A hot potato: Dbrand, the peripheral company with a long and often sweary history, has taken an iPhone 4-like approach to complaints that its popular Switch 2 case causes the Joy-Cons to detach easily. It says this only happens when people hold the new Switch the wrong way.
Some users of Dbrand's Killswitch Switch 2 case have been complaining that it causes the console's Joy-Cons to detach too easily.
The Switch 2 has a small gap between the body of the Joy-Cons and the main console. Nintendo says this prevents the edge of the Joy-Cons from contacting the body when they're twisted, thereby making it harder for a controller to detach accidentally.
In a very lengthy Reddit post, Dbrand explains that the Killswitch case fills this air gap, fully connecting the Joy-Cons and the main console. "This changes the fulcrum point and gives you mechanical leverage when 'folding' the Joy-Cons off."
I love my killswitch 2.. buttttttt
byu/the_big_mood indbrand
The post claims that the case doesn't weaken the connection between the Joy-Cons and the console; it just engages the detachment sooner because the lip eliminates the buffer that would normally absorb the first few millimeters of movement.
Killswitch Case for Switch 2: Joy con issues
byu/EBfor3 indbrand
"This same motion can be performed on a stock NS2, but it typically takes more effort for exactly that reason. The stock NS2 has a small dead zone where the air gap compresses before resistance kicks in. With the Grip installed, the lip fills that space, so the torque transfers immediately."
A lot of the controversy stems from Dbrand's assertion that no matter how easy the Joy-Cons appear to be detaching in the user videos, it "isn't a situation that someone's going to put themselves in without actively trying to." The company compares it to putting Mentos in Diet Coke, which nobody did until they saw a video of someone doing it online.
Killswitch Joycon Connection
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Dbrand adds that detachment only happens when the Switch 2 is held only by the Joy-Cons – I.e., when not supporting the main body of the machine from behind with fingers. It also happens when holding the Switch 2 in one hand with the console held close to parallel to the ground.
"On these points, we need to be a bit firm: nobody routinely holds their Switch 2 like this," Dbrand wrote.
Dbrand did admit that some users might be running into the issue due to the lip on their Killswitch being 0.12mm thicker than desired. As such, the manufacturer has adjusted its tolerance guidelines for mass production to filter out any Joy-Cons that cross this threshold.
"To be clear: this does not mean 'we are making better stock in July'. We're making the exact same case, the exact same way – we'll just be adjusting our tolerance and inspection guidelines to filter out a small fraction of the stock before it makes it to customers."
Dbrand emphasized that even with this alteration, holding the Switch 2 in an "unnatural" way will still cause the controllers to detach.
The company did say it was "f**king sorry, honestly" for the situation and asked anyone who was having issues that fell within "regular use" to contact the support team.
Some Killswitch case users have been satisfied with the response, but there are those who have compared this to Steve Jobs claiming the reason the iPhone 4's antenna reception was dropping was due to them holding the device incorrectly.
There are some people who say they often need to use one of their hands for something else while playing, leaving them holding a single Joy-Con. There's also the question of young children with smaller hands whose fingers can't support the back of the Switch 2.
In addition to the Joy-Con detachments, some Killswitch users say they are finding it difficult to dock the console using the Dock Adapter.
"Seamless docking" 🫠
byu/BaturalNoobs indbrand
Dbrand's actions have never been typical of most corporations. It once told Nintendo's lawyers to "Go f**k yourselves" when it released Zelda-clone decals. It had a similar response in its fight with Sony over PS5 faceplates.
Dbrand responds to Joy-Con issue with Killswitch Switch 2 case, blames user grip
