People with Nintendo Switch repair needs or Joy-Con drift can finally get some sweet satisfaction in North America. After being closed back on March 24, 2020 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Nintendo repair services in the region will finally reopen their doors and begin accepting, fixing, and shipping out repaired units. A May 19, 2020 update on the official support page noted that service centers in some areas will be getting back to work. [Thanks, Nintendo Everything!]
A number of potential questions about Nintendo repair services were brought up in a detailed FAQs. Most importantly, it is emphasized that this is a gradual reopening that will begin completing and mailing out backed up and newly received support tickets in the order they are received. Ones Nintendo already has or was in the middle of will take priority, and shipping labels and orders made prior to the shutdown will be good for 180 days after the day they were filed. Warranties will be honored if you filed a repair order before the centers were temporarily closed.
Online repair orders can be set up for Joy-Con repairs, while other issues with a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo 3DS will require someone to call or chat with a representative.
Nintendo also brought up how it will handle cleanliness concerns, given the state of the pandemic. Here is the official response from the support page’s FAQs:
What precautions are repair centers taking to handle my products?
Repair center staff will clean and disinfect your products after they arrive and right before they are packaged and sent back to you. Similarly, the staff is following preventive measures put in place related to the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with local guidelines to protect workers.
North American Nintendo repair services are gradually reopening, with people able to get back products sent in ahead of the closure and create new repair orders as more centers reopen.
