If you have Joy-Cons at home that are lying around unused, you may have noticed that they never seem to be charged when you actually want to use them. That’s because Joy-Cons can’t be turned off, only put into stand-by.
This means they are constantly in contact with your console (or at least trying to be) and can also be activated from the console. As a result, the battery will be drained, and Joy-Cons that are left for a long time will therefore run out of charge completely – which is a horror scenario for batteries that often lose some or even all capacity and can also bulge and thus physically destroy your Joy-Con.
This is of course unfortunate with a new Nintendo device around the corner. Should all Joy-Cons be destroyed in a few years when they have been unused since you upgraded your Nintendo hardware? Not necessarily. Because Joy-Cons can be turned off – but not without external software.
A Resetera user now suggests the Nintendo Switch Controller (Joy-Con) Shut Down programme (pretty self explanatory title) that can be used for this purpose, and there’s even a video showing how it works, when they’re reset to the same state as when you buy them. It’s worth noting that this only works with official Joy-Cons and any other accessories may even be damaged by doing so.
But if you want to be able to preserve your Joy-Cons in the future, it’s still a good tip to keep in mind.