Steam Dock Charging Issue

[KillerDr3w]

Hi,

I've got the 512GB Steam Dock and the official Steam Dock.

I've noticed that if I plug my Steam Deck into the Steam Dock sometimes the Deck won't charge. The white light flashes, and the Deck UI shows as being charged, then not being charged, then being charged again - this isn't in sync with the white LED flashing. It doesn't really charge at all while it's doing this. It's almost like the Dock / Deck can't negotiate the correct charge rate and it goes into a loop trying to negotiate the wattage or something.

If I pull the USB-C cable out of the Dock and plug it directly into the Deck it charges with no issues, so it only happens when using the Dock.

I've pinned this down to being a Steam Dock issue as if I unplug the Deck from the Dock, then unplug the Dock, then power the Dock up, then attach the Deck it works again, so power-recycling the Dock fixed the issue.

Does anyone else have this issue or know if it's a known bug?

Thanks!

kD

[[KAMI] RedWyvern]

If the battery is above 90%, it will not start a new charging cycle to reduce wear on the battery.
Is this the problem, because if so it is intended behaviour.

[KillerDr3w]

Originally posted by KAMI RedWyvern:

If the battery is above 90%, it will not start a new charging cycle to reduce wear on the battery.
Is this the problem, because if so it is intended behaviour.

This usually happens when the battery is below 10%. Usually I play then get the battery alert, then put it in the Dock to charge.

I've logged a support ticket and they asked me to put the Deck into Power Storage Mode then re-connect it to the Dock. It did start charging correctly, but I'd power-recycled the Dock doing it, so I expected it to work.

I'll have to wait a few days to see if the issue comes back. I have a feeling it will, but I hope to be surprised!

[golephish]

turn off battery percentage, then it doesn't matter :)

[KillerDr3w]

Originally posted by golephish:

turn off battery percentage, then it doesn't matter :)

Unfortunately the issue I've got means the Deck isn't charging until I hard-restart the Dock.

[golephish]

pardon my candor - that's what I did < had the deck for about 2 months, and first thing put on the percentage. was so tired of playing it and then it being at 40 - 60. that is interesting that it isn't charging > which OS? on that preview of 3.4, it did push a deck update. if using the charger it came with and the official deck, it is odd that support didn't RMA> I'm still mad they won't send me a box ;)

[KillerDr3w]

I have now been able to identify the conditions to make this fault repeatable.

• Use the Steam Deck until the 10% warning is shown over a game
• Continue to use the Steam Deck until the power-saving throttling occurs, and the FPS drops very low, usually when the battery is at about ~4-6% (At least it is when I am playing Elden Ring)
• Place the Deck on the powered up Dock and plug in the cable to charge the Deck

The power LED on the Steam Deck will flash 3 times, however the device will not charge. It has to be charged directly from the PSU, not through the Deck.

Initiating the battery storage mode will clear the fault, but this is definitely a fault between the Steam Deck and the Steam Dock. I think it's something to do with the power negotiation between the Deck and the Dock not working once the power-saving throttling kicks.

[golephish]

checking back in. still trying to replicate this. I have the steam deck hooked up to the steam dock. the official charger is powering the dock. as a test, I hooked up usb c to an apple 90 watt charger. it didn't seem to charge as quickly. tested again from a power bank ( 65 watt ) same thing. I think the percentage lies! ;p when I boot into windows, it shows the same charging and time until empty with varying results. plot thickens!

[minnie driver]

I have this problem too. Putting Deck into storage mode seemed to do the trick but it only charged for like 5 seconds. So what are my options here? I'm stuck with an £80 dead weight. Thinking ill return it under warranty and get one of the JSAUX docks. Eager for any advice!

[golephish]

try to RMA the steam deck dock!?

[KillerDr3w]

@minnie driver I've been through support and they've ended up RMA'ing it.

Personally, I don't think it's a hardware fault. I think it's a software/firmware issue and the same thing will happen on a newer one. I think that under certain conditions the USB-C is unable to negotiate the correct charge rate when going through the Dock.

I'll update this thread when I get the replacement.

[Motive]

Originally posted by KillerDr3w:

@minnie driver I've been through support and they've ended up RMA'ing it.

Personally, I don't think it's a hardware fault. I think it's a software/firmware issue and the same thing will happen on a newer one. I think that under certain conditions the USB-C is unable to negotiate the correct charge rate when going through the Dock.

I'll update this thread when I get the replacement.

Please do, I have this issue at least once a week with my Deck/Dock.

[Aseomon]

Originally posted by KillerDr3w:

@minnie driver I've been through support and they've ended up RMA'ing it.

Personally, I don't think it's a hardware fault. I think it's a software/firmware issue and the same thing will happen on a newer one. I think that under certain conditions the USB-C is unable to negotiate the correct charge rate when going through the Dock.

I'll update this thread when I get the replacement.

Any updates about your issue ? is it sorted now and how did you manage ? I just got a new Steam Deck plus the Dock and I am already having the same issue.

Thanks

[Motive]

Any update?

[Diamond Doggo]

Currently also having this issue but I can't say that I am able to replicate it under the exact same conditions yet. In general I do only plug it in though once the battery is quite low since I've been playing it until near empty battery lately. The issue randomly occurs and I'll notice that the light doesn't turn on indicating it's charging on top of the deck. It has also had issues syncing up with my TV seamlessly as it should be when plugging the deck into the dock. I'm guessing the two issues are related as I'm able to fix the charging issue after completely unplugging the dock's power cable from the dock itself and replug it in. AGAIN, I PERSONALLY FIX THE ISSUE by plugging the dock's power cable out and in. This shouldn't be occuring in the first place however and if it's having syncing issues then I'm guessing it's definitely a software or update related issue. Lastly I'd like to point out that the dock itself still completely has a flow of power when these issues occur as my keyboard and mouse still constantly receive power from the dock even when the issue occurs. This most definitely sounds like a software issue to me.

[KillerDr3w]

Originally posted by Motive:

Any update?

I contacted support and they sent an RMA form out. My wife had been ill, so I've not had time to send it back. In the meantime I'd bought some Magnetic USB C Adaptor 24 Pins Type C Connector PD 100W 40Gbps from eBay/China to protect the sockets from use. I've used them on the Dock and the Deck. Since I got these I haven't seen it happen again - it's either a firmware issue that they've fixed or the fact I can quickly disconnect/connect the power and since then I've not noticed it. (I don't think the adaptors fixed it, just the way I use it could be masking the problem).

If I see it happening again I'll post an update.