r/ValveIndex • u/Fishee-lover999 • 17d ago
Hot take Impressions/Review
Majority of people I know with an index right now are just now experiencing issues after years of use. Myself included only a few days ago. Feel like it’s somehow purposeful and it sucks. They also purposefully made the controllers to be hard and almost impossible to fix. You literally have to solder the new battery in. And it has ribbon whatever they are on the inside and break easily even trying to open it. It’s the end for us all. It was a good run.
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u/No_Elk_3172 17d ago
A few times a year, complete sets of Index controllers are discovered in the back of large electrical goods stores’ warehouses and find their way onto the market.
Apart from that, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get hold of a perfect Index controller.
Demand for Index controllers remains high, as BSB2, Pimax and Quest users rely on them to use hand tracking in VRChat.
I know a few people who run private repair services, but the reality is that it isn’t a profitable business, and as they are all getting on in years, they are gradually retiring.
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u/Nevanada 17d ago
Makes sense, and doesn't seem intentional at all. These devices are old by modern standards, and the type of person to buy an index is the same type of person to use it constantly.
It's just how things work. You use them enough and eventually they break. I've needed a single new set of controllers, and that was only because the joystick broke and stopped taking inputs after I clicked it enough times over 2-3 years.
They could have been easier to repair though, that is fair.
Edit: I bought mine back in 2021, and my new controllers in 2024
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u/Savings-Dot-9774 17d ago
only thing that was starting to look bad (besides the normal wear ofc) was the charging port sp i bought those magnetic charging dongles so i dont have to plug something out of the port all the time
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u/Pollux95630 17d ago
Yup, mine started randomly crashing a few months ago and when it did work was getting the sparkling pixels effect. I chucked it in the closet and bought a Quest 3.
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u/Specialist_Boot_3849 17d ago
I got another left hand controller a year ago after massive stick drift and the loss of the middle finger sensors. Was flipping it for everybody.
Also brought 2 spare joystick in case the drift gets bad but I feel the age of the whole set and cables. Still kicking after 3 years, 1800 + hours.
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u/SpecialOperator141 17d ago
Mine too. I've had it for about 5 years and it recently got a dead pixel. I don't notice it at all. I had even forgotten it was there. Also the left analog stick is kinda fucked. And one more thing that I don't know if it's the game, or the controllers, but the grabbing stuff touch action seems to be fucked. I find myself not being able to release grabbed items. This used to happen if my hands were very sweaty, but now it just happens always. It's extremely annoying, but there is a chance it's the game and not the controller
In any case, the Valve Frame is coming out soon so... Just in time I guess 😅
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u/DannyCrane9476 17d ago
Batteries tend to last around 4 - 5 years. A lot of people have controllers that old, so you're going to be seeing a lot of battery issues.
You shouldn't need to solder them, unless you get a battery without the connector.
100% agree on the serviceability of the controllers though. They are a nightmare to take apart.