UPDATE: Valve says it's identified the problem causing the drift issues and attributed it to a software error involving "deadzone regression." According to Valve designer Lawrence Yang, "we just shipped a fix to address the bug, so make sure you’re up to date."
Original story 3/1:The first Steam Deck units are now shipping to customers, but some are experiencing "drift" problems with the PC gaming handheld’s thumbstick controllers.
On Tuesday, three different users took to Reddit to post about the right thumbstick on their Steam Decks incorrectly reading inputs after removing their hand from the controller.
They also posted videos to demonstrate the problem. In one video, the mouse cursor over the Steam Deck’s display continues to move down even after the hand has been lifted from the right thumbstick. In another clip, the thumbstick still registers inputs after being pressed downward.
Valve didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But one of the users wrote they were able to temporarily fix the problem after entering desktop mode on the Steam Deck and increasing the "dead zone" for the thumbsticks in a settings panel.
It's possible the problems could be software-related as opposed to hardware since it's pretty unusual to see thumbstick drift occur in a brand new product. Drift issues most often result from the gradual wear-and-tear of the components inside the thumbstick controllers, according to repair website iFixit.
Another user contacted Steam’s customer support for help on resolving the issue. Valve’s support page for the Steam Deck notes owners can “go to Steam > Settings > Controller > Test Controller Inputs to run a test suite to help identify any problems.”
If you do experience hardware problems with a Steam Deck, the product comes with a one-year warranty under which Valve wil repair the device or replace it with a new or refurbished model.
The company has also made the Steam Deck's thumbstick controllers relatively easy to swap out for new ones. Valve plans on selling replacement parts for the PC gaming handheld through authorized retailers such as iFixit sometime soon.