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Backstory & Context
If you’ve been in the handheld modding space for a while, you already know the name ExtremeRate. They’ve long been the go-to brand for replacement shells, buttons, and custom housings across almost every major handheld and console.
We’ve loved their work for years — from the original Switch through to the Steam Deck — and I’ve personally been running one of their transparent housings on my OG 2017 LCD Switch for nearly seven years now. That same housing has survived daily use, travel, and even one dramatic drop from chest height, with nothing more than a faint hairline crack to show for it.
So, when ExtremeRate announced Switch 2 support, we were genuinely excited. It’s been a while since they’ve had to reinvent their formula — but honestly, they didn’t need to. Their designs have always been at the top of their class, and the new Switch 2 housings are no exception.
Ordering & Shipping
ExtremeRate sent us a pair of Replacement Full Set housing kits at no cost for review. Once we started planning our builds, we realised we wanted to do something a little different — aiming for a clean “OEM+” style on my Clear unit. That meant pairing a clear shell with Nintendo’s original black buttons and, more importantly, a black D-Pad.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option at checkout. The full set arrived with a clear D-Pad, and ExtremeRate don’t sell black D-Pads separately. That meant we had to buy an entire black Joy-Con housing kit (around $35 AUD) just to get that single part. A bit of a headache, but worth it for the final look we wanted. Most people won’t run into this — the included colour-matched D-Pads look great — but if you’re chasing something super specific, it’s good to know.
ExtremeRate’s site makes it possible to mix and match every component. Want a red console backplate with blue Joy-Cons and pink buttons? You can do it — but you’ll need to order each piece individually. We love that this level of flexibility exists, even if it’s a little fiddly when trying to get that exact combination. A small improvement we’d love to see would be button kits in black, which would save a few extra orders if you’re aiming for an OEM+ style.
Shipping itself was surprisingly fast — around a week and a half from order to delivery. The kits traveled from China to Australia before being handed off to AusPost for the final leg, which is faster than many local retailers. If you’d rather avoid international shipping altogether, ExtremeRate products are also stocked locally on Amazon AU, often with quicker delivery times, however the costs can be slightly higher and you miss out on all of the customisation options you have ordering directly from ExtremeRate.
ExtremeRate has also offered us a discount code. Just use "HandheldSpace" at checkout.
Installation & Difficulty
Let’s be clear: this isn’t a simple swap. Like the original Switch, replacing the housings on the Switch 2 requires a complete teardown of both the Joy-Cons and the console rear shell. Our in-house mods team handled the installation, which took around three hours to complete.
The bulk of that time was spent on the controllers, with each Joy-Con taking a little over an hour to rebuild. While our team found the Switch 2 Joy-Cons slightly easier to work with than the originals—thanks to fewer hidden clips, better screw placement, and a cleaner internal layout—it remains a moderate-to-high difficulty modification.
This brings us to our most important piece of advice: use a guide. Our technicians skipped the guide because the process is so similar to the original Joy-Cons they've done countless times. But this is a classic case of "do as we say, not as we do." For anyone without that extensive experience, a guide is essential.
Thankfully, ExtremeRate provides a solid, step-by-step video guide on their YouTube channel. Following one will make the process much smoother. If you take your time and follow the instructions, the mod is certainly achievable for anyone with at least some experience working with small electronics.
Fit, Finish & Build Quality
Once we started putting everything together, things went surprisingly smoothly. The finish on both our Clear and Cherry Blossoms Pink housings is excellent — smooth, consistent, and true to colour. ExtremeRate’s range is genuinely massive at this point; there’s something for everyone, so building something that feels personal doesn’t take much effort.
That said, there are a few quirks worth mentioning — not dealbreakers, but things worth knowing before you start.
The first is that some of the button cutouts are ever so slightly larger than the originals. That means the capture and home buttons have just a touch more wiggle than OEM. It’s practically unnoticeable in day-to-day use — my partner didn’t even pick up on it with the pink unit — but it’s one of those tiny things you spot once you’ve had the shell apart.
The decorative screw strip covers along the sides also fit a little loose unless you use the included adhesive. We skipped it on the transparent model to keep things clean, so that one’s partly on us, but it’s worth being aware of.
Neither of our kits included the metal cartridge retention clip pre-installed. You’ll need to peel (or carefully cut) the original one off and re-glue it to the new flap. It’s a small thing, but it’s also my biggest gripe with the kit — it’s a bit tedious, and it means you’re damaging your original shell in the process. On the clear build, I just reused my original cartridge flap and it looks perfect, but for the pink one, we did move the clip over.
And finally, the big one: Joy-Con wobble.
After full assembly, our Switch 2 had a little more flex between the console and Joy-Cons than before. It’s not catastrophic, but it’s there. Using something like the Savage Raven Standgrip completely eliminates it, but if you prefer to run the console bare, you’ll probably feel a small difference.
The D-Pad Mod
ExtremeRate’s optional D-Pad mod for the left Joy-Con 2 is, without exaggeration, fantastic.
It’s tactile, accurate, and clicky without being loud — everything Nintendo’s four-button layout should have been. It genuinely improves gameplay, especially for platformers and fighters, and is easily one of the best quality-of-life upgrades you can make to a Switch 2.
In terms of just being a great D-Pad, it really is — one of the best I’ve ever felt. Super satisfying to use.
While most shell swaps are purely cosmetic, this is a rare exception that adds real, functional improvement. It’s such a game-changer that I’d honestly do the D-Pad mod even if I wasn’t changing the console’s colour at all. It’s that good.
As a small note for anyone picky about colour, the D-Pad comes colour-matched with your chosen kit. If you’re trying to achieve a specific “OEM+” look with black buttons like I did, you may need to do a little extra sourcing or purchase the black D-Pad Joy-Con kit — something I had to do for my build. For most people, though, the included colour-matched D-Pad will be perfect, and it looks excellent straight out of the box.
In Use
Once everything was built and buttoned up, the result was honestly gorgeous.
My Clear build gives off that perfect OEM+ vibe — the kind of design you could genuinely imagine Nintendo releasing as a limited edition. I love it so much that the extra effort to track down and purchase the exact black buttons I wanted was absolutely worth it. My partner’s Cherry Blossoms Pink build, paired with pink button kit, looks equally stunning.
Both consoles feel premium in hand. The surfaces are smooth, the colours pop, and aside from the tiny fit tolerances we mentioned earlier, the housings completely transform the look and feel of the Switch 2. The D-Pad mod, in particular, isn’t just a cosmetic upgrade — it’s an actual functional improvement. It’s tactile, clicky, and precise in a way that genuinely elevates gameplay. Honestly, I’d do the D-Pad mod even if I wasn’t changing the console’s colours at all.
And although it might sound silly, these mods have made a seemingly generic, off-the-shelf product feel uniquely mine. There’s a little spark of joy every time I pick up my fully customised Switch 2 — it just feels… cool. There’s no other way to explain it.
Installation Service (If You’d Rather Not DIY)
For anyone who isn’t comfortable attempting this mod yourself, our repair and mod centre can handle the installation.
We want to be clear upfront: this isn’t cheap. A full housing swap takes roughly three hours at $129/hr, which quickly pushes the total into the early $400s AUD once you factor in shipping and handling. The main reason isn’t mark-up — it’s the time required. Even mods that seem simple at first glance can be surprisingly labour-intensive, and this is one of those cases. That’s why we don’t actively promote professional installation; just hearing a quote can be a bit of a sticker shock for most people.
That said, there are ways to shave a little time (and cost) if you’re careful. On my clear unit, for example, I kept the battery in the original black frame instead of moving it to the new clear frame, and I reused the original cartridge flap so I didn’t need to transfer and reglue the metal retention bracket. These small choices saved roughly 20 minutes of labour — but even with little time-savers like this, the mod remains expensive. I imagine that for most people, this price would not be worth cost.
Final Verdict
ExtremeRate’s Switch 2 housings aren’t perfect — but honestly, they don’t need to be.
They’re the best on the market by a clear margin and the only option we’d confidently recommend right now. The tolerances could be slightly tighter, the cartridge flap clip could be pre-installed, and checkout customisation could be expanded — but these are minor quibbles compared to the overall quality, finish, and feel. The shells themselves are excellent, and ExtremeRate has proved time and time again that they’re the leader in this space.
The D-Pad mod alone makes these kits worth doing. It’s a functional upgrade that genuinely improves the Switch 2 experience, not just a cosmetic tweak. And if you’re chasing a handheld that feels truly personal, this is hands-down the best way to achieve it.
Is it an easy mod? No. But if you have experience with similar electronics or are comfortable with a teardown and rebuild, it can absolutely be worth it. Any niggles we encountered — like skipping the supplied adhesive or the inherent difficulty of installation — are either our choices or just part of working with Nintendo’s design.
Both of our Switch 2s now feel more ours than ever — sleek, personal, and elevated beyond the stock experience. That’s exactly what a great mod should do.
All in all, these kits are an easy recommend.
Where to Buy
🇦🇺 Australia: You can grab one from Amazon AU
🌎 Worldwide: Try ExtremeRate— that’s where we ordered ours, it's also a little cheaper over Amazon and they have a myriad of customisation options there.
They've also given us a discount code for readers to use, that's "HandheldSpace" at checkout, too.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you buy something—at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we’ve personally tested and actually use ourselves. Prices listed are just a snapshot of what they were at the time of writing and may change.
We purchased this bundle ourselves at full retail price. We have no affiliation with Skull & Co. or Savage Raven — we've never even spoken to them.
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