Careful with that Switch. Nintendo closes all North American repair centers

By Cody Perez March 25, 2020

All of Nintendo of America’s repair centers are closed, effective immediately, due to the spread of COVID-19. That means players can’t send in repairs of Nintendo Switch consoles, controllers, or any other hardware.

The announcement appeared on the customer support page for Nintendo of America where it cites “federal and local guidelines” regarding coronavirus preventative measures as the cause for the closures. Many states have enacted shelter-in-place orders, calling on all non-essential businesses to close.

No notice was given on when repair services will resume, but players should not send in any hardware for repairs as it may be “sent back as undeliverable.”

So what happens to existing orders? According to the FAQ, orders in transit will likely be sent back to customers. However, if your order was already received by Nintendo at one of the repair centers, it will “remain there until repair services resume.”

Since there is no telling when that might happen as the coronavirus continues to spread, players could go without their Switch or Joy-Cons for an unknown period of time.

Orders that were already opened will remain so for the next 180 days, roughly six months, so many people won’t have to open a new order. Nintendo of America will also honor any warranties that expire during the repair service closure.

In the meantime, players who encounter problems with their hardware or the annoying Joy-Con drift issue should wait patiently for the service to open up again.

The repair closures are exclusive to North America, but Nintendo warns that the coronavirus pandemic may delay the service and shipments.

“We are working hard to maintain high customer service standards during the current challenging times, but please understand that there may be delays in responses to messages and processing repairs,” Nintendo U.K. stated.

It could take up to three weeks for repair orders to be completed in the U.K. However, Japan already saw production shortages and delays of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons-themed Switch and other hardware. So far, the same hasn’t happened for the North American or European regions, and Nintendo hasn’t said it expects that to happen.

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Cody is that stereotypical nerdy otaku guy. He loves everything Japanese from niche visual novels like 999 and Kara no Shoujo…

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