As Nintendo begins to turn its handheld focus to its newly released Switch’s portable abilities and its newly announced New 2DS XL — that’s a lot of “new” — the company appears to be turning the page on an older handheld. Nintendo has revealed on its support website that it will “no longer offer factory repairs” for its six-year-old handheld.
This change only applies to the original 2011 version of the 3DS, which has gone on to spawn a number of permutations, like the New 2DS XL, that Nintendo will continue to repair. This means that anyone who owns a New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 3DS XL, or Nintendo 2DS can still get Nintendo to repair their handheld.
Nintendo dual-screen handheld owners who aren’t sure what version they have can check by flipping their unit over to the back. All original 3DS models have a serial number printed there that begins with the letters CW. For owners of malfunctioning original 3DS hardware who don’t want to upgrade to a newer handheld, Nintendo also offers a list of sources they can check for older Nintendo hardware like the launch 3DS.
