Can USB hubs still damage your Deck, or has that been fixed?

[Spooky]

Is it safe to use any USB-C hub with your Deck, or is it possible to brick it?

[@R+5]

if such problem existed, it cannot be fixed.

think about it:

a defective usb hub, that wasnt made by valve, or that for whatever reason valve "certified" as "compatible" (obv for quality reasons), is something thats outside their control. if it shortcuts, only the company that sells them is liable, as long as you didnt "misused" it.

the deck runs with a linux os, which is (are) compatible with most pc accesories. afaik, you are more likely to find compatibility issues in linux when you are running a desktop with things like led strips controlled by software, usually made for windows (but even some of them can be controlled with programs made by indie devs). thats not because of hardware, but because the drivers may not exist (which is why sometimes "third parties" are sometimes able to make something for linux using reverse engineering).

then, if valve does recommend some products over others, its also (would be) to avoid compatibility issues (not only to make more money).

since i think such list doesnt exist, yet, i think most usb hubs should be safe to use, as long as they are of decent quality.

[The_tainted1]

Most of the issues that people were having in the early days of the Deck with hubs wasn't necessarily breaking the Deck but instead causing an issue between communication of the battery and the systems in place that controls the charge cycles. It ended up being a firmware issue that was resolved and I've not seen too many complaints about it since. I believe that the only people who still run into problems are the occasional Decks that ship with an issue in the battery cell but those manufacturing issues are far and few between. As long as you are using a more modern hub that is meeting current standards then you won't have an issue.

For example when the Deck first launched I had tested 5 different brands of hubs in which only 2 worked and one caused the charging issues but since firmware updates that were designed to address the problems 4 of the 5 work perfectly where the other hub is very outdated and won't even provide video out much less anything else.

[Hank Hill's Disappointed Sigh]

Originally posted by The_tainted1:

Most of the issues that people were having in the early days of the Deck with hubs wasn't necessarily breaking the Deck but instead causing an issue between communication of the battery and the systems in place that controls the charge cycles. It ended up being a firmware issue that was resolved and I've not seen too many complaints about it since. I believe that the only people who still run into problems are the occasional Decks that ship with an issue in the battery cell but those manufacturing issues are far and few between. As long as you are using a more modern hub that is meeting current standards then you won't have an issue.

For example when the Deck first launched I had tested 5 different brands of hubs in which only 2 worked and one caused the charging issues but since firmware updates that were designed to address the problems 4 of the 5 work perfectly where the other hub is very outdated and won't even provide video out much less anything else.

What is the charging issue exactly? Also can you recommend a good hub? I just received my RMA after over a month and want to avoid ANYTHING that could cause issue.

Thanks!

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by Stupid.Sexy.Flanders:

Originally posted by The_tainted1:

Most of the issues that people were having in the early days of the Deck with hubs wasn't necessarily breaking the Deck but instead causing an issue between communication of the battery and the systems in place that controls the charge cycles. It ended up being a firmware issue that was resolved and I've not seen too many complaints about it since. I believe that the only people who still run into problems are the occasional Decks that ship with an issue in the battery cell but those manufacturing issues are far and few between. As long as you are using a more modern hub that is meeting current standards then you won't have an issue.

For example when the Deck first launched I had tested 5 different brands of hubs in which only 2 worked and one caused the charging issues but since firmware updates that were designed to address the problems 4 of the 5 work perfectly where the other hub is very outdated and won't even provide video out much less anything else.

What is the charging issue exactly? Also can you recommend a good hub? I just received my RMA after over a month and want to avoid ANYTHING that could cause issue.

Thanks!

It wasn't an issue with charging. The firmware of the Deck just couldn't properly communicate the charge level and cycle with the dock. This would essentially cause the system to spaz out and crash.

It would then require(at worst) a reinstall of the OS to reset everything.

[Mahjik]

Originally posted by Stupid.Sexy.Flanders:

Also can you recommend a good hub?

Take a look at: https://www.jsaux.com/

[Ben Bernanke]

Originally posted by Spooky:

Is it safe to use any USB-C hub with your Deck, or is it possible to brick it?

Necromancy, but there's a Reddit thread about this, but not on the Steam Forums (ironically bc this information is allegedly coming from Valve).

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/tmva93/comment/i24z4ey/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/tnhmpi/comment/i24x3pk/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3