Wait with RMA or bite the bullet?

[Miffen]

Got my Steam Deck 256GB today. Both left and right trackpad are not working. Literally nothing happens when using them.

Everything else seems fine although my first gaming experience was Doom 2016 and I got 16 fps on average.

Heard the RMA process is horrible. So maybe wait and live a couple of months with no trackpads?

[Mat.W]

I'd say it's better to get it sorted, if you don't wanna play around just tell them you want a refund if anything

[Shibby]

Originally posted by Miffen:

Got my Steam Deck 256GB today. Both left and right trackpad are not working. Literally nothing happens when using them.

Everything else seems fine although my first gaming experience was Doom 2016 and I got 16 fps on average.

Heard the RMA process is horrible. So maybe wait and live a couple of months with no trackpads?

I have only heard that the RMA process is fine though? Unless you mean you will be without a Deck for a bit longer which is just normal RMA processes. If anything is wrong with my Deck in the first year it's getting sent in. After the year then I will try to fix it if Valve doesn't offer out of warranty repairs.

[my new friend]

RMA it. No telling if those parts will be available at all in the next few months. Seems like the bots are sniping everything related to the Deck as well.

[@R+5]

i think your options are simple:
you keep a defective device, or you exercise patience to follow rma. you can later try to fix or help improve the rma process somehow by involving yourself directly with valve, to help others and become a hero of logistics.

but, if you have money to burn, then you could do either, and at the same time buy a new one. oc, if you are unlucky and that one is also defective, then you will need to think about the first two options, and maybe they wont be available if you choose to buy the deck from another source.

so, i dont think its somethin really complicated: you begin to solve the issue, or you live with it without solving it.

[Cindarr]

RMA wasn't too bad for me. Posted a ticket and got a reply the same day. Sent it off, and now i'm just waiting for them to send out a new one. I'm expecting it to take about 2 weeks. already waited over 6 months so 2 more weeks won't kill me ;-)

[RoyalMetalKnights]

DOOM(2016) should be running 60fps at high settings. Something going on there.

Have you tried reimaging the Deck?

[ReBoot]

The RMA process is generally fine. The most complaints stem from people with rather unrealistic expectations.

[Slighted]

does the pads even work for the game your using? mine only work depending on the game i am playing. have not bothered to try to assign them to anything outside when they working naturally, they a little clunky to use

[aaargh]

Originally posted by Shibby:

I have only heard that the RMA process is fine though? Unless you mean you will be without a Deck for a bit longer which is just normal RMA processes.

i have sent in my deck for replacement and i can say that the RMA process is far from normal, it’s pretty terrible actually.

My deck has been at valve’s warehouse since last Monday, and they haven’t even confirmed they have received it yet. They’ve had it for 3 whole days by now, and the status is still “ Valve is waiting for your return”. I only know it arrived from the DHL track & trace.

I’ve done RMA’s before with other companies, and the normal process is that they ship out a replacement the same day as they receive the returned product. For example: I had to RMA my iPad Pro a year or so ago, sent it back on a Tuesday, received the replacement øn Thursday after.

I have no idea what is going on at Valve and what the hell they are waiting for, but apparently it can take weeks for them to get off their ass and do something. I mean, they have to scan a bar code, check if all 3 parts are there (charger, case, deck), print a shipping label for the return and stick it the box of a replacement deck. Can’t take more than 3 minutes.

[my new friend]

Originally posted by aaargh:

Originally posted by Shibby:

I have only heard that the RMA process is fine though? Unless you mean you will be without a Deck for a bit longer which is just normal RMA processes.

i have sent in my deck for replacement and i can say that the RMA process is far from normal, it’s pretty terrible actually.

My deck has been at valve’s warehouse since last Monday, and they haven’t even confirmed they have received it yet. They’ve had it for 3 whole days by now, and the status is still “ Valve is waiting for your return”. I only know it arrived from the DHL track & trace.

I’ve done RMA’s before with other companies, and the normal process is that they ship out a replacement the same day as they receive the returned product. For example: I had to RMA my iPad Pro a year or so ago, sent it back on a Tuesday, received the replacement øn Thursday after.

I have no idea what is going on at Valve and what the hell they are waiting for, but apparently it can take weeks for them to get off their ass and do something. I mean, they have to scan a bar code, check if all 3 parts are there (charger, case, deck), print a shipping label for the return and stick it the box of a replacement deck. Can’t take more than 3 minutes.

Valve doesn't cross ship nor do they ship out a replacement before investigating the one you sent in. They aren't like other huge companies that have stockpiles of replacements to easily send out to you immediately.

[aaargh]

Originally posted by my new friend:

Valve doesn't cross ship nor do they ship out a replacement before investigating the one you sent in.

Neither does Apple. And Apple also outsources support (at least in my country) just like Valve.

They actually give meaningful status updates as well and let me know when my iPad arrived, when it was being inspected, when they had the result of the inspection, when they authorized the replacement, etc.

Sent in Tuesday, arrived on Wednesday, immediately inspected it and approved a replacement, shipped the same afternoon, replacement arrived next Thursday,. This is also the standard RMA process, no premium AppleCare or anything like that.

They also didn’t expect me to package it myself and drop it of at a package point. No, they sent a UPS guy to pick it up, who had a shipping box specifically for my model iPad and a pre-printed shipping label. All I had to do is open the door and hand it over, they packaged it right there and took it with them.

I’m already paying €675 for my deck, why not make it an even €700 and spend the additional €25 on maintaining decent customer support. I’d gladly pay a little extra for that.

[my new friend]

Support is not relevant in this case as they don't handle the products. They only relay information from the RMA department to you and back.
Apple does have their stockpiles of products for replacements though.
Valve's RMA departments (2, yes just 2) are also tiny in comparison to the many large RMA departments Apple has built and maintained for over 2 decades.

[aaargh]

Originally posted by my new friend:

Support is not relevant in this case as they don't handle the products. They only relay information from the RMA department to you and back.

RMA is part of the support organisation.

Apple does have their stockpiles of products for replacements though.

And so should Valve. They know their failure rate, so they should reserve that percentage from each batch for replacements.

Valve's RMA departments (2, yes just 2) are also tiny in comparison to the many large RMA departments Apple has built and maintained for over 2 decades.

Like I said before, Valve's RMA is outsourced in my country, as is Apple's. In this case they outsourced to Ingram Micro[en.wikipedia.org]. Not exactly a small player. Also, we're not talking about 3 guys in a garage doing a kickstarter here, we're talking about a company with a value of 3.8 billion dollars.

[my new friend]

Originally posted by aaargh:

Originally posted by my new friend:

Support is not relevant in this case as they don't handle the products. They only relay information from the RMA department to you and back.

RMA is part of the support organisation.

They are separate departments.

Originally posted by aaargh:

Originally posted by my new friend:

Apple does have their stockpiles of products for replacements though.

How? With global supply constraints? Too many factors that don't allow Valve to have enough to replace immediately.

Originally posted by aaargh:

Originally posted by my new friend:

Valve's RMA departments (2, yes just 2) are also tiny in comparison to the many large RMA departments Apple has built and maintained for over 2 decades.

Like I said before, Valve's RMA is outsourced in my country, as is Apple's. In this case they outsourced to Ingram Micro[en.wikipedia.org]. Not exactly a small player. Also, we're not talking about 3 guys in a garage doing a kickstarter here, we're talking about a company with a value of 3.8 billion dollars.

Valve's RMA department has 2 facilities.
Apple themselves authorize and certify, over decades, other companies to do this for them, yes. Valve does not.

[Shibby]

Originally posted by aaargh:

Originally posted by my new friend:

Support is not relevant in this case as they don't handle the products. They only relay information from the RMA department to you and back.

RMA is part of the support organisation.

Apple does have their stockpiles of products for replacements though.

And so should Valve. They know their failure rate, so they should reserve that percentage from each batch for replacements.

Valve's RMA departments (2, yes just 2) are also tiny in comparison to the many large RMA departments Apple has built and maintained for over 2 decades.

Like I said before, Valve's RMA is outsourced in my country, as is Apple's. In this case they outsourced to Ingram Micro[en.wikipedia.org]. Not exactly a small player. Also, we're not talking about 3 guys in a garage doing a kickstarter here, we're talking about a company with a value of 3.8 billion dollars.

Sounds like you should just ask for a refund then if you are this unsatisfied with the service you are given. I am sure Valve would love to have their RMA turnaround be as fast as possible but they are still experiencing shortages on parts. They are not as high on the list for these parts like Apple or other companies that are worth over a trillion dollars. You are comparing apples to oranges when you consider the scale of each product.

It sucks your system is broken but they didn't tell you to screw off and are going to fix it