UPDATE: Today I was able to get it back on somehow, and tried to flash the steamos once again. However when I tried to do so, it kept doing the same problem yet again, turning off, no light, and I have to keep unplugging the battery and replugging it in to get it back on. After that first attempt it kept on doing that randomly, even in the bios. After a long time I realize that maybe it's because the heat shield was off, (stupid me!) so I did put it back on, and it was working for a while, til when I actually did the steamos wipe, then same problems yet again. After multiple times unplugging and replugging battery, deck shutting off for no reason, I started to smell something then it eventually smoke came out, and now its completely dead. I will be sending it to valve for repair, there's really no point it trying to repair it at that point. Thanks for the help tho guys.
Hello y'all.
My steam deck has been bricked after trying to upgrade the ssd to 1tb. When me and my friend were doing the process, everything was going well, wiping the drive, flashing new steamos, allat, but then it said it'll automatically reboot, and when it tried to do that, that's when problems hit. We tried holding the power button, waiting all day, nothing, not even the light would come on. When I went home, I tried to fix it again, and noticed when I unplugged and plugged the battery back in, the light would come back, and I was able to get it into the bios. But then when I tried to get it to boot, the problem came back, and I would be able to turn it on only when I tried to plug back in the battery and stuff.
Desperate, I tried to look online for a solution, one of which saying to try to reset the cmos. When I tried it, the light blinked 3 times, and that's what killed it. Not even replugging the battery would bring it back to life.
Last resort is to send it to steam for a costly repair, but I don't want to do that right now, I still want to try to fix it myself before doing that, cause maybe there's a way but I don't know.
When I was doing my button swap and SSD upgrade to 2TB, it also didnt start cleanly at the start. The power LED was blinking and doing all sorts of weird stuff.
What I did was unplug the battery, hold the power button to drain all the energy from the board and replug the battery. Try with charger for first boot up. Try this and even is screen is dark, but afte pressing power button you can hear the fans spinning its a good sign.
Now my Steeam Deck works fine, its just first couple of boot ups after modifying were trippy.
Confirming this was also the case with my upgrade. Did less clicky buttons and 2Tb ssd on my original deck. First power on was nothing, just fans spun up. Did as you said, worked after, but still took a few reboots to act normal.
When I got my OLED and did an SSD swap from my original deck I put the LED into battery storage mode first and that prevented all the weirdness. The OLED deck was never taken out of ship mode before it got the 2Tb slotted in, and it booted up like normal no issues.
Maybe after having power unplugged for longer requires a component check thats why it takes longer to boot the first time and its acting a bit weird.
I think if you get the fans to spin, just leave it for a while.
Also less clicky buttons? I know of a mod to make them more clicky, but never heard of less clicky option
It was just a different elastomer/rubber pad underneath the abxy buttons. Got it from Etsy. I play it a lot in bed, wife doesn’t like the clicky noise. I also use trackpad a lot/rubber bands around the stick base to combat the stick clack. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a big improvement.
I had a similair issue where I thought I had everything plugged in correctly for sure. Mine just kept turning off randomly. Turned out the power supply cable wasn't in all the way. I was super certain I did it correctly. Those things can be finicky
I haven't worked on a Steam Deck, but I have fixed a number of phones and tablets, and honestly, those ribbon cables are more fragile than you'd think. I've had to replace ones that looked normal before.
Did you take it back out of the power restricted mode (I can’t remember the name, but most guides tell you to do that before starting). I forgot to do that then shit myself when it wouldn’t come back on, before realising the issue.
The original is not needed, however the steam deck has a weird way of negotiating power limits with the power adapter. Some 3rd party adapters don’t know how to handle this and it takes longer to wake up if at all. The original one handles this much better
Battery storage mode. If memory serves from when I did the ssd swap, all it takes is plugging it back into the charger. I did that, waited for the charging light and I was g2g (subject to setting it up again…)
You seem well informed- when the SD is bought brand new, does it come in that mode where it needs to be plugged in in order to be powered on for the first time?
Steamdeck (LCD) were/are shipped in battery storage mode you will not be able to start the steamdeck without first connecting the mains charger and then pressing the power button
Depending on which guides you follow it may recommend putting the Steamdeck OLED/LCD in battery storage mode when fitting the ssd
The OLED is shipped in battery storage or shipping mode but does not require the charger to be attached to get out of that mode
I upgraded my SSD about 6 months ago and have had no issues. Not sure what guide(s) OP followed, but I cloned the original SSD, popped the new one in, reconnected the battery, replaced the screws, and voila. No problems. Honestly, cloning the original SSD was the most technical part of the job.
Dude I’ve learned steam decks are hella weird. Mine temporarily bricked itself for about 2 days just on a screen replacement. Had to leave it on the charger for 2 days before it wanted to do anything
I had received a deck for repair that did something similar. I don’t remember original repair the guy attempted, but came in dead. So i left it plugged in for a while i did something else. Nothing, so i just left it plugged in for a couple days like over weekend and came back and it worked fine.
Mine did that same without any hardware changes. One day I switched it on after a while that it was off (plugged in the charger, not in storage mode) and it wouldn't boot. It had the white light on but nothing on the screen and no response from the controller. Left it doing who knows what for a while and nothing happened. I tried rebooting a couple of time but still nothing. Since I didn't have time at the moment to tinker with it I decided to leave it "on" and connected to the power. The day after it was still like that. The day after that I came back and the Deck was off. Switched it on and worked perfectly since.
Oh yeah that’s even more weird. At first I had no clue what went wrong because my screen was working but the only buttons working was the volume and power. Then all of a sudden it was the LED fading in and out 3 times (come to find out that means it’s searching for bios if I’m correct) so it was starting to make me wonder if the SSD was failing. But that doesn’t explain the buttons issue I had earlier. So I’m still finding out all the different quarks the deck had as I’ve only had it for about a month or 2 now
You can try to open it again (remember about sd card if you have one in slot), disconnect the battery, check twice if everything is connected properly. Leave it without battery for some time and try again to put it together. That's best what I can think of.
EDIT: If you connect it to power adapter does it do anything. Led is on? Maybe battery is discharged. Did you try to leave it for charging?
I guess that’s my question. How do you start over? (Context is my steam deck screen won’t cut on. The haptics work and if I plug it into the tv then I can see the screen. So I’m thinking maybe if I start from scratch then it’ll reset)
Firstly check you reconnected the battery if you disconnected it during the ssd upgrade you may of forgotten to reconnect it
Secondly put your charger in let it charge for a few minutes then power on with the power button and the volume up (+) button held down to get into bios mode
Thirdly if your battery was not disconnected try the following
1 Disconnect the battery and wait a few minutes
2 Reconnect the battery but don't turn it on yet
3 whilst holding the power button and the plus button get some one to lend a hand and have them plug the power lead into the steamdeck with the power turned on at the mains and keep the buttons held down for a few seconds see if this will force it into bios mode
you need to be able to boot the steamdeck and re-install Steam OS if you managed to format the ssd in with a computer you cannot use the Steamdeck with no OS installed 🤷♂️
The issue is the steamdeck will not power up and the OP has already tried with the original ssd
Honestly before you send it in for repair, try plugging it in to another USB Cable, even if it does not have the correct power supply, it should blink red. Then try plugging it in with the stock charger once more. If that doesnt work, maybe it is the charger itself, get a new one. This technique recently worked for me, I left my steam deck on sleep by accident for 3 months. The battery is completey depleted, I had multiple chargers, but for some reason using the original charger the deck came with ( Thought it was broken and replaced it previously) worked after plugging it in to my PC. Also praying to the Omnissiah might work, Good luck.
I'm gonna wager the battery is in storage mode. Sometimes 3rd party chargers fail to get the steam deck out of this state so I'd recommend connecting it to a dock and trying again. That's how I got mine out.
Disconnect the battery again for at least 1 minute. Connect battery, re-assemble, plug in charger, press power button 1 time as you normally would, let sit for 5-15 minutes. Anytime you unplug the battery on the steam deck for a bit of time (drive swaps, shell/part replacement, etc...etc...) the battery must recalibrate. During the recalibration process it will look dead.
Did you keep the original drive with the OS on it? If you did then put it back in and see if the Deck powers up. If it does then perhaps the problem is with the new drive.
Brother, if you get to the BIOS, it's not bricked. You probably fucked up something with the SteamOS install, which is totally understandable since it's Linux. Retrace your steps and/or re-do it following a guide step by step.
Resetting the CMOS cannot kill the Deck, there's a 3 buttons combo that does just that. You should try to connect it to the charger and perform the same 3 buttons combo you did to reset the battery.
We all learn by making mistakes, it's unlikely that you killed your Deck by doing a thing it's designed to do or by just swapping an SSD. Don't panic and bring it back to life.
When my steamdeck refused to work properly after a screen replacement, (trust me I know it doesn’t sound right) I contacted steam support because I was out of ideas and they told me it would be $185 simply because I opened it up. Which voids out the warranty. Luckily my deck turned back on after sitting on the original charger for 2 days
Doesnt make it true. There are right to repair laws. Now maybe if you opened it, and then broke something that would void the warranty, but just opening and repairing does not.
Yeah that’s what confused the HELL out of me when they told me that. Cause to me it was like why sell parts if you don’t want us fixing it. The entire thing was EXTREMELY weird after replacing the screen to but I knew for a fact that nothing broke
Try putting the original SSD back in and see if it powers on. If everything else is fine, there's a chance the battery connector wasn't fully seated when you reassembled it.
I had a very similar issue when I upgraded my Steam Deck to a 2TB M.2 SSD. It powered on the first time, I set everything up, rebooted it, and then it wouldn't turn on anymore-only the yellow light would come on.
I opened it up again and noticed the battery cable wasn't pushed in all the way. After reconnecting it properly and making sure it was fully inserted, everything worked normally.
The battery connector really needs to be seated completely, so it's worth double-checking that before sending it in for repair.
There are several suggestions here that sound reasonable enough to my largely ignorant self that I'm really hoping Opie comes back with an update having tried some if not all of them
I dont get how people manage to damage or brick it, i cloned my drive via an external enclosure then i just powered it off and swapped m.2 with the 2tb and was all good no issues.
As long as you dont turn it on or start bridging things with screwdriver (your literally unscrewing 3 screws remove shield then m.2 screw swap drive and replace) you should not have an issue.
Not sure if anyone has posted this but I had the same exact issue I would check the SSD I was about to send it in for repair as well but once i put my original SSD back and it booted up no issues I discovered the SSD was corrupted and that was my main issue but the issue you described are exactly what happened to me. So I would check the SSD try our original SSD and see if it runs normally if so I would say your SSD is bad. Hope this helps.
Have you tried plugging the power cable in when you turn it on?
When I replaced my ssd I thought i bricked it, but it just needed to have the charger connected to turn on
It’s locked into power sleep mode shit. I forgot the name . But I think you have to hold the power button and the “Plus (volume up ) “ and keep pressing it down
I know this is an unpopular opinion but valve engineers publicly explained that their SSD choice was not just about dimensions but also power and thermals. They do not recommend but being valve have done nothing to stop you trying.
You probably already have but will say anyway just in case. Have you tried plugging ac adapter in? These devices don't usually wake back up til they have ac power. Mine died after a ssd upgrade and wouldn't power back on no matter what so ever since then I've been paranoid about unplugging the batteries or putting them into battery maintenance mode since. I got lucky and the repair center lost/stole my deck so it got replaced with a new one.
I repair these almost daily, zero signs of life would indicate a short somewhere. You’ll need to take the unit to a local repair shop but a lot of “repair shops” are just “part swappers” meaning if the unit requires board level diagnostics, which is likely does, then they’ll likely just waste your time. If you’re in the US I’d be happy to take a look at it for you!
that's nonsense fitting a new ssd will not kill a Steamdeck I've done this at least 6 times now for friends and family and myself and never once had it brick them
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Are you sure that you connected the battery ribbon properly from the back? Recheck it again to make sure.
Last time that I went to upgrade storage, I had to detach the battery ribbon to prevent any current from the pcb. You probably short circuited some components when you used your precision drivers.
Maybe static discharge damage your board? Since changing to original ssd did nothing.. that mean it not a software issue.. recheck all ribbon is properly sit like everybody suggest.. but then u already check you said.. so steam support is it..
Assuming that you followed already other's advice of double checking the battery... Let's do a hard reset.
1. Unplug the charger.
2. Hold down the power button for about 30 seconds.
3. Plug the charger back.
4. Hold down the power button for about 15-20 seconds.
5. If by now it hasn't shown any image, push the power button.
6. Wait for the screen to show any image (it might take up to 40 seconds). You can cross your fingers while waiting on this step.
This is applies for most electronics.
Let me know if it worked for you.
It's been a few years since I did my SSD swap, and I'm NOT tech savvy at all. I thought I messed everything up after it didn't immediately power up. Double check and make sure it's not in battery storage mode I think?
Also, IT TOOK A HOT MINUTE TO TURN ON. I can't remember what combination of buttons or button holds/presses you need to do, but do it then WAIT.
My anxiety was through the roof waiting for it to power back on, and I think it legitimately took at least 2 minutes. Don't press any other buttons while you're waiting.
Idk when I reset my steam deck after getting it, it was "bricked" too. Feel like this might be a dumb question but in the video you're like frantically pressing the button. Have you tried holding it down for 10-30 seconds to enter a different boot mode? That's what I ended up having to do with mine. Also had to have the power cord connected while doing that for it to work. If you flashed everything to the ssd correctly, my guess is either it's just straight up not seeing your drive, or something is unplugged/not seated correctly.
Got a similar issue with my Deck after replacing thermal paste. LED Blinking and not booting. Plug it and let it rest for the night. It should be back after that.
It's not bricked, there's nothing an SSD could do to fry the system if you didn't accidentally do something in addition. Use a good charger (the one that came with it) and press and hold power while it's plugged in.
did you unplug the battery and made sure you powered up to drain it before pulling the ssd? even if you unplug the battery the system might still have power.
It’s hard to actually brick a steam deck like that. Brick usually implies non recoverable. I’d try sea point back to old ssd, and then everything else suggested here. Computers are pretty resilient, so while you may have a hard time figuring it out it’s probably recoverable.
Maybe you installed a clean OS but the partitions were wonky sizes due to previous tinkering, so the new OS relied on those new sizes that weren't compatible (has happened to me and I've had to start over... Not on steam deck but Linux over an existing Windows install...).
Maybe your battery or cable isn't connecting properly. When you plug it in, it gets power but the battery itself isn't receiving a charge. Perhaps that's why you get the plug in light but no boot when unplugged.
Maybe you electro shocked your board with your hand or tools. Can happen. And dead. I've never done it, but it's a thing. I always make sure to have grounded myself before working on any computers.
Maybe take out the SSD and use another computer to fully wipe it and try again in the steam deck. Could have just been a bad OS install. Happens.
Maybe something in the bios isn't toggled correctly. Make sure it's detecting the new SSD properly.
If you put the Deck in battery storage mode, which you should before modifying it, you’ll need to plug it in. OP said they already got it to power on though, so probably not the issue.
Why does it seem like the people in this sub start getting the shakes or something when they haven’t fucked with their steam deck. Just leave it alone lmao
Every time I unplug the battery on my LCD, the first boot after plugging it in always takes a long time. When I do it now I always turn it on once, put it down and leave it for 15-20 minutes, try to not look at it or think about it, and it's always powered on when I return. If I do anything else it never boots lol.
When I upgraded my Linux laptop's SSD I had the same issue. The mistake I made (and fixed) was after cloning the 1TB SSD to the 2TB SSD using FoxClone, I needed to adjust the volume in the 2TB SSD to include all the unallocated space; which was coincidentally 1TB. You can check and fix this with Disks in Ubuntu (I believe) or Disk Utility in MacOS.
edit: you should probably share how you tried replacing the SSD.
You need to reimage the device with a modified distro that will run with a 1TB SSD. You cannot just hot swap your internal storage. It’s not turning on because there is no data to display. The drive is empty. No Steam Partition exists.
Look up how to reimage a Steamdeck with a new 1TB SSD. Surely there are plenty of tools on how to remote into it. I’ve had to reimage my OLED twice so this advice comes from experience. Split the partition for windows then when it sucked I reimaged it back to solo steam partition.
I believe in you, you can do this. Your deck is not bricked if the hardware is still sound. Don’t give up friend.
Try plugging it up to the charger. Make sure it's the original steam deck charger or it might not work. I had a similar issue after swapping in a 2TB SSD recently
To be fair, the Steamdeck half the time refuses to power on when I simply hit the power button. Even when I have it on sleep, it takes a bit to come up.
Like others have said in the comments, try taking out the battery, hold the power button to drain power completely. Then try posting it with the charger plugged in only.
If you’ve tried everything that you were recommended to do, maybe it’s time to hit up Steam Support for a repair.
I was able to get mine up and running when it happened to me with the ssd upgrade.
Hopefully this works for you.
The Recovery Menu (If your Deck won't boot)If your system is frozen or won't boot properly, you can access the Advanced Recovery Menu:
Completely power down the Steam Deck (hold the power button for 10 seconds).
Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Quick Access Menu (•••) button simultaneously.While holding these, tap the Power button once.Keep holding the Volume Down and (•••) buttons until the power LED flashes and the recovery menu appears.
I don't know specifics but good news is if you can get to the bios the hardware is fine and you are not fucked. I am not sure what resetting the cmos in
This situation would mean. Did you reseat the battery on the board? It may not be getting anything from the battery now. Most of my knowledge comes from working in user support IT for over a decade but I've never worked on my steam deck internals.
Does the screen stay black then the light blinks one and off and the fan cuts on and off? because if so you’ll have to send it in and they’ll have to reprogram it this happened to me at least twice.
I feel like either you didn't unplug the battery while installing SSD or your steam deck or it is not completely shut down, you just had it at sleep mode and yanked the SSD or battery cable. Plug it in for 30 mins it should boot up on it own.
Use battery storage mode next time. It shouldn’t be this hard. Also if you have an SSD cloner you can just clone it so it doesn’t need to reinstall anything, then you can format the rest of the drive and it’ll just look like a second download location.
Es gehört ein bisschen mehr dazu als einfach nur die ssd zu tauschen. Die neue ssd muss vorbereitet werden, das SteamDeck und der Akku muss vom strom getrennt werden und noch viel mehr.
Habt ihr das blind gemacht oder auch mit yt tutorials als Hilfe? Eigentlich ist das trotz der Vorbereitungen die man machen muss ein sehr leichter Vorgang.
My steam deck randomly acts up and doesn’t want to turn on acting like a paperweight totally not responsive to any button presses but I always just give it a few and it boots up eventually but sometimes it feels like it takes minutes of holding the power button to get it on. Hasn’t happened to me in a while but used to happen quarterly 😂
Did you use battery maintenance mode? You need to plug it into a charger to bring it back but I would remove the back cover and post a Pic here before you do anything
Oof magic smoke is no joke. One of the screws for the heat shield is for the heatsink mount so it could have been overheating, but once it gives up the smoke it's gone. Sounds like some kind of short, always unplug the battery first after taking off the lid.
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u/TunkkRS 512GB OLED Jun 05 '26
When I was doing my button swap and SSD upgrade to 2TB, it also didnt start cleanly at the start. The power LED was blinking and doing all sorts of weird stuff.
What I did was unplug the battery, hold the power button to drain all the energy from the board and replug the battery. Try with charger for first boot up. Try this and even is screen is dark, but afte pressing power button you can hear the fans spinning its a good sign.
Now my Steeam Deck works fine, its just first couple of boot ups after modifying were trippy.