Swapping out the Shells

[MisterMann]

I bought a transparent shell for my Steam Deck and have a issue involving the touch pads with trying to remove the shell from the touch pad chip part. Is there a simple safe way of separating the two with a basic pry tool or should I just buy a blower to apply heat to it in order to separate whatever glue is holding the two together?

[Kage Goomba]

Suggest looking at ifixit/tear down videos - but by going 3rd party - all bets are off.
Caution is advised.

[PopinFRESH]

Also, be aware that while the exterior of the shell appears to be the same; the Steam Deck (LCD) and the Steam Deck (OLED) are different shells and are not compatible with each other.

Here is the iFixit Steam Deck Front Shell Replacement Guide for the Steam Deck (LCD)

[MisterMann]

Originally posted by PopinFRESH:

Also, be aware that while the exterior of the shell appears to be the same; the Steam Deck (LCD) and the Steam Deck (OLED) are different shells and are not compatible with each other.

Here is the iFixit Steam Deck Front Shell Replacement Guide for the Steam Deck (LCD)

Well I got the OLED model and jumped on getting a new shell for it and so far the only noticeable difference is that the L1 and R1 buttons are different with the OLED being bigger on the inside. While the touchpads are really glued on making it hard to pry a part in order to put on the other ones I want to put on.

[PopinFRESH]

And also the screws on the OLED deck go into embedded metal studs and are not self-taping to go into the plastic like on the original Steam Deck LCD.

The screw locations are also different for several components including the display mounting, and as Insignia noted the display is larger, and thus the bezels on the OLED are smaller. Using a front shell for a Steam Deck LCD will cover the edges of the display even if you were to force it to mount. Further, the location for the display connector is in a different location on the main board and the cable routing is different.

The touchpads have also significantly changed the haptics system and have different mounting compared to the LCD models.

So again, as noted before, they are not compatible and while you may think they look similar enough, they are not the same and an LCD shell do not work for the OLED models. Just reassemble your Steam Deck and use it as is for now. 3rd party manufacturers will certainly make replacement shells for the OLED version soon enough; and by then you’ll likely have another iFixit guide for how to properly do the replacement.