Valve Cracks Open the Steam Deck, so You Don’t Have to

If you bought the 64 GB Steam Deck with plans to upgrade the internal drive, then Valve has posted a video just for you. Well, then again maybe not, as although Valve says that you have the right to do whatever you want with your hardware, they point out that if you cause any damage to the Steam Deck while opening it, they won’t cover the damage under the warranty.

They also point out that opening the Steam Deck will apparently weaken the structural integrity somewhat. Opening up the Steam Deck requires the removal of eight screws before you can remove the rear panel. Valve hasn’t made things easily accessible inside either, as the first thing they ask you to do, is to disconnect the battery. However, the connector is hidden underneath the EMI shield that covers the SSD and the wireless module, which makes it hard to reach.

As Valve is using an M.2 2230 drive, it’s also not going to be easy to find a replacement drive and unlike most M.2 SSDs, the default drive inside the Steam Deck features a dedicated EMI shield, which a replacement drive is unlikely to do. Valve makes a disclaimer that swapping out the SSD might cause interference with the wireless module, as the drives the Steam Deck ships with, were specifically chosen to prevent this from ever happening. It would also be largely impossible to fit an EMI shield to an SSD, due to the fact that it would have to be soldered on for something as small as an M.2 drive.

The video also shows how to replace a thumb stick, although Valve points out that it’s a custom part that can’t be easily replaced. On the other hand, the video also mentions that Valve will be announcing a partner for spare parts for the Steam Deck, which is good news, as it means third party repairs are likely to be possible.