Left trackpad doesn't feel correct

[MrMaidx]

Hey,

I got my 256GB Deck today and after a bit of using I don't think that the left trackpad is working correctly. The right one vibrates nicely and click is "satisfying". The left one is vibrating noticeably louder and clicks feel much worse - and in Desktop Mode left clicks don't seem to register at all. It felt "weird" immediately when I picked up the device for the first time.

Is it possible to somehow calibrate this? Or maybe tweak something physically inside the device to fix the issue?

Thanks.

[defused]

Postat inițial de Red Star Gopnik:

you can bend the console slighly to fix the table wobble! so it's only 2 issues

Doesn't worth the risk of cracking something trying that, doesn't bother me at all, ill just leave it, thanks.

Postat inițial de lionghoulman:

it’s my understanding that the steam button and … button are supposed to feel mushy. my original unit definitely felt that way.

I didn't noticed on my first one, but doesn't have a bad touch for me and they feel responsive, so it's ok.

But yeah, RMA seems a gamble lol, but if you have a critical issue, i would gamble it any times it's needed until i get luck!

[Prezidentas]

Postat inițial de defused:

Postat inițial de Red Star Gopnik:

you can bend the console slighly to fix the table wobble! so it's only 2 issues

Doesn't worth the risk of cracking something trying that, doesn't bother me at all, ill just leave it, thanks.

It actually takes very slight force to do it. That's why it gets bent - if it was hard to bend, it would stay straight forever.

[SIR LIONEL GHOULMAN]

Postat inițial de defused:

Postat inițial de Red Star Gopnik:

you can bend the console slighly to fix the table wobble! so it's only 2 issues

Doesn't worth the risk of cracking something trying that, doesn't bother me at all, ill just leave it, thanks.

Postat inițial de lionghoulman:

it’s my understanding that the steam button and … button are supposed to feel mushy. my original unit definitely felt that way.

I didn't noticed on my first one, but doesn't have a bad touch for me and they feel responsive, so it's ok.

But yeah, RMA seems a gamble lol, but if you have a critical issue, i would gamble it any times it's needed until i get luck!

i take what i said back completely. my new RMA unit just arrived and i pressed all the buttons to make sure nothing was stuck and the steam and … buttons feel COMPLETELY different than my original deck. these feel good! a nice satisfying click to them. not mushy at all.

also maybe i’m crazy but i feel like the trackpad and joystick tips feel different than my original unit. the new unit’s joystick tips have a “gripier” texture to them for sure. i’m gonna have to pull up a picture of my original deck and see if i can see a texture difference.

i think they shipped me a brand new unit rather than a refurbished unit. i’m suspecting it’s one of the newer batches with the slightly slower ssd.

i’ll report back later today when i boot this thing up for the first time and investigate a little bit but so far so good.

[SIR LIONEL GHOULMAN]

just got done booting my new deck up and doing a play through of aperture.

both trackpads are EQUAL and the left touchpad click feels very satisfying. totally night and day from my original unit.

i’ve checked for other common issues and i haven’t found any. i think they sent me a perfect unit! very happy with my RMA experience.

[Mitisz]

I was having this issue and I was getting crazy OCD about it. Finally, I managed to find a solution on Reddit, and it completely fixed my issues. The trackpads feel the same now, and the mushy feeling has been replaced with a satisfying click on both sides. I have followed the following instructions to solve my issues (credit to ZombeGavinS on Reddit):

"Go into haptics settings, set the left trackpad to 10 and the right trackpad to 1 (if the left one is weaker).

Restart the Steam Deck.

Go back into haptics settings and set them both back to 5 and then turn off the haptics completely using the toggle switch.

Restart the Steam Deck again.

Go back into haptic settings one final time and use the toggle switch to turn the haptics back on.

Restart the Steam Deck one last time."

It seems like a software issue indeed, I was sure that it might be a hardware fault and I need to RMA. I hope this helps others as well!

[El Tigre]

Postat inițial de Mitisz:

I was having this issue and I was getting crazy OCD about it. Finally, I managed to find a solution on Reddit, and it completely fixed my issues. The trackpads feel the same now, and the mushy feeling has been replaced with a satisfying click on both sides. I have followed the following instructions to solve my issues (credit to ZombeGavinS on Reddit):

"Go into haptics settings, set the left trackpad to 10 and the right trackpad to 1 (if the left one is weaker).

Restart the Steam Deck.

Go back into haptics settings and set them both back to 5 and then turn off the haptics completely using the toggle switch.

Restart the Steam Deck again.

Go back into haptic settings one final time and use the toggle switch to turn the haptics back on.

Restart the Steam Deck one last time."

It seems like a software issue indeed, I was sure that it might be a hardware fault and I need to RMA. I hope this helps others as well!

I appreciate it but it didn't work for me. I noticed as well that after the 2nd restart my haptics turned themselves on without me enabling them. I had set them off beforehand, and it turned them on anyway.

[Mitisz]

Postat inițial de El Tigre:

Postat inițial de Mitisz:

I was having this issue and I was getting crazy OCD about it. Finally, I managed to find a solution on Reddit, and it completely fixed my issues. The trackpads feel the same now, and the mushy feeling has been replaced with a satisfying click on both sides. I have followed the following instructions to solve my issues (credit to ZombeGavinS on Reddit):

"Go into haptics settings, set the left trackpad to 10 and the right trackpad to 1 (if the left one is weaker).

Restart the Steam Deck.

Go back into haptics settings and set them both back to 5 and then turn off the haptics completely using the toggle switch.

Restart the Steam Deck again.

Go back into haptic settings one final time and use the toggle switch to turn the haptics back on.

Restart the Steam Deck one last time."

It seems like a software issue indeed, I was sure that it might be a hardware fault and I need to RMA. I hope this helps others as well!

I appreciate it but it didn't work for me. I noticed as well that after the 2nd restart my haptics turned themselves on without me enabling them. I had set them off beforehand, and it turned them on anyway.

It did the same for me BTW, but I still completed another restart after I followed the instructions, and both of my trackpads are functioning the same way. now thankfully

When the Steam Deck turns on/off, put your fingers on the trackpads. If they vibrate the same during that (it did for me previously as well when it was uneven in games), it Is a software issue.

[dotlake]

Ended up RMAing mine recently (was a part of the very first batch back in February). They ended up doing a repair job instead of just sending a replacement, and they replaced both trackpads with new ones. The new ones actually feel quite different than the original. They sit taller, and also seem to be ever so slightly smaller to allow for a bit more tolerance against the edges of the shell. They also feel MUCH better. No more rattle, haptics don't feel inconsistent between each other, and they feel less mushy. Definitely would recommend going through with an RMA if you still have this issue and were a part of an earlier batch with the original trackpads, as it seems there was a hardware issue with the original batches and it can easily be repaired.

[Forge]

Got my 512GB last Weds, and exactly as OP, left touchpad is crooked, too far left, and partially depressed all the time (testing shows a max value for the clickpad of about 24K, and registers 2-4K with no pressure on the pad). I expect to open it up and reseat everything, but it's a bit disappointing to need to do this sort of work myself, or go without my new gadget for a week or three while Valve possibly repairs it.

[YT_RusherNate]

I have the same problem and my Steam Deck was build in Q2.

[hsiunghsiung]

After going through many settings, I've found how to resolve the scenario with the right trackpad having haptic while the left trackpad doesn't. It has everything to do with the Desktop Configuration controller settings in Steam (Or just controller settings from the Steam individual game). By default, the controller layout only makes the right trackpad have that haptic feedback, while the left one doesn't. You will have to set the haptic override for the left trackpad to have haptic feedback (instead of the default activator settings), or you can just use a different controller template (Web Browser) that will have feedback enabled by default for both. This is in the (Desktop) Steam > Settings > Controller > Desktop Configuration to select a controller template. If you want to edit it in the SteamOs side, you will have to select a game, then click on the controller icon to the right of the PLAY button, and then click edit Layout to change it. Then there are 2 squares at the top of the controller image that you can set for feedback and behavior. The trackball roller effect can also be disabled here

[Marlock]

one extra bit of info: there is a bug on the Deck that causes the controller configs in desktop mode to not be saved reliably

the latest beta changelog says Valve finally fixed this but you might run into the issue on the stable client for now
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675200/view/5464578025606471947

[atomic.flip]

Ok. In case anyone is still having issues with their trackpad haptics being extremely off balance (left or right side is much stronger than the other) or they aren’t getting the feedback they expect there is a very likely cause which is due to manufacturing.

I was able to fix my steam deck trackpad by disassembling the deck to remove the affected trackpad. It sits on a coiled bracket with four screw mount points. The coils are meant to absorb shock and prevent rattling. They also provide a bit of travel for the “click” function when you press down.

However it seems that depending on where your deck was manufactured they might have bent the coils outward a bit too much causing the pad to sit “against” the Steam Deck housing. The problem with this is it essentially mutes the trackpad haptics unless you press down slightly on the pad during a feedback event. Then you should feel a greater sensation of force feedback. But this is not how it is meant to work. The haptics should be running continuously during the test phase.

When I disassembled my deck I bent the coiled portion upwards (toward the surface of the pad) to provide some spacing between the housing and the pad and this completely resolved it. Now both pads are equally balanced.

This took a few tries to get just right.

But if anyone here likes to tinker and has the toolset to perform the maintenance I would suggest you give it a go.

[trini5o]

my 512gb model left side totally unresponsive. customer service is very slooooooooooow to reply to remedy issue

[Forge]

I rebuilt my 512's pads, which needed it badly (springs bent out/pinned against body on L pad, bent out and twisted slightly on R pad), and my partner's 512 (seemed okay, but I removed/reinstalled everything just to be sure and it's apparently stronger haptics now), and I'm planning on doing this pre-emptively on my 64GB that's on the way. Seems like a pretty standard piece of maintenance/rework for the first few revisions of the Deck.

If you're not okay doing it yourself, please use the warranty/RMA. If you're not sure, give it a shot. You only need a screwdriver, a small plastic prying tool, and a work mat or ice cube tray to keep the screws from escaping. It's really not bad at all, if you take your time and take notes/photos along the way.