It's getting a little STEAMy in here.
Re: It's getting a little STEAMy in here.
I still love my Deck, but I sure don't love that the battery's stopped holding a charge three weeks after the warranty ran out.
Re: It's getting a little STEAMy in here.
Nope, not that. I've had the sucker running on "0%" battery for 70 minutes so far. So the battery's holding a charge, the system's just not reading it correctly.
That sounds like a less expensive problem to fix and I hope it is!
That sounds like a less expensive problem to fix and I hope it is!
Re: It's getting a little STEAMy in here.
Okay, so, initial symptom: wouldn't power on; charge light didn't even come on when I plugged it in.
I looked up the iFixit Steam Deck Won't Turn On guide and worked my way through the troubleshooting steps -- make sure the cable is good, make sure the buttons press, try holding down power, try holding down power and volume +, etc. -- and worked my way down to where it suggested I disconnect the battery. This was pretty straightforward; I needed a Philips head screwdriver, a pick, and a fingernail to actually disconnect the cable.
Once the battery was disconnected, when I plugged the power back in the light came on, and I was able to boot.
I shut it down and reconnected the battery. Light came on, it booted, it told me the battery was at 0%, so I assumed it was no longer holding a charge.
But just to be sure, I plugged it in overnight, turned it back on the next morning, and then disconnected the power. It continued to warn me that it was at 0%, but stayed on. After awhile it was clear that it wasn't anywhere near running down; the 0% was a misread.
Per this guide I found that was either written by Spicy Autocomplete or a person with limited English proficiency, Steam Deck Battery Stuck at 99, 90 or 0 Percent, How to Fix?, I tried setting it to Shipping Mode to see if that fixed the read on the battery. It didn't.
There was a software update queued but it refused to run because the battery (allegedly) doesn't have enough juice in it. So I figured okay, before I go any farther, I should try to get that update installed. So I disconnected the battery, connected it to power, and booted again, to see if that would let me install the update. It still wouldn't; it won't run the update unless it registers a battery that's connected and at least 25% charged, even if it's plugged in. (This is probably not a good idea; you should be able to install firmware updates if you've got a stable power connection. Because, after all, what if there's a battery-related issue that needs a firmware fix?)
So then I reconnected the battery, booted again, and...then it showed it was at 19%.
I suspect that number is probably accurate and the issue is fixed now, but just to make sure I'm going to run it down all the way, then set it to shipping mode, then fully charge it. I think that should probably get the calibration as good as it's gonna get.
All of which has been a pretty big headache, but in the end highlights what I love about the Deck. It's not perfect (it sounds like changing the battery is a real bear, "requiring repeated heating and prying cycles", which sucks because even if I don't need a new battery now I'll surely need one someday), but I was able to troubleshoot and fix it myself with standard tools and documentation that's easy to find online.
And while my warranty recently expired so this is something of a moot point in my case, Valve's policy appears to be that fixing stuff yourself won't void your warranty unless you break something while you're in there.
(Now, that policy isn't notable in itself -- it's mandated by US law -- but it's unusual for a hardware company to actually be upfront about that. The norm is for companies to obfuscate and mislead and outright lie; remember those "warranty void if removed" stickers everybody used to put over screws until the FTC finally started handing out fines?)
I looked up the iFixit Steam Deck Won't Turn On guide and worked my way through the troubleshooting steps -- make sure the cable is good, make sure the buttons press, try holding down power, try holding down power and volume +, etc. -- and worked my way down to where it suggested I disconnect the battery. This was pretty straightforward; I needed a Philips head screwdriver, a pick, and a fingernail to actually disconnect the cable.
Once the battery was disconnected, when I plugged the power back in the light came on, and I was able to boot.
I shut it down and reconnected the battery. Light came on, it booted, it told me the battery was at 0%, so I assumed it was no longer holding a charge.
But just to be sure, I plugged it in overnight, turned it back on the next morning, and then disconnected the power. It continued to warn me that it was at 0%, but stayed on. After awhile it was clear that it wasn't anywhere near running down; the 0% was a misread.
Per this guide I found that was either written by Spicy Autocomplete or a person with limited English proficiency, Steam Deck Battery Stuck at 99, 90 or 0 Percent, How to Fix?, I tried setting it to Shipping Mode to see if that fixed the read on the battery. It didn't.
There was a software update queued but it refused to run because the battery (allegedly) doesn't have enough juice in it. So I figured okay, before I go any farther, I should try to get that update installed. So I disconnected the battery, connected it to power, and booted again, to see if that would let me install the update. It still wouldn't; it won't run the update unless it registers a battery that's connected and at least 25% charged, even if it's plugged in. (This is probably not a good idea; you should be able to install firmware updates if you've got a stable power connection. Because, after all, what if there's a battery-related issue that needs a firmware fix?)
So then I reconnected the battery, booted again, and...then it showed it was at 19%.
I suspect that number is probably accurate and the issue is fixed now, but just to make sure I'm going to run it down all the way, then set it to shipping mode, then fully charge it. I think that should probably get the calibration as good as it's gonna get.
All of which has been a pretty big headache, but in the end highlights what I love about the Deck. It's not perfect (it sounds like changing the battery is a real bear, "requiring repeated heating and prying cycles", which sucks because even if I don't need a new battery now I'll surely need one someday), but I was able to troubleshoot and fix it myself with standard tools and documentation that's easy to find online.
And while my warranty recently expired so this is something of a moot point in my case, Valve's policy appears to be that fixing stuff yourself won't void your warranty unless you break something while you're in there.
(Now, that policy isn't notable in itself -- it's mandated by US law -- but it's unusual for a hardware company to actually be upfront about that. The norm is for companies to obfuscate and mislead and outright lie; remember those "warranty void if removed" stickers everybody used to put over screws until the FTC finally started handing out fines?)
Re: It's getting a little STEAMy in here.
Steam Deck OLED releasing next week. Better battery life, easier to access the internals, and harder to damage them; Torx screws and metal threads. (No word on whether the battery is still glued in.) (ETA: apparently it is, but maybe not as hard as in the earlier models.)
It took me awhile to come around on Torx screws; I used to hate dealing with Compaqs because I'd have to find a fucking star-head screwdriver to work on them. But I've stripped enough Philips-heads over the years to realize that Torx are superior in basically every way except that you're likelier to have a Philips screwdriver onhand when you need one.
It took me awhile to come around on Torx screws; I used to hate dealing with Compaqs because I'd have to find a fucking star-head screwdriver to work on them. But I've stripped enough Philips-heads over the years to realize that Torx are superior in basically every way except that you're likelier to have a Philips screwdriver onhand when you need one.
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Mongrel
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Re: It's getting a little STEAMy in here.
Greeted by this just now:
Yeah, you're fucking right it's cursed, you fucks.
Yeah, you're fucking right it's cursed, you fucks.
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