed against a large number of wires or cords.
- Within three to four feet of another wireless device, such as a wireless speaker or a wireless access point.
- Check for possible sources of interference nearby and turn them off. Interference can be caused by devices such as:
- Laptops, tablets, etc.
- Wireless headsets
- Wireless printers
- Microwaves
- Wireless speakers
- Cordless phones
- USB 3.0-compatible devices such as hard drives, thumb drives, LAN adapters, etc.
In most cases, these devices can remain on if they are three to four feet away from the Nintendo Switch console and Joy-Con controllers. However, if you continue to experience this issue, please power these devices off while using the Nintendo Switch console.
