Hey, all. My Deck recently shat the bed, which is pretty disappointing because I love it, am gentle with it, and don’t feel like I’ve had it for very long (April of '22). I went back and forth with Steam support for a week, and they were ultimately pretty unhelpful. Here’s a copy-paste of the issue I’m having:

Device will only power on when charging cable is connected. When powered on, the battery indicator reads 88%, but the time to full charge reads “??:??”. Device shuts down when the charging cable is disconnected. The issue persisted after a reset of the firmware and BIOS, and a factory reset.

Has anyone here experienced something similar? My instinct is to replace the battery, but I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole without some reassurance that it might actually solve the problem lol

Thanks in advance for any help!

  • fediverser@alien.topEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

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  • Drifox@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    You can check your battery health in desktop mode. You could check there and see if it says the battery is bad or not.

    Have you tried opening it up and making sure there are no loose connections? Loose connections can cause some weird issues to pop up sometimes.

    I’ve also heard some people say putting the deck into storage mode can fix some battery issues as well.

    Here is a link to a guide on how to enter storage mode. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Enable+Battery+Storage+Mode/149962

  • ikdedinges@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I had something like this, I put it in desktop mode with the charger attached, the deck would not charge while it was on. I left the charger connected and the deck on in desktop mode for a full night. The next day it worked fine again.

  • Suppasandwhich@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    A 77% battery health sounds pretty low i think. I know apple replaces iphone batteries if its bellow like 85%. But id get more input from others that know more.

  • TheCandyManCan1@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’m actually going through the same process as well. Been in contact with Steam support, but there will be several days between replies, and I think unfortunately, it will be for not.

    I was purchased in June 2022 so out of warranty at this point. I’m having the dreaded “black screen“ and I tried all of the myriad of solutions posted on the web. It just kind of sucks as I pretty much kept it new in box from June 2022 through October 2023, used it for about a month and then the unit dies.

  • syberphunk@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Open the deck and check the chips near the battery connection for damage, it’s been known that the circuitry explodes the chips and needs replacing.

  • Nemnapos@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Are in europe? because then you could demand that they fix it (mandatory 2 year warranty) since it sounds for me that the charging IC is partial broken.

    Did you try to put the device in Storage mode? That powers it completely off. you could also try to disconnect the battery and reconnect it.

  • V45H@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Please try resetting the PD controller on your Steam deck.

    To do so: make sure the unit is powered on first, then hold the “-” volume button and “…” button at the same time for 5-8 seconds until you hear a beep. The beep will signify the reset is complete. After this restart the unit and then retest the issue.

  • PanicMode-1847@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I had an issue almost exactly like this on a 2ds. It wouldn’t power on anymore, but would when charging. It just needed a new battery.

  • Uruz94@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I thought my steam deck was dieing until I figured out for some reason I need to double tap the power button on or off. Doubt it’s your case but it’s how I live with mine

  • dyelawn91@alien.topOPBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Thanks for your advice, everyone! After exhausting the trouble shooting options I was able to complete with my Deck in the state that it’s currently in, I went ahead and ordered a new battery. Fingers crossed my Deck can rise from its grave.