Strange 3DS Audio Adjustment Issue

Hey, ya’ll! I’ve been watching some video game console repair videos and I have been absolutely fascinated by them. They’ve got me thinking about all the things that I could repair in my house.

There’s just one problem haven’t been able to figure out…

My quirky childhood 3DS.

It has this strange problem where the volume adjuster will not adjust the volume. But here’s the kicker: the 3D adjuster actually does change the audio volume. However, it slowly fades into a louder or quieter volume instead of instantly adjusting to the new volume. I also don’t think the max volume quite reaches that of a normal 3DS since I recall other 3DSs being louder when I had them next to each other, but that was in my childhood and I don’t personally own any other 3DSs so I could be remembering wrong.

This issue has been present ever since we bought it second hand back in 2013 (I’m estimating, I’d have to ask my mom for a more accurate date as she’s the one who bought it). My best guess is that the previous owners had been inside it before and did… something… I’m very uncertain as to what that issue could be though, as I’ve never heard anybody talk about this specific issue before.

I don’t think I’ll be tackling this issue any time soon, as 3DSs look very intimidating to fix for a newbie like me. Especially this specific of an issue.

I am gonna have to crack it open eventually to at least clean it as the game slot is a little sticky and I have reason to believe that the infrared sensor might need some work too. I’m just asking now in case someone might be able to pinpoint a possible reason for this problem, cuz I’d love to know what might be the cause of this hilarious issue.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the 3DS in question is one of the original red ones, if that helps.

Thanks a bunch!