News > Gaming Valve Releases New Patch for Steam Deck Drift Just one day after the issue is reported By Rob Rich Rob Rich Twitter News Reporter College for Creative Studies Rob is a freelance tech reporter with experience writing for a variety of outlets, including IGN, Unwinnable, 148Apps, Gamezebo, Pocket Gamer, Fanbolt, Zam, and more. lifewire's editorial guidelines Published on March 2, 2022 11:07AM EST Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Fact checked by Jerri Ledford Western Kentucky University Gulf Coast Community College Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Gaming Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Valve has stated that it's aware of the control stick drift problem that some Steam Deck users have reported and is issuing a patch to take care of it. On March 1, some Steam Deck users reported that the control sticks on their Steam Deck were registering movement without any input (drift). The news was particularly concerning since Valve's new handheld console had just started delivering less than a week before. But before you go opening up your Steam Deck to fix it yourself, Valve has a solution: download the latest update. Valve Reddit user Stijnnl shared a reply from Valve support on the matter, with Steam Deck designer Lawrence Yang issuing a similar statement on Twitter. Turns out the drift problem was caused by the most recent firmware update—which could explain why reports of the issue started popping up around the same time. Yang referred to it as "deadzone regression," which was messing with the calibration for the control sticks. Valve Fortunately, because the problem was software-related, Valve was able to come up with a patch to fix it rather than requiring physical hardware repairs. The only necessary step is downloading and installing the most recent Steam Deck update. Though as Stijnnl points out, Valve's fix has reduced the device's ability to read much more slight and nuanced movements. If you have a Steam Deck, you can grab the update now, regardless of whether or not you've experienced any controller drift. If nothing else, it could work as a potential preventative measure. Now, if only it were this easy to address the Switch's drift problems. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit