I Paid $529 for a BROKEN Steam Deck - But Can I Fix It?!

[@Tronicsfix]

Someone gave me this broken gaming laptop to see if I could fix it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWW2Z4SCadCYhbM

[@burnsfamily1616]

first reply lets go i love ur work and i am inspired

[@erich3784]

HUMANKIND > Civilization :p

[@iDeviceishPro]

Amazing!

[@asdfasdf7199]

great videos sir!

[@cdoublejj]

i'm looking to buy a broken steam deck motherboard for cheap, for research.

[@thetoasterisonfire2080]

It’s so nice to be able to buy replacement components for the deck, it’s sad that most companies don’t do that.

[@Tronicsfix]

Agreed

[@diegosilang4823]

Make sense when these devices are scarce. Repair is sustainable, economical and environmentally friendly of less e-waste.

[@thetoasterisonfire2080]

@@sys-administrator idk about you but I can buy the button board

[@NeoPortaPotty]

Wonder if when the stranger deck 2 come out well be able to just buy the mobo with the soc on it and change them out

[@MTG9745]

yeah most companies just want money and don't care about their customers.

[@TheIshikawaRin]

One thing I love the most about the Steam Deck is Valve's unrivalled commitment to repairability and accessibility to the inside of the handheld, it's so amazing seeing a company be so open to users being able to do whatever they want with what they bought.

[@seguramlk]

Couldn't agree more

[@keno2363]

I agree

[@thetoasterisonfire2080]

@@DrRespectful it was dropped and the component itself was crushed, I wouldn’t call that a weak point

[@jockerchannel7585]

Hi how can i get an affiliate program link ???!

[@thetoasterisonfire2080]

@@jockerchannel7585 what, you smell of bot?

[@iDeviceishPro]

Hey that's my Steam Deck!!! Great video Steve! Glad to see you were able to get it all fixed and enjoy the deck 😀

[@Tronicsfix]

This was a fun repair! Thanks again

[@AndersHass]

I presume it was the high end model. I guess lack of availability of the shoulder buttons made you sell it? Then I wonder if you ordered a new Steam Deck.

[@iDeviceishPro]

@@AndersHass Nope had the 256GB mid range model. Thats exactly why I sold it. If the parts were available at the time I would have kept it and fixed it on my own. But since I was a fan of this channel and there was nothing I could do, I figured I'd sell it to Steve I did also order a new 256GB Steam Deck for Q3 2022

[@derpdude32]

Its channels like these that have finally gotten me into repairing! My mom got me an ifixit bit set and I'm proud to say i have already fixed two old tv remotes!

[@Tronicsfix]

That's awesome! Love hearing stuff like this. Nice work on the repair!

[@JudeTheYoutubePoopersubscribe]

same man. i have an ifixit kit and finally got the courage to open up my laptop and replace the thermal paste because of overheating and also replaced my phone battery that barely lasted an hour.

[@nathanmead140]

I don't have tools from ifixit but I repaired a few game systems, 3 laptops and built a PC, I took apart and cleaned a lot of stuff too.

[@oherman]

Great things start from small beginnings. You just fixed a remote. Soon, you might find yourself reviving a laptop or even a phone!

[@osohista]

Fixfluencers will fix the world

[@seguramlk]

Nice. This is the first time I see someone fixing one of these. Valve did a great job on these

[@Tronicsfix]

Thanks! Yes, these are awesome!

[@DangerFieldProd]

Yeah - seeing how this was built makes me consider buying one.

[@Targetf]

@@DrRespectful they weren't faulty - it was because the user dropped the deck and the shoulder buttons absorbed the hit.

[@ObliteAbyss]

@@DrRespectful Literally 10 seconds in to the video it's explained that the bumpers stopped working after it was dropped. "broken by accident" and "faulty" are not the same thing.

[@kevinmorgan7085]

@@DrRespectful You lack listening skills.

[@OneSmallStepWeb]

iFixit and Steam is such a great partnership. Live this approach to 'right to repair'. Great job guys. And great video

[@rockaholictom]

This was amazing. Real scavenger stuff looking through old controllers for a fix. Awesome video man.

[@Tronicsfix]

So glad you enjoyed. Yes, that was a lucky find!

[@Longplay_Games]

@@Tronicsfix What does that button actually *do* on the xbox gamepad? Was it one of the two center buttons next to the logo?

[@Iristallite]

@@Longplay_Games The first one he tried was the RB button, the next one was the sync button.

[@vogelservices6769]

The fact that you can fix it with just some parts beating around the shop is why I watch. Like you said a lot of times we can't get parts so to make use of what you have is the best win.

[@ExcenGaming]

Great engineering from Valve's development team. Very well designed and not too hard to fix.

[@TigerAceSullivan]

i Love how repairable this thing is! all nice and modular, using accessible/easy to find parts and screws when possible-- i actually gasped when you pulled off the back and there were no ribbon cables that could accidentally tear or anything like that. i definitely plan on getting one of these bad boys (eventually)

[@EB-xp2mz]

it's really cool that Valve thought about the repairability of their console. Beautiful video as usual!

[@theoldone22]

Great video, 20 years ago I could have replaced the buttons but these days I'd have to get the official replacement boards from iFixit. I'm very glad both are options.

[@FlaccidGnome]

Awesome video! Still waiting on my steam deck sadly. Pre-orders Been pushed back three times. Also, three years as a channel member! Woot woot.

[@Tronicsfix]

I got this one before I was able to get my pre order. They just notified me yesterday that I could buy one. Thanks for being a channel member for so long. I appreciate the support!

[@edwardallenthree]

I just want to say I greatly respect the viewer who sold this to you. Rather than try to get valve to pay for their mistake, which valve, I'm sure, would be happy to do, they owned up to dropping it, and helped you make excellent content.

[@Tronicsfix]

Agreed. I'm thankful for viewers like this.

[@christophercrafte]

I mean it's pretty cool that he sold it so he could make a video but I cant really see why someone would do that instead of asking valve for help. Steam decks are very rare right now and that guy isnt gonna get a new one for a long long time.

[@pyromonkee2510]

I've been waiting for you to get one of these to take apart and fix it.

[@Tronicsfix]

Me too!

[@devilmikey00]

Yeah, valve made it pretty clear they wanted to make this very modular and repairable. Pretty much every thing that commonly breaks on devices like this can just be replaced with a few screws and unplugging and plugging back in a ribbon cable.

[@Tronicsfix]

Yep, love it!

[@Ruslan.88266]

Just too bad it will be outdated in 6 months or less.

[@Skillerikx]

@@Ruslan.88266 What do you mean outdated? Are they releasing Steam Deck 2?

[@TheBrando212]

@@Skillerikx yes and no. Valve stated that they're going to continually upgrade the internals from year to year. So it's not really Steam Deck 2 but more like rolling revisions.

[@Xsynth]

@@TheBrando212 Source? I don't recall Valve ever saying that. All they said was that they're concentrating on the current Steam Deck but the second iteration is definitely coming at some point.

[@stuartleckie]

Great work Steve. I just got my Steam Deck last week, so it’s great to see the insides of it, should I ever need to work on it. I did catch another video where someone swapped out the thermal paste fir some liquid silver, which appeared to help it run cooler, which in my so far limited experience would for sure be a good thing. So, when you do your inevitable hard drive upgrade video on this guy, maybe a look at the cooling might be in order. Thanks

[@TsDwelling]

Yes! I've been waiting for you to get your hands on one of these. I'm absolutely obsessed with the Steam Deck and would love to see more videos with it. Thanks. :)

[@chasefournier]

Dude, using the sync button from an xbox one controller was genius!! Good job man!!

[@Tronicsfix]

I was so happy to see that button on the Xbox controller board!

[@robert_roland63]

That is one of the most amazing fixes I’ve ever seen! You sir, have no fear about taking things apart which is the same for me even though I need to teach myself some things like soldering. I really like how Valve made the Steam Deck that this can be fixed without jumping through hoops to find parts. Granted I don’t know if they have everything available, but it’s good to know in the event something goes wrong! Well done! I can’t wait for more Steam Deck repairs.

[@Tronicsfix]

So glad you enjoyed this! Yes, this is a great handheld!

[@robert_roland63]

@@Tronicsfix I do want one, but the price tag is way out of my range. First I want an Analogue Pocket. Maybe one day you’ll find out about fixing one of those.

[@Tronicsfix]

@@robert_roland63 I need a broken one of those too!

[@robert_roland63]

@@Tronicsfix I’m sure you will one day!

[@Blastimal]

Very impressed with the interior components in this little guy. Been years since I have seen a clean and smart build.

[@ollieduracell]

Solid call on Civ being the best of all time. it stood the test of time literally from Civ 1. Great job as always!

[@TaylorJAW]

Been waiting for this video. Good job on repair!

[@sarah1390]

I love these Videos. A few weeks ago, my Sennheiser 4.40 BT headset fell off my head and landed in a hard metal tub. I smashed the volume down switch. I had only but a week before did a battery replacement as well as a replacement of the ear pads. I had written them off as I could not find a replacement switch. Then I decided to crawl the boards and found out that I could get replacement switches on amazon. Now just waiting for them to arrive and hopefully I can replace the switch as I have never done this operation before but I have used a soldering iron in the past for other small repairs.

[@johnspartan15]

That was so DOPE! Lol I’ve actually been inspired to start doing fixes in my county for these kinds of consumer electronics. No one in the area does it and I’ve fixed phones a lot as well as consoles.

[@robertday5243]

Brilliant fix Steve, and so useful that u can get the parts. For future fixes.. Brilliant job.

[@atonduke7612]

For not losing springs I though about trying to extract the spring with tweezers before pulling of the button. Just grab the spring with tweezers towards one end and push it toward the other end and once one end is free, pull it out. This way the spring may likely still be in your tweezers, even if it pings. You could also try to just yank the spring out with tweezers, but the spring might get bent out of shape or stretched. Though it may not possible due to space constraints and I'm just speculating here.

[@Tink-GB]

Superb fix...congrats Steam for using common parts..!...Definitely my next handheld console...

[@hilmifadlurrohman1670]

thank you for making my day not boring, I hope you are always healthy

[@AriesNation]

Great job, the different transitions aren't the greatest but still better than the over-use of animations last month lol

[@mgarc79]

I came here for a perfect amount of thermal paste, but still left satisfied.

[@Tronicsfix]

Lol, great to hear!

[@CrashnServers]

Glad you got to get one to do a video on. I thought it would have been awhile with the fixibility of the unit

[@dogfishead8317]

love this channel....I've fixed so many playstation 4 from what I've learned from this fella....

[@Tronicsfix]

Love hearing this! So glad you enjoy.

[@staples6]

Truly impressive. I would not have the patience to do such detailed work. I would trust you with any broken device in a heartbeat

[@zombiedave5055]

Great video as always 👍. Just purchased one of your shirts and I wear it proudly. No thermal paste needed for this repair.

[@Tronicsfix]

Glad you enjoyed. Thank you so much for the support!

[@rambofan1]

I think this was one of your best videos because you used parts from multiple devices. Nice fix!!

[@dobbs.]

I love the steam deck from a repairability side cuts down on so much e waste and means cheaper repairs for the owner win win for me. Keep up the good work love watching you try to repair all sorts of stuff.

[@DeepThought420]

This was an amazing fix! You're truly are a super hero to all us gamers! Thank you for the awesome video!

[@Tronicsfix]

Thanks! So glad you enjoyed this!

[@DeepThought420]

@@Tronicsfix Very much this was a cool fix!

[@AdmanMVR]

That is such a nice looking console! I really want one. Awesome to see inside of it!

[@Tronicsfix]

Yes, these are really cool. I'm impressed by it.

[@BaconTopHat45]

This is the first time I've opened a device before seeing you do it on your channel first! Neat.

[@DavidMannings]

That was a fantastic repair job. You were lucky for messing around with the X-box controller on one button to find the correct button you needed when you least expected it. The Repair GODS have blessed you.

[@awilliams1701]

I remember when they came out gamer's nexus took one apart and said the same thing. Excellent design for repairs.

[@dportben]

Hey Tronics, GREAT VIDEO! Pro tip: if your ever worried about losing a spring just loop some fishing line though it and secure both ends to with some tape!

[@elchepo]

Wow Great video! I love to see how good design is the SteamDeck.

[@borisbommen]

If you have a 3D printer you can print a repair dock for the steam. It make sure you have it leveled and not resting on the sticks or buttons :)

[@amadisdegaula1411]

Gotta hand it to Valve for price value of this thing alongside how accesible it is for repair and reconditioning. Hope to get one in my country soon. Great video as always Tronics thank you for promoting repairability.

[@DanielThomason]

Love the videos. Back when my ps4 had a power supply go bad your videos helped me fix it. Awesome content man

[@DrBobGaming1]

These Stream Decks are nice. Feels great in the hands. Real easy to fix (for the most part). I love when people comes in and they want to get the bigger SSD.

[@Tronicsfix]

I agree, really nice handhelds

[@Matinforever]

What is (Stream Decks) ?

[@thecow2756]

@@Matinforever i think they mean steam decks but instead typed stream decks which are macro pads

[@KuittheGeek]

Kind of surprised the viewer didn't just RMA it, Valve has been doing a lot to take care of their Steam Deck customers, even when some of the issues were the customers fault, like accidental damage from handling. But nice repair either way. I have been impressed with the Steam Deck internal design since I saw the internals showed off last year, I believe it was. I agree that the modular design is awesome, especially from the repair standpoint. I am a firmware engineer, so I can see the value in doing a design that way, because parts get fried often, and having more options to swap things out instead of repairing a full board is very nice. It also makes it better for Valve, as they can have test jigs to verify the functionality of each board, and then replace only the parts needed instead of assuming it is all dead and everything in one bad deck becomes e-waste. Also, another note, iFixit doesn't have all of the parts available yet, nor have they had the motherboard or several of the daughter boards available since they launched the site. They have placeholders for them so they can be sold in the future, but they don't have the parts available yet. However, it is still awesome that Valve is working with them to provided replacement parts. Very excited to finally get my unit in the next month or so.

[@watchinyoutube8919]

Honestly yeah I was surprised he gave it up when they're so difficult to get your hands on one

[@erizorico]

The editing and music in this video has a much nicer feel to it.

[@michaelgilliam8781]

Omg yes I've been waiting for this one, popping popcorn now!!

[@ABRelaxingSounds]

Dope that the steam deck is modular and you can buy the parts. Not many companies out there doing this any more. Great video as always!

[@damolin77]

Nice fix Steve thanks for the great video.

[@MikBaa]

Always happy to see a successful repair. Great work again, and another nice video 😉👍

[@LukasBlasterVR]

Man ,I love your videos , never stops please 🥺!!!

[@Cavemanheartrock]

they have the bumpers on ifixit for like 7 dollars. Valve is going the route of right to repair to the extreme and I love it. Will give life to my deck for a really long time.

[@dannyboy643ify]

Hmmm hopefully i can get a broken one for cheap and parts too

[@dylanwoods2459]

This is the first time ive ever heard of a Steam Deck. Thanks for sharing

[@UltimateTechHub]

Great touchscreen fix!!! Very cool!!

[@michaellessard2011]

Consistently nicely edited videos. Bravo!

[@Tronicsfix]

Glad you like them! My editor will be glad to know that.

[@Brigade069]

Great video bro one of my favorites as you basically went in blind.

[@osohista]

I wish the adventurous L2 spring a successful journey, wherever it may be going.

[@Tronicsfix]

Ha, ha, it's long gone. Haven't heard from it since this video

[@Iristallite]

Your button fix for the bumpers reminds me of how I fixed the volume slider on my 2DS XL, which I did by prying open the slider box and inserting a slider from an old bin of 3DS parts I had for whatever reason, which worked perfectly!

[@wahabdzvideos6643]

one of the best fixes you done in a while keep it up buddy 💪

[@kevinirizarry5526]

Great video by the way I love your videos repairs. Thank you making the videos it has helped me a whole lot.

[@Tronicsfix]

Glad to hear it

[@sinister184]

Cool. I've been waiting for you to get some Steam Decks.

[@MartySince87]

1 of my coworkers brought hers to work and I swear I didn't want to give it back lol playing RE2 on the go was amazing. I definitely have to buy one

[@RedDev1l757]

Huge fan of the channel and now I know you’re a civ fan… I’m a even bigger fan! Awesome game.

[@gjwestonable]

I bought a new Deck off eBay and then sold it a little latter the new owner broke the power button and claimed through eBay (thanks eBay). It would have been a easy fix if the power switch was available but this is part of the main motherboard. Which I believe is the most expensive part if you can buy it. Luckily Valve honoured the warranty when I provided proof of purchase of eBay. Great video thanks.

[@toddabbott781]

There are also disassembly instructions. I have been pretty impressed with Steam about this. I really want to see the second generation of this thing with a 1080p screen and a more powerful CPU/GPU. I hope they start actually providing full schematics, troubleshooting guides, and smaller components like that button and even some chips. Do to the volume of Steam Decks produced and the fact Steam likely makes most of its money of the Steam games sales... and possible game subscription services they might release... I doubt any company could undercut them with a clone. While they do not recommend it you can replace the SSD and there is a card slot too... and from what I have heard the load times really are not bad off a card. Linus Tech has upgraded there's with a 2GB SSD and a 1 GB memory card, as well as some high end magnetic joysticks, and a screen protector. Of course they also modified the cooling with a heatsink sticking out the back with a fan on it to keep the temps down. I am hoping the second generation runs a bit cooler and they cool a few other things better like the charging chip. I am expecting someone to make a slide out keyboard that attaches to the back and other cool things like this. They have sold so many that market of addons will likely be huge. I wonder how many they have sold so far, but it has to be well over 100k by now.

[@thabeastdotcom]

Really impressed with the steam deck build and awesome repair

[@fgc_ngoni615d9]

how do you manage to have a steady hand while soldering small stuff? great video as usual.

[@Tronicsfix]

I actually don't have steady hands. I just support them when I'm soldering

[@KuittheGeek]

@@Tronicsfix I get the same question from people I work with when I build boards with 0402 passives, and you just kind of have to learn what works best for you. But this is mostly it, stabilize and your fine. Also, burn yourself enough times with a hot iron, and your body learns to be more careful. haha.

[@Lie163]

Looks suspicious: how do you drop the steam deck to break both buttons? Drop it twice at different corners or break it on purpose?

[@BMANZZS]

I'm currently learning how to repair Xbox controllers, and Steve, your videos have been super helpful! I watch every single video you upload. Thank you for the amazing content!

[@tradeka4206]

I’ve been hoping to see you fix one of these!

[@richardbriansmith8562]

Awesome Video tronicsfix glad you were able to fix the steam deck

[@bstar777777]

I have purchased buttons like that from Ebay in the past, so not a huge issue if you don't have expensive broken controllers laying around. I have had decent luck just eyeballing the part. To get a pack of 20 is usually only a couple dollars, so I can just snag a handful of variants that look promising. I've been able to fix Trinitron monitor controls, old controllers, PC case buttons, etc. I still have a bunch of variants and I've spent under $10 on them all.

[@Tronicsfix]

Ya, that's a good idea

[@vikranttalari0000]

Repairing these small components can be real frustrating I've been there so i know it takes a lot of patience and steady hands to get things done

[@aelaan12]

And don't forget the right tools - that soldering tip is one of the finest I have seen, ideal for these jobs and a good magnifying solution will help too.

[@jupitersky]

You tried to put a Switch part in a Steam Deck. Absolute madlad.

[@ZetsueiTV]

I am truly amazed at the design of the Steam Deck. Steam did such an amazing job with how repairable it is and it would be so nice if everyone followed suit.

[@BloederKingTV]

I love you every time you fixed something and even when you just tried! 🙂

[@smashICE1]

this was a great repair. so tiny stuff making problems, so effective when a pro does his magic!

[@mosae2225]

I'm glad you were able to fix it keep up the good work

[@ferotakis]

Microsoft : he steals our buttons to fix other product 🤨 Apple : i told u to put patent and some E-ROM chips on those buttons 🧐 Valve : 🤫

[@ClericPreston_]

Looks like it has a Delta fan. Not sure if all of those are crap but that is a replacement I did through iFixit and the difference is night and day for me :)

[@squwilf]

Man Steam should sponsor you. I want a Steam Deck even more now!!!!

[@andrewchapman2141]

Love your videos Steve Keep up the great work but I did wonder why you cut away that button when you had to unsolder the left over bits of the board anyway it did seem like just unsoldering instead of destroying the joycon board .Just bugged me a bit so had to comment on it but always love the videos and the work you do always watch every video you put out .keep putting out great videos .

[@ivovass195]

Nice fix, well done

[@ozbarron1803]

Great fix. Keep the video’s coming

[@michaelbrownlee9497]

Hey look, a Nintendo trigger fits puuurrrrfectly. Good morning Mr freeman.

[@andreiwolffe739]

Hi steve big fan here from the Philippines! Thanks for saving all those consoles from going to our mother nature💖

[@El_Batipapa]

That's amazing! I'd love to learn how to solder, a video tutorial would be amazing!

[@Tronicsfix]

www.gameconsolerepairschool.com

[@gamerfan3520]

Nice content! Keep it up!

[@Tronicsfix]

Thanks, will do!

[@VideoGameRestoration]

Oh man! Modular, what a great idea

[@Tronicsfix]

Yes, I wish they all did this

[@VideoGameRestoration]

@@Tronicsfix me too, Imagine if Sony started doing this! Game changer

[@zahidshabir4038]

This is probably the most user friendly gaming related product I have ever seen just philips screws that use the same bit and lots of modular daughterboards

[@pilgrimfitz]

Loved Cid Miers Civ. Even the first one, many days spent on that.

[@Straight_White_Fatherly_Figure]

Looks like someone was "R1 mashing" on Dark Souls a little too hard lol. Great video as always 👍

[@machu831ify]

Nice work but do you still repair xbox one ? If sl I got few that are messed up if you can fix them for me plz

[@billyc2493]

Another man's trash is another man's treasure. Love how it's repairable! Another electronic saved from the e-waste!

[@Thatguy101987]

Surprised he sold it, I would imagine its still under warranty.