Nintendo Switch Lite Teardown

Written By: Jeff Suovanen
Published: 24/09/19
  • Comments: 52

Nintendo Switch Lite Teardown

Published: 24/09/19

Teardown

Introduction

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new Switch on the block: it’s the Nintendo Switch Lite, and it comes with less in order to cost you less. It also arrives in some hot new colors—which only distract us momentarily, before we remember we’re here for a teardown. Grab your tools and let’s take apart the new Switch Lite.

YouTube? Instagram? Twitter? Facebook? Take your pick and give us a click, and let’s keep in touch on all future teardowns. And if a newsletter is more your style, we do that too.

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    • A wild Switch Lite appeared! What does the Nintendex say about it?

    • Custom NVIDIA Tegra processor

    • Built-in 5.5" capacitive touchscreen LCD with 1280 × 720 resolution

    • 32 GB of internal storage (up to 2 TB additional storage via microSDHC or microSDXC card)

    • 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, USB Type-C port (charging only), and 3.5 mm audio jack

    • Built-in accelerometer and gyroscope

    • Rechargeable lithium-ion battery capable of 3.0 - 7.0 hours play time

    • Evolved with un-detachable controllers

    Is there a guide without all the cringe pokemon references? Preferably one where the first two steps are actually steps.

    Harley Stout -

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    • Before we begin, we turn on our X-ray Game Genie, courtesy of our pals at Creative Electron.

    • Compared with modern smartphones, there's a lot of bezel on this device, so our usual teardown wallpaper treatment may not quite cut it. Maybe if we also made a skin ...

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    • We yanked really hard on the controls in the hope of scoring two new bright yellow Joy-Cons, but alas, they don't detach.

    • It seems a more traditional disassembly will be required.

    • The integrated controls do include an honest-to-goodness D-pad, however.

    • Other exterior changes: the IR blaster from the right Joy-Con got the axe, and the speakers have migrated from the front (OG Switch) to the bottom (Switch Lite).

    • The Lite also lacks the original Switch's kickstand, making this the most aerodynamic Switch ever.

    Aerodynamics require an high altitude drop test to proof

    SZCthebandit ‖ -

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    • The way is blocked by impassable (tri-point) screws. We can't progress further until we find and acquire the special tool.

    • No distracting side quests today—we're on a mission and we brought all the tools needed to beat the game. Y00 driver, we choose you!

    • Under the back cover, we find: another cover. Moving on.

    • We note here that the SD card reader is now permanently attached to the main board—whereas on the old Switch, we had already removed it by this point.

    • Modularity is generally good for repair, so this is minor step backwards from our point of view.

    • Let's peek under the metal shield and get our first look at the internals in the visible light spectrum.

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    • Here we take a moment to blow the cover off our revised-for-2019 Switch and do some Lite comparisons.

    • Most important change: the battery in the Lite is no longer upside-down. This alone makes our teardown worth the price of admission.

    • When it comes to other changes, here are two truths and a lie: (1) The battery is physically smaller and sits next to a lighter-gauge heat pipe. (2) The headphone jack has gone fully modular. (3) The bubblegum securing the heat sink is now cherry-flavored.

    • Muscling up the battery, we find... a wet paper towel? Maybe someone was trying to wipe off all this sticky battery adhesive.

    • This 13.6 Wh battery is all you need for 3-7 hours of playtime, according to Nintendo. That's more than you could get from the original Switch and its 16 Wh battery (but less than the updated Switch, which can last up to 9 hours).

    You should add the dimension of the battery among other parts. I am finding it very hard to find this information.

    emil.cleanideas -

    I don’t know how you removed the battery on this thing, but I destroyed a few tools prying the bigger off. Plus the battery itself got bent beyond repair where I had to order a new one. Whether the water made the adhesive extra sticky I don’t know. (When I found the Switch, it had water damage)

    Anima055 -

    The battery is definitely pretty difficult to remove. It just takes time and patience! Our guide details the process: Nintendo Switch Lite Battery Replacement

    Craig Lloyd -

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    • More efficient hardware not only makes for longer battery life, but also less waste heat. So we're pleasantly unsurprised to see this Switch packing a downsized heat sink and fan.

    • In case you're worried about decreased thermal performance, remember that this Switch will be only be outputting to its built-in display at 720p or less, unlike the big Switch, which has to output up to 1080p when docked.

    • Another slight difference: the previous L and R triggers pressed directly against a button on a PCB, but the new triggers switch to a membrane-style key. This could help with ingress protection, and definitely gives the triggers a more pleasing actuation distance.

    • The speaker drivers look to be the same as those in the original Switch, but the housings are all new.

    • Not only are they now downward-firing, but they've also expanded up into the space formerly held down by the two Joy-Con batteries. Although we haven't done a head-to-head sound test, we'd be surprised if the Lite didn't come out on top.

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    • Pulling aside a dedicated mini-joycon board, we get down to a source of recent controversy in the Switch—the joystick.

    • Initially, these joysticks look pretty similar to the 2019 Switch joysticks as we crack open their cases—but the design of the clasps around the edges is a bit different, and the case is easier to open overall.

    • Hoping to find some kind of drift-related improvement, we open up both the Switch Lite (top) and 2019 Switch (bottom) joystick assemblies and lay them out for your viewing pleasure.

    • Things on the inside don't immediately seem too different, but we do notice some new trace routing, a narrower stick click button, and slightly wider-looking metal sliders.

    • A popular guess at the cause of joystick drift is that the black contact pads under the sliders wear down over time. They appear unchanged here, but it's possible they might be made of tougher stuff this time. Unfortunately that's beyond the scope of our testing for now.

    Ich habe die neue Version der analog sticks genauer unter die Lupe genommen, sie mit meinem problembehafteten verglichen und dabei etwas festgestellt. Ich habe es in einem Tweet zusammengefasst

    https://twitter.com/GoodonSwitch/status/...

    Goodon -

    Just replaced my left joystick, I didn’t even take off the main heatshield to disconnect the battery (had been dead for awhile). The ribbon cables went back in easily with a drop of de-oxit for lubrication. This is a smart design because the left joystick gets much more abuse than the right. PROTIP: The ribbon cables are all fixed in place via a clasp that must be lifted up first. Failure to do so will damage the ribbon cables and your board. The riskiest part of this repair is losing screws. PH000 and Y00 drivers are needed. About a 30 minute repair for a first timer.

    walczyk -

    Wanting to replace my left board due my L button losing its clickiness. Do you have to remove battery, heat shield, and heat sink?

    Mik -

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    • Removing the board, we note that the formerly modular flash storage is also now soldered down. (DIY storage swaps in the original Switch didn't work, but were at least physically possible.)

    • Side A of this silicon capybara:

    • Nvidia ODNX10-A1 (Tegra X1-based SoC, presumably a custom riff on the T210B01 variant)

    • 2x Samsung K4U6E3S4AM-MGCJ LPDDR4X DRAM 16 Gb (4 GB total)

    • Samsung KLMBG2JETD-B041 32 GB eMMC flash storage

    • ST Microelectronics ST21NFCD NFC controller and FingerTip touch screen controller

    • Realtek ALC5639 audio codec

    • Cypress CYW4356X 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.0 SoC

    You mention the Cypress chip to be Bluetooth 5.0, but list in the tech specs as Bluetooth 4.1. Which is it?

    skatendo16 -

    Nintendo’s official specs for the Switch Lite say BT 4.1. The Cypress chip is an off-the-shelf design that may have some un-utilized capabilities.

    Jeff Suovanen -

    Is it possible to resolder ram chips with highrler capacity to boost a performance?

    Vsevolod Moskalenko -

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    • Let's turn that capybara around for some more chips:

    • ST Microelectronics STM32F038C6 32-bit microcontroller w/ 32 KB flash

    • B1913 GCBRG HAC STD T1056719A1 secure MCU (likely)

    • Maxim Integrated MAX77620HEWJ power management IC

    • Rohm BM92T10MWV-Z USB-C power delivery controller

    • Texas Instruments BQ24193 battery charge management

    • Maxim Integrated MAX17050 battery fuel gauge

    • Ricoh RP602Z330C 1.5 A buck-boost regulator

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    • The original Switch had a non-laminated, air-gapped display—a rarity these days, but it makes for cheap and easy cracked screen repairs. On a drop-prone mobile device, this goes a long way toward making repairs affordable.

    • So how does the Switch Lite fare?

    • A little heat and prying is all it takes to coax the display assembly from the frame—so far so good.

    • With a bit more convincing, the digitizer/screen separates from the display. Success! The Switch line's record remains intact.

    I’d say IPS would made sense since in whatever posture the Switch Lite fell to ground the screen won’t be directly contacted (joysticks and buttons acts like a cushion layer), it does not appear often to encounter a fractured screen so swapping to IPS gives better visual experience and more chassis space(for batteries?)

    SZCthebandit ‖ -

    Given that the majority of replacements are screen-related, this is a really poor explanation. What about the gasket? The adhesive? You didn’t touch on that at all - and it’s SUPER important to get right.

    Nick Tomkin -

    As stated in the banner at the top of the page, these are not instructions. Our hardware teardowns are intended to give a first look at the device and assess it for repairability, and that’s all. Step-by-step repair guides will come later! You can use this document for reference, but it’s not meant to be exhaustive.

    Jeff Suovanen -

    la verdad es que en el desmontaje y separacion no os habeis esmerado pero nada de nada, una foto de un despiece que ademas no tiene ni un resto de pagamento y creo que no va aser tan facil como decis y menos el volver a montar, como se monta? que adhesivo? no queda nada nada claro nada.

    mimateo1964 -

    I agree with the posters above - it’s the most important and dangerous step (separating the screen from the digitizer) and they choose to go with “something magic happens here”! Disappointing and frustrating.

    Chernobyl -

    Looking at replacing a LCD, is the LCD glued to the glass or just adhesive around the edge?

    TechClint -

    It’s just a strip of black adhesive all the way around - not glue. Just warm it up with a heat gun or hair dryer and carefully peel apart the LCD and digitizer. That said, if you’re replacing a broken LCD it might be easier just to get the complete LCD+digitizer assembly (the digitizer is cheap).

    Chernobyl -

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    • Light on the wallet, light on the features, Lite in the layout.

    • Modularity is definitely a feature that was cut for this diet Switch, lacking swappable controllers, storage, and SD card tray.

    • A non-fused display and digitizer bode well, as well as a replaceable Game Card reader and headphone jack.

    • Not quite as cool as the Switch, and not quite as over-featured as the 3DS, this Lite seems to fit just right. But what about that reparability score?

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    • The Nintendo Switch Lite earns a 6 out of 10 on our reparability scale (10 is the easiest to repair):

    • Screws, rather than adhesives, secure most components.

    • Many components, including the joysticks, fan, and headphone jack, are modular and can be replaced independently.

    • The battery, though strongly glued down, can be replaced shortly after removing the rear case.

    • The digitizer and display are not fused, but are firmly glued in place.

    • The flash storage and SD card reader are now soldered directly to the motherboard.

    • Uncommon tri-point screws hinder all repairs.

Author

Jeff Suovanen

Member since: 06/08/13

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34 comments

The L and R triggers on the old style joycons pressed onto a fragile PCB mounted tactile switch, and were both fragile and a common point of failure. The new ones will hopefully be more robust, especially important as now they are part of the main unit and not a replaceable accessory.

Sam P -

Ethan…..first of all why is it important that you posted first? Second of all, you said, “Looks like the Switch Lite is based off of the original Switch.” Really, Ethan? You think? Sorry for the sarcasm but c’mon man, how is your comment helping?

fitzpatrickclaudia -

You are getting waeker and weaker. No exact descripton or OEM of the fan. Boy that’s weak for because the bearing of the fan can be an issue over time too. Sleevebearings would be horror for a unit like this. I hope it is ball or hydrodynamic. This fan has to run high speeds becaus of its small diameter.

TheLOD2010 -

So now this begs the question, can you reuse the joycons from the OG switch, remove the buttons and place them into the lite?

Say if you wanted a different color for your buttons, seems the triggers are a nono since they use a different button system but what about a,b,x,y,+,- ect?

Keetan Brumm -

awful teardown guide, please give better details regarding screw placement, etc

Ward McKinley -

The top of the teardown explicitly says it’s not a service guide. iFixit does have separate guides on Switch repair.

Ethan Zuo -

You might find the repair guides more helpful, they highlight all the screws and everything :)

Nintendo Switch Lite Repair

Probably -

Just bought a turquoise lite and it comes with standard phillips screws

Alan W. G. Meraz -

The four screws on the top and bottom of the switch lite’s case are PH000, while the 4 on the back are Y00. Look again. The screws inside are all PH000 as well.

walczyk -

Would anyone know where one could source the ‘dedicated mini-joycon board’? They seem to be the one part you cannot find anywhere.

Kevin Roberts -

How easy would it be for a total novice to take this apart for the purposes of re-painting the switch? I was thinking about taking it apart and doing a custom paint job on it but wanted to see if anyone else has tried it before I give it a go.

Jin Wong -

I'm a total novice and did this its very straight forward just don't get the screws mixed up and be mindful of ribbon cables also have the right tools otherwise you will strip the

Jose Barrientos -

Does anyone know where to get a replacement fan for the lite (in the UK). Mine sounds like its grating rocks most of the time.

Robert Barrow -

Can someone point me in the direction of which ribbon connectors/sockets are for which function?

I took my boys apart to replace a snapped analogue stick and now it has sound and come on but the screen is blank, not even back-lit, and I'm not sure where I need to go next to troubleshoot it.

kevin.hyatt.email -

Took mine apart today and there are three ribbon cables that come from the screen two are under the gamecard slot those are for picture and backlight the power runs to the otherside near the battery

Jose Barrientos -

I’m just curious in respect to future repairability of my own switch lite - if I was to theoretically crack it open and replace the right stick (since that’s the only one that’s shown any issues whatsoever with my original set of joycons, also very pleased to see that one at least looks reasonably easy to get at) - would I need to replace the thermal compound? Or would it be fine if I just put it all back together as is?

Jessica Wilson -

I think it might be fine/preferable to leave/reuse the purple goop between the heatpipe and the topmost shield, as that seems to be quite a bit more spreadable than usual thermal paste used on computers.

For the blue/greyish goop between the heatsink and the SoC shield, and between the SoC shield and the SoC, you might be able to scoop up some of the excess goop that seeped out that are still kinda liquid, and slap it back on to the chip die and copper part of the shield. Though decent thermal paste aren’t all that expensive.

dennis97519 -

Any idea where to get replacement screws for the plate? Semi-stripped one of them and was able to remove it.

Keva -

A slightly strange question, do the L and R buttons rest on the plastic? If you were to press too hard, would the plastic hold that pressure? Or would the soldered pins break to the board? It is a doubt that is eating me. Thank you

Elliot -

If you were to break a corner of the game card reader (brother decided to rip instead of gently unscrew a stripped screw), where could we get a replacement card reader? My understanding is that the switch lite and switch have different game card reader parts.

Carla Sabella -

I for one disagree with this repairability score. If you’re fixing any handheld electronic and you don’t have access to a tri-wing screwdriver, you are probably just new to fixing these things. Every Nintendo handheld since the original gameboy has had them and apple adopted the use of the same bit in their very popular iPhone 7 (albeit a tad smaller). Also the adhesive on the digitizer comes off like butter with a guitar pick and some heat. Getting a new digi on without taking out the MB is an exercise in futility so that is a bit annoying, but overall I think this handheld is pretty easy to work on all things considered.

Orion Mcnally -

agreed regarding the Y0 driver bits, your toolkit should have them and if they don’t then you are gonna be ordering replacement parts anyway…

walczyk -

Broke my power/volume flex cable trying to put it back into the connector, anyone know when i can get a replacement, if at all?

Anthony -

omg that sucks, how would you break it putting it back in? I don’t know if mine is fully inserted, but de-oxit helped. BTW I found them on ebay for $7 just google something “Nintendo “Switch Lite” Power Volume Button Ribbon Flex Cable” and do not buy the non switch-lite version since they are different.

walczyk -

Why are there NO videos or howtos that show the trick in separating the digitizer from the LCD? I’ve disassembled everything but I’m stuck at that point. My LCD is good - just the digitizer is scratched and I don’t want to crack the LCD separating it from the digitizer. What’s the trick? Just a heat gun and careful prying? Note the Switch is different from the Lite - in the Switch the LCD and digitizer are not glued together, so it’s simple to replace just one. Not in the Lite tho. Any suggestions?

Chernobyl -

Okay, I took the plunge and tried separating the LCD and digitizer - it worked! The trick is to use a heat gun to heat one end of the digitizer side and then very carefully and slowly bend/peel it back from the LCD. There is a thin frame (about 2 mm wide) of black adhesive that goes all the way around. Once you’ve pulled them apart you’ll need to peel off that adhesive strip and move it to the new digitizer (if that’s what you’re replacing). Reattach the digitizer to the Switch Lite frame (reuse or use new clear adhesive if necessary), and then carefully align and stick the LCD to the backside of the digitizer. Then just reassemble everything and you’re good to ho.

Chernobyl -

¿sonde podré encontrar la tarjeta del joycon, la que aparece en la imagen uno del paso 7? vivo en Guatemala, de preferencia si la puedo conseguir en Latino américa, muchas gracias por su respuesta

Gerson Quiñonez -

Hello Does anyone know where i can get a replacement MAX77620H EWJ 1914 KVLP for the switch lite without having to buy a dead board?

Kevin -

japanese versions have only phillips screws

Diego Sandoval R. -

I’m interested in whether or not it is possible to add some kind of rumble motors (small, slim profile, like used in mobile phones) to the Switch Lite, there seems to be space inside the casing but does anyone know if there is an output on the board that could be used? Tied into the speakers somehow perhaps?

Also, I can’t see a NFC antenna anywhere in this tear down, yet it’s on the right stick as per the joy-cons. Is it just missing from the tear down or is it physically built into the right stick this time around?

Ian Brooks -

What chip can I replace to restore video? I get audio, but no video. And No, its NOT the backlight or backlight cable/connector.

Steven Langlois -

Does anyone know where exactly the NFC touch point is? I couldn’t see it in any of the pictures.

E. Serrano -

How about the replacement for the ABXY buttons?

Could I get theses components from ifixit?

Leo CHAN -

I would love it if there was an update to this video to replace the wifi antenna, as I can see the connections, but it glanced over on the video. Because this is essential to it's operation, that would be a great thing to inclue.

Daniel Hemphill -