Steam Deck reimage "No Networks Found" on initial setup. - SOLVED

[Ramshackle]

TLDR: after reimaging Deck with Steam OS it won't connect to any networks during initial setup wizard.

I have an unmodified 64GB Steam Deck from the original launch. When it was working I had a 256GB microSD card in it. It has been flakey since I got it with WiFi and battery issues that I have just put up with. I had read multiple places that an RMA would likely not resolve my specific issue(s). I finally decided to reimage the Deck to start fresh since that was the last thing to try after continually troubleshooting it.

I downloaded the official recovery image from Valve. I then used the newest version of Rufus to create the bootable flash drive. I found that the image was extremely slow, hanging, blank screen, wouldn't boot. I then tried multiple flash drives. I finally got the recovery image to boot and load the recovery desktop from the 3rd flash drive. A USB 3.0 or better flash drive is evidently required. I proceeded with the reimage process, which succeeds. Upon the reboot after the reimage the Deck started its initial setup; language, time zone, etc. When it got to the network configuration screen it says "No Networks Found". I tried multiple known good WiFi networks, pressed the "..." button to toggle WiFi. I also then tried to use hardwire Ethernet via the official dock. I have reimaged and or reinstalled the OS now at least 8 times with no luck. The Deck will not see WiFi nor hardwire Ethernet. I entered the BIOS multiple times and checked that they are enabled. The network icon on the setup screen just has a "/" through it.

I had read to put the Deck into battery storage mode before reimaging/reinstalling or starting the initial setup which resets the firmware that reimaging does not. I have tried this 4 times with different orders of operations with no success. I also let it sit over night in storage mode that made no difference.

I noticed when the Deck is booting to the recovery image from the flash drive while the command line is visible it occasionally will say something like "FAILED: Network Manager" in red text. It's scrolling by quickly so I can't catch it to be more specific. This leads me to believe something is inherently wrong with the network stack or hardware. When I first saw this is when I decided to try the hardwire Ethernet to bypass a potential WiFi hardware failure. This also did not work.

I use my Deck often and overall I really like it *when it works*. However, these constant quirky things are super annoying and I'm very close to just tossing this thing and having it be a $400 lesson learned to not buy gen 1 hardware. I was willing to put up with bugs and quirks, but it's been literally since day 1 of constant problems. In hind sight I should have RMA'd it when it was under warranty, I kept hoping I could fix it myself or a firmware/software update would resolve the issues. As it sits right now it's unusable since I can't get past the initial setup screen. Any ideas or info would be greatly appreciated.

[Ramshackle]

TLDR: use a microSD card in the Decks slot to perform the reimage instead of a USB flash drive.

I finally was able to get the reimage to then allow me to see and join WiFi networks.

I had been using a USB 3.0 16GB flash drive with a USB-C to A adapter and then also tried using the official docks USB ports. Both of these methods produced a reported successful reimage of the Deck via the recovery image desktop tools. However, I encountered the "No Networks Found" upon the initial setup after reimaging.

After much trial and error I decided to remove the USB variable all together and load the recovery image onto my microSD card. I redownloaded the image file just to be safe and then used Rufus to write the image to the microSD card. I then booted the recovery image from the microSD card and used the reimage tool from the desktop once again. The reimage went much faster and after it rebooted the initial setup wizard saw all my networks first try and loaded into SteamOS without issue!

Why does using a microSD card work flawlessly opposed to USB 3.0? I have absolutely no idea! Especially so when the reimage reports that it was successful. Just for good measure I wrote the newly downloaded recovery image to the previous flash drive and it reproduced the issue, so this was not related to a bad image the first time. I would love to get a blue post explaining why this would be.

The best news is that the fresh OS resolved the WiFi and battery issues that I had from day 1. I should have done this a long time ago.

[toma]

you are a savior. big thanks to u i was suffering for months and this help me perfectly i can't believe the microSD was the solution

[carlosj0074]

I've been having this issue as well and will try this when I get home from work. My Ethernet has been iffy since I got my deck and on my 3rd set of tbolt wires and 2nd dock. I have an unused micro sd laying around so hopefully this works.