this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2025
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The Steam Controller's stick is upgradeable! (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 3 days ago by silverchase@sh.itjust.works to c/games@lemmy.world
41 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Look at that new stick!

The original thumbstick of the Steam Controller was always a bit imperfect. I bought my Steam Controller on day one, but a few years in, the soft-touch material on the stick started to flake off. That's gross!

Those flakes that rub off also don't help with gripping the stick. It already has a convex-shaped top, which I like less than a concave top. It always feels like I'm pushing the stick in some direction but my thumb is slowly slipping.

After almost a decade of putting up with this, I had enough. I looked around online and found that people had figured out how to upgrade that part of the Steam Controller, and it's actually decently easy and cheap.

Replacing the stick

It turns out the replacement sticks for the 8BitDo SN30 Pro fit perfectly in the Steam Controller!

The Steam Controller is held together with Torx T6 screws. I opened it up and carefully lifted up the mainboard, making sure not to harm the ribbon cable underneath. From there, I pulled the stock thumbstick cap off of the stick and slipped on the replacement one.

I now have a Steam Controller with a thumbstick that doesn't rub off and is even concave for better grip!

My notes on how to do this replacement yourself

top 41 comments
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[–] tal@lemmy.today 58 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

I kind of wish that Valve had kept producing the Steam Controller.

It really made sense in the context of sitting on a couch and playing mouse-oriented games. And when the Steam Machine flopped, that kind of killed a lot of reason for it.

But people also did find a use for them, and there isn't a real alternative.

EDIT: Well okay, there were those mods that involved tearing up a Steam Deck and using the components to make a DIY controller, but the price and technical barrier-to-entry there is gonna exclude most people.

[–] dneaves@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

With the Steam Deck's success, I'm surprised the Steam Controller didn't return, as I think it would be an excellent companion controller for couch-mode gaming. I'd buy 4 of 'em.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 4 points 3 days ago (3 children)

checks

I don't own a Deck, but Wikipedia does say that the Deck has HDMI out. I guess that having the Steam Controller available would presumably let you use the Deck as a console

plug it into your TV, pair a Steam Controller, and then you get a big screen and a lighter controller.

[–] dneaves@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago

Not HDMI-out, you need some USB-C <-> HDMI cable. Preferrably a dock since there's only one USB-C on the Deck. But otherwise, yes: plug it into a TV and it'll display on the TV, connect a bluetooth controller and you basically have a console.

I was just hoping Steam Controllers were still around to be that controller

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

but Wikipedia does say that the Deck has HDMI out

No, it has USB 3.0 type-C that's capable of video output

[–] Natanael@infosec.pub 4 points 2 days ago

You need a docking station for it

[–] Venator@lemmy.nz 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

people are going through that much effort to build a steam controller? maybe i should auction mine instead of having it gather dust... 😅

[–] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 13 points 3 days ago

Yes. My killer motivation on day one was to be able to play point-and-click games like Puzzle Agent on a couch. Being able to emulate a mouse with trackball-style physics in a controller was so cool.

I've stuck with it over the years. The two trackpads are just so nice to use, especially once you get familiar with the crazy wizard tricks you can do with Steam Input.

[–] 0li0li@lemmy.world 27 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Bring those back Valve, I never got a chance to get one and want it so bad!

[–] Youwiththe@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

If you want to buys mine, let me know

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip -3 points 3 days ago (4 children)

You REALLY REALLY don't.

Steam Controllers died for a reason. Yes, there are still some diehards but mostly it is people who never had one dreaming about how good it must have been because The Deck is REAL damned good. The reality is that it felt flimsy, had horrible buttons, and the touchpads instead of sticks (and d-pad) were god awful and basically only useful for games with no gamepad support and corner cases on stuff like Terraria or Stardew which took advantage of steam input.

Which was the big thing. Steam Controllers themselves, like Steam Machines, were a complete and utter failure outside of like five people. But it led to Steam Input (and SteamOS) which are genuinely amazing and play ridiculously well with games that don't have a gamepad mapping or don't have a good one.

Which is why Steam Controller 2 is going to be a challenge. Because touchpad instead of button or stick is bad. Touchpad in addition to buttons and sticks are godlike.

[–] slaneesh_is_right@lemmy.org 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I hate controllers with a passion and the steam controller is the only one that i like. I hoard 4 of them in case they break

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Eh, I've tried to like it and I don't. It's fine, but the buttons kinda suck and I never got used to the left touchpad. The main thing I miss is a second joystick.

The Steam Deck is way better, and I think I'd like a standalone controller designed that way, with a bit bigger touchpads (not as big as the Steam controller though).

The touchpads are great at replacing a mouse, but not great at replacing a joystick.

[–] IzzyJ@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

I'm imagining one touch pad like the ps4 controller had to save space, but split in half

[–] Gonzako@lemmy.world 18 points 3 days ago (2 children)

They took em away cuz there's a patent troll on buttons behind controllers. All the cons you put forth are fairly solvable or up to user preference (I quite liked the touch pads myself)

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 day ago

The patent troll you're referring to is SCUD (fuck those guys and fuck their owners, Corsair).

Thankfully, Valve won the appeal in their lawsuit a few years back and the patent is no longer valid. Unfortunately, the damage was already done

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 13 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Obligatory: Fuck Polygon since it is now a website owned by people who built their empire on rape

https://www.polygon.com/2021/2/3/22264213/valve-steam-controller-lawsuit-scuf-4-million/ covers the lawsuit.

It was filed in 2015. Valve discontinued the controller at some point between that and when they finally sold out in 2019.

That can mean one of two (main) things:

  1. Valve was so afraid of the lawsuit that they immediately stopped production and still took 4 years to sell out of their inventory
  2. Valve didn't care and continued to produce units up until 2018/2019 when they stopped for whatever reason

Both are fairly plausible because 4 million USD isn't even what GabeN spends on knives in a given year. Neither paint a picture of the Steam Controller being some wild success.

Because, if it were, they could have just as easily

  1. Paid a licensing fee to SCUF et al. Which is what I assume 8bitdo, MS, and Sony all do? ... Also Valve since the Steam Deck has back paddles too
  2. Released a revision that got rid of the back paddles

Its great you like it. That doesn't mean others did.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Eh, Steam Deck has back buttons, which are probably different enough design-wise to avoid lawsuits.

[–] Trail@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

I guess I am one of those 5 people you mention. I have both a steam controller and a steam deck. The controller is slightly better than the deck, for me. It is the best controller I have owned, hands down.

[–] BigPotato@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

I played 200 hours of MGSV with the Steam Controller. I love it.

I hate playing Xcom with the Steam controller which, arguably, it should be better at.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 12 points 2 days ago

eyup. upgradeable and obviously repairable but in case anyone missed that conclusion its one of the reason the steamdeck is so great. its like the fairphone game system.

[–] guynamedzero@piefed.zeromedia.vip 14 points 3 days ago

I have a prototype steam controller! Specifically the Chell model. I got it from my boss’ for free because they didn’t care about it

[–] kopasz7@sh.itjust.works 13 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

PictureI put a rubber cap thingy on mine. This should be the least invasive fix.

[–] jonathan@piefed.social 13 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I'm not sure if it's the potato quality, the lighting or the controller is just that dirty. Keeping your (no longer in production) controller relatively clean can help with its longevity!

[–] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago

Man, every black thing I photograph close up in decent lighting looks so ugly and dusty. I had to get funky to get a good angle and lighting setup for my photo here.

[–] kopasz7@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 days ago

It's the morning light from the side, letting you see each speck of dust.

[–] Blaiz0r@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

I have exactly the same one! It does the job nicely

[–] addie@feddit.uk 6 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Ah, nice. I destroyed my first one playing Sekiro; the trigger buttons are really awkward to get to pieces to replace the internals, and my replacement Steam controller is almost too valuable to use, since I can't replace it any more.

[–] Blaiz0r@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Same for me, Sekiro killed my left bumper and I tried to replace it using aluminium from a soda cab, but it hasn't worked well 🙁

[–] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

This is the 3D-printable replacement bumper mechanism I used in my controller. And by "I", I mean my friend, who did the printing and installation for me. The click is a bit stiffer and sounds deeper than the original, but it works fine again.

[–] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago

I actually damaged the left bumper of this one playing Nine Sols since I used that as the parry key. I had to get a friend to 3D print a new flexible mechanism and swap it in for me.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 2 points 3 days ago

since I can’t replace it any more.

There are small numbers of used Steam Controllers on the market.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22steam+controller%22&udm=28&shopmd=1

[–] RogueBanana@piefed.zip 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I wonder if it is possible to use steam deck as a steam controller for my linux desktop. Anyone tried it? How was the experience and latency?

[–] ZeroPoke@fedia.io 7 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Assuming you mean to play a Steam Game. You just use the Streaming and look at your main displays I do it here and there.

[–] jonathan@piefed.social 7 points 3 days ago

You can disable the video stream too.

[–] RogueBanana@piefed.zip 2 points 3 days ago

Tried stream play once on mobile long time back and it was terrible lol. Let me try it with the deck, it must have been improved by a lot now.

[–] Botzo@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

It is. I got it working wirelessly once for shits and giggles using USB/IP.

Dug up the comment: https://lemmy.world/comment/3637478

[–] AnyOldName3@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (3 children)

I'm not sure I'd consider this a total upgrade - I have a Steam Controller and an 8bitdo SN30 Pro, and despite the 8bitdo one being newer and having been used much less, I wore through its original thumbstick rubber and had to replace it much sooner than the Steam Controller's thumbstick cap, which hasn't even worn through, it was just flaking.

Either that was a fluke, or the 8bitdo rubber isn't as durable.

[–] Buffalobuffalo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago

Chiming in as a steam controller die hard, and sn30pro master-race. My replacement stick for steam controller from 8bitdo still turned into flakes in a few months. My sn30pros are going strong though, may be a batch to batch situation for rubber materials.

[–] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago

Good thing I ordered two thumbstick caps!

[–] BurgerBaron@piefed.social 2 points 3 days ago

I haven't had any noticeable joystick wear on my four Pro 2's since launch date April 2021. I'm using them evenly however, so that might skew things. I swap to the next every time the battery needs recharging.

Weekly couch gaming sessions with my friends is why I have four.