I’m going to preface this by saying I am not a d-pad connoisseur. I rarely use them, I don’t play fighting games and I don’t really know the technicalities of what makes a good d-pad. As such, I never really hold a particular opinion one way or another on any d-pad I use, as long as it works, it’s all gravy.
But fuck me, I hate the d-pad on the OLED SD. Now, I am totally fine with the d-pad on my LCD SD, but this new d-pad is awful. It has so much space to slide around inside the shell, what the fuck is that about. Also the feel of the membranes on this d-pad is awful compared to the old SD. There is resistance that just snaps out as the membrane gives way and it just feels terrible.
What’s most egregious though is that I can press a direction to the point the membrane gives way and the button is fully depressed, but no input is registered. This mostly happens with the down direction and it’s not every time. I did try cleaning the contacts with isopropyl alcohol just in case something funky happened during assembly but no dice.
I am so shocked none of the early reviews were like “hey, this d-pad really kinda sucks”.
I’ve disassembled my OLED SD and put two little squares of electrical tape behind each direction button and it is now VASTLY improved. Still not great, but it atleast doesn’t anger me anymore and I don’t get ANY missed inputs anymore.
Otherwise, love it, I loved my old SD and I love everything that the OLED model brings (except the d-pad).
Eagerly awaiting some kind of third party d-pad mod.
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What a weird post
The only thing I’ve noticed so far on mine is that the dpad feels a bit stiffer (which for me is a con, I prefer dpads on the looser end) but otherwise I can’t say I can relate. I don’t have missed inputs and it doesn’t feel like it’s sliding into the shell when I use it either. Maybe you have some sort of hardware defect?
Mine seems stiffer too, I can’t seem to shove it around or anything.
So it’s totally fixed in place? You can slide it around at all?
I just completely disassembled the deck and it’s not fixed in place at all, it’s just a floating d-pad.
It’s very stiff in mine, no problems with it all. On the other side of my deck the ABYX buttons are the only ones slightly looser than on the LCD. I think this really varies per deck??? :/
Clearly you’ve never used an Xbox 360 controller.
The Deck’s D-pad isn’t great, but it’s a whole lot better than the Switch Pro Controller’s D-pad, and it’s certainly far from being “one of the worst D-pads”.
My main issue is that it’s floating d-pad that can be moved around loads and im getting missed inputs.
My LCD SD d-pad is absolutely fine, I’ve got no complaints. But I’m really not onboard with the new OLED decks d-pad.
I can press a direction to the point the membrane gives way and the button is fully depressed, but no input is registered. This mostly happens with the down direction and it’s not every time.
I’m having this same exact issue. I thought it was just a defect on mine tbh.
I just took the membrane and d-pad from my LCD Deck and put it in my OLED deck and now everything is perfect.
I tested the OLED d-pad and membrane in my LCD Deck and it brought all the same problems.
Visually the d-pad and membrane between the LCD and OLED deck look very similar but clearly something is wrong with the new ones.
I ordered an extra set of LCD deck d-pads and membranes from ifixit so that my old LCD deck doesn’t get stuck with a crappy d-pad.
It does alide around like crazy. When you hit the down button too much it just starts hitting against the shell. Utter shit
Stumbled across this thread because I had the same thought too. The face buttons are noticeably more mushy when compared to the original Steam Deck. D-Pad Down for me was especially egregious.
Same problem with my OLED Steam Deck. Pressing down on the D-Pad sucks. Real loud clicky sound.
What guide did you use to replace D-Pad on OLED? Is it same general replacement process as the LED Steam Deck?
Nope it’s not even close to the worst dpad. My least favorite D-pad by far is the Xbox 360 one. If you haven’t used it, it’s garbage. I think it’s fine but also the switch’s base 4 buttons is worse too since it’s not a dpad
Yes mine also does the same. It has room to slide around. I noticed earlier and that it was strange, but if I’m honest it doesn’t bother me at all so I didn’t even think of it again until reading this.
Honestly I don’t think anyone but Nintendo makes a proper D-pad. Don’t know what they do differently but something about their design allows for consistent and responsive performance. Considering their patent ran out years ago more people should just copy their design and be done with it.
I have the exact same issue!!! And I just posted it! Mine is right direction. If I push it several times the whole pad will go off to the right and stuck there.
I’m also slightly having issues with the D-Pad. I’m not sure if it’s a defect or not, but I have to put a little more force on down on the D-Pad in order for the input to register. Unlike my LCD SD, I can softly press down on the pad and it’ll register no problem.