I’m hoping they’ll break in over time because it’s annoying the hell out of me

They must have been talking about the screws on the outside of the shell. The back buttons are secured by rivets internally. It’s been like that since the first Steam Deck models.

Same here. Currently have mine open. I can’t figure out what’s causing it 🥲

If you mean thumbstick caps, it’s hit or miss. There’s a ton on amazon that are different colors.

If nothing else fixes this. Shut down the deck, press the volume up button and the power button at the same time. You should see the BIOS. Follow these instructions to reinstalk Steam OS.

No

Yes

Contact Steam Support, this is definitely something that can be fixed through software