Steam Deck Battery Replacement

Written By: Carsten Frauenheim

Comments: 34

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

Time Required

2 - 4 hours

Introduction

Use this guide to safely remove and replace a worn out or dead battery in a Steam Deck.

To minimize risk of damage, turn on your Steam Deck and allow the battery to fully discharge before starting this procedure. A charged lithium-ion polymer battery can be very dangerous if accidentally punctured. Heating a charged battery is a fire hazard. If your battery looks puffy or swollen, take extra precautions.

Note: The Steam Deck's battery is strongly adhered, requiring repeated heating and prying cycles. The heat produced by an iOpener may not be sufficient to loosen the adhesive, so a heat gun (or, alternatively, a hair dryer) is recommended for this procedure.

Remember: follow general electrostatic discharge (ESD) safety procedures while repairing your device.

Don't reuse the battery after it's been removed, as doing so is a potential safety hazard. Replace it with a new battery.

Tools

Parts

Step 1

Turn on your Steam Deck and allow the battery to discharge completely before starting your repairs, as a charged lithium-ion polymer battery can be dangerous if accidentally punctured.
As an extra precaution, Valve recommends putting your Steam Deck into battery storage mode within the BIOS before starting any internal repairs. Read how to do that here.
Unplug any cables still connected to your Steam Deck.
If you have a microSD card installed, make sure to remove it before opening the Steam Deck. If you attempt to remove the back cover with it still installed, it could break in half.
During your repair, it can be helpful to lay the Steam Deck face-down into its case at times to protect the thumbsticks and prevent wobble.

Step 2

Use a Phillips driver to remove the eight screws securing the back cover:
Four 9.5 mm screws
Four 5.8 mm screws
Throughout this repair, keep track of each screw and make sure it goes back exactly where it came from to avoid damaging your Steam Deck.

Step 3

Insert an opening pick into the thin gap between the back cover and the front shell, along the edge of the right grip.
Pry up on the back cover to release it from the locking clips.

Step 4

Once the clips are disconnected from one edge, the rest disconnect easily.
Grip the back cover at the opening you just created and pull it up and away from the device to unclip the long edges.
Remove the back cover.

Step 5

Use a pair of tweezers to remove the piece of foil tape covering the hidden screw on the board shield.
If possible, try not to rip or tear this tape so it can be reused. If necessary, you can fashion a replacement by cutting a piece of aluminum foil tape to fit.

Use some heat here from a hairdryer to make this part easier.

If you screw up here you can replace the little aluminium square with some aluminium tape from Amazon. No less than 50 microns thick, slightly thicker is fine. and the square is 13mm both ways.

Matt S -

Step 6

Use a Phillips driver to remove the three screws securing the board shield:
One 3.4 mm screw
Two 3.7 mm screws

The procedure ended here for me, used an ifixit PH 00 bit on the screw behind the aluminium tape, bit wouldnt bite too great, one wrong twist and the screw was stripped. Not sure who or what initially screwed in that particular screw as the rest of the screws on the shield were fine, but boy is it in there tight. So now i have a stripped screw and a botched ssd replacement, don't think valve will let me RMA for this, but i'll give it a try and update accordingly.

Y. van S -

Any updates? Did they let you RMA?

Emanuel Gjoni -

I found one screw to be ridiculously tight too, managed to undo it without stripping thanks to reading your comment beforehand and going extra careful. Not going to lie, it was a tense moment :D

Andy HL -

I think the tendency is to go too small on the screwdriver bits because you're working on small electronics.

I used the PH1 bit on the screw under the foil and the PH0 bit for the two remaining screws without any problems.

Charles Semple -

What does this shield actually do? Some kind of magnetic protection?

Corey Cleric -

if I had to replace the key (R2) and that's it, can I directly remove it or do I have to act here on the motherboard too?

pujattidanny -

have you gotten an answer yet? trying to change mines as well but dont wanna do too much to the deck

briaNN -

button Not key, i’m sorry

pujattidanny -

I used the ifixit tools and used the 00 PH for these screws with no issue

Luis B -

If only swapping the SSD, it is not necessary to remove the top left 3.7mm screw. The heat shield is flexible enough that you can move it out of the way to access the SSD screw. For me this was necessary as the 3.7mm screw was completely unmovable and quickly stripped.

Scott A -

FYI there is a little pin on the cover that slots into the board. It is located near the top screw. I needed that to be inserted for the cover to go back down properly.

Seth Robinson -

Step 7

Remove the board shield.
During reassembly, ensure that the fan cable lays on the side of the board shield and isn't pinched underneath.

When putting back on, run a pick along the edge of the shield between the wires to make sure nothing is pinching and the wires are clear of the shield before screwing down.

Matt S -

Step 8

Grip the battery cable by its pull tab and pull it directly away from the motherboard to disconnect it.
Alternatively, use the flat end of a spudger or a clean fingernail to gently push the connector out of its socket, then disconnect it completely by hand.

After fully reassembling my device I found that my battery was not showing any stats anymore. I couldn't start the device without being plugged in, however if I restarted it would stay on even if my power cable was detached. Battery showed 0%. It turns out I had not fully reinserted the battery cable at this stage during reassembly. MAKE SURE YOU PUSH IT ALL THE WAY BACK IN!

Michael Hoffmann -

Awesome thanks for this tip!

petergeranio -

It is helpful to lift up gently with a the tapered end of a spudger underneath the tucked-in portion of the battery cable, creating a bit of flex in the cable before pulling on the pull tab. I found that without doing so, the fabric pull-tab simply tore off of the cable under light-to-moderate force (the fabric itself ripped cleanly across, like a paper towel). Careful, gentle pressure with a spudger can be used to remove the plug by prying gently on the rear ridge of the plastic plug (not the wire!) if this happens.

Gene Eckser - 08/08/22

This is exactly what happened to me. Maybe it was a pull tab previously, mine was a ribbon cable that tore - captured the image here: https://www.ianwootten.co.uk/2022/11/22/...

Ian Wootten -

I found it less scary and easier to remove the battery connection by using a fingernail on the ridge and pushing it off the connector. I felt like pulling on the battery cable was too harsh.

montgomery mchargue -

Upon plugging the battery back in, I found it easy to use two spudgers- one on each side- to pull/push the connector back into it's port. Be careful to not put any pressure on the battery wires themselves.

montgomery mchargue -

When reconnecting the battery cable, you'll know when it's inserted and power is restored, because the white LED will illuminate at the top of the Deck near the power button. You should be able to see it while you're reconnecting the battery cable

Michael Davis -

Why not just let the battery discharge completely and then not have to disconnect it?

Jeffrey Martin -

Completely discharging a battery reduces its lifespan. It's completely unnecessary.

Stefan Camporese (CENTER) - 12/11/22

Because no lipo battery is ever completely discharged -- you would not be able to recharge it if it was. There will always be enough power left in it to cause damage if shorted even if it isn't charged enough to power up the device it's connected to.

David Cameron -

I would personally not recommend pulling the tab. It doesn’t apply force at the correct angle. You should revise these instructions to advise using a combination of pulling on the tab, and careful pressure on the connector towards the right of the mainboard to carefully work it out.

Using the pull tab alone could cause problems if not done extremely carefully.

William Winborne - 09/01/23

This part was wayyyyy easier than I anticipated and I worried for nothing because I used the ifixit spudger to push it out a bit and then I literally used my finger nail and was able to slide it right off. Dont be afraid, its not that difficult and its not that delicate to break if you do it patiently

Luis B - 10/01/23

I inserted the cable very firmly with a spunger, being careful not to press down too hard on the cables, and even tried redoing it, but I don't see any LED illumination. I am now unable to boot the deck into the boot manager. Any additional tips?

junefish -

Step 9

Use the pointed end of a spudger to lift up the small locking flap on the audio cable's ZIF connector.

Step 10

Use a pair of tweezers to slide the cable out of its connector.
Grip the cable by its pull tab, not by the cable itself.

Step 11

Carefully peel the audio cable off of the battery.
The audio cable is secured to the battery with some light adhesive.
If the adhesive is stubborn, don't force the cable. Lightly heat the audio cable using an iOpener or a hair dryer to soften the adhesive.

Step 12

Use the pointed end of a spudger to lift up the small locking flap on the button board cable's ZIF connector.
Use a pair of tweezers to slide the cable out of its connector.
Grip the cable by the blue pull tab, not by the cable itself.

Step 13

Carefully peel the button board cable off of the battery.
The button board cable is secured to the battery with some light adhesive.
If the adhesive is stubborn, don't force the cable. Lightly heat the button board cable using an iOpener or a hair dryer to soften the adhesive.
You may want to tape the audio and button board cables out of the way as you remove the battery.

Step 14

In order to slice the battery adhesive through two small slits near the bottom of the Steam Deck's frame, two thin cards are needed.
Use a pair of scissors to cut a plastic card in half, longways.
Round over any sharp corners, as they could scrape or puncture the battery.

Step 15

The battery is strongly adhered to the Steam Deck. The adhesive loosens with constant, steady force, and it will require repeated heating and prying cycles.
Heating a charged battery is a fire hazard. Make sure you've completely discharged your battery before starting this step.
Don't reuse the battery after it's been removed, as doing so is a potential safety hazard. Replace it with a new battery.
Use a heat gun to heat the adhesive underneath the battery for 1-2 minutes.
Alternatively, a hair dryer may also be used.
Try your best to not overheat the battery. Keep the heat gun or hair dryer ~2 inches above the battery and constantly moving at all times—don't keep it heating one place for too long.

Step 16

Insert an uncut plastic card between the top edge of the battery and the frame.
Insert a second plastic card between the right edge of the battery and the frame.
Don't use excessive force or pry at the battery with metal tools.
Try your best not to deform the battery during this process. Soft-shell lithium-polymer batteries can leak dangerous chemicals, catch fire, or even explode if damaged.
The battery most likely won't budge at this step, but these cards will be helpful as leverage as you continue.

Step 17

You'll need to repeatedly reheat the adhesive to further soften it. The adhesive is tough and it may take a few tries to get a card started under the battery.
Try your best to not overheat the battery. Keep the heat gun or hair dryer ~2 inches above the battery and constantly moving at all times—don't keep it heating one place for too long.

Step 18

Insert one of the cut plastic cards under the battery near its bottom right edge.
Push the card in to slice the battery adhesive, wiggling it side-to-side as you go.
If this is overly difficult, you may need more heat.

Step 19

Insert the second cut plastic card under the battery near its bottom left edge.
Push the card in to slice the battery adhesive, wiggling it side-to-side as you go.

Step 20

Insert a plastic card along the bottom edge of the battery to pry the battery away from the frame.
Lift the battery up, away from the Steam Deck to fully separate it from all adhesive.
Don't use excessive force—try your best not to deform the battery during this process.
If you're having trouble, repeat the heating and prying process around all edges until the battery becomes loose.

Step 21

Remove the battery.
Don't reuse the battery after it's been removed, as doing so is a potential safety hazard. Replace it with a new battery.
To install a replacement battery:
Dampen a lint-free cloth with some isopropyl alcohol (>90%) and use it to remove any remaining adhesive from the battery well.
Peel and discard one side of protective liners on the new adhesives and apply them to the new battery, using your old battery as a reference for where they should adhere.
Peel and discard the remaining side of adhesive liners. Lay the battery in place and press firmly.
Remember: Don't reconnect the battery connector until you've finished reassembly!

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Take your e-waste to an R2 or e-Stewards certified recycler.

Repair didn’t go as planned? Try some basic troubleshooting, or ask our Steam Deck answers community for help.

Author

Carsten Frauenheim

Member since: 10/03/20

87825 Reputation

8 comments

Is it safe to apply small amounts of >90% isopropyl alcohol under the battery to loosen the adhesive bond? Or would that drip into the screen or other components and potentially cause damage?

RikiGuitarist -

Your mileage may vary. Isopropyl alcohol may be an effective method to loosen the adhesive, but you run the risk of excess leaking onto or into the display or other components, due to the cutouts on the battery tray. Your second sentence is spot-on, hence the recommendation to carefully use heat instead.

Carsten Frauenheim -

Why couldn’t they of used pull tabs for the adhesive so this process would not be so difficult and tedious. It would also be less risk of over heating the battery/steam deck or puncturing the battery. This is really the only design choice I can criticize of the steam deck. Pull tabs would of made this a repair the average person could achieve.

Joshua Marram -

It seems crazy to me that they made this process so difficult, surely battery is one of (if not THE) most common things that you'll need to eventually replace? I suppose they must have been limited by what they could achieve?

Marc Johnson -

Having just done a Battery Replacement on the Steam Deck the amount of adhesive is a bit high the use of Pull Tabs would have been wonderful. Thanks iFixit and Valve for making the process easier.

Robert Crawford -

I have a question if battery health is a 22%. Will a new battery fix it or is there something wrong with the board.

Jordan Blackley -

Most probably battery replacement will fix it. Especially if you really see short battery time and you could observe that it shrink after heavy using of Steam Deck.

However, it's possible that it's some false error, so if battery works fine for you, I wouldn't bother. Also, if battery health dropped quickly, it might indicate overheating

Karol Gro -

Why they made this so difficult? We are in 2023, this device uses a very small battery in my opinion, it should be more or lesse the double of current size, and it's very difficult to replace it.

Leandro Tavares -