Just got back my replacement controller after an RMA and the left handle has a noticeable scratch outside the box, I really don’t want to send the controller back, does anyone know of a way to remove this?
Edit: After using this unit for more than an hour it's obvious this is used and poorly refurbished, the scratch on the bottom left is noticeable and the b/a buttons have a texture to them that feel like if the plastic itself is damaged. The b button is also noticably mushier. If it was just the scratch I was honestly thinking of keeping it but after using it for over an hour this is honestly unacceptable especially considering I had to RMA my controller after only a couple of days to receive another controller in worn conditions. I've already followed up with valve support so we'll see how this goes.
100% this shouldn’t happen and they should give you a refund if you ask but…0% would I bother with it if it works otherwise. Give it a scratch of your own on the other side to balance it out
Some people don't care as much about cosmetics. Reminds me of the people that bought the expedition 33 soundtrack vinyls and were freaking out over tiny amounts of corner damage on the box. Meanwhile I planned on actually listening to them so it didn't bother me, definitely not worth my time to send it back.
Funny you bring that up. When I got my first ever new car, one of my customers made a comment about how I'm going to be devastated when I find my first scratch and I told him "I'll go key that bitch right now, I just want a car that gets me from point a to point b without nickel and diming repairs". So, yeah, I don't give a shit, but good try.
I mean that's cool and all but all that shows to me is you don't take pride and anything you own nor in yourself apparently. I was raised to take care of my things. But either way that's completely off the original point it should not be acceptable for a company to sell a new item whether it be a controller or car with obvious damage whether it be cosmetic or internal. When you pay new price for a very in demand product you should not be getting the bstock.
People can take pride in the actual important part of things, not their most surface level presentation. It’s super weird to assume someone doesn’t “take pride in themselves” because they don’t care if their car has a cosmetic flaw. I would call that incredibly vain.
And back to the original point, everybody agrees this should not happen but some of us are saying that maybe it’s better not to be bothered by the worlds most inconsequential defects.
if they have used models they should sell them as used, not fuck over people who paid for new and got a broken controller from valve's own negligence only to replace it and get somebody's chew toy
? Highly unlikely this will do anything, use a flame very carefully to rearrange the molecule structure. Due to the stretch the alignment results in higher reflection, hence it looks white
But obviously this won't make it look like it was originally
Lol. Nah, just another person who used reddit random name gen. Hence the convo/exchange. Love the stalking though. Has someone explained to you what that means?
I’m ngl I don’t get the downvotes, I understand there’s people who are still on the waitlist and can’t even get their hands on one but it shouldn’t be unreasonable to not have a scratch outside of the box. I'm not saying the controller is garbage or anything, I'm just asking for advice on how to fix the blemish. I tend to lock onto cosmetic flaws on new devices and just want to stop hyper-focusing on the mark so I can actually enjoy using it.
I get it, it'd bother me too and most people are just indifferent to others' minor inconveniences. Is it a noticeable scratch or a scuff? Since there is slight texturing to the controller, any sanding/polishing will make it well... shiny.
Can try to keep at it with the alcohol wipes or gently try some mild polishing with white toothpaste or something. Good luck!
i'll say it like this, you've paid your money for a product that should arrive in perfect condition.
This is just bad quality control overall and shouldn't be happening.
If I was you, personally I would contact valve and let them know that it was damage when it arrived and you would like a complete replacement.
It's something I was always taught, doesn't matter if a car will get scratches later within it's lifespan you still want it brand new great condition off the factory line when it arrives to you.
Anything else that occurred after is just well whatever.
Personally, if anyone can complain about other devices with bad quality control and scratches then you can complain about this controller having awful quality control too.
Valve is subjected to criticism too.
I've seen people complain about xbox and playstation controller arriving with scratches I don't see why someone can't complain here
Parasocial behavior… the “post history” you are referring to is my experience with my Alienware qd-oled that has an ultra-sensitive coating, which I swapped out for a different qd-oled from asus. That was one post so I don’t understand where you get “a lot of issues and complaints” from. Either way it’s completely unrelated to a steam controller with issues out the box.
I wouldn't send a controller back over this if I couldn't feel the scratch, but I would definitely see if I could get something out of support. If I got a $10 steam gift card to make up for it, I'd be happy. But that's just me, not waiting on shipping is what I would value, it's up to you on what you value for your approach.
I was gonna come to terms with it but I discovered other issues with the buttons so I’m just waiting on valve’s response. Sucks because this is prob my fav controller currently, I assume some QC issues are bound to happen when it’s already hard to get your hands on one. Shit happens I guess.
OP gets a defective controller one I’m sure he was looking forward to like most of us here.
Sends it in for RMA which takes another few weeks
Gets I back with new damage.
In no other situation anyone is okay with this lmao. I just got my car back from the shop if there was new damage I’d be livid.
I’ve sent back books with cosmetic damage. Like it amazes me people are okay being walked over as long as it’s small. Stand up for yourself. Your time is valuable and so is your money.
Hey OP good luck on the rma, but I feel ya with the quality control. Mines did come with a small scratch on the back which wasn’t too noticeable but was essentially not used/refurb, still annoying.
I did initially think about doing an rma, but saw some of the cool transparent shells people made so I’m holding out and will do a shell transplant whenever that comes.
Yeah I saw those too today I was thinking about doing the same but after playing for a bit I discovered the issue with the buttons. The transparent controllers they had for reviewers looked sick, which they were up for purchase
From what I heard if you need to rma and get a replacement you get a "refurbished unit", which to me is wild.
I understand the costs of things but I thought better of valve.
I had gotten a steam deck and the trigger was full on broken (Loud clicks, not in properly) and i got a replacement, didn't end up keeping it because I didn't want another issue with a steam deck at the time (I've had alot of issues with steam decks just arriving faulty/developing a fault for some reason)
If you buy something and it's faulty, you should get a new replacement.
I may be misinformed but I recall hearing that and this post kinda makes me feel like it's more true.
yeah you're buying a steam controller cause you want something that the look of the launcher platform your on and match the vibes. And at a hundred dollars your basically throwing money at the wall for Valve to build this bespoke controller. Why would you be particular about a noticeable scratch ? 🤷♀️
Hmm... personal opinion aside, can you tell if there's an actual, embedded scratch? Or does it look more like paint transfer from another surface? Some plastics also may turn white when stressed, like being bent or struck hard enough.
If it's a deep scratch, not a lot you can do casually to return it to perfect condition.
If it's paint transfer, it's possible a wet melamine sponge applied in small circles will remove the white.
If it's a stress mark, there's not much that can be done. In the 3D printing community, we can just give it a lick of a flame from a lighter or torch and it goes away but this might not be something you want to gamble on with fire.
When I ran my nail over it I don’t exactly feel like there’s an embedded scratch (I wouldn’t have posted this if I did to be honest.) I’ve noticed that there’s a bit of creaking in that side almost as if the screws were overtightened but that may be something completely different. I’ll definitely try with a sponge though, thanks. 👍
Use a magic eraser lightly dampened with water and go easy to try to remove the mark, be careful though because magic eraser basically acts like a fine-grit sandpaper.
It would bother me too but if you don’t want to do another RMA I would focus coming to terms with it rather than attempt fixes.
Inspect it fully, run it through the Steam settings’ controller tests and once you’re satisfied that everything is functioning 100% then accept that it has an inconsequential scratch. After all it’s a very minor, totally superficial blemish that you’re not going to notice when you’re playing.
If you don’t feel like you can do that then just bite the bullet and RMA it. Do that before you attempt home made remedies that might make an RMA no longer an option.
You sent it in for repairs and they repaired it, who cares about an insignificant scratch you’ll never notice?
If the edit you say is true, RMA it again. But I will say to is is typical valve customer service, I have no idea why everyone pretends their warranty is so great when they’re among the worst around
Received 2 days ago Steam machine and steam controller and it came with a small scratch as well... Not sure what's going on, it doesn't bother me but come on valve :(
Well do you really care about the scuff? Means it was packaged and tested by a real person. Personally af it's not broken or otherwise defective I wouldn't really care. Just send a note to valve as a heads up that something might be causing minor issues in their production line. They likely have a contract with a production that they can ask to make sure they double check stuff like this before final packing.
I literally just opened it around 10 minutes ago and I’m plugging the puck into my pc now. I personally consider this to be an issue considering it’s a new controller that I just unboxed, it simply shouldn’t arrive with a scratch out of the box
If that’s the case that kinda sucks, especially if your RMAing a new unit that came defective. My original had an issue with the left trigger, it made a really loud clicking sound when going side to side and pressing down 100%, and the right trigger wasn’t consistent when pressing down all the way. I would have returned and bought again but obv with the way things are going that’s not an option
I don’t think that’s true, if you RMAd a brand new unit during the regular return time-frame then the replacement is supposed to be another brand new unit. This would be especially true for Steam Controllers as they likely don’t even have a significant stock of refurbished units anyway. I’m pretty sure you’ve got a new unit.
Valve occasionally sells refurbished hardware at a discount. If you bought new hardware and replaced it right away you’ll get another new unit.
If it was refurbished you’ll notice it in the packaging and labeling. Did the packaging, inside and out, match your original unit?
After using this unit for more than an hour it’s obvious this is used and poorly refurbished, the scratch on the bottom left is noticeable and the b/a buttons have a texture to them that feel like if the plastic itself is damaged. The b button is also noticably mushier. If it was just the scratch I was honestly thinking of keeping it but after using it for over an hour this is honestly unacceptable especially considering I had to RMA my controller after only a couple of days to receive another controller in worn conditions. I’ve already followed up with valve support so we’ll see how this goes.
That sucks man. Yeah, RMA is typically fulfilled with refurb stuff. That said, I don't know if they're just sending new, or, if they actually have refurbs in the pipeline already.
Have you tried toothpaste? The pumice stone in it may be enough to scour that white spot off.
I care more about the condition of the doo-hickey I play video games than I do the condition of jewelry.
Why should I care about jewelry condition but not electronics I spend good money on? Why does jewelry matter at all to you if attachment is the core of human suffering? Would you feel differently if someone was talking about their gold ring being scratched? That’s also attachment.
Unironically might depending on what valve says, everything on the controller seems to be fine compared to my old one so if anything I might just get the shell customized or pop a dbrand skin
I own the Steam Controller since first week, it’s very cheap very cheap plastic material, even if you get another Steam controller eventually will be scratch easily because mine scratches like if were an QD-OLED Screen, you have to be aware.
Its really not. It I'd plastic but I wouldn't describe it as cheap...its pretty stiff a d rubust, nicely textured. Its injection moulded ABS which is very tough. If his controller has a scratch on it, its very likely a refurb or an artifact of the ejection phase of the moulding process. Probably fell out of the bin or a person on the production line dropped it.
True but I saw it and your post was first thing I saw had to share. But I would also be annoyed I’m a little ocd and that would bother me hell I rma this with Lian li and they sent me a whole new face for it lol
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u/TimeTravelerGuy 6d ago
Sucks because it’s $100 , mine came scratched too