Your “broken” Switch Pro Controller Is Probably Fine, Actually
Joy-Cons are great for what they are, but they have big drawbacks. Aside from their infamous drift issues , controllers are far from ideal to hold, especially if you have large hands and tiny buttons that make precise gameplay difficult. The Switch Pro controller eliminates many of these issues. At $70, it’s a little pricey (albeit cheaper than the two new Joy-Cons), but it’s a great gaming device that lives up to the “pro” label. Provided it works.
When your $70 investment suddenly stops working, it’s no fun. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the game is over. It might start like this: you press the HOME button on the Pro controller, but nothing happens. The battery must be dead, right? So, you connect the controller to the Switch dock, but the charging indicator does not light up. Strange. Perhaps he is really dead and needs to be charged at night. The night comes and goes, but the charger still does not light up.
At this point, you can give up. Pro Controller clearly has some kind of defect. It’s time to pack it up, send it to Nintendo for repairs, and take care of the Joy-Cons until the Pro Controller gets fixed.
Except your Pro Controller might not be broken. The problem can be easily fixed – your Pro controller may simply disconnect from your Switch and it needs to be re-paired (not repaired ) to start working again.
How to fix a Switch Pro controller that won’t charge
To reconnect your Switch Pro controller, disconnect it from the dock, then press the SYNC button next to the charging port on the top of the controller. That’s all. With any luck, your controller will come back from the dead and retain the ability to both charge and power up and control your Switch.
This tip came to us from this Reddit thread , where user imnotgoats went through five stages of grief when their Pro Controller became unresponsive and was ready to open the device and replace its battery or board ( which iFixit would be happy to walk you through ). when they discovered that simply pressing the SYNC button was all it took.
This is an interesting issue because normally, plugging the Pro Controller into a docking station with the Switch attached will automatically pair the controller with the system. Why this process sometimes breaks is a mystery, but luckily the SYNC button is still there for wireless pairing purposes.
Alternative Solutions to Fix a Broken Pro Controller
If this SYNC button trick doesn’t work for you, rule out a few other factors before sending it in for repair or buying a new one. Check the USB cable you are using to connect the Pro Controller to the Switch Dock to make sure it works. Similarly, make sure you can charge other items using the Switch Dock itself, or check one of the other USB ports. Nintendo also recommends trying out a new dock if possible, but if you don’t have a friend nearby willing to lend you this isn’t a very realistic troubleshooting step.