How to fix Joystick Drift on Steam Deck

If you're having Joystick Drift issues on your Steam Deck, you might be able to fix it by calibrating the device in the software!
Featured Steam Deck How To Fix Joystick

Steam Deck is one of the hottest pieces of hardware to hit PC gaming in a long time. It allows you to take your PC games on the road and experience it in a console-like environment. While the hype behind it appears to be mostly justified, it still appears that there are some kinks to workout. If you’re having trouble with your joysticks on the device, we’ll give you some tips on how to fix them.

It looks like Nintendo isn’t alone when it comes to Joystick Drift. This was a pretty huge controversy on the Joy-Cons that the Nintendo Switch uses as their controllers. They eventually changed their policies and now fix the malfunctioning controllers for free. It looks like the Steam Deck is having some similar issues itself, according to reports on Reddit.

It’s very early in the life of the Steam Deck, so it’s unclear if this is an issue that can be resolved in the future with software changes. Hopefully, it is something that doesn’t affect the majority of people receiving their new device.

Here’s the step-by-step on how to fix Joystick Drift on Steam Deck (big thanks to the posting of these steps by Hollandje on Reddit):

  1. Press the Steam Button your Steam Deck
  2. Select Power in the Steam Menu and select “Switch to Desktop”
  3. Open the Steam App
  4. Open Big Picture Mode
  5. Open Settings
  6. Select Controller Settings
  7. Select the Controller
  8. Select Calibrate
  9. Increase the deadzone on each stick until the dot in the middle stays black
  10. Reboot the Steam Deck

That will hopefully cover any issues you are having with Joystick Drift on your Steam Deck. Find all sorts of great related content in the Tech Guides section of our website.

Shaun Savage

Shaun Savage

Shaun Savage is the founder and editor-in-chief of Try Hard Guides. He has been covering and writing about video games for over 9 years. He is a 2013 graduate of the Academy of Art University with an A.A. in Web Design and New Media. In his off-time, he enjoys playing video games, watching bad movies, and spending time with his family.

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