How One Restorer Brought the Worst Nintendo 3DS XL Back From the Dead

Most people would have tossed the red Nintendo 3DS XL the moment they opened the package. Bought for twenty-seven pounds and already looking like it had spent years outdoors, the handheld arrived with a rusty hinge, a body that bulged open, no battery, and clear signs of serious water damage. Elliot of The Retro Future saw something worth saving instead.

Opening the rear cover reveals actual rust, the kind that takes a long time to accumulate after being left out in the elements, with no artificial “weathering” BS. Some screws were so tight that they required to be loosened using a Dremel, and things only got worse after that. The shoulder button connector has virtually pulled itself apart from the ribbon cable and the board. The SD card reader was shot, with thick clumps of rust caked on the motherboard, which had deformed slightly. The screens were dusty and dirty. The joysticks appeared to belong in a museum of broken pieces. The cameras were in a horrible state. The rubber portions had turned into mush. Threads in the shell had been removed completely. One look at the state of things made it clear how large of a task you were facing.

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Cleaning began with a thorough cleaning in an ultrasonic bath with some watch-cleaning solution for the metal components. Shell pieces soaked overnight in a solution of bicarbonate of soda and boiling water. To remove all of the filth, the boards and other pieces required to be scrubbed with hot soapy water and then wiped off with isopropyl alcohol. Vinegar baths and a baking soda paste applied with a toothbrush were required to remove the most persistent corrosion. Some of the chrome plating on the screws had worn so thin that it could no longer be saved, necessitating the replacement of new ones. However, the idea was not to make it look like it had just rolled off the assembly line.

Almost every critical component needed to be removed and replaced. A replacement motherboard from Japan, which costs roughly £50, was first on the list. New displays, ribbon cables, shoulder buttons, joysticks and covers, volume sliders, cameras, a microphone, a touchscreen, and a new battery came next. Aftermarket shell pieces were necessary to fill in the gaps where the original plastic had nearly collapsed. Small 3D printed tabs replaced the broken light-pipe mounts. Swapping so much out was a matter of practicality. Water-damaged components cannot simply be wiped away.

Buttons were functional again, and the touchscreen responded to input. The cameras were ready to go now. The left and right triggers had returned to normal. The 3D slider still did not work, which is a shame because it is linked to the aftermarket screen rather than the actual problem. Later on, certain software updates would remove the Japanese region lock, allowing it to play a variety of titles.

The finished 3DS XL retains the original shell’s weathered appearance, but it now functions like a normal system. Elliot placed it in a clear container, resulting in a great playable console as well as a silent little museum piece, serving as a reminder of what happens when you leave a system out to get wet for months on end. Some of the online restoration videos you see make the broken system appear to be as good as new with just a wash down and some water, but this thing was not going to recover from being left out in the weather for so long. Over time, sun and rain will leave scars.