How common are the button issues on the deck?

[Enchiladas de Mole]

Im mexican, I want to get a deck from amazon from a third seller (who has a good reputation apparently lol). Sadly I've seen a couple of videos going from "my b button gets stuck" to "shoulder L/R button doesnt work".

Thats my question, is it really that common to get faulty controllers or is it just first wave consoles? Because I will not have the possibility for client support lol and I dont have the means to buy it from the usa lol

Also another question, is there a way to know if a deck is from the first wave or second wave, etc.? Thanks for your time

[bean]

1. yes, you can check the system information to see what wave it came from.

2. People have issues sometimes... it happens.. but the steam deck would not be doing nearly as well as it is if these issues were the norm rather than the exception.

3. I have an old steam deck and the b button does occasionally get caught.
It really isn't that big of a deal, nor is it impossible to fix yourself.

4. In the end it is a controller, so the same controller worries apply. the HUGE benefit to the steam deck (and some of the indies) is that you can replace it like you can with used to be able to do.

[tomk1]

Before this there was the Steam controller, I had/have one, years of usage till I wore out the thumbstick ( I bought new thumbstick if want to replace) My thoughts are:
The buttons and thumbsticks are standard parts in all controllers, Steam, X-box, playstation all source from same manufactures, (I do not believe they build in house) cheap controllers use cheap parts, premium controllers use premium parts.

All controllers depending on user can get build up of foreign material, food, coca-cola, etc. plenty of videos on how to clean sticky buttons. But maybe just wash hands after eating food. If playing for hours hands can get sweaty so I wipe/dry Deck controls with kitchen paper, sweat contains salts/oils. A nylon paintbrush or toothbrush good for getting material out from crevices around buttons.

[[?]legit]

As the old adage goes, "You get what you pay for".

I've expereinced stick drifting, sticks not centering perfectly, excessive deadzones on the triggers, and not registering L1, R2 clicks (albeit it physically clicks) since the very first minutes I owned my deck.

The most annyoing part were the mushy triggers. I needed to push them almost 40% in, in order to have the button registered. And that's called "hairline trigger"

Never had any problems with the dpad or the A,B,X,Y buttons though, they were fine.

[Enchiladas de Mole]

Well damn so it does happen ;w;
Nothing to do but to risk it
Thanks!

[RSebire]

the buttons are all good..
its the contacts that go

and anyway, ifixit have every spare for the deck you could ever need

have fun
peace

[Mahjik]

The button issues that have been reported, while are manufacturing tolerance misses; are usually easily remedied. For example, the 'B' button issue is just the button getting stuck on the case. A little sand paper sliding around the button usually takes care of it. I had this for a while when my Deck was new, but the more I used it the more it stopped getting stuck.

The triggers sticking is similar. Usually requires opening the case, readjusting it and screwing it back in. While yes all devices should not have these little ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, these are very minor things to address.

[🌎Earth]

I once dropped my steam deck somewhat badly (it was charging on table and got yanked) and the only thing somewhat effected is my RB being a bit mushy on the most far out end. It still works fine and still clicks otherwise, I may just be picky.

The D-Pad sucks. Everybody seems to agree too. You will have a hard time trying to play platformers or fighting games with it because the diagonals are just soo bad. They *feel* good, and work fine as more command buttons, but it sucks how dpads have declined in gaming and that the deck didn't really do better.

Other than that, I've never had any button issues, and the track pads are still one of the best ideas I've seen for a handheld.