Steam Deck Left Button Board Replacement

Written By: Carsten Frauenheim

Comments: 88

Steam Deck Left Button Board Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

45 minutes - 1 hour

Introduction

Use this guide to replace the left button daughterboard on your Steam Deck.

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

These steps only describe how to physically remove and replace your console’s button board. You may need additional software tools and calibration procedures to get a replacement board to function as intended.

Tools

Step 1

Turn on your Steam Deck and allow the battery to discharge below 25% 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.
Power down your Steam Deck and unplug any cables.
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.

there should be a picture of the SD card slot at the start of every Steam Deck teardown. i know the note is there but i generally use the pictures to guide me and forgetting to remove the SD card is a very critical step

Nathan Barrow -

I agree, I just broke mine...

Camille B -

What is the the #1 philips used for? Only the #0 is mentioned in the instructions.

Christopher Martin -

I wish they would specify which size to use for which screws.

Mark D -

I found it easiest to use a PH1 for the red screws, and PH0 for the rest (including the internals.)

Chris Clawson -

Be careful you can strip the screws take your time

I use PH00 bit

jaybush74 -

I used the PH1 bit for this. You can use smaller bits but ideally there should be no play of the bit in the screw head.

Charles Semple -

are there playstation replacements (circle,square,cross,triangle)

Deór -

I used the ifixit tools and used the 00 size for the screws on the back.

Luis B - 10/01/23

I've completed the guide and found it very helpful!

I think somewhere in this part it would be helpful to name the size of the correct Phillips driver to use:

Use a Phillips driver to remove the eight screws securing the back cover:

Four 9.5 mm screws

Four 5.8 mm screws

Maynard -

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.

I found it easiest to start this process at the top of the device near the fan exit.

Peter Lindberg -

second that and inserting the pick in the bottom middle and sliding the pick to each side

Sub -

I also found the top near the fan exit to be easier

Travis Patton -

Thank you for this tip, it definitely was easy starting at the top instead of by the bumper/triggers. After I opened the top I did the bottom and then it was way easier to gently open the sides. be very careful and go slowly to make sure that none of the clips are damaged

Luis B -

same; i pried from the top of the screen area. I was unable to find an opening on the side

Dennis Wu -

I also started from the middle of the deck and worked my way out since I couldn't get a grip with the pick on the deck's side grips. Since this is a common step for pretty much all guides for opening the deck I think it's also worth noting that you should be careful not to bend the trims/seams where the front and back covers meet with the pick. When I first opened my deck you can definitely see where I nudged the pick in between the covers since I was probably using too much force on the pick itself.

Kaleb McKone -

It would be useful to note here that if you want to insert the little blue triangular iFixit opening picks into the right side along the edge, there isn't actually a gap as the directions say, at least not on newer Decks. You'll be making the initial gap using the pick. Brace it on something because you will need to use enough downward force that you're flexing the pick a bit and it'll probably be digging into the skin of a bare hand. With enough force suddenly it will make a click and go in just a bit, and then you're in business.

CaptFrost -

plastic picks didnt work for me but finger males did the job on prying this open

jacobbagsic -

I found it easiest to open starting with R1 or L1 buttons and proceeding to the center of the top edge

Karol Gro -

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.

If you have an SD card, you will want to take it out. I followed the guide and didn't think about the SD card I had inside. When I went to snap the case back on it clapped shut on the exposed SD card, shearing it in half and leaving the bottom half stuck in the SD card slot. I am still endeavoring to get it out.

Novice -

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

The left trigger will be on your righthand side when working on the Steam Deck, as it's laying upside down.
The Steam Deck's triggers clip into place on two pegs on the trigger bracket, which doubles as the hinge.
Place the flat end of a spudger onto the inside edge of the trigger's left clip.
Pivot the trigger clip out, away, and up from the peg to unlatch it.
During reassembly, latch the outermost peg first. Once in place, push down on the trigger to latch the innermost peg, producing an audible "click" sound.
Check to make sure that the trigger spring is properly aligned. Test the trigger action before continuing reassembly.

Step 10

Remove the left trigger.
Take care to not lose the trigger spring. It press-fits onto a peg on the trigger's underside.

Step 11

Use a Phillips driver to remove the three 5.2 mm screws securing the left trigger bracket.

Step 12

Remove the left trigger bracket.
Replacement triggers require calibration to work as expected. To calibrate new triggers, follow this calibration guide.

If I only need to get to this part to check if I have to change the button or the daughterboard, do I HAVE to disconnect the battery ? The less I fiddle with things the more likely it is that I won’t break anything else…

Monsieur_Croco -

Step 13

Use the pointed end of a spudger to lift up the small locking flap on the thumbstick 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 14

Use a Phillips driver to remove the three 5.2 mm screws securing the thumbstick.
During reassembly, you may need to hold the Steam Deck off of the work surface so it isn't resting on the new thumbstick while you tighten down the screws.

Step 15

Remove the left thumbstick.

Step 16

Use the pointed end of a spudger to lift up the small locking flap on the button board interconnect 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.

Interconnect cable is along bottom of left board (on your right hand side). Ought to put a picture of where it is for easier reference.

David Boers -

Step 17

Use the pointed end of a spudger to lift up the small locking flaps on the rest of the button board ZIF connectors. Use a pair of tweezers to slide the cables out of their connectors:
Disconnect the D-pad cable.
Disconnect the touchpad board cable.
Disconnect the touchpad cable.

Step 18

Exercise caution when lifting this connector—pry up on the connector itself, not its housing.
Use the pointed end of a spudger to lift up on the haptics cable to disconnect it.

Step 19

Use a Phillips driver to disconnect the four screws securing the left button board:
Three 5.2 mm screws
One 3.9 mm screw

during reassembly you will need to remember to line up board with 2 plastic mounts. pcb has good flex and can push down top to get top screw to line up flush

B P -

also the 2nd cable from the top (the one below shoulder button cable) should be pulled free before tightening your screws lol

B P -

Step 20

Remove the left button board.
Keep track of the Steam button and its membrane, as once the left button board is removed, they're no longer secured in place.

This is useful, but how do I get a Left Button Board? Mine is damaged in the left bumper button micro switch and I need a replacement.

KaizerJV -

i thought i needed to replace L1 but i need to replace daughter board too. Valve has said they will supply left daughter boards they are just sold out rn

B P -

Where can I purchase a board

Charlie Trevino -

I need this board to fix my deck

Avery Jones -

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

34 comments

Is the button board available for purchase, or planned to be available for purchase? My steam deck took a tumble and busted the left bumper button that the bumper presses.

boop pert -

I know it's been a while, hope you've already fix it. I fixed the micro switch myself recently, see my comment: Steam Deck Left Button Board Replacement

Shane Qi - 16/03/23

I also have the same problem as boop pert.

I'd like to know if the board with be available as the Left Bumper is non functional now and needs to be replaced entirely.

Aaron Latta -

I know it's been a while, hope you've already fix it. I fixed the micro switch myself recently, see my comment, hope it helps: Steam Deck Left Button Board Replacement

Shane Qi -

Got the same problem, my steam deck fall and broke the L1 internal button , and as i see is attached to the left button board. Is there any ETA to have this part available ? Thanks !

Gio - 24/07/22

Is there anything i can do if my problem comes from Left Button Motherboard ? Is there any replacement for Left Button Motherboard ? Any news about that ?

Gio -

I know it's been a while, hope you've already fix it. I fixed the micro switch myself recently, see my comment: Steam Deck Left Button Board Replacement

Shane Qi -

I have my L1 button not responding anymore. After checking, I could see that it comes from the board itself. I have the same question that above me.

Will this board be available for purchase soon? If not, do you think that valve will still replace it if I send to the after sales service? Thanks

Tarek Elmeskine -

FYI I fixed the micro switch myself recently, see my comment: Steam Deck Left Button Board Replacement

Shane Qi -

I ordered a replacement Left Bumper button because I thought that was the issue, but it turns out it was the left button board, sadly. I have figured out a temporary fix, but I rather replace the board myself than do another 1 month RMA. I would like to echo the question about having this available to order.

Rex Downham -

If you are willing to do some soldering, see my comment, I fixed the micro switch myself recently:

Steam Deck Left Button Board Replacement

Shane Qi -

Will this board be available for purchase soon?

咕哒子 -

Also would like to get a replaced board as my L1 is broken without the device falling down. It was like this out of the case.

I’ll open up the deck today and check what really happened.

Too bad that this happens too often.

I will do that my self.

Jason McLaine -

My L1 button is not working because of the Left Button Board and I can't find any online. I figured I could use L4 instead of L1 in games as a temporarily solution, but I would really like to be able to buy a Left Button Board for replacement instead of waiting for RMA.

KaizerJV - 04/10/22

If you are up to fixing it yourself, see my comment, I fixed the micro switch myself recently:

Steam Deck Left Button Board Replacement

Shane Qi -

Please make this part available to buy

Isaac Ah-Loe -

Still waiting to be able to buy this board as I am not experienced in repairing the connection with the switch to the board

Dominic Santangelo -

dropped my steam deck, and the dpad is seemingly damaged, every input but up on the dpad works,

and while steam support is willing to repair it, i would rather fix it myself so i wouldnt need to wait for it to get back to me.

valve, if your reading this, PLEASE LET US PURCHASE REPLACEMENT BOARDS!!!

-Lily Burks

Lily Burks (LilyTheFox) -

The board for the dpad is actually located on on the left bumper's assembly which ifixit does have for sale (which is funny considering that the button for the bumper is on the button board). Though before you buy anything double check if the select button works as that is on the same board as the dpad. If that also doesn't work then you may just need to reinsert the ribbon cable.

Michael O'Connor -

This guide is nonsense since you can't buy button boards. Steam Deck's rubbish.

Giulia -

ive been waiting months for the button board to be available for purchase, they said a repair would cost 130€ and i dont have that much money, i'd rather replace it myself anyways. please let us buy button boards

Ollum -

Installing these boards in the Steam Deck requires special calibration that isn't currently publicly available. As of right now we don't know if/when these could be available for purchase.

Carsten Frauenheim -

I found just the button on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/203944725524?_t...

Robert Manners -

Hi Robert! Do you have an update for us? Did these internal switch for the Nintendo worked on the button board of the Steam Deck?

Art Oca - 26/01/23

I ordered them and I will solder one in and report back

Robert Manners -

Curious if you ended up going through with this. Mine isn't broken, just very spongy. I think the button solder point is bent.

This is such a tremendously fragile part. It's one of the most likely areas to actually take an impact if the Deck falls, and that force is absorbed by a solder joint on a tiny button.

They are going to have to make these daughter boards available by some means, because they are going to break.

Josh -

I've asked Steam support if it's possible to get the parts for this guide. I really don't want to have to send my device back. I just got it set up with my Non-Steam games, and it would be way quicker to perform this guide.

Neil Sutcliffe -

i've actually had this convo with them last night... was told they arnt for sale and offered to RMA it to a repair center. im 50\50 on doing it. for the time being i have the left bumper button mapped to one of the rear paddles and works just fine. i really dont want to wait the 2 weeks for something simple we can do ourselves

Albert Henderdon -

will the left sister board be available soon? sure would like a working left bumper button again..

Albert Henderdon -

Just so others are aware, I haven't seen the Left button board or the Right button board available for purchase from Ifixit just yet. I just took apart my deck having ordered a left bumper replacement set thinking this would fix my issue, it will not. The issue is the switch itself that is attached to the Left Button Board

Antonio Cruz -

i ordered these from amazon. they work for the deck but requires precise soldering as the solder joints are small. its doable. i was going to fix it but the original button tore off the center contact pad on the board.. RIP.

i may play the waiting game untill its available for purchase

Albert Henderdon -

Oh well, I suppose I could do the same but I don't have soldering tool. I'm already going to bite the bullet on getting Valve's Support involved for a RMA process to get started, I already replied to them via the ticket I created for this issue a few minutes ago.

It's not great that still these parts aren't available to the public, I don't understand why that is. Perhaps Valve is using those resources to make more Steam Decks. I really hope the new unit they send, or the fixed one I currently have, doesn't have this issue so soon again

Antonio Cruz - 11/02/23

Installing these boards in the Steam Deck requires special calibration that isn't currently publicly available. As of right now we don't know if/when these boards could be available for purchase.

Carsten Frauenheim -

If you are here because the L1/R1 micro switch is broken, you can replace just the micro switch. I've done it recently:

1. the micro switch I used was the sync/pair button of the Xbox controller, and it works just fine (iFixit sells the Xbox controller motherboard for $15 each)

2. later, I found the micro switch's model number: "TL3340AF160QG" (<$1 each)

3. I used a soldering iron to install it. It's not easy, but DIY-able. I have very little soldering experience, and I fixed it myself.

4. If you use hot air, don't blow directly on the plastic part of the micro switch because it could easily melt.

Here is the thread where I documented this project: https://mastodon.social/@shaneqi/1100088...

Shane Qi -