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Gamexplain Explains the Joy-Con Desyncing Problem

T

Tom Nook Sawyer

Member
Thought this was thread-worthy because it explains what's happening to the left joy-con, as Gamexpkain was able to reliably replicate the Joy-Con connectivity problem. Turns out your hand is enough to block the signal, but it's not actually desyncing the controller--just interrupting the signal. And both Joy-Cons are affected.

Here's the video
https://youtu.be/SbG3F9RwlcY
 
R

RadioJoNES64

Banned
a7642e7f254404405915f19323418e39.jpg


Shit...
 
E

Exquisik

Member
Wait... if our hands are blocking the signal then that would mean this is a hardware issue. That's not good. Would adding a grip fix this problem?
 
A

Anteo

Member
Doesnt explain anything. There is a video showing the itnterference when there is nothing betwwen the cons and the console
 
S

Suzushiiro

Banned
Yeah, when I heard that it wasn't happening for everyone I figured it may have been some sort of signal interference-related issue. The bad news is that this probably isn't something a firmware update can fix, but it seems like this is something you can deal with as long as you know the cause.
 
P

PSOreo

Member
Just waiting for the "you're holding it wrong" statement from Nintendo...

Fingers crossed its an easy fix though.
 
K

Kouriozan

Member
Ugh, that sound very much worse, good thing I pre-ordered a Pro Controller...
Why are those Joy-cons super expensive already?
 
Q

Quadraphonic

Member
Suzushiiro said:
Yeah, when I heard that it wasn't happening for everyone I figured it may have been some sort of signal interference-related issue. The bad news is that this probably isn't something a firmware update can fix, but it seems like this is something you can deal with as long as you know the cause.
Click to expand...

Boosting signal strength of bluetooth and wifi signals is something DEFINITELY possible with firmware updates.
 
P

Pineapple

Member
Hopefully this can be fixed via a firmware update with a day one patch.

Nintendo's engineering teams are probably working 24/7 from now until a few weeks after launch.
 
S

sorijealut

Member
Wow, well okay. A question that came into mind is how does Nintendo not catch something like that before shipping it out? I would think it is something that would come up during testing.
 
O

Owensboro

Member
Huh.... so just... keep your hands in front of you at all times? Means you can't play while lounging on the couch. :(

I assume the Pro Controller doesn't experience this issue at all?

Edit: Also just wanted to say that I always considered GameXplain just a goofy "make a 60 minute video from 10 seconds of footage" kind of place, but this was totally great work / testing. Good job dudes and dudettes.
 
G

Gleethor

Member
Quadraphonic said:
Boosting signal strength of bluetooth and wifi signals is something DEFINITELY possible with firmware updates.
Click to expand...
Will probably impact the advertised battery life of the joy-con, but a firmware update is vastly preferable to a hardware recall. Hope this is the case
 
L

Lagamorph

Member
Must've been designed by the same guy from Apple who came up with an iPhone design where a persons hand was enough to cut off the phone signal.
 
O

OverturePT

Member
Yea, no... I was hyped as hell for the console but not buying it if it releases like this. Nintendo has to speak up and it better be fixable with a firmware update, because it's going to be ugly if the hardware has to be replaced.
 
L

Linkstrikesback

Member
Wow.

That's a disaster of a piece of news to get out before the launch. They can't have not been aware of it either (unless all of Japan has trump level hands).

Good luck Nintendo.
 
P

Pineapple

Member
Quadraphonic said:
Boosting signal strength of bluetooth and wifi signals is something DEFINITELY possible with firmware updates.
Click to expand...

Is it really a signal strength issue though? Moving your hand close to the JoyCon shouldn't affect the connection to the system at all, and yet this video showed just that.

Hopefully this isn't some hardware glitch...
 
S

shark sandwich

tenuously links anime, pedophile and incels
mobilesworking said:
Shit. I'm gonna need some clarification on this from the big N or I might have to cancel my pre-order.
Click to expand...
Same here, these previews are killing my hype. I'm going to be overloaded with good games this spring as it is. Might as well avoid the emotional rollercoaster that is a Nintendo launch window.

Edit: just cancelled :( will probably still get one later this year, but no sense in getting one at launch given the potential issues and weak lineup (for someone who doesn't care for Zelda)
 
SinCityAssassin

SinCityAssassin

Member
For a firmware update to actually fix this problem, it'll largely depend on how the Joycons work with Bluetooth. If they contain some sort of firmware in order to be registered as unique controllers, it's possible that Nintendo could just update it to increase the controller signal and sacrifice battery life. If the Joycons have a low signal mode for bluetooth when connected to the Switch itself, it might be a software bug where it's stuck in that mode and therefore would have a weak signal.

If it's neither of these two scenarios, it's hardware and we got an oversight.

Pineapple said:
Is it really a signal strength issue though? Moving your hand close to the JoyCon shouldn't affect the connection to the system at all, and yet this video showed just that.
Click to expand...

The Blunty link definitely makes the possibility real.
 
G

GJS

Member
Your body absorbs bluetooth radio frequency, and reduces the signal strength, thus connection lost.
 
C

CaviarMeths

Member
Yeah...

Stuff like this is really helping me feel better about my decision to wait at least a year before buying the system. I'm sure they can get it worked out, but I ain't buying it in its current state. Really feels like this is being launched about 6 months before Nintendo was ready. I guess they saw they were running out of Wii U stock and had to have something take its place on store shelves.
 
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