Does the ROG Ally X Have Poor Build Quality?

Salutations to friends and other fans!

I'm Mikhailov from Team Retrogue, a group that enjoys vintage video games and the gadgets that play them.

After my Left Trigger malfunctioned last week, I wrote an essay detailing my interactions with ASUS customer support. In the end, I fixed the trigger myself. I kept opening my device this week in an attempt to fix it, which led me to the odd conclusion that ROG Ally Handhelds aren't the best built.

Am I Overreacting?

To be honest, I really like playing games on the ROG Ally X. This handheld is extremely capable due to its performance and battery life.

I also like that this portable has a full-sized nVMe slot, which allowed me to install a 4TB disk. Thanks to some very helpful YouTube tutorials from Retro Game Corps and Cyber Dopamine, my Ally X has now been converted into a Bazzite/Windows dual-boot.

Additionally, Andrew reviewed Retro Handhelds, highlighting all of its advantages.

I hate this handheld, but why? The simplest response is:

The Build Quality

The average customer should never have to open their unit. I have opened mine at least seven times. The hard drive had to be replaced the first time. That ought to have been it.

Then, my left trigger stopped working. I corrected it myself because I couldn't contact ASUS customer service.

Then, this terrible creaking sound came from the same left trigger. According to a short Google search, this problem is so common that YouTube has multiple tips on fixing it.

"Why am I doing this?" I wondered myself as I liberally applied this recently found substance to my left trigger with a little paintbrush.

I Shouldn't Have to Do This

I've decided to perform this maintenance on my device because, in addition to not trusting customer service to resolve the problem appropriately, I also don't want to be without my ROG Ally X while they do so.

Among the many problems with the original ROG Ally were malfunctioning Micro SD card readers. I encountered this with an Open-Box Z1 Ally that I purchased from Best Buy and wrote a post about it.

Why Does This Matter?

Knowing every facet of a unit is crucial for making educated judgments, and it's obvious that the build quality could affect people's units in the future.

Since every other x86 handheld I own or have owned, including the MSI Claw, has incredible build quality, I intend to be much harder on ASUS devices in the future as a reviewer.

I hope you have found these articles helpful. Although the build quality problems have soured my feelings about the ROG Ally X, I still enjoy playing games.