How to Replace the Steam Deck SSD (Upgrade Storage)

[@sbennettable]

Very handy to watch and straight to the point :)

[@Loaded0]

Thanks!

[@juiciness]

You MUST remove the MicroSD card. You MUST disconnect the battery. Nothing went wrong here but it’s an unnecessary risk.

[@Loaded0]

It’s definitely a best practice to remove them. I’ve had problems in the past with battery ribbon cables though so I don’t often remove it for pcie slot peripherals. Luckily haven’t had a problem yet.

[@onedaydreamatatime3650]

@@Loaded0 ​ as someone providing a guide to process, you must keep in mind what you are doing is showing others how to do something. Not informing viewers of a risk like this is irresponsible and an outstanding disservice. I have already followed your guide only to read comments and find you have skipped a step, not informing me of the importance and potential risk. Just because you have issues with something doesn't mean everyone will, or that everyone is willing to take the risk over some extra effort. As someone putting up a guide on this you should have at a minimum mentioned this in your video.

[@Loaded0]

I appreciate you taking the time to write such a long comment, but I actually do mention the battery at around 00:30 into the video. It’s a risk to do everything even involved in this video. Valve doesn’t recommend changing the SSD on your own. That said it’s a handheld PC that uses PC components and it behaves like a PC so I wasn’t really concerned about the battery.

[@aarondaugherty9809]

Haven't picked one up yet, but the Steam Deck is currently on sale and this makes me feel a bit more excited about picking up a base model and swapping the NVMe storage. Do kind of wish you showed the OS install process, too.

[@Loaded0]

Yeah it’s a great deal with the base model and just upgrading the drive. I didn’t do the OS install since you can really install any OS following their respective instructions. If you want to just install SteamOS on the new drive though Valve has simple instructions here: help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/1B71-EDF2-EB6D-2BB3

[@UntrainableWizard]

I know they aren't really stopping people from upgrading, but it's strange that they warn people away from it so much, especially with right-to-repair being a thing in so many places, now. On the website itself, they even say "not intended for end-user replacement", and I always get the sense that things being over-covered or protected by flimsy clips, are the manufacturers way of trying to stop or further ward people away.

[@Loaded0]

That could be true. They don’t want people opening them up probably because of support and liability problems. As for the plastic clips I think it is cost and ease of manufacturing for them. Using a bunch of screws is good for flat products, but curvy ones are harder to seal without clips I would imagine.

[@jothain]

Of course they're endorsing people to stay away and as an industrial machine mechanic, man it's absurd how much people just do stuff wrong everywhere. To me it's so obvious why they're trying to hint that if you're not sure, maybe you shouldn't mess with it. I know so many people that would instantly f'up thing like this to beyond repair. It's not rocket science, but world is filled with dumb mofos 😀

[@fly7292]

Do you still use the Dell G15 laptop? Do you plan on making a long term usage review video on it?

[@Loaded0]

I still do although it’s getting less use these days. There was an annoying problem with the brightness controls not working with one of the latest nvidia drivers under hybrid graphics mode. I haven’t tried troubleshooting it much though. Maybe not a full review, but I think I’ll try to make an update video of how its running and the upgrades I’ve done to it so far.

[@fly7292]

@@Loaded0 I have the same issue. A lot of G15 users have reported that issue. I let dell support know and I made several posts on their forums but Dell hasn't fixed it yet which is unacceptable. Buying a $1400 dollar only for dell to do the bare minimum is very bad practice.

[@thequeen901]

Is the thing Valve says about the screws being stripped easily or the case being weaker/looser after doing the replacement true? (I have OCD and that would probably bother me a lot.) If those did occur, would they be fixed by buying a replacement back cover and replacement screws from iFixit? I wanna upgrade my 64 GB Steam Deck to a 512 GB SSD, but I'm inexperienced with taking apart electronics and am hesitant to do the upgrade since I'm worried I'll mess up the screws in the process.

[@Loaded0]

The screws are small so yeah they can be stripped easily but that’s less of a problem if you use the correct size screwdriver and don’t force turn things. As for the case, as long as none of the clips inside break while you open it it’ll be good too. Make sure to use the plastic opening tool all around to avoid breaking any. Like you said there are good replacements available too if something does go wrong. Give it a try. It’s pretty easy with the right tools and take it slow. At least you’ll have an excuse to customize it with a cool case color if it doesn’t turn out as well as you’d like.

[@kitlinatoc6706]

@@Loaded0 what size of the screwdriver did you use for the inner screws?

[@Loaded0]

The same one worked well for everything I had to unscrew. Made it nice and easy.

[@GGHBB-kc1mp]

Im not gonna mess taking the ribbon off either but I will drain the battery so it won't even boot to lower the risk.

[@Loaded0]

That’s a good idea.

[@spycemyster]

Help please, I upgraded my SSD but now my steam deck won't charge. Even after switching back to the old SSD, it still doesn't charge. Anyone know what might be the issue?

[@Loaded0]

Does it turn on at least with the battery life it has? If it doesn’t even turn on or charge maybe the battery cable got loose or damaged. I also had a problem similar to this though after not using one of my Steam Decks for a while but it fixed itself after plugging it into a different charger for a while then turning it on. Try this before opening it up again. Once it powered on the battery was at a weird percentage, but that fixed itself too.

[@spycemyster]

@@Loaded0 It turns on but even with a charger in, the battery drains when it's idling in the home screen. I've tried 3 separate chargers (that all work on my phone) and the percentage still drains

[@Loaded0]

Most phone chargers are usually not strong enough to charge the Steam Deck so it’s best to use the official charger or at least a laptop usb c charger. Phone chargers are usually only 5-15 watts while the official Steam Deck charger is 45 watts. That might not be the problem though so if it still doesn’t charge try the instructions here: www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/t8x3ue/psa_valves_solution_for_no_charging_ghost/ Other people have said this worked for them.

[@spycemyster]

@@Loaded0 Thanks for the suggestions but I've tried putting it in shipment mode and it still doesn't work T_T Also I've tried using an 87W and 30W charger, the battery life still goes down

[@Loaded0]

Hmm not sure what else to try except keeping it plugged in for a while if you haven’t already tried that too. Doesn’t sound like it’s really related to the SSD change so maybe you can still get it replaced from valve support.