Fidget Slider Repair Guide: Magnets, Screws, Sticking

Fidget sliders are simple objects, so they fail in a few predictable ways. A magnet pops out of its pocket. A screw backs out. The slide goes gritty, the snap goes soft, or a bead stops clicking. Most of these are fixable, but the order you do things in matters: the wrong first move can turn a warranty claim into a repair you pay for.

Below: each fault, its usual cause, and what makers actually say to do. We only included fixes we could trace to a maker, a parts listing or a magnet supplier, checked in September 2026.

First, before you open anything

1. Collect every loose magnet. Count them against the empty pockets. Put them in a closed container, away from children and pets (more on why at the end).
2. Photograph the damage and find your order number. Novel Carry asks for a photo and the order number; TRB Creation asks for unboxing photos or video.
3. Check your warranty. Some makers exclude damage from taking the slider apart.
4. Note magnet orientation. If a magnet has come out, the pole it faced matters. Mark the exposed face with a pen before it flips.

Warranty and service: what makers offer

Only a few makers, like Magnus and Novel Carry, promise long-term defect coverage; most shops give you a short window from delivery. If your slider is new, report the fault as a defect before trying any fix below.

Symptom, cause and first fix

Magnet fell out

The fix depends on how your slider holds its magnets.

If your slider is designed for magnet swaps, this is routine. Magnus Fidgets publishes a "How To Replace Magnets In Your Fidget Slider" video on its product instructions page, and its magnet layout page explains the equidistant and non-equidistant layouts, which is useful for checking you've put magnets back in the right pockets. A YouTube tutorial from FidgetAllDay describes the usual accident: you pull a slider apart "and then your magnets go flying everywhere." The same video swaps the stock magnets for N52s in the corners of a Magnus slider so it "stays together better."

Some makers sell spares. FidgetThings lists a spare set of 16 6 × 2 mm N52 magnets for its S.O.B slider at $8, and a tuning kit of 16 thinner 6 × 1 mm N52 magnets with O-rings at $7 (FidgetThings).

If the magnet was glued in, go to the maker first. If that isn't possible, K&J Magnetics, a magnet supplier, says in its FAQ that it has had "great results using many kinds of epoxy, often sold as '5-minute' epoxy," and that "it does help to scratch the surface of the plating lightly with sandpaper" before gluing. Before the glue sets, check the pole: K&J's simplest method is to test against a magnet you've already marked, since opposite poles attract. A magnet glued in backwards will repel its partner instead of clicking.

Screws loose

Tighten with the right bit, and stop as soon as it's snug. Screws are usually tiny: NXEDC's TITA mechanical kit, for example, uses M2 × 5 "plum blossom" countersunk screws (NXEDC), so check which bit your slider needs before you start.

Be careful with non-metal bodies. Novel Carry warns that on its resin-composite Mini V2 "the thread holes can strip easily" when swapping magnets or plates, and that it "does not warranty stripped threads" (Novel Carry).

What about threadlocker? None of the slider makers we read recommend it. If you're thinking about it, Loctite describes its blue 242 as a threadlocker that "can be removed with hand tools" (Loctite), so it's the least permanent option. But ask your maker first, especially on a warrantied slider or one with polymer threads.

Sliding feels rough or sticky

Start by cleaning. Grit on the plates or magnet faces is the most common cause, and our cleaning guide covers what each maker allows. K&J's FAQ adds one trick for metal dust stuck to magnets: "Using adhesive tape to capture the metal dust is the best way to clean magnets."

If it's still rough, check the slide tape. Some magnetic sliders glide on thin PTFE (Teflon) tape, which can wear through. Some sliders ship with spares: MetaEDC's listing for the JuzhEDC Armor says the slider includes "Teflon Tape x 2" (MetaEDC). If yours didn't, a video from Finley shows the replacement process and names the tapes used: 3M 5480 in 0.5 inch and 3M 5181 in 1.5 inch.

Snap or rebound feels weaker

People often blame the magnets for this, but neodymium magnets barely fade. K&J says that if they "are not overheated or physically damaged, neodymium magnets will lose less than 1% of their strength over 10 years." So look for something physical instead:

• A chipped or cracked magnet. K&J's "less than 1%" figure assumes no physical damage, and it describes neodymium as "very hard and brittle." Replace a chipped magnet rather than living with it.
• A magnet that has shifted in its pocket, often after a drop.
• Worn or missing O-rings. If your slider uses them, check each one. Magnus sells a set of 16 for $16.95 (listed out of stock when we checked) (Magnus), and FidgetThings sells an S.O.B O-ring set for $3.
• Heat. Standard N-grade magnets have a maximum operating temperature of 80 °C (176 °F), K&J says. A slider left on a car dashboard in summer is a plausible suspect.

On spring-driven sliders, a weaker feel usually means a spring has moved or been swapped. NXEDC's Fish Bone Slider lets you change the positions of its four springs, and the TITA kit includes gentle and strong-feedback spring grooves, so check which setup you're actually running.

Mechanical slider stuck or skipping

A new mechanical slider that feels stiff may just be new. NXEDC's advice for the Fish Bone is to "push it along the track more often to make the track smoother and smoother." Our magnetic vs mechanical comparison covers the break-in period in more detail.

If an older one sticks or skips detents, clean the track, then check that the spring and bead are seated. Replacement parts exist for some models: MetaEDC sells Lautie Choc accessories including a dual-bead slot at $19.95 and PEEK internal plates at $39.95 (MetaEDC), and the TITA mechanical kit comes with "three sets of spring bead formulas with different hand-feels." If your maker doesn't sell parts and the slider isn't designed to open, send it back instead of prying it apart.

Safety: loose magnets and kids

This is the part not to skip. CPSC's 2022 magnet standard covers products marketed for "mental stimulation, stress relief" among other uses. The agency says 26,600 magnet ingestions were treated in hospital emergency rooms from 2010 through 2021, and it identified seven deaths, two of them outside the US (CPSC). When two or more magnets are swallowed, "they attract each other internally," and CPSC's advice is to seek immediate medical attention (CPSC magnets page).

So repair on a tray, count magnets out and back in, and never leave a half-assembled slider where a child can reach it.

When to stop and send it back

• The slider is inside its return or warranty window.
• A magnet is cracked, or a pocket is damaged so nothing will seat.
• Threads are stripped.
• It's a captured mechanism that isn't designed to open.

If you're shopping for a replacement, our under-$50 slider guide compares cheap options and their return rules. echoPi is still in development, so there's no service or warranty information for it yet; join the list if you'd like to hear when it launches.