iFixit - Answers With Device "Nintendo Handheld Console"

Nintendo 2DS: 2ds powers on and boots up, but none of the inputs work

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 02:59:49 -0700

My 2ds powers on and boots all the way to the home screen, but neither the touch screen or any of the buttons such as the d-pad, thumbstick, or any of the other buttons work or cause anything to happen. My toddler was playing pokemon omega ruby when the touch screen started acting like it was being pressed repeatedly, and when I rebooted the 2ds for a little while I could move things on the touch screen (but it was like I was fighting joystick drift), but now it completely doesn't react to anything I do. Only the power button works, not even the home button. Has anyone faced something similar before and/or any idea on where to start for repairing the 2ds?

⟐ Answered April 03, 2026 at 2:59 MST

Nintendo DSi: Why is my dsi not reading my games with the save file?

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 02:56:06 -0700

I have a dsi where I would put in a game it would tell me that the save files cannot be accessed and power off the console. I tried again and again and still nothing.

⟐ Commented April 03, 2026 at 2:56 MST

Nintendo 3DS: Nintendo 3ds - Cannot display the software on the SD Card

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 02:52:00 -0700

Like the title says my 3ds started giving me this error after i removed the sd card i have always used on it since 2011

I've used the card on a computer and its working fine,even formatted it to fat32 to make sure it wasnt a software issue but still gives me this error,tried a new sd card but same result

I've opened the console up and cleaned the sd card slot pins with isopropyl alcohol and tried to make sure the pins were okay but the issue still persists

Also used some compressed air to maybe remove dirt from inside the card reader I've already ordered a sd card reader for the console but im wondering what other options i have,any ideas?

⟐ Commented April 03, 2026 at 2:52 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: Sd card slot replacement

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:24:28 -0700

I want do change my Sd card slot on an old 3ds xl and i cant find any,can you help me?

⟐ Answered April 02, 2026 at 21:24 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: Where is the LCD cable to be found?

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:40:12 -0700

Need to replace the LCD ribbon cable and having some trouble finding where it is. Any help?

⟐ Answered April 02, 2026 at 10:40 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: Popping Sound and Turns off Instantly.

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 03:55:38 -0700

My 3ds has had this issue for a while now, but i was able to easily fix it by hard resetting it. Now it won't turn on at all.

I've tried practically everything. I tried the angle to see if it would turn on, nothing. I opened it up and everything was connected and i looked at the ribbon cables for the screens, and none of them were torn.

I don't know at this point what it could be.

⟐ Answered April 01, 2026 at 3:55 MST

Nintendo Handheld Console: New Nintendo 3DS xl Y button not working tried the usual whats next

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:20:51 -0700

So I have tried cleaning the board contacts, changing the dome sticker. making sure the ribbon/flex cable is on correctly, I ordered a new board same issue. Im currently waiting on a new flex/ribbon cable. but the one I have im not sure shows signs of issues. is there any next steps to try or trouble shoot before I have to just get a new main board?

all the other buttons and functions from that board are 100% fine is really just the y button.

⟐ Edited by author March 31, 2026 at 21:20 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: Device will not power up after attempting capture card mod

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 02:26:36 -0700

! I hope someone might be able to help me out here.

I was doing a capture card mod on my New3DSLL (the japan version of XL) a year or so ago now and when I got to the step on making sure everything still worked, well it didn’t work. With the battery connected I get no reactions from the device when trying to power it on. No amber, no blue, no lights at all. If I plug it in without thr battery the amber light lights up for 5seconds then goes off. If I connect the battery and the charge it lights up amber but still does not turn on.

I believe I may have accidentally put the battery in in reverse when I was trying to test ot initially, but cannot be too certain that that was the case.

I tested the red (0.012) and the blue ( 0L and then 12.00) as labeled on that one picture that floats around from infinity (it wont let me add the picture sorry). I am not too knowledgeable with multimeters and dont know if this is right.

Does this sound like a case of one of the fuses or the chip on the daughter board for the abxy being blown or does it sound like something else is wrong along the way of doing the mod?

Thank you in advance <3

⟐ Commented March 31, 2026 at 2:26 MST

Game Boy Pocket: GBP powers on with the initial startup chime, but screen is blank

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 02:16:32 -0700

Hi! I bought a Game Boy Pocket for parts to try and repair. The console powers on and I hear the little startup ding, but the screen is blank no matter how I turn the contrast wheel. And I don't hear sounds from the inserted game, so I don't know if that's loading.

There's definitely some corrosion on the board in the bottom left. I didn't want to scrub too much away yet though, since it looks like maybe the surface of the board is cracked? Is that cleanable?

One of the pins in the cartridge slot, all the way on the right when the back cover of the GBP is off, is higher than the others. Is this normal?

Any thoughts or insights are much appreciated!

⟐ Commented March 31, 2026 at 2:16 MST

Nintendo 3DS: Help Identifying How To Fix Charging Port that Fell Off

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:44:27 -0700

Hi.

I've been trying to repair my old 3DS, and for the most part this has gone smoothly with minimal issues. The only problem I'm facing immediately is that I'll need to do some soldering to re-affix the charging port. I have zero experience with this and need a hand identifying what steps I should take with my console.

I've tried to get some up-close photos of it, and I can see a little bit of green/yellow missing from the outer soldered point. They appear black up close, and with some further inspection also seemed to have a residue of something, very thin and eggshell-like.

I'm looking at all sorts of guides to try and figure out what to do, but I've yet to come across any that have damage even remotely similar to that on mine. The port itself doesn't look damaged, thankfully, I'm just struggling to tell where to start on fixing it.

⟐ Commented March 30, 2026 at 6:44 MST

Nintendo 2DS: What led dus it need

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 06:01:02 -0700

What led dus it need

⟐ Answered March 28, 2026 at 6:01 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: New 3ds XL says "Could not access microSD card."

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 23:17:04 -0700

I bought an used New 3ds XL and tried modding it but noticed it doesn't detect my 32gb microSD card, I've already formatted it to FAT32 with 32kb allocation size so I tried 2 other microSD cards with same format and one with 128gb 64kb allocation but nothing worked so I bought a card reader replacement for my console and even after replacing it to the new one I still can't get my 3ds to read my microSD cards, please help me cuz I'm starting to get really desperate

Also I've tried multiple apps to reset them in cases of them being broken or something like that and also they're not counterfeit

⟐ Commented March 25, 2026 at 23:17 MST

Nintendo DSi: Need a potential solution to take out stripped screws from the back

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:26:30 -0700

I'm currently opening up a Nintendo DSI, however I have been met with 4 stripped screws which prevent me from opening the handheld, what is the best way to get rid of stripped screws

⟐ Commented March 25, 2026 at 13:26 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: Weird System Power Issue

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:41:20 -0700

My 3DS is having a weird issue. When the 3DS's top screen's hinge is at about a 95-degree angle or less, the system works perfectly. However, if I push the screen farther back, the system fully turns off. I should point out that the system is not modded, meaning it isn't an issue after modding.

⟐ Commented March 24, 2026 at 10:41 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: What all do I need to solder on a fpc connector

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 09:18:24 -0700

im going to solter on a new FPC connector for my 3ds xl and i need to know everything i need and the exact types of what i need and if possible id appirciate links, i coulndt find any videos telling me what id need.

⟐ Commented March 24, 2026 at 9:18 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: 3ds hinge keeps popping back

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:00:48 -0700

Dear people from the internet,

My brother dropped his 3ds XL and hereby he broke the case of his 3ds XL. My other brother and I bought him a new case and I'm trying to put the motherboard from the old case in the new one. Since the hinge got lost, I bought a new one for him, but I can't seem to put it in the case. I tried to follow the steps from this movie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVn_m_OI... see 10:24 ) . I did al the other steps via ifixit pictures, but I couldn't find a good picture for the hinge.

Whenever I try to open the 3ds XL, the hinge keeps popping back (see https://vimeo.com/200072013).

Does someone know if I'm doing something wrong or if I bought the hinge for another 3ds or something?

Thanks in advance by a sister who lost all hope...

⟐ Commented March 23, 2026 at 13:00 MST

New Nintendo 2DS XL: How to fix black screen of death?

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 12:53:05 -0700

Whenever I try to power on my 2DS XL, the solid blue LED light comes on, but the screen stays black. I’ve had this issue in the past, but it always seemed to resolve itself when I powered it on and off again multiple times in a row. Now, that’s not working this time. My partner told me maybe it’s a problem with the capacitors?

⟐ Commented March 22, 2026 at 12:53 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: How to remove one of the internal screws missing its head?

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 15:34:07 -0700

While screwing the system back together, one of the screw heads completely snapped off, leaving its post stuck inside the system. I've tried searching everywhere for advice on how to remove it, but I can only find information on how to remove stripped screws that still have the head attached.

When reassembled, the system now feels a little loose and makes a creaking noise when holding it, since it's unable to be fully screwed back in. Broken screw is shown on the right, left is still intact.

⟐ Answer accepted March 21, 2026 at 15:34 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: How much do you charge for to do a f2 or f1 replacement

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 08:01:51 -0700

How much do you guys think for the 3ds xl fues

⟐ Answered March 21, 2026 at 8:01 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: Game card slot not working

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 16:40:50 -0700

Ok so I've tried almost everything from putting paper under the game card slot to replacing the card slot.

I tried different games cleaning the games and any software issues that I thought of.

The only two things I can think of is the tiny bit of of blue green corrosion by where the game card connects to the motherboard.

The sd card also is not reading. Please help

Yes I do have pictures sorry if quality is bad

⟐ Commented March 20, 2026 at 16:40 MST