• 4 posts
  • 18 comments
Joined 3 years ago
Cake day: June 30th, 2023
Steam Hardware@sopuli.xyzbyNeryK@sh.itjust.works
1 year

[Help] Failing power button

sh.itjust.works English

My launch LCD Steam Deck is unfortunately now afflicted with a power button issue. It amounts to the power button being unresponsive ~9 times out of 10 (and getting worse). It has been reported on, but has no definitive fix as far as I can tell.

My fixes attempt so far have been:

  • Squirt isopropyl alcohol (also contact cleaner later on) from the outside (suggested in [https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/vlv3px/psa_how_i_fixed_my_steam_decks_unresponsive_power/]) : no perceptible change.
  • Open up the casing and try pushing the board back into a better position (as a proposed fix in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=123jykFjF50]) : felt like an improvement, but did not stick for very long.
  • Mostly I have been working around the issue by using the wake on Bluetooth feature from the SteamOS preview channel and using a Switch Pro controller (because it’s not BLE) or a headset. This has been pretty reliable but for obvious reasons this is not ideal (and also will not work after a shutdown).

This is an in-depth analysis of the problem : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAZtSyyx-ww]

Did someone try a lasting fix for the issue without soldering ? Maybe putting a piece of plastic or electrical tape between the button and the switch helps (like in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhwThw6Ke-U]) ?

Edit 26/04/2025: I put a piece of electric tape between the button and the switch. and there is a very tangible improvement. Not every button press works but most of them do so far. I’ll see about the longevity of this fix.

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    • NeryK@sh.itjust.workstoSteam Hardware@sopuli.xyz•Took the plunge after 2 years, and replaced the Delta fan with a Huaying oneEnglish
      2 years

      It was OK but not great. I used the official dock and had frequent peripherals issues which could were only solved by rebooting both the SD and the dock. Turning it off and on again is more a Windows that a Linux thing usually, so that was disappointing.

      On the software side, the “flatpak” way of applications delivery usually works well, except when the Discover “store” randomly chooses to offer downgrades instead of upgrades. I used software such as Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice, OpenShot, OpenRGB, LosslessCut, LocalSend with no hassle.

      As expected, gaming performance on a 1080p screen was not as smooth as the native SD screen resolution. I would not recommend it for games needing a bit of oomph unless you are fine with sub 30fps.

    Steam Hardware@sopuli.xyzbyNeryK@sh.itjust.works
    2 years

    Took the plunge after 2 years, and replaced the Delta fan with a Huaying one

    sh.itjust.works English

    Now that my Steam Deck LCD has been relieved of his duties as a daily driver desktop PC, I finally went ahead and replaced the Delta fan with a Huaying one. It turned out to be relatively easy to do ; and lo and behold, it is indeed quieter.

    Recent adopters may or may not know there was a medium-sized kerfuffle about disparities in noise profiles of early Steam Deck units. It was proved and narrowed down to a difference between 2 fan models (see Gamers Nexus detailed analysis).

    Obviously the one I got was a “bad” one, emitting a high pitched noise when running at full speed. I did not find it unbearable but it was still not ideal, particularly when using the SD in quiet environments.

    Took me 2 years to get to the point where I figured it was an acceptable risk to attempt the replacement. How many of you did the same and kicked the Delta out of your unit ?

    7