To wirelessly connect your Joy-Cons to your Nintendo Switch, start by going into the Controllers menu. Then, select Change Grip/Order.

• Following this, press and hold (long-press) the “Sync” button on both Joy-Cons.
• The “Sync” buttons for the Joy-Cons are located on their respective flat sides between the SL and SR buttons.
• Now, let go of the “Sync” buttons.

Afterward, you must press the L button on the left Joy-Con (the one with the “-” symbol at the top) and the R button on the right Joy-Con (the one with the “+” symbol at the top).

Alternatively, you can use the ZL and ZR buttons at this point. Lastly, press the A button on the right Joy-Con to confirm the connection. This sets up your two Joy-Con controllers to work together as if they were one controller.

How to Connect Joy-Cons to Your Nintendo Switch with the Joy-Con Grip

This process works a bit differently if you’ve inserted your Joy-Cons into a Joy-Con grip. Instead of pressing the “Sync” buttons on each Joy-Con, you can press any button on either Joy-Con to get them to connect with your Nintendo Switch.

Following this, you still need to press either the L and R buttons or the ZL and ZR buttons. Lastly, like before, press the A button on the right Joy-Con to complete the connection.

How to Connect Joy-Cons to Your Nintendo Switch Separately

You can also connect each Joy-Con separately, which lets you use a pair of Joy-Cons as two controllers instead of one. To do this, go to the Controllers menu and then select Change Grip/Order.

• Then, long-press the “Sync” button on one of your Joy-Cons.
• After releasing the “Sync” button, press the SL and SR buttons on only that Joy-Con’s flat side.

This results in one Joy-Con being connected to your Nintendo Switch by itself. Do the same with your other Joy-Con and you’ll have two independent controllers connected to your Nintendo Switch.

This is a great way to locally play games with someone else without having to buy additional controllers. You can also connect your Joy-Cons to your PC, but the method of doing so requires using Bluetooth. If you want to connect your Joy-Cons to your Nintendo Switch in a non-wireless way, you have to slot the Joy-Cons into either side of your Nintendo Switch.

Grab your Nintendo Switch (the tablet part) and look at its left and right sides. You’ll see grooves on both sides. Hold the left Joy-Con so that its flat side is facing the left side of your Nintendo Switch.

Using a downward motion, slide the left Joy-Con gently into the top of your Nintendo Switch’s left groove. When it’s fully in place, you’ll hear a small click.

Do the same to the right Joy-Con on the right-side groove of your Nintendo Switch and you’re done! Now that your Joy-Cons are connected to the body of your Nintendo Switch, you can use it as a handheld console.