iFixit - Active Questions With Device "Nintendo Handheld Console"

Nintendo DSi: Nintendo not powering on after replacing top screen

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:33:53 -0700

I followed a guide to replace my broken topscreen on my Nintendo DSI but now it wont power on again. It worked fine before but the topscreen was broken.

After i replaced the screen and was about to put everything back together i noticed a connector wasnt on the board like on the guide i watched

I tried turning on my ds but it wouldnt power on and when charging it just showed a orange blinking light.

I've tried reseating the battery but that didnt work. Then i looked up people with similar issues and they soldered the connector cables like this and it worked for them

I did the same thing but it still won't turn on for me. When i try to charge my DS it still just blinks on the charging symbol and when i press the power button it shows a blue power led but just for a second. I hope i didnt mess up on the soldering on my ds as seen on the image since its my first time soldering.

Is there anything left for me to try? Idk if replacing the battery makes sense if it worked before replacing the screen

⟐ Answered July 03, 2026 at 0:33 MST

New Nintendo 2DS XL: 3ds will not charge not even the orange light is on

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 12:31:48 -0700

Note:

I'm uncertain about the issue I'm experiencing. It could be related to the AC adapter not functioning properly, a problem with the charging port on the device, or a faulty battery. I need to troubleshoot to determine which component is causing the problem.

⟐ Answered July 01, 2026 at 12:31 MST

New Nintendo 2DS XL: Where is the backlight controller/chip on the New 2DS XL (JAP model)

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 07:33:35 -0700

I've tried 3 different screens on this New 2DS XL I have here, and all 3 even the known working one(s) don't work on it, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's the backlight that isn't responding.

I can't find anything online about the backlight controller/chip, so I figured I'd ask here and on Reddit.

Anyone know or can help?

⟐ Answered July 01, 2026 at 7:33 MST

Nintendo 3DS: Top screen rubber stoppers

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 07:28:36 -0700

Hi, the top screen rubber stoppers on my device are crumbling/perished I was wondering if anyone here had ever replaced them and how easy it would be to do

⟐ Commented July 01, 2026 at 7:28 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: Where can I purchase circle pad hinge clip to keep plug in place?

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 22:25:02 -0700

Where can I purchase clip for the plug cable of the circle pad that holds the cable in place on the motherboard?

⟐ Answered June 28, 2026 at 22:25 MST

New Nintendo 2DS XL: Why isn’t my system not turning on properly?

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 12:44:13 -0700

I found my 2DS XL from a while back. A few years ago, I tried modding it and ever since, it just won’t boot properly. When I press the power button, the blue light turns on, and stays on until I turn it off. The screens don’t show anything and there’s no sound coming from the speakers. I’ve tried booting into recovery mode but that hasn’t work. Is there any fix or diagnosis?

⟐ Commented June 27, 2026 at 12:44 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: New 3DS XL won’t charge/turn on after mistake

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 14:01:04 -0700

When I was little I lost my 3Ds charger, I used a copper charging cable and connected it with the charging port outside contacts. The orange light turned on for a bit and then went completely dead. Now it won’t charge or turn on, the battery still works. Would changing the power module fix this? Or is it over for it?

⟐ Answered June 23, 2026 at 14:01 MST

Nintendo 3DS: Stripped screws in the bottom shell

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 21:48:56 -0700

I bought a second-handed 3DS along with a couple of physical games for only $50, and I was very happy about this buy until I found out the screws in the bottom shell were all stripped.

The console turns on and before the home menu pops up, it suddenly turns off with a "pop". It is likely a broken ribbon cable, which should be a relatively easy fix, but I can't even open the console because of the screws. I tried using hot glue, a small rubber band and none of that seem to work.

I truly don't know how to proceed. I don't wanna end up damaging the motherboard or any other component.

⟐ Commented June 21, 2026 at 21:48 MST

Nintendo DSi XL: How do I fix this problem?

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 12:22:57 -0700

When I’m playing games my DS will turn of randomly, what can I do to fix this problem?

⟐ Answered June 21, 2026 at 12:22 MST

Nintendo DSi XL: Is it possible to fix this?

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 11:16:45 -0700

I was trying to do a USB-C mod for my Dsi-xl and when I pulled off the charge port I pulled two pads I managed to get it on, but when I turned it on I got blinking light turns out I blown the fuse on the power board. I thought the exposed copper by the via caused the short so I removed the Usb-c and tore a third pad I dont know if I can now do the mod can it fixed ?

⟐ Commented June 21, 2026 at 11:16 MST

Nintendo 3DS: How do I unscrew a stripped screw on the lower case?

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 14:50:19 -0700

Well i got a problem with my 3DS when i recognized that my Internet doesen´t work, i´ve thought that my WIFI board is defect so i tried to open the 3ds with a ph000 screwdriver everything went fine except at the lower case part i had to remove those 9 Phillips screws

and i could only unscrew 5 screws the other 4 screws were stripped because i put too much power on the other screws so that they were stripped. So does anyone have a solution how do i unscrewed those little stripped screws on my 3DS?

⟐ Commented June 20, 2026 at 14:50 MST

Nintendo DSi: How do I fix the coding from looping in settings

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 23:35:31 -0700

More and also, how do I put my pictures on the sd card well the DS is keeping the looping settings. Also, I can tell you what I was doing about my dsi I was on the twilight menu and I was on the no crash thing and I was just trying to go to the scissor says, but I was actually at the control leg and I just that’s different stuff. I didn’t know cause I think I saved it and it was looping in settings

⟐ Commented June 18, 2026 at 23:35 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: 3ds XL [MODDED+Luma CFW] won’t turn on/blue LED/black screens

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 16:13:42 -0700

So, my 3ds has custom firmware and is modded. I was recently downloading some games from Hshop and when I exited the shop, it said that the SD card was removed and needed to reboot. When it was finished, all my downloaded 3ds games disappeared and wouldn’t come back. I found out that the game file became corrupted so I went into FBI to start deleting corrupted titles then I accidentally pushed the “launch title” on a corrupted file and now my 3ds wont turn on. It has a blue LED with no WiFi LED but the Luma start configuration works. It still doesn’t turn on if I remove the SD card or if I plug it in. I’ve tried many things but it still won’t work, any ideas to help me out?

⟐ Commented June 17, 2026 at 16:13 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: Possible causes for no power on?

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 06:12:49 -0700

I opened my N3DS XL to do a bluetooth mod( tapping into the battery 3.7v pins and headphone jack, only), the mod was sucessfully soldered in and powered up, however, the 3DS would no longer power up giving me only a brief flash of the blue led and no screen activity. I desoldered the mod and checked for bad fuses, this board is not labeled for f1 and f2 so the ones I checked had a dark green appearance and tested ok. Hooking up the wall power adapter gives a solid orange charge light but still no power to device and same blue led blink. My ribbon cables all seem tight and untorn and I see no bridged connections or stray solder on board. Any ideas where to troubleshoot next?

⟐ Answered June 17, 2026 at 6:12 MST

Nintendo 3DS 2015: Volume slider stuck at 85% MOTHERBOARD ISSUE

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:06:13 -0700

So i bought this new 3ds from japan, I think it had liquid damage cause the camera was broken and the 3d and volume slider were stuck to the max. I replaced the camera and the speakers flex so the camera and 3d work 100% now but the volume is stuck at 85% (i confirmed this with luma) and I replaced the motherboard with another one and to test and the volume slider worked with that one.

Edit: I checked with 3dsident, the 3ds reads the volume slider always at the max, not 85%

Any idea on how can I fix this?

⟐ Commented June 17, 2026 at 0:06 MST

Nintendo DSi XL: My NDSIXL doesnt turn on

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 22:19:24 -0700

Hi! My NDSIXL doesnt turn on. I press the power button, see two white screens about 1 second, see power light is blue, (but wi-fi light is off) and after one second device off. What’s problem with it?

⟐ Answered June 16, 2026 at 22:19 MST

New Nintendo 2DS XL: R trigger with copper pads ripped

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 22:06:38 -0700

Hello! I'm a beginner at micro-soldering and I'm working on a New 2DS XL. The pads are completely ripped. I need to install jumper wires to fix this, but I'm not sure where to safely scrape the solder mask to expose the underlying traces without damaging them. Any advice or reference on where to scratch would be highly appreciated!

⟐ Commented June 16, 2026 at 22:06 MST

Nintendo 3DS XL: Nintendo 3DS XL, won't start.

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 22:03:54 -0700

Hi guys, I'm having a problem with my Nintendo 3DS XL.

The Nintendo was shipped to me completely disassembled, so I reassembled it and replaced the top display (the flat panel was visibly damaged).

I charged the Nintendo and the charging LED lights up correctly, but after charging it for over an hour, the Nintendo won't turn on for any reason.

When connected to the power supply, pressing the power button turns the charging LED off and back on within a second; no flashing displays, no sound, nothing.

However, when running on battery power only, no LED lights up, not even for a moment.

I think I can rule out damage to one of the displays, since from what I know, if one of the two displays is damaged, a white flash should be visible on one of the displays.

I checked fuses F1 and F2, and they're OK.

I've unplugged and replugged all the flat cables and the wireless card, but the problem still persists.

The only oddity is the battery voltage. Specifically, when I insert the battery into the contacts, it reads 4.1V correctly. When I press the power button, the voltage drops to 0.85V and stays there until I remove and reinsert the battery, returning it to 4.1V.

I removed the SD card, and there's no play in the card slot.

I should point out that there's not the classic blue LED and black screen problem; no LEDs light up, except the charging LED.

Can anyone tell me what the problem might be? I've been stuck in this situation for days now, and there doesn't seem to be a way out.

Thank you all for your time.

⟐ Commented June 15, 2026 at 22:03 MST

Nintendo DSi: How do I fix unresponsive shoulder buttons?

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 07:33:37 -0700

Very simply, the L and R buttons on my DSi don't work anymore. I tried going to Nintendo about the problem, but they said it'd cost at least $50 to repair...and my system is long past its warranty. Will I have to take apart my DS to fix it?

⟐ Commented June 15, 2026 at 7:33 MST

Game Boy Color: Pokemon pinball boots to white screen. Need help

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 03:14:11 -0700

Hello, my gbc copy of pokemon pinball i bought isn’t working. I attached multiple images just in case for viewing. I cleaned the pins with isopropyl alcohol, started the game, it shows the gbc logo like normal, then the screen goes white. I have a battery replacement and solder coming tomorrow, but I’m hoping I can get some help here before making any drastic decisions to further mess with the board. Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks!!!

⟐ Answered June 14, 2026 at 3:14 MST