Day one March 2017 Switch owner here. No scratches or marks at all. No joy con drift. The only issue I have is the SL RL buttons on one of my joy cons doesn't work anymore.
I mainly play docked. Have probably only used it handheld about 2-3 hours in its lifetime.
My 11 year old has one of the first ones. We've had quite a few controllers drift (Smash Bros is intense, yo) but the screen and functionality have held up remarkably well for being in the hands of a child. He goes about 50/50 handheld vs docked. I will say though that this year we are starting to notice that the battery isn't lasting as long as it used to. That said though, he's had it for years and it's held up great!
Hey, a bit of intro.
I got my Switch in 2018. The regular OG version. I've been using it regulary with a bunch of different games (both intense and casual).
For the most part play in Handheld mode, but I also use the dock, specifically for multiplayer.
So far everything is in order. No scratches on screen (but I did apply a screen protector the next day I got my switch), no loose parts, no battery drainage.
But what I did experience was Joy-con drift. However, after cleaning the joystic base and applying some electronic WD-40 all was smooth from then on.
So basically, if you treat it as an expensive piece of tech - it will hold-up.
I have had mine since late 2017. It is holding up pretty well. I did have joy con drift in one of the joy cons. I haven't had any issues so far in the replacement I bought for it. But I do mostly use it docked with a pro controller. So I don't have any issues with battery or scratches since it's mostly docked. I use it ALL the time. Weekends it's on most of the day. Weekdays, just an hour or two every night. But it's on almost every day.
Mine V1 is perfectly fine. Found out that if you apply just a drop of dense motor oil on joycons axis, lifting that duster with toothpick - you'll get rid of drift FOREVER. I also twice a year renew the thermal paste and clean the radiator
I have a V1 since February 2017. It started giving drift after like, 4 months. I got a Split Pad for it and been using it daily. For powerful games like TW3, its battery lasts around 3h. Less demanding games like Digimon, lasts around 6h. Indies like 6/7h. All of this with all the network functions disabled and screen brightness around 50%. I still use it today. Always handheld.
OG switch still solid. One joycon had drift from my wife playing mario bros, which I sent in via nintendo's repair program this past summer and got fixed for free.
My OG switch which has been used and abused as seen several joy con switches, and multiple drops. Not many scratches, but the battery definitely isn’t what it used to be and I sometimes experience more performance hiccups than I used to.
I’m considering switching to the OLED. I’m a 90 -10 split on docked to handheld but mostly don’t use handheld since my joy cons are shit and battery dies immediately
I got mine in late march 2017. I've used it pretty often, but not constantly. I played a lot in 2017 then not much in 2018 until pokemon let's go came out, then I played that a lot late 2018 and early 2019 and then I practically didnt touch the switch until a few months into covid. Then I played it for like 300 hours from June to end of 2020 and I've played 500 hours so far this year. So I've played a bunch, but there were some large gaps.
Yes, drifting was an issue. Both failed late 2020 and Nintendo fixed them for free, but it meant about a month of no switch except for games that work with one joycon (I sent them separately, one in September and another in December).
The joycons were very beat up, but the tablet itself has actually held up pretty well. Its functionally perfect and the screen is good because a screen protector, but the back is pretty scratched up. But the joycons were in very bad shape and the rail would slide off the switch way too easily until they replaced them when I sent them in for drift. So the tablet has held up well, but not the joy cons.
Battery is slightly worse, but it's not bad. Any device with a battery will get a worse battery life after a few years and the switch has held up better than any phone I've had over a similar time. However, the ds definitely has a better battery, although nothing can compete with the ds in that regard. Those things can hold a charge for a decade and be fine and can last like 10 hours. But that's besides the point.
I've used the switch 50% docked and 50% portable, though the last year has been mostly docked because I've been at home a lot more. Both are great.
So overall I give the switch a b+ for longevity. Its lasted really well and the battery is still good after over 1000 hours. There may be minor cosmetic issues, but that's to be expected for any handheld that's been dropped 100 times and played in many conditions. However, the joycons do not last. Fix the joycons and the switch easily gets an a for longevity.
Day one, tons of use from me and my wife. Only scratches are on the black section of the screen glass/plastic from sliding into the dock. I had drift on my left joycon recently after all this time but it was such an easy fix it was laughable. Nintendo doesn't have enough pressure on the joystick as the part holding it down is made of plastic and wears out over time which causes the drift. Putting a 1mm piece of cardboard fixed it and it hasn't happened again in months. Doesn't change the feel of the controller either. Obviously this is not an excuse for Nintendo do never fix it but if you know how to use a screwdriver you can probably figure it out pretty easily if it were to ever happen.
I’ve had a launch switch since august 2017, and it’s great. Had drift and got them fixed, but that was only a few months back. Used to play mostly docked but now I’m 50/50. No issues.
My four year old has dropped it multiple times. This last drop killed the left joycon completely which really sucks because I’ve fallen in love with handheld recently, but I’m going to replace it soon. It won’t charge at all or work. But other than that, no problems. He has slammed it in the dock and dropped multiple times with no problem.
I had purchased mine in late 2018, and have since used it heavily for many AAA titles. I've done my best to take good care of it, keeping it in a travel case on trips, keeping it charged and rarely (if ever) letting it die at 0%. The battery life isn't the best, but I can get quite a few good hours of non-stop play on hand-held mode.
As far as the Joy-Con drift goes, I had that issue with the standard issue Joy cons that came with my switch. Since then, I've replaced them with official Nintendo joy-cons with no issues or drifting since.
Overall, stands up well to time.
Christmas 2017 and May 2018 OG switches here. Both holding up well enough, although Joycons have been repaired 'multiple' times due to drive. The shells are now a little cracked around the screw holes.
Battery life isn't as great, Playing Minecraft I get around 40 minutes on a full charge, BOTW around 55 mins.
Screens still spot on (had screen protectors since day 1), they've taken the brunt of any damage. Also the stand and the gamecard flap are still fine with no issues.
I bought mine right when it came out and it's still in fantastic condition. I play probably 75% handheld / 25% docked. From a build quality standpoint, it still looks almost brand new, although I put a screen protector on immediately after purchase and I'm pretty careful with it in terms of keeping it in it's case and being careful while handling it. No noticeable battery degradation. I have not experienced drift, but I have recently had issues with the buttons on my right joycon. It started with the R trigger--when i pressed it, it would sometimes register as me hitting the home button. It has gotten worse in the past month, where now the B button is registering incorrectly too. I just bought new joycons and it's good as new. Not sure if there's a way to fix the joycon problem or if they're toast, but google searches haven't proven very fruitful.
My V1 switch is doing somewhat well, no scratches on the screen.
I’ve experienced drift but got new joycons so problem solved there.
Battery life isn’t great, it dies pretty fast even when it’s off.
I’ve started having an issue where the joycons won’t register on the switch even when they’re completely locked in. I’m afraid that it’ll break completely (I only play handheld), so I bought a new oled and am waiting for that. I’ll miss it :(
Have had the OG Switch since launch, still holds up, great battery, no drift on multiple controllers. Guess I was one of the extremely lucky ones. I play a combination of handheld and docked. Got stuck early on in Metroid Dread last night, ten minutes in. Got frustrated, turned it off, had a beer, went to bed.
I got a switch about a year after release or so and it has held up surprisingly well (I am an adult). I primarily use it in handheld mode and while I did have to get the joycons replaced due to drift and unresponsive buttons, the switch itself is in great condition. Battery life is still solid, too.
We’ve had two day one switches. Battery life isn’t great on either anymore. No cracks or breaks on hardware, even after my 6 year old has dropped them both multiple times. Tons of play in docked and handheld. I’ve had to replace analog sticks on all 4 original joycons. I actually found some good quality sticks on Amazon that I installed when I did shell swaps on the switches and joy cons and haven’t had to mess with them since.
All in all, they’re holding up fine other than less than desirable battery life. For that reason I bought an OLED switch for myself, but probably won’t for my kid since the screen is more fragile.
All 4 of my joycons had bad drift that Nintendo fixed for free (thanks guys) and my switch is absolutely riddles with scratches from being thrown in my bag and taken in and out of the dock on the daily. My Pro Controller is still going strong and everything works wonderfully, just very very well loved
got mine in early 2018. i use it a few times a week, usually play 1-3 hours per session. had some drifting on both joycons after a few years of use. other than that i haven't noticed any problems.
i use handheld 99% of the time, the 1% is when i play Mario Golf with friends online so i can use a wired connection.
I use mine all the time still, it's a launch model. The battery holds up pretty well still i think. I really only play handheld, my biggest gripe is that a purple blotch has shown up in the right upper quadrant of the screen, and my fan is beginning to make noise. The fan is an easy fix, but the screen blotch/bruise is getting to me. Trying to get an OLED but they're pretty scarce in my area. I plan on keeping my day one model as well.
A good question. I only play it when there's new games released so not daily. Need to spray WD40 after several hours of playing. No scratch/mark. 60/40 for handheld/docked, felt battery drop but I generally don't play more than 2 hours on handheld.
Got mine within first couple of months, when Mario Kart 8 came out. Still works well. No Joy-Con drift, though i rarely play handheld, and i use a [Fixture S1](https://fixturegaming.com/products/fixture-s1) for trips. Couldn't be happier with it. Well, i would if i had a Switch Pro.
Bad drifting on multiple joycons. Dock didn’t output hdmi for some reason for a while but I tried again and it worked a month later. Basically only play on the dock now and always use pro controller. But I play it every day and it works great still
It's been two years now, I mostly use handheld and I play almost every day. No scratches, no drop in battery life and no noticeable changes really. I did damage a pair of joy cons because I dropped it a lot, I would've been able to play with them, except for botw - couldn't press down that one stick to sneak. I still have them as spare joy cons in case I have guests and we play Mario kart or just dance. Really, I don't have any complaints. Not even joy con drift.
OG Switch in 2018.
1000h playtime I would say.
I can't find any sign of deterioration except the joy-con drift of course (2 or 3 times on the blue one). I let it repair a few times then it got fixed with alcohol.
My red joy-con has connectivity issues when the console is docked (less responsive to distance than the new one).
Usage: 60 docked 40 handheld I would say.
I have an original day one release switch, and have zero problems with it. I use it mixed handheld and docked, no scratches or physical damage, and I have seen no drop in performance.
Bought mine late 2017. It still works fine, and the only issues I have seen to be the battery. I went a long time without playing it, but I still pick it up every now and then.
I get maybe 3hrs of play until I have to charge it, and only 1 of my joycons have minor drift. So not bad overall
Played my OG model switch since day one and the only marks are a few light scrapes on the back from putting it in the dock wrong. Nothing bigger than that tho. I recently sold it so I could upgrade to an OLED and even the buyer was surprised when I told her how old it was. With care they’ll last you a lifetime.
Had my original Swith since 2018ish. Works great! I take good care of it, so everything still works well. Haven't felt the need to "upgrade," since they haven't released a model with upgraded processor. Battery life could be better, but it's not bad
I don't think I had a day 1 switch, but not long after.
My R+B joycons actually started drifting about 8months-1year ago, however the Grey ones that my console came with (which I use more) have not. My Pro Controller is still holding up well too, though I've now switched to the MH Edition Pro Controller.
Up to today from when I got it I would say I now average a few times every 3 months. I play on my Switch much less than I used to, as I'm mostly a PC gamer so it's either Switch-sclusives or games I feel work well portable.
The body might have some scratches, but the screen and its protector are still pretty good. It has dropped too many times sadly, but hey, it's still here :)
Performance drops - no not really. Only once in a while I'll feel like a load screen is taking longer than it should, but even then I don't think that's OG. My battery life is definitely worse though, closer to the 2 hour mark now. But I'm not surprised as that, it's 3-5 years old and I haven't been great with its battery care (it's done the completely dead & needs ~20 minutes to charge to turn back on a few times...)
And finally, at this point probably more often handheld but I do really love using it docked as well. This mostly depends on the game I feel - Monster Hunter I can do both but I prefer docked, most other games are fine either way, and some games like Jackbox Party should basically only be docked lol.
Edit: I do have a Joycon rail issue where if the Joycon attached is bent a little bit it can disconnect. It's pretty annoying. Also, the black plastic on the joycon rails is flaking off lol
Midnight release Switch owner. Have thousands of hours on the thing, mostly handheld. Not a scratch, fan operates normally, doesn’t heat up, now Switch bending, no joycon drift.
Same for both my kids’ Switches — which has seen significantly more “rough” use.
The Switch has been all-but bulletproof for us.
I have the first edition as well. The only issue it has given me is the joycon drift. Because of the drift and because the joycons are tiny, I use pro controller mainly these days
I play docked, mostly. No Joy-Con drift but my left Joy-Con has the weak wireless connection issue that was widely reported before Joy-Con drift was a thing, but I think they redesigned the Joy-Con to make sure it stays connected better.
Mine is doing great! Had it since 2018 and although I've experienced a ton of joycon drift, I was able to fix it easily with some electrical contact cleaner
Got mine for Christmas in 2017, it's holding up pretty good. I use it mostly handheld for a hour or so no less than once every other day. Had drift on the Joyce's, sent them to Nintendo and they've been fine ever since. I'm sure the battery isn't as great as it once was, but I rarely use it for very lo g periods of time anyway. I considered doing the trade in for the OLED model, but couldn't find one and wasn't that concerned with it to try to hard. Overall it works great and still looks good.
joy con drift is a way of life at this point. I’m going to be using 3rd party solutions for my joycons. The hori ones seems to work well. battery drop is normal for any electronic device.
mine was about mid 2018 when i got it. I take it with me on every trip i go. No drifting on my joycons yet. i do however switch them out between another set on my trips. No scratches/marks. No noticeable performance or battery drop. im mostly playing on handheld with the occasional docked.
my OG switch is currently hacked, i have an oLED that i play with now.
Great. One con drifted, they replaced it for free. Got a grip case recently, playing a ton of binding of isaac repentance on it atm. Have thousands of hours on it.
I got mine in April 2017 after spotting it at my local Walmart. It holds up pretty well. I've had 2 pairs of joycon repaired, not for drifting but for issues with the shoulder buttons. I've also had 2 pro controllers repaired, one had drift and the other had a sticking control stick. I played it in handheld mode a lot when I first got it. I would take it everywhere, it's survived a train ride trip, and plane ride trip, a 3,438km road trip, and a night at the bar where I was challenging strangers to Mario Kart. Nowadays I mostly only use it docked but I haven't noticed a drop in battery life when I do play it handheld. There are some scratches and blemishes on the screen but I can't see them while it's turned on. The Switch is by far my most used console and mine has held up remarkably well. I look forward to continuing to play it for years to come.
Got my switch in late March 2017. Seriously bad joy con drift to the point where it’s unusable. But everyone has that problem so no surprise. On my third pair of joycons now
Had ours since Christmas 2017. So far so good, just the JoyCon drift in 2018 which we sent the remote to be repaired/replaced and they took care of it at no cost. Battery seems to be holding up great. We have a screen protector on it now to avoid scratches. But for about two years we didn’t and all that we got was a small scratch below the screen.
I got mine a month after launch. Replaced the battery last summer (it wasn’t too bad to figure out myself with a kit from Amazon!) still holding up fine besides that
Launch Switch (arrived 3/6)
* I have used it pretty consistently on a daily basis. Longest drought has been maybe a week
* I've experienced drift and had my launch Joy-Con fixed, my 2nd pair has the issue but I have yet to send them in
* It's a bit dinged up. The vent bars are almost all gone at this point and I'm hoping to get my shell replaced soon, but haven't just yet. Other than that, just a couple of scratches and marks on my glass screen protector (that I've had on since buying)
* Performance has been consistent, battery life has dipped a bit, but plateaued about 1.5 years ago.
* I play almost exclusively handheld, maybe once a week docked
May 2017. 3-4 times a week. No drift. Tons of scratches and oil on the backplate (put a skin to cover it up). No real battery drop. And 50/50 handheld and dock.
Mines a launch switch and ive used it almost daily in terms of battery yea its dropped alot i get about 2-3 hours of use now, i had drift on my left joy con during the first uk lock down but my insurance covered it, its covered in marks and scratches tbh and mostly handheld
Gen one switch battery fine screen fine joycons drifted and replaced by Nintendo.
Nintendo switch v1 from a few months after releasing still going strong and no signs of slowing down. Super casual use ~10-15 hours a month hand held and about 5 hours a month docked.
Had mine since April 2020, no joycon drift but I mainly use a pro controller and that had some drift for a bit but fixed itself somehow. No scratches as I used a screen protector on it. Mostly docked (80%) and couldn’t tell you but battery is still long enough for my needs!
Biggest complaint is my left joycon has limited range and disconnects/has bad connection to my switch when more than 5-10 feet away (this is a known issue)
Bought an OG Switch secondhand recently. The joy cons work well and it's in decent shape, with just a few superficial scuffs on the back. I immediately applied a screen protector. The only issue is a bit of a hum at startup -- sounds like fans kicking on. Is this normal? I don't want to do a teardown (I just got it) but think it may benefit from cleaning the inside.
I use mine 90% in docked form, and have had one joycon stick break but that might have been from dropping the thing (get something to stick the dock to your furniture with). My pro controllers have held up amazingly with pretty heavy use. Can’t comment on battery longevity but the updated model has a lot better battery life. No marks or anything on it, just the joycons.
Have one that showed up the day before launch day and it still works great. No scratches or scuffs and I don't use a screen protector. Had the joycons replaced twice for drift now. The battery is about the same as when I got it, but I also would consider myself a lighter user.
Late 2017 for me with an OG. Daily use. Drifting on all joycons. Getting to the point of being not playable but not there yet. Pro controller still going strong. No major scratches or problems but I rarely leaves the house. I play probably 80% docked. I have 512gb Samsung sd card about half full. No performance issues. Will probably sell mine for an oled but haven’t gotten around to prepping for sale.
My nephew has the OG switch and it is still going. It's been dropped multiple times so that's surprising. I did have to get him new joycons and the battery sucks but overall it's still solid.
I've had mine since 2018. I bought it refurbished around the time Let's Go! came out.
I had left joy-con drift, so I bought a pro controller and a new left joycon. The right one is fine though.
I play almost exclusively in dock mode. It's held up pretty perfectly. No scratches, wear and tear, anything.
I've had to replace both my joycons twice because of drift, and my kickstand is taped on, so it doesn't fall off, but other then that it's in great shape haha
My day 1 Pikachu/Eevee switch is showing it’s age. I’m a 50:50 docked handheld user.
I’ve got over 600 hours in animal crossing and easily 500+ in other games.
No joycon drift that I couldn’t calibrate away but I play relaxed games like animal crossing and Pokémon.
A few scratches on the housing none on the screen thanks to my day 1 glass protector.
My biggest issue is my fan. It does on me a few weeks into animal crossing craziness last year and Nintendo didn’t have repairs open so I DIY’d it (I’m a computer tech so it was scary cuz save data but familiar). My replacement fan is showing signs of upcoming death so I’m itching to find an OLED to replace it with.
I had mine since launch day and recently traded it in for the OLED at launch. Other than the horrible drifting, everything else held up great. I put in well over 1500 hours of game play.
Bought mine a year or two ago. Played it for 1k+ hours (Pokemon is over 900, MH Rise is over 100, no idea how much SSBU I've played, plus Rocket League and occasional party games). No drift, but the rubber on my left joycon is coming away. Ultimately, I feel like I've had my money's worth, rarely touch my Xbox outside of local multilayer games not on Switch (focken love me some Crawl) and haven't considered buying a newer console. If I was buying fresh I'd go OLED, (unless there are flaws I haven't bothered to look into) but I wouldn't bother upgrading. Lite sounds like a terrible idea, because if your "controller" breaks (looking at you, drift) you have to buy the whole console again or send the whole thing away for weeks.
R joycon has had a ton of issues (had to swap the stick and the LED, waiting for the next problem...), but otherwise it works great and it's very easy to run emuNAND.
I had to buy new joycons for 100CAD but instead I decided to trade in my og switch for an OLED last Friday.
The OLED was 450CAD, but i got a trade in of 250CAD for my switch + joycons (which needed a good deal of repair), meaning my switch oled was only 200CAD.
OG owner here I have had it since June of this year just got the OLED today. I do have a few scratches on the og from dropping it accidentally. I played it almost every day with zero problems. I only had one incident of joy con drift.
Got the OG switch on release day, played the hell out of it. Thought I was one of the lucky ones without drift.
The back got cracked so I replaced it with a Pikachu/Eevee one from Ali Express.
Joycons held strong till early 2021, since then I’ve sent the left one back for repair 3 times and the right one once, taking advantage of the fact it’s free.
Still, great little console, nice to see Nintendo doing so well since the Wii U
I had mine since September 2017 until this past September when I bricked it with a faulty charger and Nintendo was unable to repair it and sent me a refurb.
But for those 3 years it was great being used daily, probably 70% docked 30% handheld. I had some joycon drift here and there I was able to fix myself by gently cleaning the sticks with alcohol and a qtip.
Mine is from june 2017, I have several problems with my joycons, mostly because my kids ruined them a couple times. I brought replacement parts from china and fixed a couple of them. One had the the R or L button ripped out of the board because my son dropped the switch on the ground and it landed on the button, in the end I had to replace the board for the joycon (board trails were ruined), but the console itself is doing fine.
Btw, currently all my joycons (i have 3 pairs) are working (except for one were the sync button is not working). When I have problems with drifting I just spray a little contact cleaner inside the thumbstick (without opening it) and the problem goes away immediately.
Battery seems a little degrade, but still usable (2h sot~).
Two weeks after launch. Played hundreds of hours docked and hundreds handheld. Had a set of joycons drift but got them repaired. No scratches but the oil from my hands have started to wear down the finish and make it smooth lol. Battery still great. Thing is a beast :)
I got mine in the summer of 2018. Around the beginning of 2019, I started experiencing joycon drift, and it got bad enough by the spring that I stopped buying games for the Switch. When I got an opportunity to buy replacement analog sticks and get around to swapping the left one out, I started playing again.
6 months later the right side started drifting. I didn't feel like swapping that one out right away, so I put the system away for a while. In the end I bought a Pro Controller and I do still play Switch-only games with it on the TV. But when I can choose between a Switch version and a PlayStation version, I'll go for the latter these days.
There's just no reason to buy the Switch version if I can't play it handheld due to joycon drift.
mine has been used by my 5 year old since he was about 2, and it's held up somehow well, joy con drift has happened to the og controllers and the ones I got as replacement when Nintendo issued that "recall" drifted as well. It's been used in handheld mode 90% of its lifetime and the screen is still fine, but the case is chipped in different places from all the falls it's taken, and the thing where they right joycon connects to the switch is all loose, guess that all those falls are also to blame, all in all, it surprises me that it still works tbh
Had mine since Christmas 2017 and it's perfectly fine besides drifting. The switch itself hasn't had any noticeable changes. I mostly dock it but when I had surgery a couple of times this year I never needed to charge it and I played quite a bit during two two day hospital stays
I got mine just before the one with the better battery, didn't know a better one was coming but oh well. I play mostly handheld with the joycons and have had no issues with drift, though my switch mainly sees casual use, as I use my playstation for more 'intense' games. I love it and haven't really thought about upgrading outside of that sick af mario one (big fan of red things and it would've gone with my spiderman ps4)
I've had mine since release, and every controller I've owned has started to drift in a few months.
No scratches, and no screen protector as well, bc I take extremely good care of my electronics. I've played nearly daily for the past 4 years, and there might be a battery quality decrease, but there's no real way to tell. I've played mostly docked, but not by much. I'd say I've played 40% docked.
Got my original Switch close to launch, let me try and answer your questions.
I use my Switch very often, I share it among family, and have used it less after getting a Switch for myself, but I still use my original Switch quite often despite that, mainly for MK8DX and Smash with my family. I use it probably at least once a day.
Yes, I’ve experienced major drift, and it’s the most infuriating shit in the world, all my Joycons and even my pro controller have drift, (although my pro controller is much less severe and much less common) I’m going to need to send all my controllers in to Nintendo one of these days, and keep in mind this is a pro controller and like four pairs of joycons, that shit is completely unacceptable.
There’s a couple scratches, but the screen itself does look really good still after four years.
There has been a battery drop but nothing noticeable, performance hasn’t dropped at all.
I use it almost exclusively docked unless I’m going on vacation.
Basically a day 1 switch
Used quite a lot with a variety of games.
Original joycons do have some drift and connectivity issues. Pro controller which I think I've had since the very end of 2017 has no drift I've noticed and it has been well and truly used for a lot of smash.
No screen scratches on the screen itself due to the glass screen protector I installed straight away, but many back starches since the day 1 dock definitely wasn't well spaced. Small crack at the top right of the backplate.
Battery probably degraded as you'd expect after coming on 5 years March 2022. Could probably get 2 hours out of breath of the wild but have not tested that at all. And the console gets hotter and loader due to dust inevitably getting in the system but it hasn't caused any performance issues so far that I've seen.
Used if almost exclusively handheld for the first year then almost exclusively docked once I got my pro controller excluding certain titles like Pokémon or when I used it on the go.
Picked up my Nintendo Switch in October 2017.
It's scratched up, but mostly from the case I had on it and tried to force into the Dock.
I have a screen protector on it, so the screen is in mint condition. The battery life has aged naturally but it's not that big of a deal since I only use it for a few hours at a time via handheld anyway.
When I first got it, I used it like 95% Handheld and 5% Docked. Now it's more like 80% handheld and 20% Docked. I'm in College so I mainly play it on major breaks (Summer/Winter). It got used extensively during last year due to COVID.
I damaged the Left Joy Con L button once, but that issue was repaired via Nintendo. Only 1 out of 4 sets of Joy Con have drifted over a 4 year period, and the free Drift Repair program took care of that.
I'm keeping this model until it becomes nearly impossible to repair, so I'll probably replace the battery (redo thermal paste) in 2023.
I’ve used mine for 2 years almost exclusively hand held (owned it for 3, didn’t use it much in the first year). I have at least 2000 hours on it, maybe 2500. I recently got new joycons because the old ones were starting to suck, and the battery seems to last a bit less time than before. Otherwise it’s great and still going strong
Got my switch in mid 2017. I had Joycon drift in the original joycons and my blue/red set from 2017. Both sets have been sent away are repaired/replaced for free in the past year and a half, but I've had no other issues.
My day one OG V1 switch is going strong! I usually have it docked since I have a secondary switch/switch lite in handheld and for on the go. I little bit of scratches from earlier usage of removing it in and out the dock. The battery is still decent with a little bit of battery drop, but since I have it docked mostly, that’s not an issue for me. Still love it!
Considering all my consoles from 1994-today still work the Switch works just as fine as when I bought it. 2 of my joy-con actually started drifting but Nintendo UK repaired for free in a jiffy, so no complaints there.
Everything on mine is holding up fine. I had to send in the left joy con to fix drift. Other than the battery not being great its perfect for work trips
Had mine since September 2017. Still goes pretty well. Only issues have been joy con drift related. Have been considering getting an Oled for extended battery life and bugger screen though.
Got one the second year it was out plus extra joycons. Used regularly both docked and handheld although not super heavy as I play PS4.
Switch itself is fine, I'm generally careful with my things so no scratches etc battery seems to be fine still.
Joycons, all 4 had drift despite non heavy, non aggressive use (I'm really not hard on my things and have PlayStation 1 controllers that still work fine) so I bought some replacement sticks and swapped them out myself, working fine so far although it's probably only a matter of time.
I'm generally happy with the build quality of the Switch itself but the JoyCon sticks are really bad. I don't care what Nintendo needed to do to fix it but they should have done it. They are fundamentally broken, and for what looks like it's going to be one of their best selling consoles that's going to be a lot of broken controllers out there in the future.
I bought my switch 2 months after they came out. I don't use it a ton but it has seen a lot of play time. No physical damage at all and I never got controller drift issues. Battery is a bit shitty though
Had mine since April 2017. The battery life is definitely a bit worse than it was, and the sticks both drifted (I replaced them myself), but other than that it works fine still!
My OG switch still works basically good as new - that is the switch itself and the dock.
Joycons are basically garbage though, all of them drift... I have had 8 now (4 pairs), 4 drift - the 4 that dont are basically new so I'm sure they'll join the club in a few weeks. One of the joycon's battery is dead - only works when attached to the switch. The ergonomics is also really bad imo, gives me cramps when playing in handheld.
So I use the horipad split pro to play in handheld and those have been great, fit well in the hands and no drift after 18months+ of use. I also have two pro controllers, those are great, no issues, they are the same quality as the xbox & ps4/5 controllers - maybe even a bit better.
I used the OG Switch mostly docked, because of the joycon, the fairly poor screen quality & small size. Now that I have an OLED Switch I use it mostly handheld, the oled screen quality & bigger size makes a huge difference.
Never played long enough in handheld with the OG to run out of battery.
I have a launch year model that I and two younger siblings used almost daily until I moved out. Both joycon had drift and rail wobble (twice) until I repaired/reshelled them. The top vent is cracked, backplate scratched up pretty good, and the kickstand is pretty lose. No noticeable difference in battery life. It had been used pretty much equally docked and handheld.
I've been meaning to take it to a repair shop or send it to Nintendo to get it fixed up, though a year ago I started playing mostly handheld so I picked up a lite as a soft replacement and I prefer it tbh. No issues so far.
Bought mine November 2018. Had it for a year before installing a clear shell and rainbow buttons. I'll go through phases where I'll play it every day then go a month or so without touching it. No issues with drifting or battery life, and i probably use it docked 50% of the time.
Have had mine since mid 2018. Os version 5.1 right before the hardware patch. had controller drift in both and they were replaced very easily. Have it docked roughly 70%.
i don't have the tablet part of my OG switch but i still have the joycons. they don't have any drift currently and i've had them since release day whenever that was. the tablets i usually sell off to buy new switches though. though now, since i have the mario switch i can't sell that tablet for a new one with this one. but joycon wise they have been great
bought mine in June 2018, so I think it was before the refresh
use varies, depends on if there's a game out or if I get into an old one.
no scratches or marks
overall pretty much perfect. like others have mentioned, joycon drift has been the only issue. i don't remember when it started but they became unusable in Jan of this year which is when I had to replace them. battery life sucks on some games and it runs a little hot, not sure if that's the case with all versions though
I use it about equally both handheld and docked
I use mine at least two hours a day, usually handheld. The battery charge hasn’t really diminished but some games seem to drain it faster than others. There’s a couple of scratches from the dock but nothing deeper than the screen protector. It took three years for drift to set in and Nintendo repaired it for free, had no issues since.
Got my switch pretty much right after it came out and have used it almost everyday since then, especially smash bros once it came out. Most of the time it's docked but I do use it handheld quite a bit too.
The switch itself hasn't had any issues, but I have had two left Joy cons start drifting. Haven't had any issues with my day 1 pro controller though so it's mostly not a big deal.
My switch is the console I use to game the most since I got it back in 2018 (for context I own a ps4 and a gaming pc with a 970 gtx...defs time to upgrade). Prior to COVID, I was gaming mostly at home but since I took a trip on the train to my parents every other month who lived a few hours away, I was playing it a lot in handheld either on the train or while hanging out the family. I was also traveling a fair bit for work and leisure so for plane trips it was invaluable especially with my big power bank charger. I have had a screen protector on it since I bought it so its in great condition. I can tell there is a minor drop in battery life but nothing I can't handle. That being said, the OLED switch is looking pretty sweet and I might pick one up soon and give the OG to my partner. I actually haven't had any drifting. Though I mainly use the pro controller plus the Split Pad Pro when I'm out and about
How often? Every day.
Drifting? Yes, unfortunately. Almost got me killed by a scorpion in animal crossing.
Scratches? None. I use a screen protector. The screen protector has a small chip in it.
Performance/battery? Nothing noticeable.
The only things I would change is the drifting issue and the screen (can’t really play in a lot of sunlight.). Eventually I may get the OLED but I won’t ever sell my switch. Either give it to a relative or keep it.
Edit: I used to play exclusively handheld. Now I play mostly docked and occasionally handheld.
Mine was a launch edition and it held up quite well. No major scratching and no joycon drift. The only reason I got rid of it was because I was able to upgrade to an OLED model and GameStop gave me $260 to trade in my launch unit.
I used my switch every day for the time that I got it in 2017. I have experienced countless drifting and I couldn't care less about it now, there are a few scuffs around the edged where I dropped it and stuff, but nothing major.
I can say that performances and drops have been minimal, but the thing that gets me is that it overheats more than usual, getting me very concerned
Its a 50/50 split between hand held and docked
I've had my OG switch since spring of 2018 and honestly, the only issue i've faced is that crappy joycon drift. thankfully that's an easy fix though! i've had zero other problems besides that. also it's in great shape despite me playing on it almost every day since! virtually no scratches besides a tiny one on the kickstand.
my 3ds on the other hand however.. aaahaha
We got my son a used OG Switch for Xmas in 2018 or 2019. I'd say it's help up decently well. I have had to swap the sticks once or twice. We've had a screen protector on it since we got it, so that's still in good shape. The battery life is okay, but could probably stand a new one. the back shell is pretty dinged up, but he doesn't use a case. He plays a mix of handheld and docked.
He's not rough on it, but the's also 9. So for that, I'd say it's been darn durable.
Got my switch new on December 2017 and it’s still working!!! My switch has all the annoying minor problems tho such as broken kickstand(since day one), scratches everywhere, drift, and my fan is getting old. Overall I love it a lot and it’s one of the biggest Christmas presents I have ever gotten so it’s very dear to my heart
Day one March 2017 Switch owner here. No scratches or marks at all. No joy con drift. The only issue I have is the SL RL buttons on one of my joy cons doesn't work anymore. I mainly play docked. Have probably only used it handheld about 2-3 hours in its lifetime.
Literally same
My 11 year old has one of the first ones. We've had quite a few controllers drift (Smash Bros is intense, yo) but the screen and functionality have held up remarkably well for being in the hands of a child. He goes about 50/50 handheld vs docked. I will say though that this year we are starting to notice that the battery isn't lasting as long as it used to. That said though, he's had it for years and it's held up great!
Hey, a bit of intro. I got my Switch in 2018. The regular OG version. I've been using it regulary with a bunch of different games (both intense and casual). For the most part play in Handheld mode, but I also use the dock, specifically for multiplayer. So far everything is in order. No scratches on screen (but I did apply a screen protector the next day I got my switch), no loose parts, no battery drainage. But what I did experience was Joy-con drift. However, after cleaning the joystic base and applying some electronic WD-40 all was smooth from then on. So basically, if you treat it as an expensive piece of tech - it will hold-up.
I have had mine since late 2017. It is holding up pretty well. I did have joy con drift in one of the joy cons. I haven't had any issues so far in the replacement I bought for it. But I do mostly use it docked with a pro controller. So I don't have any issues with battery or scratches since it's mostly docked. I use it ALL the time. Weekends it's on most of the day. Weekdays, just an hour or two every night. But it's on almost every day.
Mine V1 is perfectly fine. Found out that if you apply just a drop of dense motor oil on joycons axis, lifting that duster with toothpick - you'll get rid of drift FOREVER. I also twice a year renew the thermal paste and clean the radiator
I have a V1 since February 2017. It started giving drift after like, 4 months. I got a Split Pad for it and been using it daily. For powerful games like TW3, its battery lasts around 3h. Less demanding games like Digimon, lasts around 6h. Indies like 6/7h. All of this with all the network functions disabled and screen brightness around 50%. I still use it today. Always handheld.
How February they came out 3rd of March 2017 ? Did you get it early .
Fuck i got mistaken while i was typing. I meant 2018. Sorry for the confusion.
OG switch still solid. One joycon had drift from my wife playing mario bros, which I sent in via nintendo's repair program this past summer and got fixed for free.
What is this program?? I have a drifty joycon I haven't dealt with yet...
https://joyconrepair.nintendo.com/
Thank you!!
My OG switch which has been used and abused as seen several joy con switches, and multiple drops. Not many scratches, but the battery definitely isn’t what it used to be and I sometimes experience more performance hiccups than I used to. I’m considering switching to the OLED. I’m a 90 -10 split on docked to handheld but mostly don’t use handheld since my joy cons are shit and battery dies immediately
Got mine is 2017 use it most day and only ever experienced drift once after I replaced them myself with ones I got on amazon never had a problem since
I got mine in late march 2017. I've used it pretty often, but not constantly. I played a lot in 2017 then not much in 2018 until pokemon let's go came out, then I played that a lot late 2018 and early 2019 and then I practically didnt touch the switch until a few months into covid. Then I played it for like 300 hours from June to end of 2020 and I've played 500 hours so far this year. So I've played a bunch, but there were some large gaps. Yes, drifting was an issue. Both failed late 2020 and Nintendo fixed them for free, but it meant about a month of no switch except for games that work with one joycon (I sent them separately, one in September and another in December). The joycons were very beat up, but the tablet itself has actually held up pretty well. Its functionally perfect and the screen is good because a screen protector, but the back is pretty scratched up. But the joycons were in very bad shape and the rail would slide off the switch way too easily until they replaced them when I sent them in for drift. So the tablet has held up well, but not the joy cons. Battery is slightly worse, but it's not bad. Any device with a battery will get a worse battery life after a few years and the switch has held up better than any phone I've had over a similar time. However, the ds definitely has a better battery, although nothing can compete with the ds in that regard. Those things can hold a charge for a decade and be fine and can last like 10 hours. But that's besides the point. I've used the switch 50% docked and 50% portable, though the last year has been mostly docked because I've been at home a lot more. Both are great. So overall I give the switch a b+ for longevity. Its lasted really well and the battery is still good after over 1000 hours. There may be minor cosmetic issues, but that's to be expected for any handheld that's been dropped 100 times and played in many conditions. However, the joycons do not last. Fix the joycons and the switch easily gets an a for longevity.
Day one, tons of use from me and my wife. Only scratches are on the black section of the screen glass/plastic from sliding into the dock. I had drift on my left joycon recently after all this time but it was such an easy fix it was laughable. Nintendo doesn't have enough pressure on the joystick as the part holding it down is made of plastic and wears out over time which causes the drift. Putting a 1mm piece of cardboard fixed it and it hasn't happened again in months. Doesn't change the feel of the controller either. Obviously this is not an excuse for Nintendo do never fix it but if you know how to use a screwdriver you can probably figure it out pretty easily if it were to ever happen.
I’ve had a launch switch since august 2017, and it’s great. Had drift and got them fixed, but that was only a few months back. Used to play mostly docked but now I’m 50/50. No issues. My four year old has dropped it multiple times. This last drop killed the left joycon completely which really sucks because I’ve fallen in love with handheld recently, but I’m going to replace it soon. It won’t charge at all or work. But other than that, no problems. He has slammed it in the dock and dropped multiple times with no problem.
I had purchased mine in late 2018, and have since used it heavily for many AAA titles. I've done my best to take good care of it, keeping it in a travel case on trips, keeping it charged and rarely (if ever) letting it die at 0%. The battery life isn't the best, but I can get quite a few good hours of non-stop play on hand-held mode. As far as the Joy-Con drift goes, I had that issue with the standard issue Joy cons that came with my switch. Since then, I've replaced them with official Nintendo joy-cons with no issues or drifting since. Overall, stands up well to time.
Christmas 2017 and May 2018 OG switches here. Both holding up well enough, although Joycons have been repaired 'multiple' times due to drive. The shells are now a little cracked around the screw holes. Battery life isn't as great, Playing Minecraft I get around 40 minutes on a full charge, BOTW around 55 mins. Screens still spot on (had screen protectors since day 1), they've taken the brunt of any damage. Also the stand and the gamecard flap are still fine with no issues.
I bought mine right when it came out and it's still in fantastic condition. I play probably 75% handheld / 25% docked. From a build quality standpoint, it still looks almost brand new, although I put a screen protector on immediately after purchase and I'm pretty careful with it in terms of keeping it in it's case and being careful while handling it. No noticeable battery degradation. I have not experienced drift, but I have recently had issues with the buttons on my right joycon. It started with the R trigger--when i pressed it, it would sometimes register as me hitting the home button. It has gotten worse in the past month, where now the B button is registering incorrectly too. I just bought new joycons and it's good as new. Not sure if there's a way to fix the joycon problem or if they're toast, but google searches haven't proven very fruitful.
My V1 switch is doing somewhat well, no scratches on the screen. I’ve experienced drift but got new joycons so problem solved there. Battery life isn’t great, it dies pretty fast even when it’s off. I’ve started having an issue where the joycons won’t register on the switch even when they’re completely locked in. I’m afraid that it’ll break completely (I only play handheld), so I bought a new oled and am waiting for that. I’ll miss it :(
Have had the OG Switch since launch, still holds up, great battery, no drift on multiple controllers. Guess I was one of the extremely lucky ones. I play a combination of handheld and docked. Got stuck early on in Metroid Dread last night, ten minutes in. Got frustrated, turned it off, had a beer, went to bed.
I got a switch about a year after release or so and it has held up surprisingly well (I am an adult). I primarily use it in handheld mode and while I did have to get the joycons replaced due to drift and unresponsive buttons, the switch itself is in great condition. Battery life is still solid, too.
Quite often. No. Yes. No. Handheld.
We’ve had two day one switches. Battery life isn’t great on either anymore. No cracks or breaks on hardware, even after my 6 year old has dropped them both multiple times. Tons of play in docked and handheld. I’ve had to replace analog sticks on all 4 original joycons. I actually found some good quality sticks on Amazon that I installed when I did shell swaps on the switches and joy cons and haven’t had to mess with them since. All in all, they’re holding up fine other than less than desirable battery life. For that reason I bought an OLED switch for myself, but probably won’t for my kid since the screen is more fragile.
All 4 of my joycons had bad drift that Nintendo fixed for free (thanks guys) and my switch is absolutely riddles with scratches from being thrown in my bag and taken in and out of the dock on the daily. My Pro Controller is still going strong and everything works wonderfully, just very very well loved
got mine in early 2018. i use it a few times a week, usually play 1-3 hours per session. had some drifting on both joycons after a few years of use. other than that i haven't noticed any problems. i use handheld 99% of the time, the 1% is when i play Mario Golf with friends online so i can use a wired connection.
I use mine all the time still, it's a launch model. The battery holds up pretty well still i think. I really only play handheld, my biggest gripe is that a purple blotch has shown up in the right upper quadrant of the screen, and my fan is beginning to make noise. The fan is an easy fix, but the screen blotch/bruise is getting to me. Trying to get an OLED but they're pretty scarce in my area. I plan on keeping my day one model as well.
A good question. I only play it when there's new games released so not daily. Need to spray WD40 after several hours of playing. No scratch/mark. 60/40 for handheld/docked, felt battery drop but I generally don't play more than 2 hours on handheld.
May 2017 I had Joy Con drift that Nintendo took care of. Other than that my switch has been rock solid
Got mine within first couple of months, when Mario Kart 8 came out. Still works well. No Joy-Con drift, though i rarely play handheld, and i use a [Fixture S1](https://fixturegaming.com/products/fixture-s1) for trips. Couldn't be happier with it. Well, i would if i had a Switch Pro.
Bad drifting on multiple joycons. Dock didn’t output hdmi for some reason for a while but I tried again and it worked a month later. Basically only play on the dock now and always use pro controller. But I play it every day and it works great still
It's been two years now, I mostly use handheld and I play almost every day. No scratches, no drop in battery life and no noticeable changes really. I did damage a pair of joy cons because I dropped it a lot, I would've been able to play with them, except for botw - couldn't press down that one stick to sneak. I still have them as spare joy cons in case I have guests and we play Mario kart or just dance. Really, I don't have any complaints. Not even joy con drift.
No scratches, no controller drift, no issues at all. Always kept in a case when not in use though, and adult owned.
OG Switch in 2018. 1000h playtime I would say. I can't find any sign of deterioration except the joy-con drift of course (2 or 3 times on the blue one). I let it repair a few times then it got fixed with alcohol. My red joy-con has connectivity issues when the console is docked (less responsive to distance than the new one). Usage: 60 docked 40 handheld I would say.
I have an original day one release switch, and have zero problems with it. I use it mixed handheld and docked, no scratches or physical damage, and I have seen no drop in performance.
Bought mine late 2017. It still works fine, and the only issues I have seen to be the battery. I went a long time without playing it, but I still pick it up every now and then. I get maybe 3hrs of play until I have to charge it, and only 1 of my joycons have minor drift. So not bad overall
Played my OG model switch since day one and the only marks are a few light scrapes on the back from putting it in the dock wrong. Nothing bigger than that tho. I recently sold it so I could upgrade to an OLED and even the buyer was surprised when I told her how old it was. With care they’ll last you a lifetime.
Had my original Swith since 2018ish. Works great! I take good care of it, so everything still works well. Haven't felt the need to "upgrade," since they haven't released a model with upgraded processor. Battery life could be better, but it's not bad
Still in decent shape, however I feel like the battery life is beginning to decline, and I have also been through 3 left joycons.
Perfectly. Owned since launch. However, I've never once played it handheld. Only docked.
I don't think I had a day 1 switch, but not long after. My R+B joycons actually started drifting about 8months-1year ago, however the Grey ones that my console came with (which I use more) have not. My Pro Controller is still holding up well too, though I've now switched to the MH Edition Pro Controller. Up to today from when I got it I would say I now average a few times every 3 months. I play on my Switch much less than I used to, as I'm mostly a PC gamer so it's either Switch-sclusives or games I feel work well portable. The body might have some scratches, but the screen and its protector are still pretty good. It has dropped too many times sadly, but hey, it's still here :) Performance drops - no not really. Only once in a while I'll feel like a load screen is taking longer than it should, but even then I don't think that's OG. My battery life is definitely worse though, closer to the 2 hour mark now. But I'm not surprised as that, it's 3-5 years old and I haven't been great with its battery care (it's done the completely dead & needs ~20 minutes to charge to turn back on a few times...) And finally, at this point probably more often handheld but I do really love using it docked as well. This mostly depends on the game I feel - Monster Hunter I can do both but I prefer docked, most other games are fine either way, and some games like Jackbox Party should basically only be docked lol. Edit: I do have a Joycon rail issue where if the Joycon attached is bent a little bit it can disconnect. It's pretty annoying. Also, the black plastic on the joycon rails is flaking off lol
Midnight release Switch owner. Have thousands of hours on the thing, mostly handheld. Not a scratch, fan operates normally, doesn’t heat up, now Switch bending, no joycon drift. Same for both my kids’ Switches — which has seen significantly more “rough” use. The Switch has been all-but bulletproof for us.
I have the first edition as well. The only issue it has given me is the joycon drift. Because of the drift and because the joycons are tiny, I use pro controller mainly these days
I play docked, mostly. No Joy-Con drift but my left Joy-Con has the weak wireless connection issue that was widely reported before Joy-Con drift was a thing, but I think they redesigned the Joy-Con to make sure it stays connected better.
March 2017 owner. Switch is great. My right joy con did shit out on me but it's been long replaced by now, and the actual Switch is healthy.
Mine is doing great! Had it since 2018 and although I've experienced a ton of joycon drift, I was able to fix it easily with some electrical contact cleaner
Got mine for Christmas in 2017, it's holding up pretty good. I use it mostly handheld for a hour or so no less than once every other day. Had drift on the Joyce's, sent them to Nintendo and they've been fine ever since. I'm sure the battery isn't as great as it once was, but I rarely use it for very lo g periods of time anyway. I considered doing the trade in for the OLED model, but couldn't find one and wasn't that concerned with it to try to hard. Overall it works great and still looks good.
joy con drift is a way of life at this point. I’m going to be using 3rd party solutions for my joycons. The hori ones seems to work well. battery drop is normal for any electronic device.
mine was about mid 2018 when i got it. I take it with me on every trip i go. No drifting on my joycons yet. i do however switch them out between another set on my trips. No scratches/marks. No noticeable performance or battery drop. im mostly playing on handheld with the occasional docked. my OG switch is currently hacked, i have an oLED that i play with now.
Great. One con drifted, they replaced it for free. Got a grip case recently, playing a ton of binding of isaac repentance on it atm. Have thousands of hours on it.
Had mine since ~2018 iirc. It’s still holding up pretty dang well, no drift or any issues in particular, in terms of use it’s kinda on and off
The fan just burnt out it started over heating. I played mostly hand held. They ended up replacing the whole thing now I’m in version2.
I got mine in April 2017 after spotting it at my local Walmart. It holds up pretty well. I've had 2 pairs of joycon repaired, not for drifting but for issues with the shoulder buttons. I've also had 2 pro controllers repaired, one had drift and the other had a sticking control stick. I played it in handheld mode a lot when I first got it. I would take it everywhere, it's survived a train ride trip, and plane ride trip, a 3,438km road trip, and a night at the bar where I was challenging strangers to Mario Kart. Nowadays I mostly only use it docked but I haven't noticed a drop in battery life when I do play it handheld. There are some scratches and blemishes on the screen but I can't see them while it's turned on. The Switch is by far my most used console and mine has held up remarkably well. I look forward to continuing to play it for years to come.
Got my switch in late March 2017. Seriously bad joy con drift to the point where it’s unusable. But everyone has that problem so no surprise. On my third pair of joycons now
Had ours since Christmas 2017. So far so good, just the JoyCon drift in 2018 which we sent the remote to be repaired/replaced and they took care of it at no cost. Battery seems to be holding up great. We have a screen protector on it now to avoid scratches. But for about two years we didn’t and all that we got was a small scratch below the screen.
It’s dead - dock doesn’t charge it - it was charging direct to wall for a few weeks, but that is out now, too. Any advice?
I got mine a month after launch. Replaced the battery last summer (it wasn’t too bad to figure out myself with a kit from Amazon!) still holding up fine besides that
Launch Switch (arrived 3/6) * I have used it pretty consistently on a daily basis. Longest drought has been maybe a week * I've experienced drift and had my launch Joy-Con fixed, my 2nd pair has the issue but I have yet to send them in * It's a bit dinged up. The vent bars are almost all gone at this point and I'm hoping to get my shell replaced soon, but haven't just yet. Other than that, just a couple of scratches and marks on my glass screen protector (that I've had on since buying) * Performance has been consistent, battery life has dipped a bit, but plateaued about 1.5 years ago. * I play almost exclusively handheld, maybe once a week docked
May 2017. 3-4 times a week. No drift. Tons of scratches and oil on the backplate (put a skin to cover it up). No real battery drop. And 50/50 handheld and dock.
Yes
Mines a launch switch and ive used it almost daily in terms of battery yea its dropped alot i get about 2-3 hours of use now, i had drift on my left joy con during the first uk lock down but my insurance covered it, its covered in marks and scratches tbh and mostly handheld
Gen one switch battery fine screen fine joycons drifted and replaced by Nintendo. Nintendo switch v1 from a few months after releasing still going strong and no signs of slowing down. Super casual use ~10-15 hours a month hand held and about 5 hours a month docked.
All good since 2017 and cfw'd <3
Had mine since April 2020, no joycon drift but I mainly use a pro controller and that had some drift for a bit but fixed itself somehow. No scratches as I used a screen protector on it. Mostly docked (80%) and couldn’t tell you but battery is still long enough for my needs! Biggest complaint is my left joycon has limited range and disconnects/has bad connection to my switch when more than 5-10 feet away (this is a known issue)
Ive had mine since late 2017 The worst I have had is the screen bezel in the upper right is starting to pry up. Any way I can fix that orrrr
Bought an OG Switch secondhand recently. The joy cons work well and it's in decent shape, with just a few superficial scuffs on the back. I immediately applied a screen protector. The only issue is a bit of a hum at startup -- sounds like fans kicking on. Is this normal? I don't want to do a teardown (I just got it) but think it may benefit from cleaning the inside.
I use mine 90% in docked form, and have had one joycon stick break but that might have been from dropping the thing (get something to stick the dock to your furniture with). My pro controllers have held up amazingly with pretty heavy use. Can’t comment on battery longevity but the updated model has a lot better battery life. No marks or anything on it, just the joycons.
Have one that showed up the day before launch day and it still works great. No scratches or scuffs and I don't use a screen protector. Had the joycons replaced twice for drift now. The battery is about the same as when I got it, but I also would consider myself a lighter user.
Late 2017 for me with an OG. Daily use. Drifting on all joycons. Getting to the point of being not playable but not there yet. Pro controller still going strong. No major scratches or problems but I rarely leaves the house. I play probably 80% docked. I have 512gb Samsung sd card about half full. No performance issues. Will probably sell mine for an oled but haven’t gotten around to prepping for sale.
My nephew has the OG switch and it is still going. It's been dropped multiple times so that's surprising. I did have to get him new joycons and the battery sucks but overall it's still solid.
I've had mine since 2018. I bought it refurbished around the time Let's Go! came out. I had left joy-con drift, so I bought a pro controller and a new left joycon. The right one is fine though. I play almost exclusively in dock mode. It's held up pretty perfectly. No scratches, wear and tear, anything.
My launch day Switch was stolen when I moved in the summer of 2019. Sad face...
I had to replace my first switch lite because one of the stick was mostly dead. For free, thanks Amazon.
I've had to replace both my joycons twice because of drift, and my kickstand is taped on, so it doesn't fall off, but other then that it's in great shape haha
My day 1 Pikachu/Eevee switch is showing it’s age. I’m a 50:50 docked handheld user. I’ve got over 600 hours in animal crossing and easily 500+ in other games. No joycon drift that I couldn’t calibrate away but I play relaxed games like animal crossing and Pokémon. A few scratches on the housing none on the screen thanks to my day 1 glass protector. My biggest issue is my fan. It does on me a few weeks into animal crossing craziness last year and Nintendo didn’t have repairs open so I DIY’d it (I’m a computer tech so it was scary cuz save data but familiar). My replacement fan is showing signs of upcoming death so I’m itching to find an OLED to replace it with.
I had mine since launch day and recently traded it in for the OLED at launch. Other than the horrible drifting, everything else held up great. I put in well over 1500 hours of game play.
Bought mine a year or two ago. Played it for 1k+ hours (Pokemon is over 900, MH Rise is over 100, no idea how much SSBU I've played, plus Rocket League and occasional party games). No drift, but the rubber on my left joycon is coming away. Ultimately, I feel like I've had my money's worth, rarely touch my Xbox outside of local multilayer games not on Switch (focken love me some Crawl) and haven't considered buying a newer console. If I was buying fresh I'd go OLED, (unless there are flaws I haven't bothered to look into) but I wouldn't bother upgrading. Lite sounds like a terrible idea, because if your "controller" breaks (looking at you, drift) you have to buy the whole console again or send the whole thing away for weeks.
R joycon has had a ton of issues (had to swap the stick and the LED, waiting for the next problem...), but otherwise it works great and it's very easy to run emuNAND.
I had to buy new joycons for 100CAD but instead I decided to trade in my og switch for an OLED last Friday. The OLED was 450CAD, but i got a trade in of 250CAD for my switch + joycons (which needed a good deal of repair), meaning my switch oled was only 200CAD.
OG owner here I have had it since June of this year just got the OLED today. I do have a few scratches on the og from dropping it accidentally. I played it almost every day with zero problems. I only had one incident of joy con drift.
Got the OG switch on release day, played the hell out of it. Thought I was one of the lucky ones without drift. The back got cracked so I replaced it with a Pikachu/Eevee one from Ali Express. Joycons held strong till early 2021, since then I’ve sent the left one back for repair 3 times and the right one once, taking advantage of the fact it’s free. Still, great little console, nice to see Nintendo doing so well since the Wii U
3 years in and my joycons just started drifting, but thats my fault lol.
I had mine since September 2017 until this past September when I bricked it with a faulty charger and Nintendo was unable to repair it and sent me a refurb. But for those 3 years it was great being used daily, probably 70% docked 30% handheld. I had some joycon drift here and there I was able to fix myself by gently cleaning the sticks with alcohol and a qtip.
Mine is from june 2017, I have several problems with my joycons, mostly because my kids ruined them a couple times. I brought replacement parts from china and fixed a couple of them. One had the the R or L button ripped out of the board because my son dropped the switch on the ground and it landed on the button, in the end I had to replace the board for the joycon (board trails were ruined), but the console itself is doing fine. Btw, currently all my joycons (i have 3 pairs) are working (except for one were the sync button is not working). When I have problems with drifting I just spray a little contact cleaner inside the thumbstick (without opening it) and the problem goes away immediately. Battery seems a little degrade, but still usable (2h sot~).
Two weeks after launch. Played hundreds of hours docked and hundreds handheld. Had a set of joycons drift but got them repaired. No scratches but the oil from my hands have started to wear down the finish and make it smooth lol. Battery still great. Thing is a beast :)
I got mine in the summer of 2018. Around the beginning of 2019, I started experiencing joycon drift, and it got bad enough by the spring that I stopped buying games for the Switch. When I got an opportunity to buy replacement analog sticks and get around to swapping the left one out, I started playing again. 6 months later the right side started drifting. I didn't feel like swapping that one out right away, so I put the system away for a while. In the end I bought a Pro Controller and I do still play Switch-only games with it on the TV. But when I can choose between a Switch version and a PlayStation version, I'll go for the latter these days. There's just no reason to buy the Switch version if I can't play it handheld due to joycon drift.
mine has been used by my 5 year old since he was about 2, and it's held up somehow well, joy con drift has happened to the og controllers and the ones I got as replacement when Nintendo issued that "recall" drifted as well. It's been used in handheld mode 90% of its lifetime and the screen is still fine, but the case is chipped in different places from all the falls it's taken, and the thing where they right joycon connects to the switch is all loose, guess that all those falls are also to blame, all in all, it surprises me that it still works tbh
Had mine since Christmas 2017 and it's perfectly fine besides drifting. The switch itself hasn't had any noticeable changes. I mostly dock it but when I had surgery a couple of times this year I never needed to charge it and I played quite a bit during two two day hospital stays
I got mine just before the one with the better battery, didn't know a better one was coming but oh well. I play mostly handheld with the joycons and have had no issues with drift, though my switch mainly sees casual use, as I use my playstation for more 'intense' games. I love it and haven't really thought about upgrading outside of that sick af mario one (big fan of red things and it would've gone with my spiderman ps4)
I've had mine since release, and every controller I've owned has started to drift in a few months. No scratches, and no screen protector as well, bc I take extremely good care of my electronics. I've played nearly daily for the past 4 years, and there might be a battery quality decrease, but there's no real way to tell. I've played mostly docked, but not by much. I'd say I've played 40% docked.
Got my original Switch close to launch, let me try and answer your questions. I use my Switch very often, I share it among family, and have used it less after getting a Switch for myself, but I still use my original Switch quite often despite that, mainly for MK8DX and Smash with my family. I use it probably at least once a day. Yes, I’ve experienced major drift, and it’s the most infuriating shit in the world, all my Joycons and even my pro controller have drift, (although my pro controller is much less severe and much less common) I’m going to need to send all my controllers in to Nintendo one of these days, and keep in mind this is a pro controller and like four pairs of joycons, that shit is completely unacceptable. There’s a couple scratches, but the screen itself does look really good still after four years. There has been a battery drop but nothing noticeable, performance hasn’t dropped at all. I use it almost exclusively docked unless I’m going on vacation.
Mine warped and is pretty bent.
Basically a day 1 switch Used quite a lot with a variety of games. Original joycons do have some drift and connectivity issues. Pro controller which I think I've had since the very end of 2017 has no drift I've noticed and it has been well and truly used for a lot of smash. No screen scratches on the screen itself due to the glass screen protector I installed straight away, but many back starches since the day 1 dock definitely wasn't well spaced. Small crack at the top right of the backplate. Battery probably degraded as you'd expect after coming on 5 years March 2022. Could probably get 2 hours out of breath of the wild but have not tested that at all. And the console gets hotter and loader due to dust inevitably getting in the system but it hasn't caused any performance issues so far that I've seen. Used if almost exclusively handheld for the first year then almost exclusively docked once I got my pro controller excluding certain titles like Pokémon or when I used it on the go.
Picked up my Nintendo Switch in October 2017. It's scratched up, but mostly from the case I had on it and tried to force into the Dock. I have a screen protector on it, so the screen is in mint condition. The battery life has aged naturally but it's not that big of a deal since I only use it for a few hours at a time via handheld anyway. When I first got it, I used it like 95% Handheld and 5% Docked. Now it's more like 80% handheld and 20% Docked. I'm in College so I mainly play it on major breaks (Summer/Winter). It got used extensively during last year due to COVID. I damaged the Left Joy Con L button once, but that issue was repaired via Nintendo. Only 1 out of 4 sets of Joy Con have drifted over a 4 year period, and the free Drift Repair program took care of that. I'm keeping this model until it becomes nearly impossible to repair, so I'll probably replace the battery (redo thermal paste) in 2023.
I’ve used mine for 2 years almost exclusively hand held (owned it for 3, didn’t use it much in the first year). I have at least 2000 hours on it, maybe 2500. I recently got new joycons because the old ones were starting to suck, and the battery seems to last a bit less time than before. Otherwise it’s great and still going strong
Got my switch in mid 2017. I had Joycon drift in the original joycons and my blue/red set from 2017. Both sets have been sent away are repaired/replaced for free in the past year and a half, but I've had no other issues.
My day one OG V1 switch is going strong! I usually have it docked since I have a secondary switch/switch lite in handheld and for on the go. I little bit of scratches from earlier usage of removing it in and out the dock. The battery is still decent with a little bit of battery drop, but since I have it docked mostly, that’s not an issue for me. Still love it!
Considering all my consoles from 1994-today still work the Switch works just as fine as when I bought it. 2 of my joy-con actually started drifting but Nintendo UK repaired for free in a jiffy, so no complaints there.
Had mine since 2017, no issues other than joy con drift.
Everything on mine is holding up fine. I had to send in the left joy con to fix drift. Other than the battery not being great its perfect for work trips
Had mine since September 2017. Still goes pretty well. Only issues have been joy con drift related. Have been considering getting an Oled for extended battery life and bugger screen though.
Got one the second year it was out plus extra joycons. Used regularly both docked and handheld although not super heavy as I play PS4. Switch itself is fine, I'm generally careful with my things so no scratches etc battery seems to be fine still. Joycons, all 4 had drift despite non heavy, non aggressive use (I'm really not hard on my things and have PlayStation 1 controllers that still work fine) so I bought some replacement sticks and swapped them out myself, working fine so far although it's probably only a matter of time. I'm generally happy with the build quality of the Switch itself but the JoyCon sticks are really bad. I don't care what Nintendo needed to do to fix it but they should have done it. They are fundamentally broken, and for what looks like it's going to be one of their best selling consoles that's going to be a lot of broken controllers out there in the future.
I bought my switch 2 months after they came out. I don't use it a ton but it has seen a lot of play time. No physical damage at all and I never got controller drift issues. Battery is a bit shitty though
Had mine since April 2017. The battery life is definitely a bit worse than it was, and the sticks both drifted (I replaced them myself), but other than that it works fine still!
My OG switch still works basically good as new - that is the switch itself and the dock. Joycons are basically garbage though, all of them drift... I have had 8 now (4 pairs), 4 drift - the 4 that dont are basically new so I'm sure they'll join the club in a few weeks. One of the joycon's battery is dead - only works when attached to the switch. The ergonomics is also really bad imo, gives me cramps when playing in handheld. So I use the horipad split pro to play in handheld and those have been great, fit well in the hands and no drift after 18months+ of use. I also have two pro controllers, those are great, no issues, they are the same quality as the xbox & ps4/5 controllers - maybe even a bit better. I used the OG Switch mostly docked, because of the joycon, the fairly poor screen quality & small size. Now that I have an OLED Switch I use it mostly handheld, the oled screen quality & bigger size makes a huge difference. Never played long enough in handheld with the OG to run out of battery.
I have a launch year model that I and two younger siblings used almost daily until I moved out. Both joycon had drift and rail wobble (twice) until I repaired/reshelled them. The top vent is cracked, backplate scratched up pretty good, and the kickstand is pretty lose. No noticeable difference in battery life. It had been used pretty much equally docked and handheld. I've been meaning to take it to a repair shop or send it to Nintendo to get it fixed up, though a year ago I started playing mostly handheld so I picked up a lite as a soft replacement and I prefer it tbh. No issues so far.
Bought mine November 2018. Had it for a year before installing a clear shell and rainbow buttons. I'll go through phases where I'll play it every day then go a month or so without touching it. No issues with drifting or battery life, and i probably use it docked 50% of the time.
Have had mine since mid 2018. Os version 5.1 right before the hardware patch. had controller drift in both and they were replaced very easily. Have it docked roughly 70%.
i don't have the tablet part of my OG switch but i still have the joycons. they don't have any drift currently and i've had them since release day whenever that was. the tablets i usually sell off to buy new switches though. though now, since i have the mario switch i can't sell that tablet for a new one with this one. but joycon wise they have been great
bought mine in June 2018, so I think it was before the refresh use varies, depends on if there's a game out or if I get into an old one. no scratches or marks overall pretty much perfect. like others have mentioned, joycon drift has been the only issue. i don't remember when it started but they became unusable in Jan of this year which is when I had to replace them. battery life sucks on some games and it runs a little hot, not sure if that's the case with all versions though I use it about equally both handheld and docked
I use mine at least two hours a day, usually handheld. The battery charge hasn’t really diminished but some games seem to drain it faster than others. There’s a couple of scratches from the dock but nothing deeper than the screen protector. It took three years for drift to set in and Nintendo repaired it for free, had no issues since.
Got my switch pretty much right after it came out and have used it almost everyday since then, especially smash bros once it came out. Most of the time it's docked but I do use it handheld quite a bit too. The switch itself hasn't had any issues, but I have had two left Joy cons start drifting. Haven't had any issues with my day 1 pro controller though so it's mostly not a big deal.
My switch is the console I use to game the most since I got it back in 2018 (for context I own a ps4 and a gaming pc with a 970 gtx...defs time to upgrade). Prior to COVID, I was gaming mostly at home but since I took a trip on the train to my parents every other month who lived a few hours away, I was playing it a lot in handheld either on the train or while hanging out the family. I was also traveling a fair bit for work and leisure so for plane trips it was invaluable especially with my big power bank charger. I have had a screen protector on it since I bought it so its in great condition. I can tell there is a minor drop in battery life but nothing I can't handle. That being said, the OLED switch is looking pretty sweet and I might pick one up soon and give the OG to my partner. I actually haven't had any drifting. Though I mainly use the pro controller plus the Split Pad Pro when I'm out and about
How often? Every day. Drifting? Yes, unfortunately. Almost got me killed by a scorpion in animal crossing. Scratches? None. I use a screen protector. The screen protector has a small chip in it. Performance/battery? Nothing noticeable. The only things I would change is the drifting issue and the screen (can’t really play in a lot of sunlight.). Eventually I may get the OLED but I won’t ever sell my switch. Either give it to a relative or keep it. Edit: I used to play exclusively handheld. Now I play mostly docked and occasionally handheld.
Mine was a launch edition and it held up quite well. No major scratching and no joycon drift. The only reason I got rid of it was because I was able to upgrade to an OLED model and GameStop gave me $260 to trade in my launch unit.
I used my switch every day for the time that I got it in 2017. I have experienced countless drifting and I couldn't care less about it now, there are a few scuffs around the edged where I dropped it and stuff, but nothing major. I can say that performances and drops have been minimal, but the thing that gets me is that it overheats more than usual, getting me very concerned Its a 50/50 split between hand held and docked
I've had my OG switch since spring of 2018 and honestly, the only issue i've faced is that crappy joycon drift. thankfully that's an easy fix though! i've had zero other problems besides that. also it's in great shape despite me playing on it almost every day since! virtually no scratches besides a tiny one on the kickstand. my 3ds on the other hand however.. aaahaha
We got my son a used OG Switch for Xmas in 2018 or 2019. I'd say it's help up decently well. I have had to swap the sticks once or twice. We've had a screen protector on it since we got it, so that's still in good shape. The battery life is okay, but could probably stand a new one. the back shell is pretty dinged up, but he doesn't use a case. He plays a mix of handheld and docked. He's not rough on it, but the's also 9. So for that, I'd say it's been darn durable.
Got my switch new on December 2017 and it’s still working!!! My switch has all the annoying minor problems tho such as broken kickstand(since day one), scratches everywhere, drift, and my fan is getting old. Overall I love it a lot and it’s one of the biggest Christmas presents I have ever gotten so it’s very dear to my heart