A fan sent me their broken 3DS XL...

A viewer sent in their broken NEW 3DS XL and asked me to fix it. This isn't something I would normally do but I haven't done a NEW 3DS XL in a while and so I was up for the challenge to help this kid out. Hope you enjoy!
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[@TheRetroFuture2]

Ohhhhhh boy. I didn’t show it working. Great job Elliot! There’s a video on this channel showing it working. Quickly watch it!

[@James_D.]

Done! 👍🏻

[@notnick5535]

That's a sneaky plug and a half. Nice Elliot.

[@Chilly_C00p]

you forgot "new" in the title

[@Finntendo]

Where's the video that you opened the package it came in?

[@checob224]

Haha I'm happy you actually made a video showing it working 😂

[@Tronicsfix]

Nice work! Those are difficult to replace. Loved the relaxing vibe in this video.

[@Bluedude08]

its the man himself

[@TheRetroFuture2]

Thanks Man!

[@heavyarms55]

It's possible you just pay someone to go around leaving comments like this to advertise your channel - but I'd rather think the positive version that you really are just a cool dude involved in the community. :) If this really was you, it shows how genuine you are! Mad respect!

[@elm.0]

Didn’t expect you here

[@livetobemario]

This video reminded me of how much I hated all the ribbons on these 3ds lol. Igot a new super Mario 3ds that everything worked except the left joystick and dpad. I took it apart and cleaned it and put it back together and now it just boots up the blue light for a bit then turns off and don’t know how to get it back to normal now. If y’all make a video on fixing it I’ll send it and hopefully you can fix it for me! I love these videos the quality is great

[@WH250398]

This makes me have serious respect for the workers assembling these units.

[@garry5280]

They use lots of jigs and fixtures to make assembly more automated and manual tasks easier. Nevertheless it would still be time consuming and quite expensive.

[@Ender_Onryo]

That looks like it's a contender for simultaneously the most satisfying and stressful hobby.

[@lukehipkin3914]

I love how relaxing these repairs have become - great choice of music

[@MattColbo]

What a lovely time I had watching this Elliot. So calm, you're helpin out a young lad, what a treasure.

[@yourcomputerhasvirus7733]

I feel your pain. All of it. Recently I did a full shell swap on one of these, and I too, said every curse word I knew and probably summoned several demons in the process. I replaced the bottom digitizer and the top lens with a glass one, and when I put it back together, the 3d function didn't work anymore. And I left it like that because I absolutely wasn't about to go through that again.

[@yourcomputerhasvirus7733]

But the upside was that afterwards I had a lime green n3ds xl instead of a beat up orange one.

[@wegaxd]

lmfao

[@mostlyghostey]

I recently repaired my childhood GBA because you inspired me too! An easy fix: a clean and replaced button membranes but I hope to install an IPS screen sometime in the near future! Thank you for your videos Elliot! ❤️

[@mostlyghostey]

@yuriiXD oof.

[@weegeenumberone2]

@yuriiXD Go back to KZbin Kids

[@Strashky]

just getting those ribbon cables through that tiny hinge piece took me 4 hours when i did a camera replacement on my N3DS, since i was too stubborn to take the screen and speaker ribbon cables out and had to wedge that one ribbon cable around the others with limited movement since i never took the screen out. dont blame you for cursing, its hell.

[@McQueen05.......]

Thanks for watching.. Congratulations for you've ve selected among our shortlisted winner.,Dm the telegram handle ⬆️to claim your prize 🎁

[@Bagu_Art]

I've been working on 2 of these for a little while and I've sorta figured something out about the top ribbon cables. I found that it is MUCH easier to just slide the camera one through first on its own since it goes on the outside of all 3 cables. Then, basically flip the camera ribbon up so its out of the way (kinda like how it is at 7:28) and it will leave a nice opening for the other ribbons to be fed through. You can actually do all 3 of them one by one as long as you put them in the right order. If I remember right, it's camera (black ribbon) on the outside (outside being the outside of the curl), then shorter orange, then longer orange. It still isnt EASY but its way easier and probably a bit safer than getting all 3 through the hinge at once. I tend to do the screen and speaker ribbons together cause of those two little connectors that attaches them (those ones at 5:50) its still super nerve wracking but hopefully this helps someone do this repair with a little less stress :) Ive had to undo these 2 that I have like 10 times now for testing different components and swapping stuff out and it's definitely helped me.

[@bdillmore40]

Wow Elliot. Bravo man! My hat goes off to you! That looked very stressful, and confusing taking apart! I believe you when you say it's hard taking them apart.

[@anon_y_mousse]

I absolutely hate ribbon cables, and I will never open one of these devices ever because of what I just saw. Great work on your part and I applaud your determination because I would never have the patience. Especially after how many ribbon cables I've torn.

[@colinmalone1405]

Oh man! Thank you so much for this video!! I have to do my own screen repair. I got it all open and read about the ribbon cable mess and closed it back up for another time lol. With your video as guidance I'm going to give it another go! Love your videos dude!!!!!

[@whitebeartigtig]

Great video! With the knowledge that the bottom screen isn't that bad to replace, it might make my search for a N3DS XL with dual IPS screens a little easier if I can just put the bottom one there myself. Finding a bottom IPS screen could be difficult though.

[@xmetal280]

I've rebuilt a few Gameboys and a DS Lite, and I just pray that my 3DS XL never dies because I do not want to do this repair, ever. I still have nightmares from feeding that coiled screen cable through the hinge of the DS. It boggles my mind how companies can produce these kind of devices at scale, the factory workers are wizards.

[@tomellerman2742]

I have an original 3DS XL I managed to drop in a moment of crisis and the hinge is gone. It has all my Pokémon games on there and I shed a tear every time I see it languishing in my drawer 🤣

[@aroma1620]

Saving this video for when I do the shell swapping of my new 3ds xl. This is great reference material! Thank you lots.

[@harrisnmusic]

Yeah these things are absolute nightmares to work on. I remember all I wanted to do to mine was clean the bottom of the screen, but I kept causing more problems as I disassembled. It now sits in a drawer in my closet half working

[@warioscousin]

Everytime I watch this channel I feel like I'm some sort of super tech genius.

[@Jimbles.]

Loving the back and better than ever content, really missed your regular uploads

[@merman1974]

Great work, I love how much is crammed into a DS/3DS.

[@PhoticSneezeOne]

Kudos to your skill and patience Elliot. I stopped repairing 3DS´ a long time ago. Indeed they are a NIGHTMARE to work on.

[@TheMegatron673]

out of all the game console repairs i've seen, nothing to me has seem more of a nightmare than reballing a ps3 cpu or replacing them nec/token caps.

[@A_Bottle-Of_Orange_Crush]

I love that shiny blue case. I have the gray launch N3DSXL and love it, but that blue looks really nice.

[@kamealex]

You may not like the ribbon cables, but you are a master at plugging them. And yes, I know there is a lot of editing, but just by watching to the "good ones" I can tell you are reaaally skilled.

[@Evercade_Effect]

Fantastic job and so kind of you to help someone out.

[@BeefJerkey]

I've done a DSi XL repair, with no prior experience. Yes, getting the ribbon cables back through the hinge was definitely the worst part. After I finally managed to get them through, I thought they'd be broken by then, but somehow they weren't.

[@N68dodgeboy]

I love how at 10:40 he says very quietly "subscribe plz"

[@silverywingsagain]

You're a champ, great repair! People love to rag on Nintendo for their minimalist handhelds, but each one is really an engineering masterpiece. That said I've noticed the LEDs in the top screen of my New 3DS XL getting dimmer after many years and I'm not looking forward to this replacement.

[@tonytheriault1186]

The top screen was broken, but I had a Rorschach moment. Those broken screens always make me think of black ink, and I swear I saw a few Bonsai trees on a weird mountain at night. It's at the 11 second mark, so it's not that hard to find.

[@Shnupbups]

I have this same model of 3DS that needs a replacement circle pad... I've never been brave enough to attempt to fix it myself, and have no idea where I could get it fixed nowadays. Sad, I loved that thing!

[@FaithPixel]

This video made me feel super relaxed, thank you!

[@Serious5GamingS5G]

"How many ribbon cables do you want on the New Nintendo 3DS XL?" Nintendo: *"yes"*

[@iSeeEZEkill]

Ive never clicked a video faster. I love when you upload fan restorations.

[@DreamDaddie]

I always believed in you, Elliot. I wouldn’t have had the patience for taking a 3ds apart. I still have trauma from taking apart a ds lite

[@MyNameIsJackk]

do more of this kind videos with chill music and repairing

[@zacil1234]

Love the chill vibes in this video. I'll probably fall asleep to it tonight.

[@kshah97]

You did a great job, idk why shops stopped fixing old consoles :”)

[@aaronc.brewster6527]

I love both of your channels. Go you, go Elliott

[@MilaNavi]

I loved the mr Sheen at the end. So much nostalgia

[@indy5280]

I’ve had one of these get fixed as there was dust between the digitizer and screen. They forgot to plug in the L button ribbon cable. It either went to Nintendo. Or the game store sent it to a third party repair shop

[@thataintplum]

I appreciate you....I personally love my NEW 3DS XL...#Respect....I've had mine for 6yrs + ....the top screen is just a little wiggly

[@hawkfeather6802]

New 3ds have sooo many ribbon cables! I've been helping my friend fix his and trying to get all the ribbons plugged back in is really hard.

[@HustlerHorstRuediger]

Lol. I just bought that very same new 3ds with a broken top screen and was going to atempt fixing it next month. I'll use this as my tutorial.

[@RC32Smiths01]

I simply know who to look to if I need something of a nintendo console fixed. Very nice and generous of you here. Cheers

[@sakurLOL]

Poor 3ds, but good that you fixed it for him!

[@kevintappminville195]

The music is so warm and calming. Sad it loops so quickly... Still makes me want to play MineCraft rolled up in a nice cosy with a woodfire and unlimited hot chocolate.

[@Cooperage911]

Nice work Elliot !

[@Ricar2002YT]

Ah, I got this exact same model for free when I bought some 3ds games from a lady, she said she was going to throw it away before offering it to me. It has a cracked top screen, similar to how it looks on your video. Hopefully I'll be able to repair it soon, gotta save money for the replacement.

[@RisingRevengeance]

I've never worked on 3ds systems before, much more well built than I had expected.

[@Anreii]

Watching this after trying to fix my childhood 3ds I broke years ago, seems to all work now except the mic and the home button have stopped working lol...

[@cirkulx]

This video feels a lot more like it was from the channel 3 years ago. It's peaceful... I like it.

[@pimpedoutstereos9747]

I’ve replaced the thumbstick and ribbon cables for the shoulder buttons on my original 3ds and that wasn’t too bad but I can’t say I’d wanna do anymore work than that on any 3ds. Not a fan of fluffing around with ribbon cables

[@ajfromca]

Great video as usual, but that music made me want to go to sleep lol.

[@nubatman]

This repair has me staring at my failed attempt on my 2ds xl. I either have to reseat the top screen ribbon or buy another screen.

[@rmgb-tv]

The New 3DS XL is my favourite piece of Nintendo hardware ever. Even the way its put together is premium. Thanks for doing this and to the person who donated the money

[@grantm902]

D-pad is expected to see frequent impact and flexing, whereas cartridge slot isn't, and dependable connections for data access are more critical.

[@xChaoLan]

Finally Mr Sheen is back on the channel let's goo

[@Legatus_cubing]

I caught this before I got a notification love these vids.

[@weltvonoben]

Great Work!

[@Mkgamer_2]

Modding a new model of 3ds is vary usefull for making videos sincs they can video capture over the local network

[@UnknownArab_64]

Holy mother of Jesus, what happened

[@sakurLOL]

Bro slipped lol

[@Linkclouds.]

hey nice work! working on Nintendo Switches is definitely easier than the 3DS so I'm glad everything work out.

[@TheBlackbird95]

I have a Nintendo DSi to challenge you with lol 🤣🤔 I think it needs a completely new motherboard as the error message shows up when I turn it on. Would you be up for the challenge?? 😅😅 Also, loving the content, Elliott!! Keep it up!!

[@sheriffcowboythecountrywol4465]

Dang thats bad i have the older 3dsxl and after nearly 10 years later my top screen broke would not come on and im sad it did that its been adult owned and taken well care of now iv got two choices i either find a new working or a parts 3dsxl and fix it i havent taken one apart so fixing gonna be hard but im willing to try if i can a broken parts 3dsxl

[@Phoenixwizard77]

I'm new to the game repair and modding hobby. The GB DMG and GBA ribbon cables stress me out. I'm pretty sure I'd drop into fetal position after opening the 3DS XL. Haha

[@kjbyrd1113]

Oh boy a good old fashioned repair video, thanks for the entertainment

[@McQueen05.......]

Thanks for watching.. Congratulations for you've ve selected among our shortlisted winner.,Dm the telegram handle ⬆️to claim your prize 🎁

[@ItzTeranex]

Now I want my Pokemon X and Y special edition 3DS XL repaired 😭

[@joeyharrington1863]

Gotta shout out the Mr. Sheen, love it.

[@crispin5741]

Haven't seen Mr Sheen in a while. Good to see he is still in the game.

[@McQueen05.......]

Thanks for watching.. Congratulations for you've ve selected among our shortlisted winner.,Dm the telegram handle ⬆️to claim your prize 🎁

[@-Hazard-]

Where did you get the top screen from? I've been trying to find a seller that sells good quality screens that top one looks to be ips but I did only catch a glimpse of it so I could be mistaken. Nice video as always hope to see more 3ds fixes in the future!

[@qwobot]

im honesryy so sleep depriced wnd tired rn your voice sounds like god

[@trevorrandom]

Nice work 👍

[@TheSkaldenmettrunk]

Oh the nighrtmare handheld. Greqt job!

[@lmao7887]

Hi. I broke the latch that secures the digitizer to make the touchscreen work at 8:56 . is there anything i can do to fix? ive tried tape but its hard to tape that specific part with all the other cables in the way. if i replace the motherboard will my save data be gone?

[@TheInsanemonkeyboy]

Elliot maybe you can help me. I want to do custom color buttons for the OLD 3DS XL. Regardless what is typed in Google NEW 3DS XL buttons show up. I know they are completely different but can I use OLD 3DS custom buttons on a OLD 3DS XL? The only colors I see for the OLD 3DS XL are black, white, gold and pink. I don't understand why there aren't custom buttons for the OLDER 3DS XL. The center buttons are stuck to those colors but the directional and A,B,X,Y. I have to repair the shell and want to customize it while it's apart.

[@ilhamkharismawan9357]

I really want to see hinge fix/replacement of new 3ds xl

[@felipealba9664]

How did it start working that was so good you did great

[@Timmiiverse]

Mr Sheen cleaning all that grit.

[@RoseT20]

Is there any way you can show a video on how to fix a DS lite hinge? Mine is broken on one side that it cannot stand on its own.

[@Gnerdyy]

Got a red x&y 3ds as a gift and between a move, one the screens cracked and now it won't show it power on. Just turns on for a second and then off. Guess it's time to be like Elliot and stress-fix this bad boy.

[@fluffycritter]

I feel like someone needs to start counting every time Elliot says “small little” and keep a running tally.

[@The_Non-One]

Nice to see a high-quality version of this repair job. All the other videos out there look pretty tacky. Ifixit is somewhat helpful but the version up is hard to follow. This is perfection

[@baskapteijn]

Cool video and cool music! How can I find more of this music?

[@theodoretekkers]

The music is quite nice and relaxing

[@McQueen05.......]

Thanks for watching.. Congratulations for you've ve selected among our shortlisted winner.,Dm the telegram handle ⬆️to claim your prize 🎁

[@_Vanith_]

Ah the little black stuff that's on the screen also happened to my 3ds and I don't even know how it cracked.

[@aaronclark8877]

Been there and got the t-shirt. Never again.... Lol. Great work as usual... The 2DS is a doddle compared to this...

[@yeetchicken420]

Hello Elliot long time fan. I just did my first Nintendo mod installing an ips screen and shell swapping a GBA SP similar to the video you done. I used my childhood GBA and I think the power switch is a bit dirty cause it sometimes doesn't turn on with the first attempt. Just wondering if you would recommend dripping some IPA in their to clean it out like I've seen you do on the older gameboys? Or does it not work the same? Anyone else know? Thanks.

[@steinerdaniel1992]

Hey Elliot, the background music is awesome - would you mind sharing the title and artist?

[@Aritlv]

How to fix the thing where lower screen is black no damage just black lower screen

[@simone0406]

Were i can found a grey top and bottom shell of my n3ds xl?

[@_dom_97]

Jesus the amount of ribbon cables

[@RCM442]

Love the music you picked for this!

[@cruzeforce]

this video is chill

[@rufust33333333333333]

Her look a crane bird is up top of the new 3ds screen 😂

[@willrobinson7599]

Way too much effort for me to do. Well done elliot

[@kevanswaffles]

8:17 You should spray the cloth instead 😅

[@riskgabe9976]

I had a 3ds once. It was a red one my cousin broke the screen by dropping it on the floor. Only the top screen broke

[@garry5280]

Good job. You should consider using gloves while working on things like this to keep oil off of the fine pitch connectors.

[@Sylveon9021]

I have a broken original 2011 3ds with the blue light but no screen the screen just stays black no backlight internet light no 3d light nothing I’ve tried replacing the battery removing the sd card and putting it back in even removing the wifi card and putting it back in wich apparently fixed the issue for other people but not me any advice for what i can do

[@Sylveon9021]

I actually fixed it by unplugging the top screen image ribbon cable and camera ribbon cable but the sd card slot broke and my switch dock fell on the top screen and destroed it the thing refused to boot if the image cable for the top screen was plugged in anyway so the screen displayed nothing anyway but i completely destroyed the thing by one of the speakers landing on some touchpoints on the motherboard while the battery was in and the thing turned off with a pop and the blue light didnt come back on so oh well it had a good run