"Clicky/Crunchy" Right Trackpad

[Gippej]

Does anyone else have an issue where the right trackpad feels extremely clicky in comparison to the left? I understand they are formatted to act as different inputs but the right one is so much different than the left one I can feel it almost crunching as I drag my finger across it where as the left one really only moves in the top/bottom and left/right. This happens with the haptics turned off as well, so I'm not sure if my trackpad is loose or if this is just by design.

[NadeHeart]

Same problem here

[Kidomaro]

Did you end up figuring out a solution or anything as I think it just happened to me

[Gippej]

Originally posted by Kidomaro:

Did you end up figuring out a solution or anything as I think it just happened to me

I just ended up returning it for a new one

[benzado]

This is happening with mine, I assumed it was because some tiny thing is caught underneath the pad as the click/crunch is not consistent, like it’s moving around.

Actually opened the case to see if I could clean it, but I’d have to remove a lot of components to reach it that way.

[Kidomaro]

Originally posted by benzado:

This is happening with mine, I assumed it was because some tiny thing is caught underneath the pad as the click/crunch is not consistent, like it’s moving around.

Actually opened the case to see if I could clean it, but I’d have to remove a lot of components to reach it that way.

So I actually managed to fix the issue for me albeit a bootleg method but it worked.
Also while it is a bit of components you have to remove to get to it, Ifixit has amazing guides for it making it almost painless

I'll start out by saying if you can then see if Valve can replace it because Idk if this will work forever and whatnot or if it works for everyone but otherwise this could perhaps be something you can try? Because it worked for me and I'm happy I somehow accidentally tried it lol

I noticed that it was the case's plastic and the plastic from the touchpad rubbing against each other resulting in the click when clicking on the touchpad for whatever reason. Despite the screws being tight it wasn't holding it fully together so I cut out some paper towel and placed between them which so far has stopped the noise and I did this roughly around when I originally commented here on this forum post, and so far that noise hasn't come back. At first I could still VERY slightly hear the noise but only when the deck was turned off BUT as of writing it has completely vanished and practically new

Here's 2 pictures of it and me clicking on the touchpad with it the time (I did take a pencil and color it black as you could see the white through the crack of the touchpad which was annoying me and I did also end up putting on the other side of the touchpad for good measure. The touchpad still feels identical to the other side especially when haptic are on)

https://imgur.com/a/M7DxMxx

EDIT: I should also mention the paper towel is only touching in between the plastic shell and the plastic of the touchpad and nothing else therefore it should be entirely fine. Idk if needed to mention but just in case ay

Hope this may help if you end up trying it!

[benzado]

Wow, thank you! After I commented here I found some other stuff on Reddit and YouTube pointing to the same issue (the fit of the touchpad and case). And I was totally convinced there was a single grain of sand bouncing around in there. Sounds like some people have fixed it by tightening or loosening screws. The paper towel is genius.

You've convinced me that I stand a good chance of improving it if I crack open the deck again, so I'm going to give it a shot. Thank you for taking the time to share the photos. I'll post again later... hopefully with some good news.

[Kidomaro]

Originally posted by benzado:

Wow, thank you! After I commented here I found some other stuff on Reddit and YouTube pointing to the same issue (the fit of the touchpad and case). And I was totally convinced there was a single grain of sand bouncing around in there. Sounds like some people have fixed it by tightening or loosening screws. The paper towel is genius.

You've convinced me that I stand a good chance of improving it if I crack open the deck again, so I'm going to give it a shot. Thank you for taking the time to share the photos. I'll post again later... hopefully with some good news.

No worries! I'm just glad that it might be of use, as I know the situation you're in and it's not fun. Hopefully you manage to figure it out! Let's hope for the screws to do the job otherwise perhaps what I did

I also tried tightening and or loosing the screws but no sadly it didn't work for me but then the toilet paper/paper towel thought came to mind which miraculously worked for me (atm I can't quite remember which I used although shouldn't matter I reckon)

Some things I'll note just in case you try it to make your life easier:
- I'd suggest coloring the piece you cut black (I used a black ink pen I had) because otherwise you'll be able to see it in the crack of the touchpad which annoyed me A LOT lol, but by coloring it black you won't be able to see it whatsoever

- I did on the left and right side of the touchpad so on the picture where I highlighted red to the right side of that (Because by only doing 1 side you might slightly feel one side being a little tougher than the other alongside for me the sound was still present with only 1 side done but by doing both, these issues vanished)

- When you have opened the deck place it face down in the case where the screen is supposed to face as that makes a perfect holder for the deck and won't damage the thumbsticks with unnecessary pressure

- Ifixit has guides to open the Steam Deck in essentially every capacity so if you just follow their guide to take out the touchpad then you should be golden! Here's a link for their Steam Deck Guides in case you didn't know https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Steam_Deck

While writing this message I was digging through my pictures and I found another image showcase my process a little better and the piece being black:

https://imgur.com/a/9ZBxivY

So on the 2nd picture I highlighted both places where I put a piece the right side is a pain in the ass to position the piece properly but it is worth the extra hassle (But you could try the 1 side first and see if it fixes it and feels fine, and otherwise if it only fixes most of it it then do the other one)

Good luck! Let's hope the screws does it but otherwise this worked for me ^^

[benzado]

So, after this discussion, I opened up my Deck. Thanks for the tip about leaving it face-down in the case, that worked really well. I removed all the parts on the right side down to the trackpad, and then... I put it back together again. I didn't make a conscious effort to tighten or loosen any of the screws; none of them seemed to be too loose or too tight. I wasn't ready to try adding paper towel. I figured, OK, now I know how to get to the part, it's not so bad, now I'm prepared to open it when I've got a better plan.

I didn't want to jinx it by writing back to soon, but, since I put it back together, the clicking/crunching has stopped! My guess is that, since I'm not a robot, I probably screwed it back together looser than it was at the factory, and that alone made the difference.

Who knows, now that I've posted this, it might start clicking again, and if so I'll prepare a paper towel sheet and a sharpie marker.

Again, thanks for the encouragement, and have a happy new year!

[johny]

Originally posted by benzado:

So, after this discussion, I opened up my Deck. Thanks for the tip about leaving it face-down in the case, that worked really well. I removed all the parts on the right side down to the trackpad, and then... I put it back together again. I didn't make a conscious effort to tighten or loosen any of the screws; none of them seemed to be too loose or too tight. I wasn't ready to try adding paper towel. I figured, OK, now I know how to get to the part, it's not so bad, now I'm prepared to open it when I've got a better plan.

I didn't want to jinx it by writing back to soon, but, since I put it back together, the clicking/crunching has stopped! My guess is that, since I'm not a robot, I probably screwed it back together looser than it was at the factory, and that alone made the difference.

Who knows, now that I've posted this, it might start clicking again, and if so I'll prepare a paper towel sheet and a sharpie marker.

Again, thanks for the encouragement, and have a happy new year!

So is it still good? I'm having this issue and don't feel like rma. I would need to replace the SSD I had installed so why not try to fix it if I have to open it up again.

[benzado]

Originally posted by johny:

So is it still good? I'm having this issue and don't feel like rma. I would need to replace the SSD I had installed so why not try to fix it if I have to open it up again.

Yep, still good! Crunch has not returned.

[SepSlither]

Originally posted by benzado:

Originally posted by johny:

So is it still good? I'm having this issue and don't feel like rma. I would need to replace the SSD I had installed so why not try to fix it if I have to open it up again.

Yep, still good! Crunch has not returned.

Guess it’s time for me to do this. Scary but I want a flawless deck.

[benzado]

Originally posted by SepSlither:

Guess it’s time for me to do this. Scary but I want a flawless deck.

Did you overcome your fear? Did you defeat the crunch? How did it go?

[Cactopus]

Originally posted by Kidomaro:

Originally posted by benzado:

Wow, thank you! After I commented here I found some other stuff on Reddit and YouTube pointing to the same issue (the fit of the touchpad and case). And I was totally convinced there was a single grain of sand bouncing around in there. Sounds like some people have fixed it by tightening or loosening screws. The paper towel is genius.

You've convinced me that I stand a good chance of improving it if I crack open the deck again, so I'm going to give it a shot. Thank you for taking the time to share the photos. I'll post again later... hopefully with some good news.

No worries! I'm just glad that it might be of use, as I know the situation you're in and it's not fun. Hopefully you manage to figure it out! Let's hope for the screws to do the job otherwise perhaps what I did

I also tried tightening and or loosing the screws but no sadly it didn't work for me but then the toilet paper/paper towel thought came to mind which miraculously worked for me (atm I can't quite remember which I used although shouldn't matter I reckon)

Some things I'll note just in case you try it to make your life easier:
- I'd suggest coloring the piece you cut black (I used a black ink pen I had) because otherwise you'll be able to see it in the crack of the touchpad which annoyed me A LOT lol, but by coloring it black you won't be able to see it whatsoever

- I did on the left and right side of the touchpad so on the picture where I highlighted red to the right side of that (Because by only doing 1 side you might slightly feel one side being a little tougher than the other alongside for me the sound was still present with only 1 side done but by doing both, these issues vanished)

- When you have opened the deck place it face down in the case where the screen is supposed to face as that makes a perfect holder for the deck and won't damage the thumbsticks with unnecessary pressure

- Ifixit has guides to open the Steam Deck in essentially every capacity so if you just follow their guide to take out the touchpad then you should be golden! Here's a link for their Steam Deck Guides in case you didn't know https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Steam_Deck

While writing this message I was digging through my pictures and I found another image showcase my process a little better and the piece being black:

https://imgur.com/a/9ZBxivY

So on the 2nd picture I highlighted both places where I put a piece the right side is a pain in the ass to position the piece properly but it is worth the extra hassle (But you could try the 1 side first and see if it fixes it and feels fine, and otherwise if it only fixes most of it it then do the other one)

Good luck! Let's hope the screws does it but otherwise this worked for me ^^

Thank you! This has been bothing me for so long and my last several attempts after disassembly saw no improvements after putting everything back together.

Following your guide, instead of using paper towel i used a layer of electric tape then a layer of painter's tape (non-sticky paper-like texture on the top surface) for a more robust solution after testing for an ideal thickness and firmness of the material; both layers were cut to exact dimentions. I then colored the initially white painter's tape on top to black. My deck trackpads have been working perfectly ever since.

[Kidomaro]

Originally posted by Cactopus:

Originally posted by Kidomaro:

No worries! I'm just glad that it might be of use, as I know the situation you're in and it's not fun. Hopefully you manage to figure it out! Let's hope for the screws to do the job otherwise perhaps what I did

I also tried tightening and or loosing the screws but no sadly it didn't work for me but then the toilet paper/paper towel thought came to mind which miraculously worked for me (atm I can't quite remember which I used although shouldn't matter I reckon)

Some things I'll note just in case you try it to make your life easier:
- I'd suggest coloring the piece you cut black (I used a black ink pen I had) because otherwise you'll be able to see it in the crack of the touchpad which annoyed me A LOT lol, but by coloring it black you won't be able to see it whatsoever

- I did on the left and right side of the touchpad so on the picture where I highlighted red to the right side of that (Because by only doing 1 side you might slightly feel one side being a little tougher than the other alongside for me the sound was still present with only 1 side done but by doing both, these issues vanished)

- When you have opened the deck place it face down in the case where the screen is supposed to face as that makes a perfect holder for the deck and won't damage the thumbsticks with unnecessary pressure

- Ifixit has guides to open the Steam Deck in essentially every capacity so if you just follow their guide to take out the touchpad then you should be golden! Here's a link for their Steam Deck Guides in case you didn't know https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Steam_Deck

While writing this message I was digging through my pictures and I found another image showcase my process a little better and the piece being black:

https://imgur.com/a/9ZBxivY

So on the 2nd picture I highlighted both places where I put a piece the right side is a pain in the ass to position the piece properly but it is worth the extra hassle (But you could try the 1 side first and see if it fixes it and feels fine, and otherwise if it only fixes most of it it then do the other one)

Good luck! Let's hope the screws does it but otherwise this worked for me ^^

Thank you! This has been bothing me for so long and my last several attempts after disassembly saw no improvements after putting everything back together.

Following your guide, instead of using paper towel i used a layer of electric tape then a layer of painter's tape (non-sticky paper-like texture on the top surface) for a more robust solution after testing for an ideal thickness and firmness of the material; both layers were cut to exact dimentions. I then colored the initially white painter's tape on top to black. My deck trackpads have been working perfectly ever since.

Glad to hear that it worked, especially knowing the pain/annoyance it can cause haha! Electrical tape is a good shout, I think I used paper towel back then just out of frustration throwing things at the wall to see if worked, and then once it worked just didn't bother to tinker further with it as I got a satisfactory result (no click) lol

But hey 2 years later and still no issue or anything and I've been semi-daily driving it! So no complaints from me :D But thanks for the update, very happy to hear my random discovery has helped at least 2 people now! (including myself of course)

[WarAxel495]

I will try, thks.