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The Nintendo Switch is a handheld game console that can be played on the TV via a docking station, or on the go. Released March 3rd, 2017.

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How can I remove stuck Y000 screws?

The screws on the back of my Switch (original - the one that can fit in the cradle to display on a TV) are super-tight. One came out, but the next one is so tightly in that when I tried using the iFixit toolkit's Y000 screwdriver, it just stripped the slots on that screw.

I know I can find replacement screws, but how can I get these screws out? (The other two are in there tight, but I haven't fully mangled them yet.)

I should add that I've removed stripped screws before, but never this small and the screws are recessed enough that makes many of the "normal" options for removing them hard to use. (Also, considering the rubber band method - that's a problem since the slots are so tiny that I don't see how the screwdriver blades could do anything with the slots through the thickness of rubber.)

Update (04/06/26)

I used a different screwdriver and that worked.

The iFixit Y000 bit I was trying had a bad angle on the end that didn't really fit well into the screws: Here's a simple (and lopsided!) illustratoin:

Block Image

The screwdriver tip was at a sharp angle, so the blades really didn't fit into the slot enough to actually do anything. It just wasn't designed well. I found another screwdriver with the same size bit and with a better profile to match the screw slot.

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Hi!

There are more ways to do this.

First of all, I would get the screw extractor kit and try it with that.

Otherwise you can try these methods: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-...

Hopefully that will work and let you be able to get it out.

Please let us know how that goes!

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4 Comments:

Due to how small they are, and that they're recessed (and I didn't mention this above) and that they seem so tightly fastened, I'm not sure about a lot of the normal methods. The Y slots are kind of shallow and small, so I'm not sure at all about the rubber band trick at all.

I am thinking a Y000 screwdriver with glades with a different angle on the end might help.

I'm tempted to drill them out of there - but I'm not sure how I can secure the back if I do that, since it'll probably mean the threads in the back will be gone. I've never run into that before.

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Hmm, you can also find some info here: How To Remove stripped screws from back shell

And here: https://www.reddit.com/r/consolerepair/c...

It’s indeed not easy to remove them due that they are super small.

A tiny flathead will work sometimes too.

Can you let me know if the above links worked for you?

Thanks!

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I updated the questions with my own answer - it came down to the tip on the iFixit y000 bit. The angle on the end didn't allow much of the blade to actually come in contact with the sides of the slot. Once I got a better bit, it worked.

I had a lower cost iFixit toolkit, which worked for a lot of things, but has a limited bit selection. I found a much better toolkit on Amazon that I was able to order and get the next day that had the bit I needed.

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Glad that you were able to solve it!! I use the tech pro kit (Y00) and this always works for me. But glad that you managed to proceed :)! Have a great day!

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