Nintendo 3DS XL 2015 A,B,X,Y, Start or Select Button Replacement

Written By: Kobbe Farwick
  • Comments: 25
Nintendo 3DS XL 2015 A,B,X,Y, Start or Select Button Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

12

Time Required

10 - 20 minutes

Introduction

After following this guide, any of the A, B, X, Y and Start/Select buttons may be replaced independent of each other. The battery must be removed prior to beginning this guide.

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    • Ensure your device is powered off before proceeding. Failure to do so may result in electrical shock or damage to the device.

    • Place the 3DS upside down. Remove the game card, headphones, charging cable, stylus, or anything else that may be connected to the device.

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    • Using a JIS #0 screwdriver, loosen the two black screws on the back.

    • The screws are held in place by captive washers and should not be completely removed.

    My experience indicates that a JIS #1 is more appropriate here.

    John Menden -

    Same here, much more appropriate.

    Jack Wilson -

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    • Once the screws are loosened, pry open the back cover.

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    • The battery is located on the left hand side of the 3DS - to remove, use the small gap located at the top-middle and pull up with a non metal pointed tool.

    Also you should remove any SD card at this point

    James Grant -

    Does this battery work on a NEW 3DS XL model?

    Froggy The Frog -

    This guide is for the New 3DS XL, which is called the 2015 3DS XL here on iFixit. If you're asking about the 3DS replacement battery advertised in the iFixit store, I believe it works for both new and old models.

    BabblingFishes -

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    • Remove the six 6mm screws on the secondary panel using a JIS #000 screwdriver.

    the heck. on step 5 im using the 000 screwdriver from the kit and i am destroying the screw, yes going counter clockwise.

    the j000 and 000 don't work. im using the toolkit from your site and i don't see a JIS #000 just J000 and 000

    edit: so the j00 works.

    stephankranenfeld -

    DO NOT DO THIS. Use a JIS #00 screwdriver instead. I damaged two of my screws when using a JIS #000 screwdriver to remove them, now they need to be replaced. Also, make sure to hold down on the secondary panel while removing it's screws.

    Jaden N -

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    • Remove two upper rubber bumpers locates on either side of the charging port.

    • Using JIS #00 screwdriver, carefully remove the two 6mm screws that have now been exposed.

    A #0 worked better for me than the #00

    Lucas M -

    All 8 screws from Step 5 to 6 are the same size and should be pulled out using a #000 screwdriver.

    Alan Chen -

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    • To pry off the cover, carefully lift it up and away from the hinges (in order to clear the headphone port), then pivot it towards the hinges to expose the circuit boards.

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    • Use non-conductive tweezers to disconnect the two ribbon plugs that connect the L/R/ZL/ZR buttons on the cover to the motherboard, then remove it completely. Or, use the flat end of a spudger to pop them off.

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    • Locate the ribbon connector between the motherboard and the left circuit board (it should be the widest) and use a pair of tweezers or the flat end of a spudger to pivot up the ZIF clasp upward.

    • The ribbon can be removed using non-conductive tweezers by pulling out parallel with the board.

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    • Next, locate the five 3mm screws on the left board and remove them using a JIS #000 screwdriver.

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    • Carefully flip the board over and use tweezers to remove the blue-black ribbon located underneath.

    • If your ABXY buttons aren't working, you can peel off the white sticker with the metal contacts to clean off the corrosion that may build up underneath, as shown in this video.

    • Use a sharp object such as an X-ACTO knife to scrape off the corrosion, as shown; a similar procedure can be followed for a malfunctioning directional pad. The device can then be reassembled, following these steps in reverse order.

    Closely examine the connection before removing the ribbon from the board!

    The C-stick ribbon is secured to the action board at the socket by a black tab that must be unlocked (swiveled up) before the ribbon is free to be removed. Yanking the ribbon from the locked connector may break off the lock and you'll be forced to replace the entire board.

    The easier way to do this is to leave this ribbon connected. Go back to Step 10 and remove the three black screws securing the C-stick unit to the frame. Remove the C-stick unit along with the board and move onto Step 12.

    THRILLHOUSE -

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    • Remove the gray rubber diamond to reveal the A/B/X/Y buttons and/or the rubber rectangle to reveal the Start/Select button.

    • Remove the buttons using tweezers.

    • When replacing, be sure to check that each button is placed back and is snugly fit into the appropriate hole before reassembling the device.

    It would be good to show photos how to carefully peel off the membrane, so that the contacts can be cleaned, or replaced. This is shown in white on the PCB on photo 11. I put further details further down where someone asked a question. This applies to other 3DS models too

    Andrew -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Kobbe Farwick

Member since: 02/04/15

2279 Reputation

14 comments

do the smaller new 3ds colored buttons work in the new 3ds xl?

itsandy14 -

It will work, since the only difference between them is the size of screen and shell, but size of buttons and other pieces should be of the same.

CheatJoker -

If anyone else comes on this, I can confirm the small 3ds buttons do not quite work right they are slightly smaller and the cut outs that keep the buttons from spinning around are not the same

Demon09 -

Can someone provide further information about replacement of the entire C stick?

Or is it just as simple as pull the ribbon carefully, take the old one out and put the new one in?

CheatJoker -

There are two parts. The rubber bit, and the joystick assembly. The stick assembly is connected by 3 short screws, and inserted into the joystick board via zif connector. You need to unscrew the assembly to access the rubber bit.

Mogamad Lilla -

The set of screws on the secondary panel are giving me trouble. I think I might be stripping them... Is it normal for them to be screwed on so tight? I don't want to pay 85 bucks just because I need to press my B button harder to make it work...

Ben Fuqua -

One of the screw of the second set was also giving me trouble. Just press firmly and turn very slowly. As they are not supposed to be touched by the consumer, I suspect they put a kind of sealant to make them harder to unscrew.

Alex Lebeau -

Mine were tight as well, make sure you're using JIS and not Philips and you should be fine. Since this is seven years later I hope you've fixed it though!

Isak -

One thing to note is that the kit that I received from ifixit had the c-stick nub attached to the board. As such, you'll want to remove the c-stick instead of disconnecting the ribbon.

Jason Thompson -

Would be cool to provide in every section a place where users can offer a paid service to repair devices other users are afraid to repair.

theoctopusride -

Does annyone know what is wrong with my new 3ds xl... So all buttons work fine BUT the a button needs alot of pressure to work. Tried to clean it but idk still needs way more pressure than the rest…

TMHate MK -

I had the same problem, the A button especially was very temperamental and had to push it very hard to trigger. I watched a video yesterday which showed carefully peeling the transparent membrane off with tweezers to get inside the metal domes (it's very sticky so was difficult to get it to start peeling, but comes away carefully once you manage to get it started, just don't peel too hard that it rips). This is what holds the 4 metal domes in place. I then cleaned them as there was slight corrosion in there. I then pushed the membrane down and reassembled where it now works perfectly. I then did the same with the D-pad which worked but didn't always trigger when it clicked but would it you pushed them slightly harder and they are working perfectly.

One tip, if possible, don't completely remove the transparent membrane. just peel it enough to gain access, so you can push back down .if you peel it completely you'll have to realign it perfectly, and if it doesn't line up they won't work. The tolerance is tight!

Andrew -

This guide doesn't mention that if a button is no longer working or needs to be pressed harder to work, that the contacts on the board shown in step 11 need to be replaced, not necessarily the board or the outer buttons themselves. This video shows how to replace the sticker containing the contacts. I plan to do this replacement myself when the replacement comes in. As of today, such a replacement costs about $10, whereas the board is about $15.

Isak -

Turns out that you can't edit a comment after five minutes have passed, which is dumb.

IMPORTANT FOR ANYBODY ATTEMPTING THIS FIX: Try to clean the contacts beneath the contact sticker before you do any of these replacements. It will likely fix your issue. Just be careful to realign the sticker correctly, as Andrew posted above.

Isak -