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Nintendo's upgraded version of the Nintendo 3DS. It features bigger screens, longer battery life, better pixel density, and a better design.

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Why does my hinge behaves so weirdly?

I bought a 3ds-xl with a broken hinge. It is my first 3ds-xl so I have literally zero idea on how shall it behave, and as the original had the hinge missing I have nothing to compare or as a reference.

The problem I am getting is that the 3ds hold the screen very good when the console is closing, but not at all when is open, like in this figure:

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My feeling is that I installed it wrong, but I am not sure why have I installed wrong (Do I need to have shells open or closed when installing?).

Other possibility is that the hinge is faulty, I did install a 3ds-xl, but I wonder if the new 3ds hinge would be compatible and feel better, or perhaps is not compatible, it is hard to say from pictures from sellers.

Also installing the hinge was extemely complicated, as it did not enter easily, and had to use water pump pliers (slip joint) to be able to press it. If you take this route, protect the shell with a piece of leather.

Any advice or information, or better a video of a unmodified 3ds behaving would be appreciated. Thank you.

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I believe the hinge mechanism is not cross compatible between iterations. When installing/reinstalling the hinge barrel it should not have required excessive force. It's the angle of the lid in relation to the console that has to be just right. If the angle is correct the hinge barrel will/should pop into place with finger/hand strength. The video looks to me like the something is missing, misaligned, or broken, either way yes clearly incorrect. You will likely need to start over again, double check to ensure that your source for info on how to do it properly is correct. Remember the angle of the top screen in relation to the console body when inserting the hinge barrel is key.

There is a spot past "fully opened" where there should be a little bit of play/looseness but what you have there is way too much play.

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At the moment, it has a 3ds-xl hinge. When installing, I try to match the white protuberance of the piece, with the gap that exist in the other piece.

The guide I follow is this (at the hinge time): https://youtu.be/ulwjPQ_Ntro?t=713 however, in no way was that easy to insert at all. I spend more than 30 minutes trying to get it, before I actually went for the pliers.

I think it was installed with the lid closed, but can't recall.

Also the hinge initially didn't open completely only mid way, after a moderate push, it made a click, and it is now in the current state.

I am pretty sure it is broken/wrongly installed, but I would like to gather more info, before opening, because it is such a pain to open...

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@calamari8860 Yeah even in the video you linked you can see how "easily" it just popped into place for him. As I was saying it should not have required pliers or excessive force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUUF84Wf...

At around the 8:17 mark. See how the lid is angled and how it just pops into place? Every 3ds xl I've worked required having the upper and lower parts angled just right to create a "sweet spot" where the hinge "pin" will pop in without much force applied. If it doesn't pop in easily then you have the angle wrong. In your case you brute forced it in despite the angle being wrong. It is possible you broke something. It is also somewhat possible that simply redoing (but "correctly") might fix it. I know it's a pain, I love 3ds but that hinge...blech.

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