How to fix your DS / 3DS touch screen with a quick clean

How to fix your DS / 3DS touch screen with a quick clean.

Before you jump to the conclusion your Nintendo Handheld has gone faulty and send it off for repair, why not try our free tips on how to get the touch screen working again with a couple of simple household items.

• Clean the screen with a wet wipe - The first and most basic step is to give your touch screen a basic clean, the best thing to use here is a wet wipe, but try to avoid ones which are really wet. Gorilla wipes and builder’s wipes are great because they are designed to cut through all sorts of dirt and grime, plus they are usually not too wet. After cleaning try the touch screen and run through the calibration process (see steps below) if needed.
• Remove any screen protectors – If problems persist after giving the screen a clean with a wet wipe then the next step is to remove any screen protectors from the screens which are touch enabled. Old screen protectors can cause false activations on the touch screen panels, making calibration impossible, remove the old film and repeat step one. After the screens are nice and clean test the screens again and try to calibrate if needed.
• Clean the edges with a toothbrush – Still have an issue, try a deep clean around the edges of the touch screen panel with a toothbrush, any dirt and dust lodged in the edges can cause the touch screen calibration to be off. After cleaning the edges try the touch screen once more and try calibration if required.

How to calibrate your DS / 3DS touch screen

• From the consoles main menu navigate to System settings > other settings > touch screen.
• Use the stylus pen to touch the calibration points indicated on the screen starting from the top left corner, try to press them in the center as accurately as possible.
• If successful a confirmation message is shown, to complete the process press “ok” on the screen. If the calibration failed the calibration process restarts from the top left corner once more.

My DS / 3DS touch screen will not calibrate

If you have tried all the cleaning tips and calibration instructions in this guide and the screen will still not calibrate then it is likely that the touch screen is faulty and needs replacing. Fortunately touch screens are not too expensive, and there are many local repair shops that will do the repair for you if you are not confident in attempting the repair yourself.

If you are planning to try repairing the console yourself then be sure to carefully check your console model before ordering the touch screen as every Nintendo console uses a different touch screen, you can find replacement touch screens on our website under 3DS / DS spare parts.