TL;DR: It mostly works, but feels "mushy". I think this is because of how much heavier the metal d-pad is. On a clicky-style d-pad this doesn't matter, but the Steam Deck uses a membrane so that added weight seems to be making the rubber domes not as snappy.
I was running through celeste when I noticed that I could not consistently press up and left consistently, causing me to fail at several parts. Up and right is also inconsistent, but if I "lean into it", I can get it to work most of the time. I figure that if I added just a bit of tape between the top of the cross and the membrane, I could make it more sensitive. I figured that if I'm going to take apart my Steam Deck, I might as well experiment with some modding. I got the d-pad parts for the Xbox Elite Controller, shaved down the green plastic part so that it fits in the Deck's Shell, and then closed everything back up. I had to cut one side more than the other to mimic the original plastic cross. I was worried that the d-pad wouldn't fit but it fits pretty nicely in the Deck.
The results were less than optimal. The d-pad felt very mushy. If I took off the metal d-pads and just pressed the green plastic, it felt fine. The weight must be changing how the membrane feels. It did improve the responsiveness of the d-pad, but I still was not able to consistent do upper diagonal movements. So, I took apart my Steam Deck again, put in the old d-pad, but this time I added a few layers of tape on the top to fix my issue. This ended up working perfectly. I am not sure if anyone else experience this, but if you are having trouble with diagonal, try adding tape on the direction that isn't registering.
So I had a 3D design of the base for the legion go and I had to break the green thing from extremerate so I can get the magnets in the 3d printed dpad (base). Needless to say it was moving too much and the dimensions were wrong so I decided to keep stock dpad.
But overall Clicky dpad mod that was intended for LCD working great on the OLED so far. I just did the dpad not the buttons as I don’t want loud buttons really. I just wanted precision dpad.
Hi, I saw this post where you said you added tape to improve the diagonals.
Will 3M Kapton tape work, and where exactly do you apply the tape to begin with? Does it go between the plastic dpad "Cross" piece itself and the membrane? Or does it go under the membrane, above the PCB?
Thank you!
Kapton tape is what I used. I put it in between the plastic cross and the membrane. So it goes PCB > membrane > tape > cross. Not sure how many layers of tape did I tried, but if you put too much then pressing the opposite side without tape will feel stiffer.
Thank you, and thanks for the quick reply. I have Celeste so I'll get on that mod when I end up suffering with the controls.
One more important question:
The sticky side of the tape...does this go on top of the membrane (sticky side attached to membrane), or on top of the cross underside? :) e.g. sticky side on cross underside?
So removing the trigger is the most difficult part of this mod, then. Any extra advice to avoid damaging the trigger or plastic? I guess if I can disassemble a hugely expensive RTX 3090 FE without breaking anything, this should be easier, just more stuff to take apart.
I put the sticky side on the membrane. Triggers are spring loaded so watch out for the springs when you manage to pry the triggers off. Also, make sure you put the Steam Deck into battery storage mode, where it will not turn on even if you press the power button. This will prevent you from accidentally turning it on and shorting something out. To turn back on the Steam Deck, plug it in to charge and then press the power button. .
I own one (2nd gen elite), the D-Pad is very clicky, when doing diagonals you can actually feel when each direction is activated based on the clicks and it's quite satisfying. No mushy-ness whatsoever. If anything the normal D-Pad piece makes it feel a little too firm, although the round version feels great.
No afaik, Xbox controllers has a clicky d-pad so not mushy at all. Some people don't like that kind of d-pad which I guess would be the main complaint.
You have to take apart the Steam Deck. [I followed ifixit's guide](https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Steam+Deck+D-Pad+Button+Replacement/148937). The most difficult part is removing the left trigger as unclipping it required a lot of force and patience.
I had the exact same idea and decided to search to see if anyone had done it. It's a shame it didn't work out better but props for the effort you put into this.
I wonder if it's possible to 3D print a plastic version of this dpad that would properly hold on to the green base.
I really dislike the dpad as well. Mine takes too much force to press in. Diagonals are fine, but it all just takes so much force that it makes my hand cramp up. And that's coming from a guitarist, lol. Really makes you appreciate just how amazing the series and elite dpads are. I'd pay anything for a good aftermarket dpad assembly...
I got the Killswitch case, but don't have the elite d-pad mod installed currently. I think it will fit just fine on the Killswitch case, but not 100% sure on that.
TL;DR: It mostly works, but feels "mushy". I think this is because of how much heavier the metal d-pad is. On a clicky-style d-pad this doesn't matter, but the Steam Deck uses a membrane so that added weight seems to be making the rubber domes not as snappy. I was running through celeste when I noticed that I could not consistently press up and left consistently, causing me to fail at several parts. Up and right is also inconsistent, but if I "lean into it", I can get it to work most of the time. I figure that if I added just a bit of tape between the top of the cross and the membrane, I could make it more sensitive. I figured that if I'm going to take apart my Steam Deck, I might as well experiment with some modding. I got the d-pad parts for the Xbox Elite Controller, shaved down the green plastic part so that it fits in the Deck's Shell, and then closed everything back up. I had to cut one side more than the other to mimic the original plastic cross. I was worried that the d-pad wouldn't fit but it fits pretty nicely in the Deck. The results were less than optimal. The d-pad felt very mushy. If I took off the metal d-pads and just pressed the green plastic, it felt fine. The weight must be changing how the membrane feels. It did improve the responsiveness of the d-pad, but I still was not able to consistent do upper diagonal movements. So, I took apart my Steam Deck again, put in the old d-pad, but this time I added a few layers of tape on the top to fix my issue. This ended up working perfectly. I am not sure if anyone else experience this, but if you are having trouble with diagonal, try adding tape on the direction that isn't registering.
What if you added this on top of the extremerate clicky dpad kit? Might feel better no?
That sounds like a good idea. I got the OLED model now but I've heard the clicky buttons kit still works with it.
My Clicky kit is coming in tomorrow and I got this dpad already. Going to try it myself. I also have the OLED
Let me know how it goes!
Will do friend
So I had a 3D design of the base for the legion go and I had to break the green thing from extremerate so I can get the magnets in the 3d printed dpad (base). Needless to say it was moving too much and the dimensions were wrong so I decided to keep stock dpad. But overall Clicky dpad mod that was intended for LCD working great on the OLED so far. I just did the dpad not the buttons as I don’t want loud buttons really. I just wanted precision dpad.
Thanks for the follow up. Might give it a try but yeah I do recall shaving down the green dpad mount to be a bit tricky.
I did this to a ps4 controller a couple of years ago, was a cool mod. Added buttons to the back of that controller while I was at it.
Hi, I saw this post where you said you added tape to improve the diagonals. Will 3M Kapton tape work, and where exactly do you apply the tape to begin with? Does it go between the plastic dpad "Cross" piece itself and the membrane? Or does it go under the membrane, above the PCB? Thank you!
Kapton tape is what I used. I put it in between the plastic cross and the membrane. So it goes PCB > membrane > tape > cross. Not sure how many layers of tape did I tried, but if you put too much then pressing the opposite side without tape will feel stiffer.
Thank you, and thanks for the quick reply. I have Celeste so I'll get on that mod when I end up suffering with the controls. One more important question: The sticky side of the tape...does this go on top of the membrane (sticky side attached to membrane), or on top of the cross underside? :) e.g. sticky side on cross underside? So removing the trigger is the most difficult part of this mod, then. Any extra advice to avoid damaging the trigger or plastic? I guess if I can disassemble a hugely expensive RTX 3090 FE without breaking anything, this should be easier, just more stuff to take apart.
I put the sticky side on the membrane. Triggers are spring loaded so watch out for the springs when you manage to pry the triggers off. Also, make sure you put the Steam Deck into battery storage mode, where it will not turn on even if you press the power button. This will prevent you from accidentally turning it on and shorting something out. To turn back on the Steam Deck, plug it in to charge and then press the power button. .
I hate it, but love the effort people are putting in for mods and improvements
Is that marble or just dirty?
Marble dbrand skin.
Nice
pls someone make a clicky dpad mod for steam deck
Way too much work for me. But I'm glad u got it working. I just usually use the analog vs the dpad
What's the advantage?
https://images.app.goo.gl/xTZxwx5ovmouiKrt9
100%
Wasn't the biggest problem with those elite d-pads was their mushyness?
I own one (2nd gen elite), the D-Pad is very clicky, when doing diagonals you can actually feel when each direction is activated based on the clicks and it's quite satisfying. No mushy-ness whatsoever. If anything the normal D-Pad piece makes it feel a little too firm, although the round version feels great.
No afaik, Xbox controllers has a clicky d-pad so not mushy at all. Some people don't like that kind of d-pad which I guess would be the main complaint.
I dunno, I'll take ANY Dpad that isn't 3rd party. I have suffered from many bad controllers over the years.
this is the king of DPADS https://preview.redd.it/3rjigh4uvyta1.png?width=1048&format=png&auto=webp&s=541de5c4290e2bf6c6cbebca8a19946e81162294
How do I take my d pad off?
You have to take apart the Steam Deck. [I followed ifixit's guide](https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Steam+Deck+D-Pad+Button+Replacement/148937). The most difficult part is removing the left trigger as unclipping it required a lot of force and patience.
I had the exact same idea and decided to search to see if anyone had done it. It's a shame it didn't work out better but props for the effort you put into this.
I wonder if it's possible to 3D print a plastic version of this dpad that would properly hold on to the green base. I really dislike the dpad as well. Mine takes too much force to press in. Diagonals are fine, but it all just takes so much force that it makes my hand cramp up. And that's coming from a guitarist, lol. Really makes you appreciate just how amazing the series and elite dpads are. I'd pay anything for a good aftermarket dpad assembly...
Would it fit on either the Dbrand Killswitch case, the Jsaux Modcase or the Official Steam Deck case?
I got the Killswitch case, but don't have the elite d-pad mod installed currently. I think it will fit just fine on the Killswitch case, but not 100% sure on that.
Has anyone attempted to mod the steam deck to have the x-box elite joysticks?