iFixit Steam Deck teardown: repair heaven

How easy is it to repair a broken Steam Deck yourself? Unbelievably easy, according to the teardown of iFixit.

The Steam Deck will be officially released in just under two weeks and that means uninhibited gaming fun. Still, the first handheld PCs will die soon after. Fortunately, iFixit has already put to the test how bad you have to be if a part breaks in the console† The conclusion? The Steam Deck is a real treat for home repair except for a few components.

Steam Deck repair is a breeze

According to the repair gods of iFixit, the Steam Deck is by and large a masterclass when it comes to repair. It may be clear that valve itself a home tinker advises against taking the console apart. But if you want to do it anyway, the Steam operator has set up everything on the console for easy repair.

Think of a modular motherboard, where many of the console’s secondary functions use their own circuit board. For example, if a joystick breaks, the left and right sticks can be replaced individually! The same goes for the triggers and the input boards on either side.

Again, Valve advises against it, but even for not so technical users, the Steam Deck is set up for repair. Every part is labeled, cables are marked, all screws are identical; everything is clear and accessible. That is unique in the tech world, as home tinkerers will know. And then we haven’t even mentioned the advanced track pad, expandable M.2 memory and external SSD slot.

The only downside

The only major downside, iFixit says of the Steam Deck repair, is the battery. Unlike all other parts, the battery (which consists of two cells) is secured with glue. It is surprisingly difficult to remove the battery even with a fair amount of heat.

Conclusion

All in all, the Steam Deck is incredibly easy to repair, despite the fact that Valve advises against this. On the other hand, it is very clear that everything about the traded PC is made to be replaced in the long run. Despite those huge pluses and a small minus, iFixit gives the console a 7 repairability score.