GuliKit Switch Joysticks Replacement, Updated Anti-Drift TMR Electromagnetic ...

TL;DR - These are the replacement sticks you want for the Joy-Con. Drifting or just want something that feels a little better, get the GuliKit TMR sticks.First a bit of history - I had gotten some Gulikit Hall Effect sticks (Not these ones) for the Joy-Con before and thought they were great, until I played games that required some precision with the sticks. Namely Assassin's Creed II and Shadow Generations. Then I noticed they were really bad. The sticks didnt seem to have a circular gate, but more of a teardrop shape with a point in a lower corner, and it's like I could feel all the mechanisms inside the assembly fighting each other. On top of that, trying to move the stick straight up would cause the game to read it as more of a curved line, making Ezio and Shadow turn a bit to the left before going forward, which is problematic at many points. I know when I just have a skill issue and this wasn't it, I've played both games before picking them up on Switch. I recalibrated dozens of times and nothing helped. It was clear I lost the stick lottery on those original Hall Effect sticks (And didnt notice before the return window so I guess I'm SOL on those. Oh well).So I replaced them with these. Major upgrade. These sticks feel smooth, with just the right amount of resistance to them. They feel a little tighter than the original OEM Joy-Con sticks and push back against your thumb just a bit more. Normally I like control sticks to have a frictionless feel but for small sticks with very little travel like the ones on the Joy-Cons, this is perfect. I dont even need a stick cap to extend the stick length and make the angles better for accuracy, they feel perfectly usable as-is with the regular OEM-style caps (Your mileage may vary but I went from using rubber caps on top of the OEM/Hall sticks to just regular out-of-the-box with these TMR sticks. Experiment for yourself but that was my experience). The stick has a proper circular gate rather than wanting to snap into a corner, and I dont feel any of the internal gears and cradles knocking into each other. And, most importantly, the directional readings are accurate, Ezio and Shadow stopped veering to the left during a forward input. This is exactly what I wanted to replace the drifting OEM sticks and then some, having a better feel and some customizability with the cap colors. Good stuff.The only downside to these are the install process and that's not a fault of the product itself. Just pay attention to the iFixIt guide for replacing Joy-Con sticks, have a little patience, and handle it as if it's a delicate expensive controller (which it is) and it should be okay. You do so at your own risk but it's not as scary as taking apart a 3DS, especially if you have expedience with ribbon cables already. Otherwise, if you're uncomfortable doing it yourself, you might be able to pay a small fee to have someone do it for you (Secondhand game shops might be willing to do it for you within a day if you bring them the controller and the parts and ask nicely. Especially if they already offer console/controller repair services). And it's a "flaw" you never have to think about again once the sticks are installed and function correctly, something that goes for any repair but always worth mentioning for those who arent expecting it.Adding an edit to these because ever since placing them in my joycons, sometimes in the Switch menus I'll get a stray left-input from the left joycon (I know it's that one since I see it do that on the controller connection screen). Idk if this is caused by the stick because the calibration screen shows that the stick centers properly with not deviation at rest (I've even recalibrated several times to make sure), and I've never noticed any issues in games. There's no stray button presses as far as I can tell either. I've taken it apart and cleaned every ribbon connector to see if it was that and the issue still persists. Still better than a drifting stick or one that reads incorrect directions while tilting in one direction, but still sad I didnt notice this until after the return/exchange window. Again, I dont even know if this is the stick itself, but the issue didnt happen until I replaced the stick with this one. The right joycon is completely fine. The only fix I have for it if to give the left joycon a good whack on the palm (Not directly on the stick, just on the side of the controller) and that makes it settle down. Still leaving the review at 5 stars but if I had the option, I would knock it down half a star because other than this issue, it seems perfect. Hopefully this is just a small case of bad luck on my end. I would still get these sticks again when it comes time to replace the modules in my Switch Lite.

So far, so good! I decided to finally try out a pair of replacement sticks for my original Switch joy cons. The replacement was not bad and easy to follow with online instructions. Afterwards the sticks worked immediately, no calibration necessary! I’m surprised with such a delicate replacement going down smoothly. A couple hours of testing on a game later and the sticks are still working perfectly! All drift is gone. Going to order 2 more sets to replace the drifting sticks on my kids’ switches. Will report back if any issues develop over time. Feels like original joy con sticks. Just take your time with the replacement and have the right tools ready to go.

I thought I'd upgrade from unbranded Hall effect joysticks to these TMR ones. I tried 6 joysticks total, only 3 worked without problems.I installed these and did the requested power cycle and calibration... it did not help. Whenever the switch would turn on or wake up, the faulty joysticks would send false inputs until I started using them. This may sound like a livable quirk, but when docked with the joycons attached this means you'll need to get up and fix them every wake up.A 50% defect rate is garbage, don't buy these.

Great product. The stick drift on my OEM joycon was so bad it was completely unusable.The replacement was simple and it works flawlessly. Slightly stiffer than OEM.

Update: 5/8/2025In an update to this post, there WAS a mistake and a mix-up took place and I received USED sticks instead of proper NEW sticks. Having brought this to the attention of Gulikit they were quick to respond and correct the mistake by resending a NEW set.Gulikit is great! And their mistake didn't change my feeling on Gulikit being a great company! Their quick action only makes deeper my support for them and their products. I strongly advise buying from Gulikit!Previously:I bought an order of 2sets for 2respective sets of my Joy-Cons!In my first installation, it went great and the sticks functioned as expected!Sticks will click when pressed and rotate great!When I moved on to my second set...PROBLEMSI installed a stick in my left Joy-Con and realized...the stick didn't click. Then when I attempted to calibrate the stick, it had no left and right movement. IT WAS BROKEN.The same for the second stick in the package! It also did not click and I didn't even bother attempting to install the stick!This was not a mix up on my end. I did not accidentally install my previous stick by mistake. Even still, my previous stick has click and rotation and was OEM with a cap that could not pop off.Looking closely at the second stick in the pack, the ribbon cable was not flat!! It had a bend. These connectors should be FLAT! All things point to this second box containing USED STICKS! Not NEW!I think GuliKit was scammed in a previous RETURN SERVICE and these broken sticks got mixed up with my order!Likely a fluke, mishaps, happen. Looking at the GOOD box, it's listed as NEW! Looking at the BAD box, it is not listed NEW.Ultimately I'd buy from Gulikit again. Give Gulikit a chance, but I simply can't give this specific purchase a glowing review.I bought a set of broken used sticks...😕

Updated. Good quality. Simple repair with video and ifixit as long as you're comfortable with being inside tech.Only reason for three stars is that one of the joysticks was stuck inputting right. Tried reseeding the ribbon cable but still same stuck to right input, couldn't even calibrate stick. Just used an old OEM just stick that didn't have drift.**GuliKit quickly reached out and offered solutions for the faulty thumbstick. I am satisfied with this item and will be buying again if I ever need to repair joycons.**