If you have a Nintendo New 3DS from way back when, you might want to take a little more care of it from now on. Nintendo has announced that it’s ended repair support for the handheld almost 10 years after it was first released. Why? Because Nintendo has run out of spare parts to fix them.
This news comes from Nintendo's Japanese support team on X, announcing that repair support for the New 3DS ended on August 28. Effectively meaning that anyone who has a damaged or malfunctioning handheld won’t be able to get an official first party repair — even if you’re willing to pay for it.
修理に必要な部品の在庫がなくなりましたので、2024年8月28日をもって、Newニンテンドー3DS本体［KTR-001］の修理受付を終了いたしました。August 29, 2024
The company also confirmed that the 2DS and 3DS XL (or LL in Japan) are on borrowed time, with repair support also ending when the supply or replacement parts dries up. The 2DS XL/LL seems to be getting some reprieve, though spare part stocks won’t last forever.
It was only a matter of time before Nintendo stopped offering New 3DS repairs. The company stopped making all remaining handhelds back in 2020, and it doesn’t make sense to keep producing spare parts when the console isn’t on sale. And all of these handhelds are firmly out of the warranty period.
Plus, Nintendo has been slowly reducing the amount of support it offers for the 3DS line-up. The handheld’s online services were shut down earlier this year, and the eShop shut down in early 2023, meaning owners are restricted to playing physical cartridges or ads digital titles they’d already purchased.
If you have a New 3DS that gets damaged, or malfunctions in some way, your only hope is to find some other way to repair it or source a new handheld for yourself. Thankfully the self-repair community may be able to help you get what you need to fix a busted New 3DS yourself.
iFixit, arguably the biggest name in the self-repair community, sells the parts and tools you’d need to repair a New 3DS at home, alongside step-by-step guides on what you need to do. If you're not comfortable fixing things yourself then it means those resources are available to professional repair shops as well.
Just try and be more careful with your 3DS from now on, ok? Because you won’t have to worry about the hassle of getting stuff fixed if you keep it safe.
