To RMA or to not RMA… that is the question

[idkemily]

Backstory: I love my deck. Easily the best purchase I ever made. I had a deck prior for only a few days (early august) and it got stolen (forgot to lock my car when I was quickly running into a store to grab something) so I had to file a police report (nothing), and decided to just reorder. Of course this was during the queue and as of now there’s no more queue but I only had to wait about 2 months to get my email. They were difficult months indeed.

Sorry for the backstory. So I received my new deck, and at first glance everything appeared fine. However, the joysticks made a clicky noise when moving the sticks around in certain directions. This apparently is due to the red wire getting in the way when moving the joysticks around in those directions. I also picked up my deck and jiggled it a little. When I do this, I hear something like a loose component inside. It sounds like a screw that’s fallen out internally. So I decided to go to Best Buy yesterday, pick up an ifixit essentials toolkit, and try to flip the joysticks so the wire wasn’t going to get in the way, and figure out if there’s some sort of screw in my deck that’s loose on the deck that’s causing the jiggle noise when I shake the deck a little. I got to the back of the deck. It was easy to get out 7 of the screws but the bottom left screw I couldn’t get out for whatever reason. So I just rescrewed the back and gave up as I didn’t want to strip anything.
Now I’m not sure what to do. Apparently when you RMA, they give you another deck that has already been RMAd, and I heard it’s somewhat of a lottery. I would hope that Valve would send a brand new deck because technically if you RMA you’re getting a deck second hand, which is very odd for a company to do. Correct me if I’m wrong on this. RMAs also take weeks and I’m worried that if I RMA, first I obviously have to deal with fedex again which is a nightmare on its own, and I have to wait weeks which isn’t very fun.
I was considering buying a second deck just in case one of my decks goes bad I can RMA it, which is silly, but bare in mind this is my only PC that lets me play the games that I want on steam and at a faster rate than my Mac. I love this thing so much. But at the same time I’m frustrated that my deck has issues right out of the box… Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? I contacted support yesterday or the day before but haven’t heard back yet and I’m assuming that’s normal.

[d[-_-]b]

Contact valve support and they will answer these questions regarding current RMA process.
And also when something isn't quite right and you think, "should I RMA?". Then yes you RMA.

[B.Oni]

You should do the RMA I got my steam deck and out of the box my right bumper was not working and also found that on the screen looks like there are bubbles underneath the screen something to lookout for. Valve is good with doing RMA’s they offered to do one for me but I am out of the country for a long time so was not able to send mine back but managed to fix the bumper myself. Valve has a killer product but quality control issues until we can get replacement parts I suggest if you are able to, send it back right away and double check replacement for other problems that may not be noticeable at first glance like the bubbles on the screen and test button inputs is another big one.

[idkemily]

Originally posted by #/DragonKeeper:

Contact valve support and they will answer these questions regarding current RMA process.
And also when something isn't quite right and you think, "should I RMA?". Then yes you RMA.

Yeah it’s just that I don’t want a used deck that was RMA’d. I heard of the RMA lottery and I don’t know if it’s a risk worth taking. :/

[B.Oni]

Yeah it sucks to rma but doing the rma is probably best unless you can’t like me and gotta wait for replacement parts.

[idkemily]

Originally posted by B.Oni:

You should do the RMA I got my steam deck and out of the box my right bumper was not working and also found that on the screen looks like there are bubbles underneath the screen something to lookout for. Valve is good with doing RMA’s they offered to do one for me but I am out of the country for a long time so was not able to send mine back but managed to fix the bumper myself. Valve has a killer product but quality control issues until we can get replacement parts I suggest if you are able to, send it back right away and double check replacement for other problems that may not be noticeable at first glance like the bubbles on the screen and test button inputs is another big one.

I don’t see any screen issues besides color being somewhat poor but I think that’s typical with these types of panels and I can change the coloring. On my first unit I didn’t notice the colors being as bad as they are currently but it’s not too much of a problem. I also have light bleed but that’s about it. Which is also normal with these panels.

[idkemily]

Originally posted by B.Oni:

Yeah it sucks to rma but doing the rma is probably best unless you can’t like me and gotta wait for replacement parts.

is ifixit out of replacement parts for you?

[B.Oni]

I had to open mine up and found that that plastic r1 button that the finger presses was not making enough contact with the button or switch on the board was my issues so I fixed it by filling the gap but that’s about all we can do is wait for replacement parts.

[d[-_-]b]

Originally posted by idkemily:

Originally posted by #/DragonKeeper:

Contact valve support and they will answer these questions regarding current RMA process.
And also when something isn't quite right and you think, "should I RMA?". Then yes you RMA.

Yeah it’s just that I don’t want a used deck that was RMA’d. I heard of the RMA lottery and I don’t know if it’s a risk worth taking. :/

Well you have a device with something bouncing around the internals.
I'd rather RMA now than worry about that later.

[B.Oni]

Ifixit still is not offering daughter boards yet because I guess they had to finish the queues and will probably offer them later Calve would not answer if it or when they would let ifixit get access to those parts, but I think they will after.

[Jake Sully]

Try this unscrew the screws and when you are on last screw use plastic thing unclip the plastic as close to the last screw and while you hold back cover frame upwards twist on screw with screw driver at same time, while pushing back plastic fram upwards. This might put some pressure on screw so it can start unscrewing all the way. Since screws are screwed in pure plastic is then why this can happen that the screw path gets screwed up and causes the screw to just spin and that it gets no where until you apply pull pressure to the screw.

[redletterday]

The left stick on my deck was broken when I got mine. It always registered a full left input, even when the stick was centered. I tried running the calibration software but it didn't help. I checked ifixit but they were out of the left joysticks. I didn't want to send mine back in either but I didn't have much choice. From what I was told by Valve support, they are trying to repair and send back the same deck if they can. Early on they were just sending replacements for RMAs. Mine should be a pretty easy fix since it is just a joystick.

They say Fedex for shipping in all of their RMA documentation but the label they sent me was for UPS (it was good thing I checked the label). Not sure if that changes based on region. They said expect 5-7 days once they receive it to complete the repair so overall I'm expecting it will take 2 weeks to get it back. It is a bummer it take so long. I had to wait over a week for Valve to ship the thing after I paid. Between the delay in shipping, getting a response from Valve support, and the RMA, it's going to be over a month since I paid before I have a deck that works. I hope they work out some of these kinks in the future so it doesn't take so long.

[idkemily]

Originally posted by redletterday:

The left stick on my deck was broken when I got mine. It always registered a full left input, even when the stick was centered. I tried running the calibration software but it didn't help. I checked ifixit but they were out of the left joysticks. I didn't want to send mine back in either but I didn't have much choice. From what I was told by Valve support, they are trying to repair and send back the same deck if they can. Early on they were just sending replacements for RMAs. Mine should be a pretty easy fix since it is just a joystick.

They say Fedex for shipping in all of their RMA documentation but the label they sent me was for UPS (it was good thing I checked the label). Not sure if that changes based on region. They said expect 5-7 days once they receive it to complete the repair so overall I'm expecting it will take 2 weeks to get it back. It is a bummer it take so long. I had to wait over a week for Valve to ship the thing after I paid. Between the delay in shipping, getting a response from Valve support, and the RMA, it's going to be over a month since I paid before I have a deck that works. I hope they work out some of these kinks in the future so it doesn't take so long.

You took the words right out of my mouth! While I love my deck, the system for something going wrong is absurd. I understand RMAs when it comes to a really expensive gaming laptop. But something that appears like a console (but is also a PC) with sticks that will eventually get drift, I think valve was in over their heads about what to do when something goes wrong and how RMAs should work. I decided to just let it go. If replacement parts were in stock and there was a service like at a place such as ubreakitifixit, then fine. But having to ship something (usually via FedEx) is a nightmare and i guess I’m just used to buying things at Best Buy for example. 15 day return policy. You just bring it in swap it out for a new one if your PC doesn’t work. With the deck - something that heavily relies on the controller sticks, valve needs to partner with some places so that those of us who aren’t as tech oriented can feel safe knowing there’s always a place nearby to fix it for you. My friends say it’s easy to fix myself, but purchasing something I should be assured it’s good quality, and the deck is a gamble. I hope they start selling in stores so that there’s a way to not have to deal with self-shipping.

[B.Oni]

Originally posted by idkemily:

Originally posted by redletterday:

The left stick on my deck was broken when I got mine. It always registered a full left input, even when the stick was centered. I tried running the calibration software but it didn't help. I checked ifixit but they were out of the left joysticks. I didn't want to send mine back in either but I didn't have much choice. From what I was told by Valve support, they are trying to repair and send back the same deck if they can. Early on they were just sending replacements for RMAs. Mine should be a pretty easy fix since it is just a joystick.

They say Fedex for shipping in all of their RMA documentation but the label they sent me was for UPS (it was good thing I checked the label). Not sure if that changes based on region. They said expect 5-7 days once they receive it to complete the repair so overall I'm expecting it will take 2 weeks to get it back. It is a bummer it take so long. I had to wait over a week for Valve to ship the thing after I paid. Between the delay in shipping, getting a response from Valve support, and the RMA, it's going to be over a month since I paid before I have a deck that works. I hope they work out some of these kinks in the future so it doesn't take so long.

You took the words right out of my mouth! While I love my deck, the system for something going wrong is absurd. I understand RMAs when it comes to a really expensive gaming laptop. But something that appears like a console (but is also a PC) with sticks that will eventually get drift, I think valve was in over their heads about what to do when something goes wrong and how RMAs should work. I decided to just let it go. If replacement parts were in stock and there was a service like at a place such as ubreakitifixit, then fine. But having to ship something (usually via FedEx) is a nightmare and i guess I’m just used to buying things at Best Buy for example. 15 day return policy. You just bring it in swap it out for a new one if your PC doesn’t work. With the deck - something that heavily relies on the controller sticks, valve needs to partner with some places so that those of us who aren’t as tech oriented can feel safe knowing there’s always a place nearby to fix it for you. My friends say it’s easy to fix myself, but purchasing something I should be assured it’s good quality, and the deck is a gamble. I hope they start selling in stores so that there’s a way to not have to deal with self-shipping.

I think that having a place for repairs on them is something i "heard" that they were looking into not sure if its true though, but the fact that they are partnering with Ifixit for replacement parts and i think they will offer all replacement parts at a later time and valve made this device easy to replace parts following the Ifixit guide. but i do agree if you pay good money they should give you a quality product and I'm sure that a lot of the steam deck issues have been from them rushing to produce them including the issues i had with my own.

[idkemily]

Originally posted by B.Oni:

Originally posted by idkemily:

You took the words right out of my mouth! While I love my deck, the system for something going wrong is absurd. I understand RMAs when it comes to a really expensive gaming laptop. But something that appears like a console (but is also a PC) with sticks that will eventually get drift, I think valve was in over their heads about what to do when something goes wrong and how RMAs should work. I decided to just let it go. If replacement parts were in stock and there was a service like at a place such as ubreakitifixit, then fine. But having to ship something (usually via FedEx) is a nightmare and i guess I’m just used to buying things at Best Buy for example. 15 day return policy. You just bring it in swap it out for a new one if your PC doesn’t work. With the deck - something that heavily relies on the controller sticks, valve needs to partner with some places so that those of us who aren’t as tech oriented can feel safe knowing there’s always a place nearby to fix it for you. My friends say it’s easy to fix myself, but purchasing something I should be assured it’s good quality, and the deck is a gamble. I hope they start selling in stores so that there’s a way to not have to deal with self-shipping.

I think that having a place for repairs on them is something i "heard" that they were looking into not sure if its true though, but the fact that they are partnering with Ifixit for replacement parts and i think they will offer all replacement parts at a later time and valve made this device easy to replace parts following the Ifixit guide. but i do agree if you pay good money they should give you a quality product and I'm sure that a lot of the steam deck issues have been from them rushing to produce them including the issues i had with my own.

Yeah I hope maybe it can even be purchased at places like Best Buy (if you're not from the U.S. sorry but a store like that) or GameStop one day.