eXtremeRate Clear Black Replacement Full Housing Shell for Nintendo DS Lite, Custom Handheld Console Case Cover with Buttons, Screen Lens for Nintendo DS Lite NDSL - Console NOT Included

First and foremost, this is not an OEM shell. It is a bit lighter than an OEM shell but feels really good. Solid. After much searching for aftermarket DS Lite shells, I decided to try an ExtremeRate shell. I purchased the transparent blue and everything needed was included in the kit. I had bought a magnetizer for this job to help me keep up with the screws, which helped immensely.I'd like to note that my original order from Amazon did not come through and was delayed several days. Ultimately it never arrived. I contacted customer service and they were very responsive and recommended I reorder the item. When the second order came in, the original order was returned and a refund was completed. No hassles other than waiting a bit longer, but that was no fault of the seller. Highlight is that they were quick to respond and recommend a solution!Care must be taken when reshelling a DS Lite, much like any other electronic device. You want to know what you're doing because it is very easy to break things. I have swapped shells on a DS Lite before so I was prepared but I'd recommend researching if you aren't familiar with the process. The shell looks fantastic once complete. The screws didn't feel like as sturdy as the OEM screws and the plastic is a bit softer, so stripping screws is a concern. Be gentle. The shell has a matte feel, no gloss. There are other shells out there but in my experience they look nice but feel cheap. As they say, you get what you pay for.After about 5 months of ownership and gentle use (purchased April '24), I opened it one day and something felt off. I closed the DS to find a crack in the hinge area, which affects the rotation of the hinge and places stress on the upper half of the shell. I contacted ExtremeRate and explained the situation and received prompt service. They expressed concern for the issue with the shell cracking and requested photos of the damage. ExtremeRate also said they would send a replacement shell and apologized for the inconvenience. I love the customer service. I am expecting the replacement within the next week and I am very pleased that there was no hassle about my inquiry. I was disappointed at first, especially considering the cost, but now I feel good about buying replacement shells from them in the future. As someone with 3 DS Lites, I will for sure buy my next shell from ExtremeRate.While it is a small inconvenience to have to disassemble the DS once more, I greatly appreciate the prompt responses and eagerness to satisfy me as a customer who has had some small misfortune with their product. It makes me feel confident that they put the customer first and value satisfied customers over money. While I had not initially written a review, I had shared my new shell on Reddit within one of the DS communities. After the great service I received, they more than deserved a proper review of their product and support!

If you work on handhelds you probaby already know that the options for replacement shells for the DS Lite are pretty dire. All of the third party shells are complete junk and original OEM shells are falling apart at this point. Thankfully you can still get a full console in decent shape for a decent price these days, but it won't be that way forever.I have purchased a few shell replacements from eXtremeRate in the past and have always been satisfied with the quality and price of thier products, so I was very excited to see that they were going to offer DS Lite shells. I bought one immediately and installed it.Now DS Lites are very fiddly to work with, and I hope that future reviews will rate this product through that lens. The whole process is frustrating and it is very easy to ruin your device if you go in blind. eXtremerate posted an install video and I recommend watching it in full BEFORE you attempt this yourself, if you don't know what you're doing. I have reshelled 10s of DS Lites and it is still a frustrating experience evern when you know the tricks.That being said, these are the best after market shells currently available. The molds and buttons are very accurate and no trimming or filing is required. I personally think the color options are cool, and hope to see more of them in the future. You also get servicable tools and spare parts of almost anything you may reasonably lose.So why 4 stars? Although these are the best shells currently available, there is still room for improvement. Probably the biggest issue is the screws. This kit comes with 7 different, very similar types of screws. Even if you sort out the screws and follow along with the video, it is not always clear what screw you are supposed to be using where, and if you use the wrong one you can very easily ruin your shell or cross thread a post. In an ideal world eXtremeRate would standardize on 2-3 screws and adjust thier shells for that. If that isn't possible, the install video NEEDS to be more clear on what to use where. This is the single biggest problem with the kit. The original DS Lite also had this problem, so its hard to fault eXtremeRate too much for this, but it is still disapointing.All other issues are minor annoyances (to me).-There is no DS or nintendo branding anywhere on the shell, for obvious reasons-There are currently only transparent shell options. I love transparent shells as much as the next guy, but I feel like the DS is one of the consoles that benefits from it the least. The PCB is obscured on both sides of the console by the bottom screen and battery respectively, and the only thing you get a great view of are the mess of wires on the top screen for the speakers, wireless card and microphone. still kinda neat, but I feel like this is why nintendo didnt offer transparent shells to begin with. If this is what you like, great, but I would love to see some opaque shells too.-Shell not compatible with original parts. I was hoping to keep my black buttons and shoulder buttons, but had issues with both and had to use the provided parts. The provided parts are of high quality so this is more of a matter of taste (and a nudge to sell different compatible button sets if you want more of my money)TL;DR: If you need an aftermarket DS Lite shell, these are the best you can get. Make sure to watch the install video. Pay CLOSE attention to what screws to use where. Thank you eXtremeRate for filling this niche. Please make me a Sega Nomad Shell.

Case fits perfect. Wish the d-pad and xyab buttons had an accent color but other than that fit and finish is flawless.

There were problems from the very start of the assembly. I first noticed the screws were a very soft material and would start stripping before getting them very far into their holes. There were other minor problems while putting it together, but the biggest problems became very apparent once it was done. None of the main plates line up flush with each other so there are noticeable gaps. The hinge area connecting the top and bottom is very loose and can rock back and forth with very little effort, and the space inside for the motherboard always seemed to be a little too small for everything. I practiced taking apart and putting back together an OEM DS Lite so I was familiar with how everything went; but getting this product together was an absolute nightmare. I should have returned it as soon as I felt how cheap the material is, but hindsight is 20/20. Also when you finally tighten the last few screws on the back, you could see where some of the plastic started warping which is never good on a transparent shell. I am not new to the handheld-modding scene and this was my first extremerate shell, but I will never buy from them again. Awful experience.