Steam Deck OLED Refurbished: Good Deal or Bad Idea?🧐

[Aiko]

Hey everyone,

I'm seriously considering buying a refurbished Steam Deck OLED, but I'm still on the fence. I'd love to hear from anyone who has already taken the plunge—what’s your experience with the quality and what’s included in the package?

I noticed that the brand-new 1TB OLED model comes with:
✅ A carrying case with a removable liner
✅ A Steam profile bundle, an exclusive startup video, and a virtual keyboard theme

My main questions are:
➡️ Are these extras also included with the refurbished model?
➡️ Is the refurbishment quality top-notch, or is it better to spend a bit more for a brand-new one?

Looking forward to your feedback!

[Aiko]

Oh and do you think it’s too late to buy a Steam Deck now? I mean, we’re in 2025, and Valve previously said they wouldn’t make a Steam Deck 2 unless there was a significant tech breakthrough. But do you think that’s still the case?

[Xeno-Hunter]

I’ve been trying for the past 6 hours to buy a refurb steam deck from the website it wont allow me to pay for it . No matter what model i choose despite it been in Stock everytime i treid. No support from Steam on this very poor experience. Stressfull and wasted 6 hours of my time for nothing. Theu will let you add credit to your account but. Ot pay for a steam deck snd im. Ot a new user or had snynissues with my account to warrnt this poor experience. What a disappointment .

[Berryteacups]

I've checked the Steam store and it seems like all versions of the refurbished steam deck(including the OLED) are out of stock. You might have better luck finding a refurbished OLED at places like Amazon.com or you can buy it full price.

For me, I've recently bought the OLED full price and it fits my needs, mainly due to its track pads(I mostly play games that require such and would rather not use an actual mouse and keyboard so I can game on my bed.) If the Rog Ally X had track pads, then I would have gotten it instead.

Regardless of whether the Deck 2 is coming out soon or not, there are other portable handheld pc-likes you can get. It all depends on how much money you're willing to spend, which one cater to your gaming needs most of all, and other things that are important to you. Researching online articles/youtube videos that compare them with pros and cons can help as well, which it did with me.

In any case, hope I was able to answer your questions. Good luck!

[WarnerCK]

Originally posted by Aiko:

Oh and do you think it’s too late to buy a Steam Deck now? I mean, we’re in 2025, and Valve previously said they wouldn’t make a Steam Deck 2 unless there was a significant tech breakthrough. But do you think that’s still the case?

It's still the case that there hasn't been that breakthrough, yes. 2027 would be my estimate for when we might see a Deck 2.

[WarnerCK]

Originally posted by Berryteacups:

I've checked the Steam store and it seems like all versions of the refurbished steam deck(including the OLED) are out of stock.

The different regions have their own stock levels.

[Berryteacups]

Originally posted by WarnerCK:

Originally posted by Berryteacups:

I've checked the Steam store and it seems like all versions of the refurbished steam deck(including the OLED) are out of stock.

The different regions have their own stock levels.

Ah, my bad! Had no idea about that and I should've checked OP's location firsthand. Thanks for correcting me!

[FuryofFive]

Aiko, Take what i say next with a grain of salt as it is purely anecdotal.


In the last week, i had two refurbished units malfunction and need to be RMA'd. I had a 1TB Oled crap out within 15 mins of use. It obviously did not work afterwards. I also ordered a 64GB LCD and buttons are activating themselves. Both devices were RMA'd. If you check the Sub-reddit for Steam Deck, there are stories of people having problems lately. Especially the corners not staying glued down. I know i'm hoping this is just a bad QC process and it gets resolved soon. The two units looked immaculate though. If i didn't know any better i would have they were new.

[Aiko]

At the moment, there are no more refurbished Steam Decks available, but I think I’ll keep working for another month or two to save up and buy the 1TB OLED model new, just for peace of mind. After reading all your messages, watching some videos, and checking other opinions online, I’m convinced there’s nothing to worry about in terms of performance.

Worst case scenario, I can always enjoy indie games without any trouble. The only thing that would make me a bit sad is if Valve drops a Steam Deck 2 with a 120Hz display but hey, you can’t win them all! 😆

Thanks for all your messages! Feel free to send me a message in a few months I’ll be happy to share my feedback with you.

[FuryofFive]

You have at best 2 more years until talks of a steam deck 2.

[xRavagex40]

I bought a refurbished 1TB OLED and returned it within a week. It was very clear Valve did not do testing on the device as several of the buttons are extremely worn and at time unresponsive. I am super bummed because I really wanted one but this has turned me off of buying anything that's not brand new.

[Zef]

Originally posted by Aiko:

At the moment, there are no more refurbished Steam Decks available, but I think I’ll keep working for another month or two to save up and buy the 1TB OLED model new, just for peace of mind. After reading all your messages, watching some videos, and checking other opinions online, I’m convinced there’s nothing to worry about in terms of performance.

Worst case scenario, I can always enjoy indie games without any trouble. The only thing that would make me a bit sad is if Valve drops a Steam Deck 2 with a 120Hz display but hey, you can’t win them all! 😆

Thanks for all your messages! Feel free to send me a message in a few months I’ll be happy to share my feedback with you. :loh_Heart:

I mean yes the steam deck really isn't that capable anymore of running the latest and greatest AAA games (which are largely unoptimized even on proper gaming rigs and require upscalers and framegen to be playable) but it's not that underpowered either when we consider it's a handheld running at +-15W.

I mean it's basically a portable PS4 (as in what era of graphics/games it handles best without downscaling graphics) and is capable of not only emulating switch, wii u, but a suprising amout of PS3 and Xbox (360) games aswell although you will need to do more tinkering then for the older emulators.

Hell it can even run bloodborne using the shadps4 emu, which is frankly insane:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRE_tbb0Dc

it's still a relevant device and you've got at least 2 years until Valve releases something new.

[Little Green]

Originally posted by Zef:

Originally posted by Aiko:

At the moment, there are no more refurbished Steam Decks available, but I think I’ll keep working for another month or two to save up and buy the 1TB OLED model new, just for peace of mind. After reading all your messages, watching some videos, and checking other opinions online, I’m convinced there’s nothing to worry about in terms of performance.

Worst case scenario, I can always enjoy indie games without any trouble. The only thing that would make me a bit sad is if Valve drops a Steam Deck 2 with a 120Hz display but hey, you can’t win them all! 😆

Thanks for all your messages! Feel free to send me a message in a few months I’ll be happy to share my feedback with you. :loh_Heart:

I mean yes the steam deck really isn't that capable anymore of running the latest and greatest AAA games (which are largely unoptimized even on proper gaming rigs and require upscalers and framegen to be playable) but it's not that underpowered either when we consider it's a handheld running at +-15W.

I mean it's basically a portable PS4 (as in what era of graphics/games it handles best without downscaling graphics) and is capable of not only emulating switch, wii u, but a suprising amout of PS3 and Xbox (360) games aswell although you will need to do more tinkering then for the older emulators.

Hell it can even run bloodborne using the shadps4 emu, which is frankly insane:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRE_tbb0Dc

it's still a relevant device and you've got at least 2 years until Valve releases something new.

guh, it would be way more relevant then my gt 1030 that i have been tryin to play some of the latest games on, im actually looking at getting a steam deck in a couple weeks