Update: Nintendo of America has issued the following statement to Ars Technica that seems to confirm much of what was shown in the original CNET report:

There is no design issue with the Joy-Con controllers, and no widespread proactive repair or replacement effort is underway. A manufacturing variation has resulted in wireless interference with a small number of the left Joy-Con. Moving forward this will not be an issue, as the manufacturing variation has been addressed and corrected at the factory level. We have determined a simple fix can be made to any affected Joy-Con to improve connectivity. There are other reasons consumers may be experiencing wireless interference. We are asking consumers to contact our customer support team so we can help them determine if a repair is necessary. If it is, consumers can send their controller directly to Nintendo for the adjustment, free of charge, with an anticipated quick return of less than a week. Repair timing may vary by region. For help with any hardware or software questions, please visit http://support.nintendo.com.

Original Story

After initial reviews of the Nintendo Switch noted widespread issues with the left Joy-Con occasionally losing its wireless connection to the console, hackers have found that opening up the controller and adding a simple piece of wire seems to increase its effective range greatly. Now, Nintendo is offering a similar fix to users who call in to its support line, and the company may be selling redesigned, fixed controllers at stores right now.

Over at CNET, writer Sean Hollister recounts his experience with Nintendo customer service, which he calls "just about the best electronics customer service I've ever experienced." After getting a free overnight shipping label for his controller after a weekend call, Hollister received his controller back in the mail just five days after sending it.

Opening up the fixed controller showed that Nintendo didn't have to do much to correct the connection issue. The only apparent difference is a small piece of black foam sitting on top of the corner of the controller board that houses the Bluetooth antenna trace.

Hollister and his colleagues at TechRepublic presume that this is a piece of metal-coated conductive foam, designed to lessen interference from outside sources (including the big metal joystick housing that sits right next to the antenna on the left Joy-Con). Hollister says the controller stops working when the foam is removed, suggesting the tiny fix is all that was really needed.

Hollister also went to the trouble of buying a new Joy-Con through Amazon, which sports a circuit board with a slightly different label than the launch unit. Though the Amazon controller didn't have any conductive foam covering the antenna trace, it worked without any connection issues in Hollister's tests, suggesting Nintendo may have fixed this issue in this new batch of retail controllers.

A Nintendo representative was not immediately available to respond to a request for comment from Ars Technica at press time. In a statement to CNET, Nintendo said that "there are no widespread technical problems" with the Switch hardware, and it affirmed its commitment to fix any issues through its support service. Nintendo also told BGR this week that "the total number of repair or replacement requests for Nintendo Switch, including for Joy-Con, is consistent with what we’ve seen for any new hardware Nintendo has launched."

Nintendo's online Switch troubleshooting guide currently recommends that users facing problems with their Joy-Con connection should turn off other wireless devices nearby and make sure the console isn't near other sources of interference, such as "pressed against a large amount of wires and cords, placed in or under a metal object, [or] near an aquarium." The troubleshooting guide doesn't say anything about sending the controller in for what seems to be a simple fix on Nintendo's end, and the company has yet to offer any sort of formal recall for the controllers.