Portable Screen Options

[Lukage]

I got my deck 14 months ago and about 2 weeks after the warranty expired, my deck died. It turns off as soon as you remove the power cable, but even then, you only get haptic feedback and no display.

Troubleshooting, they basically said "sorry, you can pay us probably $185 or more to repair it."

The device however works fine with a USB-C dock and external display. Are there any third party devices you could recommend for an external display without having to lug around another power source and a battery and extra cables for everything? Like the old Gameboy Handy Boy, perhaps.

I have a desktop, so I don't want to just make this a glorified Steam Link to use at home, and I'd like to have it portable. Am I SOL and should just pay to repair it or keep it in my bedroom basically as a Steam Link?

I know I can tear it apart and maybe something came loose, but the weird shutdown behavior when its on its battery (which was charged when I saw it via a USB-C hub display) paired with the dead/broken screen, I'm leaning more towards a defective motherboard than just a display.

Any thoughts?

[deaddoof]

It turns off as soon as you remove the power cable, but even then, you only get haptic feedback and no display.

Yea. You should get it repaired. The behavior is unusual. Do you live in the EU? I believe warranty lasts two years.


Do you want the rolls royce of portable screen? This portable monitor with their magnetic stand. I am thinking of buying this display in the next two years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdOHOzYt7r4

https://us.espres.so/

[RedBaronK™]

You bought your deck using a credit card right? Most credit card companies offer free extended warranty AFTER the manufacturer warranty ends... Did you look into this?

[Lukage]

Originally posted by RedBaronK™:

You bought your deck using a credit card right? Most credit card companies offer free extended warranty AFTER the manufacturer warranty ends... Did you look into this?

I have absolutely never heard of anything like this. So basically they would cover buying a new one? I can look into it, I guess.

[deaddoof]

Originally posted by Lukage:

Originally posted by RedBaronK™:

You bought your deck using a credit card right? Most credit card companies offer free extended warranty AFTER the manufacturer warranty ends... Did you look into this?

I have absolutely never heard of anything like this. So basically they would cover buying a new one? I can look into it, I guess.

Certain reward credit cards extend the warranty.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/vb8671/credit_cards_extended_warranty_benefits/

I would just call your credit card company to check.

[Lukage]

Update: Nope, looks like I used Paypal for the transaction. I've largely just accepted that I got crappy hardware.

[Lukage]

As a separate observation, I can hear the tone when I plug in power and the Steam Deck automatically turns on. Every time it boots up, it shows that its installing an update, but is stuck on version 3.5.7

Switching to Beta or Preview channel also completes its download, reboots, and then...updates? And is back on stable 3.5.7

They had me re-image the system. After a full SD reformat and internal SSD reformat and imaging -- version 3.5.7

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Should I just ship it to them and get a quote and if they say its like $300 to repair, then just have them ship it back so I have a very expensive Steam Link?

[Mahjik]

There is no guarantee that it will cost that much to repair. Valve is trying to give you the worst case scenario.

This is an opportunity to think about:

1. How you use the device
2. If you were buying new today, what would you buy


$185 USD is far cheaper than most of the current crop of new devices out there. That being said, the new price of the 256gb LCD model is $400. I don't think the estimated price is that bad but again, it may not even be that much once they find the actual problem.

It could be a failed battery. A new battery from iFix will be about $100 once shipping is added in. Replacing a Steam Deck battery is not for the faint at heart. So that $185 may be worth it.

[Lukage]

Originally posted by Mahjik:

There is no guarantee that it will cost that much to repair. Valve is trying to give you the worst case scenario.

This is an opportunity to think about:

1. How you use the device
2. If you were buying new today, what would you buy


$185 USD is far cheaper than most of the current crop of new devices out there. That being said, the new price of the 256gb LCD model is $400. I don't think the estimated price is that bad but again, it may not even be that much once they find the actual problem.

It could be a failed battery. A new battery from iFix will be about $100 once shipping is added in. Replacing a Steam Deck battery is not for the faint at heart. So that $185 may be worth it.

They gave me $185 as a guess and said it could be more. They also keep telling me that's before taxes, but insist that they're taxing parts, labor, and shipping. Pretty sure you can't add tax to labor and shipping, but they insist.

I don't think its a failed battery unless the battery can cause the screen to stop working, even with AC power. Or that the battery causes the system to be effectively an update loop.

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Either way, it sounds like nobody has any suggestions for an external display or at least doesn't suggest bothering with that as a route to use this.

[Mahjik]

I would not bother with that route personally (i.e. just using it non-portable). You either want a portable device or you don't. There are better devices out there for using Steam Link (just use an Android tablet and a bluetooth gamepad).

[Lukage]

Originally posted by Mahjik:

I would not bother with that route personally (i.e. just using it non-portable). You either want a portable device or you don't. There are better devices out there for using Steam Link (just use an Android tablet and a bluetooth gamepad).

And that's kinda my issue -- I have a desktop, so the Link route isn't really useful for me.

As a gift for a friend who has NO PC -- sure, I guess. But I wasn't really wanting to gift $500.

This is also before the other unknown issues with this system refusing to update...or updating every boot, but never really completing.