Hardware New 3ds xl has touchscreen and circle pad issues.

[Lime_Cupboard]

I made a post previously about this 3ds with a different issue, which is now fixed. I still need help with this though.

I few days ago, I dropped my 3ds, and since then, when turned on the touchscreen doesn’t work and the circle pad seems to be drifting terribly. This will happen most of the time but sometimes I will get lucky and it will be fine and everything will work.

Is it worth selling it as broken and trying to get a new one?

I will attach a video of what it does.

If anyone can help me, please do. I really want to get this working again. Thanks in advance!

 

[Hayato213]

You can try to reseat the cable to see if you can fix the problem.Teardown guide below.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+3DS+XL+2015+Teardown/36346

 

[Lime_Cupboard]

You can try to reseat the cable to see if you can fix the problem.Teardown guide below.

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+3DS+XL+2015+Teardown/36346

Thanks for replying. I’ve taken it apart and reseated the digitiser and touchscreen cables, nothing changed after that. Is there anything else I should try?

 

[Hayato213]

Try to reseat the wire for circle pad and the direction buttons.

 

[Lime_Cupboard]

Just done that, doesn’t seem to have affected it. Any other ideas?

 

[AdenTheThird]

Just done that, doesn’t seem to have affected it. Any other ideas?

If you've tried reseating the relevant cables already it's probably toast. From what you've described from previous posts it seems like far more work/time/money to get your console up and running again than it's worth.
I'd cut your losses and buy a new one.
I would also take care to avoid dropping consoles on the ground, especially if they've already demonstrated hardware issues. 3DS wrist straps exist, surprisingly.

 

[Lime_Cupboard]

Do you have any idea what would have caused it? Also is there definitely nothing else I could try doing?

 

[Rasa39]

Try playing with the C-stick a little, maybe reseat the cable or replace it (or remove it entirely then power on the system to see if the problem persists). It might not be the problem at all, but it could be that it's not the circle pad since the C-stick also moves the cursor on the homescreen.

Now if you know for certain it's the circle pad then please ignore me, but if you can't find the error with the digitiser or circle pad, only other thing I think of is the C-stick.

 

[AdenTheThird]

Do you have any idea what would have caused it?

I'd wager that dropping the console had something to do with it, based on what you've said. You know the surrounding circumstances better than we would.

Also is there definitely nothing else I could try doing?

Purchasing new cables could work if the old ones don't work after being reseated, but it might be an actual chip issue as well which would require much more work.
Truthfully, there are a lot of things that could've caused the problems if you dropped the console. You can keep testing if you want, and you may or may not find the problem, but you'll probably be looking for a while.

 

[Lime_Cupboard]

Try playing with the C-stick a little, maybe reseat the cable or replace it (or remove it entirely then power on the system to see if the problem persists). It might not be the problem at all, but it could be that it's not the circle pad since the C-stick also moves the cursor on the homescreen.

Now if you know for certain it's the circle pad then please ignore me, but if you can't find the error with the digitiser or circle pad, only other thing I think of is the C-stick.

This may be a stupid question but can the circle pad and c stick be used at the same time? The circle pad is giving no response when I try and move it which suggests that is the problem, but I am unsure. Could a faulty circle pad also cause touchscreen issues?

Post automatically merged: Apr 22, 2024

You can keep testing if you want, and you may or may not find the problem

Would 3dsident help at all?

 

[AdenTheThird]

This may be a stupid question but can the circle pad and c stick be used at the same time?

Yes. Some games use both at the same time, in fact.

Could a faulty circle pad also cause touchscreen issues?

It's more than likely one common issue causing both the touchscreen and circle pad to not respond--not one causing the other to not respond, if that makes sense.

 

[Lime_Cupboard]

Yes. Some games use both at the same time, in fact.

It's more than likely one common issue causing both the touchscreen and circle pad to not respond--not one causing the other to not respond, if that makes sense.

Is there some chip that controls them both? If there is I don’t know if it could have been damaged during the drop or not. It wasn’t a very high drop, only about 20cm

 

[AdenTheThird]

Is there some chip that controls them both? If there is I don’t know if it could have been damaged during the drop or not.

I don't know that. I'm more of a software guy. Someone with more technical hardware knowledge might be able to help you out.

If there is I don’t know if it could have been damaged during the drop or not.

If the issues only started after the drop, then that's more than likely what caused it. If a chip or board cracks it will usually stop working completely.

It wasn’t a very high drop, only about 20cm

That's still high enough to cause damage, especially if you were already having hardware issues before. Consoles aren't meant to be dropped from any height.

 

[Lime_Cupboard]

I'm more of a software guy

Seeing this made me wonder if it is a software issue. I had an issue with sound previously which I fixed with software, but this only works when the touchscreen and circle pad problems aren’t happening. When they happen, my sound once again doesn’t work. It has cfw so maybe dropping it somehow messed it up? It’s a strange idea.

 

[AdenTheThird]

Seeing this made me wonder if it is a software issue. I had an issue with sound previously which I fixed with software, but this only works when the touchscreen and circle pad problems aren’t happening. When they happen, my sound once again doesn’t work. It has cfw so maybe dropping it somehow messed it up? It’s a strange idea.

Software issues don't cause hardware defects. I'm very confident that the issue you have is hardware. There's no software-based issue that would suddenly cause the entire touch screen and circle pad to stop responding.

 

[Lime_Cupboard]

Maybe replacing the motherboard could fix it? Cheaper than buying another 3ds, but I wouldn’t want to do it if there is no chance of it working.

Post automatically merged: Apr 23, 2024

Software issues don't cause hardware defects. I'm very confident that the issue you have is hardware. There's no software-based issue that would suddenly cause the entire touch screen and circle pad to stop responding.

I've made a decision to replace the motherboard, will I lose my cfw if I do this, and how would I backup my saves and then put them back on it. Thanks!