Experience Report: RMA Process and Repair of My Steam Deck OLED

[Minuskind]

Hi all,
I want to share my experience with the RMA process and the repair of my Steam Deck OLED. Unfortunately, the process was not smooth, and I hope my story can help others avoid similar issues or be better prepared.

1. Initial Problem and First Contact
The issue began with a strange behavior of the left thumbstick. When moving the stick to the upper right corner, it felt "sticky" or "gritty," which significantly affected my gameplay experience. After several attempts to troubleshoot, including cleaning the stick and using a "joystick protector," the problem persisted.

I reached out to Steam Support and received the following response:

Steam Support Response:

"Based on the information you have provided, we believe it is unlikely that the current issue reflects a problem with this device as it was delivered to you. It may instead be related to your particular use of the product. Regardless, we would like to offer complimentary service as a gesture of goodwill. This will not affect your remaining warranty coverage, but downtime related to the RMA process will be considered when evaluating future warranty claims. We have initiated the RMA process for your Steam Deck."

2. Return and Unexpected Result
After sending my Steam Deck back and receiving it supposedly repaired, I was disappointed to find that within ten minutes, I could reproduce the original issue. Even worse, the thumbstick now got stuck in the corner and did not return to its original position. I immediately reported this to the support team.

My Report to Support:

"I just received my repaired Steam Deck and am shocked! The problem still exists and has even been made worse! Now the thumbstick gets stuck right at the corner and does not return to its original position. How can this not be controlled? I cannot accept this!"

3. Second Response from Support and Current Status
The Steam Support responded quickly to my renewed complaint:

Steam Support Response:

"We're sorry to hear that your device arrived in such a state. No worries though, as we're happy to provide a replacement unit. We've initiated the RMA process for your Steam Deck."

The entire process was frustrating and time-consuming. Although the support was always polite and helpful, the quality of the repair and subsequent replacement efforts left much to be desired. I hope that the replacement device will not have any further issues.

Conclusion
My experience with the RMA process for my Steam Deck OLED was, unfortunately, unsatisfactory. While the communication with the support team was friendly, the technical execution of the repairs did not meet expectations. I hope Valve can improve their processes in the future.

[invision2212]

that issue is the sticks dust cap rubbing up against the body of the steam deck. To fix it you would have needed to open the steam deck and take out the stick, and pop off the thumb cover. You will then need to sand the stick down a but and place it all back together.

obviously this is unnecessary and shouldnt have been an issue to begin with, but that is what would have been needed to fix it if you rather not send it back.

[Minuskind]

Originally posted by invision2212:

that issue is the sticks dust cap rubbing up against the body of the steam deck. To fix it you would have needed to open the steam deck and take out the stick, and pop off the thumb cover. You will then need to sand the stick down a but and place it all back together.

obviously this is unnecessary and shouldnt have been an issue to begin with, but that is what would have been needed to fix it if you rather not send it back.

Yes, that describes it quite well. But as you mentioned, it shouldn't be necessary. In this regard, I had already considered replacing the original ones with the ones from GuliKit, but now I'll have to wait and see, because my old Steam Deck was delivered two days ago and now I'm curious to see how long it will take until I get the replacement!

[[57th] AngryHatter]

Sounds like it went well other than not concurring with your complaint.