iFixit - Answers With Device "Nintendo Handheld Console"

Game Boy Pocket: Why is my game boy pocket not turning on?

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 17:07:21 -0700

I cleaned the contacts and have continuity, but there are no signs of life. Zero sound, video, or light appear.

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: Why does it my console turn on but freezes after a while

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:28:56 -0700

My console turns on and everything is okay, but after some time it freezes, not necessary on a game just randomly freezes.

⟐ Answer accepted 七月 23, 2026 at 9:28 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: Please help me find why my motherboard is dead!?

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 22:11:57 -0700

Help with this new 3ds xl motherboard, I bought this console that seems DEAD, I took out the ABXY daughter board and put it in another console and it worked fine, so the issue it's in the motherboard but I don't know where? I checked the fuse under the charge connector and it took a couple of seconds but it beep, also checked some pins in the square black chips and some beep some stayed in 1, idk if im doing things right please help!!

I suspect the issue is in the conector for the powerboard but i'm not sure. I have another motherboard to compare this dead one btw

Also charging seems fine, the charge led doesnt turn off with the battery on.

⟐ Commented 七月 22, 2026 at 22:11 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: How to transfer EVERYTHING with one 3DS?

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:49:30 -0700

Hi :) So I'm trying to get my data back from my 3DS.. I had it since 2017 and I modded it this year, and I have the NAND backup, but I can't seem to find the button to restore it.. I don't rlly know if I need to change my movable.sed in order to transfer my main NAND, but when I go to the opinons for the NAND in GodMode9, I don't see it.. I tried everything nothing works D: maybe its corrupted but I can't seem to find out.. Do I need another 3DS in order to transfer it in gm9 only? Thanks

I CAN'T DELETE THIS OLD THREAD😭✌💔

(READ POST FROM 2/1/25]

⟐ Answered 七月 22, 2026 at 12:49 GMT-7

Nintendo DSi: My Game Card Slot 1 isn't working properly,even tho I hear the click.

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 01:17:01 -0700

l still heard the click of the Game Card Slot 1, but there's no game appearing on the screen. How this happened is l got my DS-i and my little brother was impatient at the time. Very impatient to the point where he put the game card in REVERSE, causing the Slot 1 to not work.

⟐ Answered 七月 22, 2026 at 1:17 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: 3ds can only charge to extremely low percentage?

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:16:48 -0700

I just recently replaced my Original 3DS' battery with an Ifixit battery, but now it cannot hold a charge longer than 1 bar (even to the point where the red light is flashing.)

I've charged it for nearly over a day and still it won't charge higher than a bar.
Something I noticed is that the charger won't fully go in, but aside from that, I don't really see other issues. Probably because I'm not too tech-savvy.

⟐ Answered 七月 22, 2026 at 0:16 GMT-7

Nintendo 2DS: 2DS Black Screen while power on

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 18:19:24 -0700

So a few days ago, I left my 2DS on the sleep mode for a while and I might or might not drop it accidentally. I don't remember and found out later that when i push the power button to turn it on, the blue led lights and the screen is black,

not black like it was turn off but black we definitely see that it is turn on but won't show anything. (backlight working probably?)

I tried to hold the power 10 seconds and wait but the only image i can see is when I push the power button when it's on and it asks you if you are sure if you want to turn it off. From there, and from there only, I can push the home button and it shows the white screen telling you you're going to the home screen. but it is stuck there and won't go to the actual home screen.

I want to know what exactly is the problem here and if you know how to fix it i would be grateful.

thank you

⟐ Commented 七月 21, 2026 at 18:19 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: Faulty power button? Not responding at all.

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 10:10:29 -0700

So after getting back on my new 3ds xl after a few months, I found it would not boot. The charging light did appear, and I gave it a while, but still no boot. Somehow, after removing battery, holding the power button, reinserting battery and pressing power button again, I managed to get the console to boot into a Luma menu.

When the console was on, it operated as normal, but I couldn’t open the shut down menu, as the power button wouldn’t respond. After shutting down the console via Rosalina, I am unable to repeat the same method of booting the console.

Any advice?

⟐ Answered 七月 19, 2026 at 10:10 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS: 3DS old, Start button not working (Select and Home working)

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:34:24 -0700

I opened up my 3DS to clean the L and R buttons.

When I closed it back up, the Start button stopped working later that day, but the Home and Select buttons are still working.

⟐ Answered 七月 18, 2026 at 10:34 GMT-7

Nintendo DSi: How do I fix unresponsive shoulder buttons?

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:56:36 -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 七月 17, 2026 at 19:56 GMT-7

New Nintendo 2DS XL: New 2DS XL - Blue Light turns on for a second, pops, and shuts off.

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:49:07 -0700

Hi everyone,

I'm troubleshooting a New 2DS XL board with the "blue light on for 1-2s, pops, and shuts down" issue. I’ve done some diagnostics but hit a wall.

What's done/found so far:

Fixed Volume Slider Short: Previously, no light at all. Now it attempts to boot, pops, and dies. It also has a broken sholder button.

Capacitor Swap: Replaced an SMD cap on the backlight/screen rail with a similar-sized one from a donor board. Multimeter shows good continuity on both pads to nearby components.

41-Pin FPC Connector: Two pins are collapsed/bent. They might not be backlight-specific, but they aren't making contact.

Continuity: Followed front-to-back trace diagrams. Two test-point pairs beep fine front-to-back. One pair does NOT beep (suspecting a broken internal via).

My Questions:

The FPC Connector: Could those two collapsed pins (even if non-backlight) fail the POST and trigger the shutdown pop? Should I replace the 41-pin connector next?

Hinge Ribbon Cable: Can I test if the top screen cable is torn inside the hinge without a full teardown? Could a micro-tear cause this exact behavior?

Swapped Capacitor: Could an incorrect rating on my swapped cap trigger over-voltage protection when the backlight booster kicks in?

Any advice on what to prioritize next is highly appreciated!

⟐ Commented 七月 17, 2026 at 6:49 GMT-7

New Nintendo 2DS XL: My new 2ds won’t turn on

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 23:49:11 -0700

A few years back when I was younger I bit the top screen of my ds, at the time it still worked for a few years even though the top screen was basically unviewable. More recently I’ve found my ds but it won’t be able to turn on with just a blue light. I’ve tried taking it to safe mode but it still won’t work. I’m wondering if the issue was the screen or a whole different issue. Is there any way to fix it?

⟐ Answered 七月 12, 2026 at 23:49 GMT-7

Nintendo DSi XL: Replaced dsi xl camera, system now powers on, but screen is blank.

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 23:19:58 -0700

I recently bought a used DSi XL off Ebay, the system powers on and can play games fine, but someone removed the camera cable from it, causing a system crash when using the camera. I got a replacement cable and did the repairs myself, but after reconnecting everything, I power it on, and get a bottom screen flash before it turns off. After researching the problem, I realized the top screen's cable wasn't in all the way (I assume was the issue, because I did struggle to insert the cable through the hinge and was worried I damaged it). After inserting it properly, I go to power it on, but now the system doesn't power on at all ( I get a flashing orange light). I had noticed afterward that I might have crushed the power board's black-and-red wires, which I'm assuming is the problem, because everything else seems to be connected properly.

Edit: We discovered through testing that the F1 fuse on the power board was blown, and that applying tinfoil gives us power. However, the top screen still shows up blank. This time, however, the top screen can show jumbled pixels or wonky screen imagery, or rapidly flashing when applying pressure in specific spots (seemingly, on the ribbon cable attached to the screen). Can the system be salvaged in this case? There doesn't seem to be any noticeable damage on this specific part of the cable, but perhaps I damaged the strip that coils inside the hinge when fitting it through?

I've added pictures of the cable. The bottom one shows scuffs I made trying to fit the cable in (next time, I'll use a plastic spudger to push the cable in), the image above shows bends in the cable that were already present. The two above are just for reference (the spots where applying pressure makes images show up). I forgot to take images of the screen itself showing a jumbled display, but I've already disassembled the system again.

One other thing I should ask, could it be a power supply issue that's causing the screen to glitch out, instead of the cable?

⟐ Commented 七月 12, 2026 at 23:19 GMT-7

Nintendo DS Lite: Why won't my son's Nintendo DS read any games?

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 01:02:22 -0700

No matter what DS game we put in, it won't read the game. Nothing happens.

⟐ Answered 七月 11, 2026 at 1:02 GMT-7

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

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:08:31 -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!

⟐ Answer accepted 七月 10, 2026 at 18:08 GMT-7

Nintendo 2DS: 2DS blue led turns on, speakers pop, shuts down after soldering.

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:09:08 -0700

Since I couldn't get a zif connector locally (the pins were damaged so I removed it), I soldered the circle pad to the its respective testpoints (pin 1 to ground, pin 2 to TP69, pin 3 to TP5, pin 4 to TP68). Once that was done I turned on the console, the speaker popped and the console shutdown. I did also solder the speakers once with headphone wire, but since they've popped I suppose they're correctly connected to the motherboard. The camera flex cable is broken but I've verified before that the console can boot without it. F1 and F2 show continuity on both sides. Ribbon cables seem to be connected correctly. I just removed the solder and connections I've made on those testpoints and it still shuts down with a pop. I have also inspected the screen and there is no visible damage on it.

⟐ Answered 七月 10, 2026 at 0:09 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS 2015: New Nintendo 3DS xl Y button not working tried the usual whats next

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:05:47 -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.

⟐ Commented 七月 10, 2026 at 0:05 GMT-7

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

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 11:49:10 -0700

备注:

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.

⟐ Answer accepted 七月 07, 2026 at 11:49 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS XL: 3DS XL lower hinge barrel sticking out

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 05:56:41 -0700

Hi. I just purchased a used 3DS XL. All is working fine, except for one presumed flaw at the hinge barrel. As you can see in the photo, the lower half of the center hinge barrel sticks out slightly compared to the upper half, about 0.5 millimeters. The hinge opens and closes normally though.

I wonder if this should be a concern and should I be doing anything about it to prevent any breaking down in the future. All advices are appreciated. Thanks!

⟐ Answered 七月 07, 2026 at 5:56 GMT-7

Nintendo 3DS XL 2015: question about my New 3DS XL A button.

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 22:06:48 -0700

the A button on my "New" 3ds XL is still responsive, but i hold the button down and wiggle my thumb, it registers that I'm pressing it again. I'm trying to figure out if its a sign of wear or just a normal quirk.

⟐ Commented 七月 06, 2026 at 22:06 GMT-7