Valve index controller joystick drift issue

[chace94]

So this problem only started happening about a day or 2 ago. For some reason now my left joystick thinks I'm still pushing it in the last direction I had it in before I released it. This is an annoying issue because it causes my character in games to slowly move when dont want them to. Tried it in two games so far and it acts the exact same in both games: "Blade and sorcery" and "pavlov". I went into the controller menu where it shows what buttons are being pressed and sure enough, when I take my thumb off the joystick, it still thinks im pushing it in the last direction I had it in before release. So to counter this I changed the joystick deadzone all the way up to 50%... no changes. However the physical joystick returns to the original position in the middle with no problem. Only having this issue with my left controller. The fact that this issue occured out of nowhere leads be to believe this is a software issue due to the recent updates. Anybody else having this issue?

[MasterOperator1]

Since yesterday same problem at my left stick. In the calibrate menu you can see that the stick doesn't come back to 0 position. That's the problem of sliding. Tryed all, restart of all, reset controller, 1000 tries of new calibrations... no solution. contacted steam support. I knew it, that we get problems on this overpriced plastic scrap. Next problem in future will be the batterie inside.

[OneTrueChaos]

Me too, left controller thumb stick has some drift after moving it in the down position. Started a week ago, only had controller a few months, and I am pretty gentle with them imo

[-Forest-]

Add me to the list. Just seem to start couple days ago. Left controller thumbstick 'drift'. Like others recalibrating,... doesn't help. Infact, unless slight pull back on the thumbstick can't even get it to calibrate. It wants 5 times and since it thinks the thumbstick is still not centered it won't register. Opened up a ticket on the issue.

Update: Noticed the right one is not always rotating to the right as well as rotating left in SteamVR Home or the game also.

[dogbite]

Yep mine started to sick in reverse movement and move very slowing in forward (on left stick) over NY. Seems Valve has an ongoing issue with the mini stick mechanism. Often doesn't center. Opened a ticket.

[LorKh4]

From what I gather from the VR RUS discord, the two rectangular boxes get loose overtime and wear out the plastic inside that holds the potentiometer sensor, hence cause the drift issue. Pic from Cleric: https://i.imgur.com/eTpxTnM.jpg

I squeezed some plastic pieces inside to tighten it, and the drifting stop for now, tho I am not sure how well it holds until spending some time with it. Pic: https://i.imgur.com/QbxX0uG.jpg

The "fixed" one in the photo is for forward and backward, and be WARNED, it will block the strap knots slider (blocked twos that are close to the stick in my case). Also, this "fix" might not work if the plastic inside already wear out too much.

EDIT: Played with joystick for a couple hours, no drift so far and no deadzone in forward. I imported controllers to Asia and I don't plan to do RMA. If you are in similar situation, it is best to stop using the joystick once it starts drifting and use whatever means to tighten the potentiometer.

EDIT: To explain it further, there is a gap appears between the stick and the rectangular box, those metal teeth bracket are not strong enough to hold it in place. The plastic I put there is to push back the box against the stick. For me the gap is very slight and I don't see it, but applying pressure to the potentiometer does stop the drifting in controller testing. You could test it first too if you are not sure.

I have seen someone use a thread to tie up the whole stick but it is not easy the secure it. If you decide to do it my way, notice the plastic can't be too high up otherwise it could block the joystick cap when you push.

[The Evil Elvis™]

My left controller started this just yesterday after getting the Index at the earliest delivery date. This is something they will either fix or have to give up on VR.

[Evolution]

Jumping onto the list. Mine are going back for RMA now. It takes about 150-200 hours for the failure to occur from what i've been reading. But some have less

[Mixon]

Originally posted by LorKhan:

[...]

God bless the Russians, outstanding work.

[morsey_666]

This is rubbish guys if you havent opened up a ticket do it asap.
I cant even do mine because it was shipped to my from the states so i will have to attempt repair/ mod myself. 2 months is not long enough for a product to be failing be angry and be demanding with you refund/ repair.
Im sure they have sold a ♥♥♥♥ load more units on the back of half life alyx that are also all faulty dont be in line behind all those people they should be repairing all our issues before sending any more out.

[BloodBucket]

I have the same problem on the left controller, I will open a support ticket now.
Also my right controller loses connection when I put it down to my side (let it hang)
And in SteamVR it says I can update the controllers but the update always fails, on both controllers!

[Evolution]

Originally posted by morsey_666:

This is rubbish guys if you havent opened up a ticket do it asap.
I cant even do mine because it was shipped to my from the states so i will have to attempt repair/ mod myself. 2 months is not long enough for a product to be failing be angry and be demanding with you refund/ repair.
Im sure they have sold a ♥♥♥♥ load more units on the back of half life alyx that are also all faulty dont be in line behind all those people they should be repairing all our issues before sending any more out.

I can't find it right now, but on Valve Index Reddit inside of one of these complaint threads there's links to a guy that took his controller apart to fix.

[Maximum James]

I saw that too, but I already had to repair the trackpad button on my first pair of Vive controllers and because I am not familiar with the nuances of handling these things my controllers were never the same after, so I am not keen on the prospect of having to do that again. (My 2nd pair of Vive controllers got an armour upgrade and I have had no problems even after a few good wacks.)

[Nostrildumbass]

They had me send in just my left controller this time, despite me saying I feel my right joystick is almost certainly going to run into the same problem and I can feel a very slight wiggle/play when it's in the center position, which is how the left joystick started. Now this is going to be a back and forth ping pong RMA process replacing independent controllers every few months -___-

[High Volzage]

Nostrildumbass, same with me.

[VRS_Breezy]

I'll hop on this sad train too - left controller started drifting to the back / left whenever I went that way. Just opened a support ticket. Sounds like people are getting the issue fixed pretty quickly here.