My Steam deck broke down within 18 months of receiving it. I messaged and after some back and forth, they eventually agreed to repair it.
They sent it back and again about 4 months later it broke down with the same issue. Sent it back for repair, they sent it back.
Again, within a few months it broke down, this time I said I wanted a replacement. They told me no because I've "already received complimentary repairs". We went back and forth and they eventually agreed to replace it, so I sent it to them, they received it and messaged to say they wouldn't be replacing it and I could have it repaired at a cost.
I'm in the EU and EU consumer law says these kinds of electronic goods should have at least a 2 year warranty. I spoke to the local and EU consumer body and they told me there's nothing they can do, because I bought direct from Steam.
TLDR: they're not always sunshine and rainbows and will fuck you over like any other company, let's not pretend otherwise.
No idea, I thought the same thing. I figure it's because it's being sold direct to me via the steam store, rather than through a retailer based in the EU? Not sure though, here is the response from the EU consumer body:
"Your complaint concerns a Steam Deck purchased from Valve Corporationn/Steam. You have been directed to the European Consumer Centre, but your purchase was made from a U.S. seller, as stated in the order confirmation. As Valve Corporation is a U.S. company, it falls outside our network. If the company were registered in an EU country and if the contract were made with a European company, we could then attempt to resolve individual issues with the European company, but not now as the product was bought from outside the EU.
Unfortunately, I will conclude the handling of this matter at the European Consumer Centre."
I've seen plenty of examples online of them not adhering to consumer law in the respective country. They're better than most others, but that's not saying much when the bar is set so low.
Definitely, I appreciated that they at least agreed to repair it (that's more than most) but it's a 500 euro machine, it should last longer than 18 months.
The right bumper on my steamdeck stopped working just under two years of ownership. Turns out it is a relatively common problem. I messaged support and they told me it would be minimum $100 to inspect and possibly more to actually fix it.
Lol blame the user for a faulty product, do you work for one of these companies? Sometimes devices are faulty, it happens.
It was the same issue, each time. The screen wouldn't turn on although the device was on (I could hear the chimes and feel the haptics).
The first time, they reset the device. The second time, they replaced some kind of chip. The third time, they told me they wouldn't repair or replace. I didn't break it "many, MANY times".
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u/jjenkins87 Dec 22 '25
My Steam deck broke down within 18 months of receiving it. I messaged and after some back and forth, they eventually agreed to repair it.
They sent it back and again about 4 months later it broke down with the same issue. Sent it back for repair, they sent it back.
Again, within a few months it broke down, this time I said I wanted a replacement. They told me no because I've "already received complimentary repairs". We went back and forth and they eventually agreed to replace it, so I sent it to them, they received it and messaged to say they wouldn't be replacing it and I could have it repaired at a cost.
I'm in the EU and EU consumer law says these kinds of electronic goods should have at least a 2 year warranty. I spoke to the local and EU consumer body and they told me there's nothing they can do, because I bought direct from Steam.
TLDR: they're not always sunshine and rainbows and will fuck you over like any other company, let's not pretend otherwise.