Two pairs of mine started to drift, both the left sticks and one right stick. I took them apart, which is quite easy, and replaced them. I took apart the actual stick and honestly these sticks look dirt cheap to manufacture and there's no way to actually fix them because they're meant to scratch on these two black strips inside and they WILL become worn overtime and cause drifting. The cleaning fix is only temporary and the problem will come back. The only solutions are to replace the sticks, send them to Nintendo to get them fixed, or buy a new pair. Luckily the sticks are cheap and can be found on Amazon and eBay.

EDIT: I should clarify that every control stick on any controller is viable to drifting issues but the problem the Joy-Cons are facing is very specific to the way these sticks function and are manufactured. AND if you're experiencing drift I'd suggest doing the cleaning fix because it may very well be just dirt caught up in inside and that's why it's drifting. Try the easiest solution first then try the other solutions if it doesn't work.

Rather than replacing analog sticks or entire joycons, have you tried just cleaning the analog stick with some alcohol and a cotton swab?

It takes about 5-10 minutes.

What some of you guys are doing is akin to replacing your toaster because there are crumbs in it.

Agreed. If anybody's experiencing this issue, they should start with the easiest solution first. Sometimes it is just dirt. But the manufacturing flaw is still present so that's why you should look into replacing it if cleaning it doesn't work.

My launch grey joycons are just fine. Early last year I picked up the neon red/blue pair, and my left one recently began to drift.

My pro controller has no problems.

For me it DID take some time cleaning it, I had to be fairly thorough: not just 20-30 seconds, but about 5-10 minutes. But I have had no issues since.

There is definitely some kind of flaw, the sticks shouldn't behave this way from dirt. The point I am trying to make is that it's easily fixable for about the equivalent of 0.05 USD.

I mean look at his avatar. I read every one of his posts in Rocket's voice because it just fits so well.

I would say, however, that it isn't a Switch issue so much as it is a Switch control stick issue. Whatever Nintendo did with the control sticks this gen, they need to fix it ASAP. I have this nice Zelda themed third party one that mimics a Gamecube controller and it has no problems, but all my other controllers have drift in both sticks. I've tried some of the easy fixes, but I'm afraid to try the more complex repairs on my own. The videos I've seen make the insides around the stick look very fragile. I might eventually get desperate enough to try though, worst that happens is I break it and need to buy a new one, but since I can't use it anyway as is, no loss there. I'll do it if I ever get enough friends in my area to actually do local multiplayer.

I'd hate to have to do the repair on a Pro controller though, that's an expensive thing to fuck up on. Besides, it's pretty bullshit that we have to resort to these measures anyway. Some people are saying that people with this problem need to just fix the controllers they have, but I've owned consoles since the third gen, and this is the first console from any company that I've had the controllers just break like this (with the exception of the ones I broke when I was pissed...). Bottom line is we shouldn't have to do this. I think it's pretty justifiable to be pissed here. Fiesty, even.

I had this a while ago, replaced a stick with a cheapo one from Amazon or Ebay, they have tiny ribbon cables inside which a heavy hand could damage, but if you know anyone in your family or friends who deals with IT support of laptops or mobile devices ask them to do it for you, will set you back 3-5e rather than 40 for a new JoyCon

Also I will mention that I replaced my left joycon with this amazing one by Hori about a year ago and haven't went back since, it has a lovely big dpad rather than the buttons of the standard Joycon, it doesn't have wireless of any kind though and it has no rumble so if that's a negative for you keep in mind that there's a few limits to this, but they're rather cheap, come in Zelda, Mario and a Pikachu edition, really worth checking out if you want a Joycon with Dpad and they're made by Hori, the company who made the GC SNES controllers as well as many other cool pads over the years.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-Nintendo-Licensed-Version-Switch/dp/B07FSWM4Z2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NF703R9UNY69&keywords=hori+joycon&qid=1563494856&s=gateway&sprefix=hori+joy%2Cvideogames%2C126&sr=8-1

I'm glad I decided not to get a Pro controller for this very reason then.

Yeah I understand and I totally agree, it is easily fixable if your problem is just dirt. The underlying issue is how the Joy-Cons function and manufactured. There's a mechanical flaw that every Joy-Con stick has and until Nintendo fixes it with a different stick configuration there will be no end to this issue.

Depending on your hours of play, how aggressive you are with the sticks and whether or not you even use the sticks often in games and other factors all determine whether or not you're going to have the issue and how bad the issue will be for you. Some people might not have it simply because they don't really play that often or they're gentle with it, but the flaw is still there for every Joy-Con and overtime it will become apparent.

Tried it earlier today and the drift got better. I'll be doing it again to see if it stops fully.