So you've been playing on your RG351M, but you have noticed that the D-Pad diagonals are a bit tough to press? In some action games you have an advantage if you can quickly adjust direction from down, right-down, right in a quick and effortless fashion (Street Fighter, Zelda, side scrolling shooters, etc). You've come to the right place.
This guide will help you modify the D-Pad so that pressing the 8 directions is much easier!
⚠️ Warning!! This process is reserved for advanced users only. You must be very good with your hards working with small components to do this safely. Please proceed at your own risk. ⚠️
- I have heard that the reset and power buttons are very delicate, it would be best to avoid putting any pressure on those buttons specifically, so that they don't snap off.
- If you want to watch a partial video of the teardown (for RG351P) I recommend Retro Game Corps video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQYeQW8bwqQ -- it goes up to everything before removing the circuit board.
Some users have found that the D-Pad on their RG351M (possibly other devices) can be difficult to press the diagonals, or find that pressing the diagonals requires extra force, leading to less than perfect gameplay. It turns out that this is due to the plastic rod at the center of the back of the d-pad. It is just slightly too long which makes it unoptimal. The fix in general is to sand this rod down very slightly. I really must emphasize slightly -- if you sand down too much plastic your D-Pad would be ruined and there's no going back (though you could probably get another 3D printed one). The best technique is to sand a very small amount, so small that you might not even notice anything changed, and try it out. If it's still the same, you can also try sanding a little bit more and trying again.
- Power off your device and remove the microSD card.
- Remove the 4 screws on the back of the device.
You'll need a small hexagonal screw driver for this. I used a hexagonal multi-tool and found that the second to smallest one worked fine. It said it was 1/16" inch bit size. After you've removed the screws, place them aside. The case should come off quite easily on the RG351M since there are no clips to undo. - Be careful of the battery cable when removing the case. Flip the case over in an upward direction and disconnect the battery cable carefully, and set this piece aside.
- Remove the L1/L2 and R1/R2 plastic buttons. Remember their orientation.
- Disconnect the two red & black speaker cables from the board.
- Disconnect the Wifi antenna (small black wire), if your device has it, by gently pulling it up and away from the board. I used small needle nose pliers for this.
- You may also disconnect the analog stick ribbon cables if you want, it's a bit tricky though. I personally left the cables attached to the board and was still able to do everything.
- Here's the scary part in my opinion. Disconnect the VGA ribbon cable from the board. The way to do this is to carefully work the black "flap" out & up, which should allow the ribbon cable to slide right out. You may use a toothpick to gently guide it out towards the right.
- With those components disconnected, you can now remove the 14 little black screws surrounded by a white circle border (incl. 2 on each analog stick mini circuit board). Note that for some reason my device seemed to be missing one from the factory.
- Lift up the left analog stick circuit board, and you'll see one more (15th) black screw holding in the side panel near the volume wheel. Remove this screw.
- Carefully remove the left and right side panels; to do this you may have to lift up the circuit board a little bit.
- The big moment! You should now be able to remove the circuit board and flip it over, as it is no longer attached to anything. Do NOT flip the entire device over! the D-Pad should be face-down at all times so you don't lose any of the membrane parts. Also, be careful of the two small rubber covers for the reset button (buttom) and power/sleep button (right side), remove these when possible and put them safely aside.
- With the circuit board out of the way you now have free access to the D-Pad, which is located on our right. The ABXY action buttons are on the left side. If you bought a button mod kit, now would be the time to swap those out too.
- Remove the D-Pad membrane and the D-Pad piece itself.
- Sand down the center rod of the back of the D-Pad a small amount! Really you don't want to do it that much, sanding a little makes a big difference in its performance. Too much can render it almost useless. I'm talking like the thickness of 2 pieces of paper. I used a sponge sanding block but you could also try a file or 100 grit sandpaper. These photos attempt to show the before and after of my result.
- Now put the D-Pad back in and put the membrane back over it, lining up with the membrane's 4 attachment rods. I don't think it matters which direction is "Up", it should be fully symmetrical.
- Here are my before and after photos. If I'm honest, I think even I might have sanded it a bit too much!
- Putting the circuit board back in place is tough, but not impossible. Be sure nothing is in the way, such as a loose screw or the reset button membrane. Be sure to line up the VGA ribbon cable so it goes through the hole to the other side. Use a small toothpick or screwdriver to guide it through, and watch the speaker cables as well.
- At this point with everything lined up, I put back a few of the black screws near the D-Pad area (right side) and then I flipped it all over briefly to feel the D-Pad. See if it is still stiff or clicky; if it's not you should be good to go. If there seemed to be no change you could go back and sand a bit more, but again be very careful not to do too much.
- When you're satisfied, put the left and right side back in -- you might have to remove all the screws again to make this easier. Then start putting the screws back in, make sure the reset and power button membranes are properly lined up, etc.
- Route the wifi cable around the rods so it isn't impacting anything (see the photos).
- Reconnect the speaker cables
- Reconnect the VGA cable by guiding it into place and snapping down the flap.
- Don't forget to replace the black screw on the left side panel as well, before screwing in the left analog stick.
- Reconnect the Wifi antenna cable by snapping it down to the copper port
- Replace the L1/L2 & R1/R2 buttons
- Place the cover back on, lining it up first with the shoulder button rods, and then screw it back in.
Hopefully this made your D-Pad better. Happy gaming!
Thanks for the guide. I followed it and got my RG351M D-Pad to work perfectly.
Just a note on the linked video from Retro Game Corps, the tear-down of the RG351P is a bit different from the RG351M, it got me a bit confused at the beginning, but following your detailed guide above saved it for me.
I also took the opportunity to clean the power switch as it wasn't working properly, I just sprayed it with a contact cleaner a couple of times, and it now works like a charm.