The era of fixing your own gadgets has nearly arrived, and Valve’s Steam Deck handheld gaming PC may be setting the best example yet — not only does it offer a repair-friendly design, but it now looks like almost every part will be sold separately at iFixit.
This evening, the company prematurely revealed a huge collection of its promised repair parts at its website, and we were surprised to see everything down to the motherboard with the AMD Aerith chip at the heart of the Steam Deck will soon be available, admittedly for a pricey $350.
In fact, iFixit will even sell parts that might be considered upgrades for an existing Steam Deck — if you decide you’d rather have the anti-glare screen that only comes with the 512GB model, or the allegedly quieter Huaying fan, you’ll be able to nab those for $95 and $25 respectively. You can pay $5 more for a “Fix Kit” that comes with everything you need to do those repairs — which I’d highly recommend for the screen. If you’ve got a spudger and a screwdriver already, you probably don’t need it for the fan.
In fact, iFixit was willing to send us a complete US price list for every part it’ll sell in the first wave, 23 distinct parts in all:
Steam Deck repair parts at iFixit SKU / Link Name Price SKU / Link Name Price 2600021 Steam Deck Fan / Part Only $24.99 2600022 Steam Deck Fan / Fix Kit $29.99 2600031 Steam Deck (512GB) Screen / Part Only $94.99 2600032 Steam Deck (512GB) Screen / Fix Kit $99.99 2600041 Steam Deck (64GB or 256GB) Screen / Part Only $64.99 2600042 Steam Deck (64GB or 256GB) Screen / Fix Kit $69.99 2600051 Steam Deck Right Thumbstick / Part Only $19.99 2600052 Steam Deck Right Thumbstick / Fix Kit $24.99 2600061 Steam Deck Left Thumbstick / Part Only $19.99 2600062 Steam Deck Left Thumbstick / Fix Kit $24.99 2600071 Steam Deck Action Button Rubber Membrane $4.99 2600081 Steam Deck D-Pad Rubber Membrane $4.99 2600091 Steam Deck Steam Button Rubber Membrane $4.99 2600101 Steam Deck Speakers $24.99 2600291 Steam Deck Left Trigger Button Assembly $7.99 2600301 Steam Deck Right Trigger Button Assembly $7.99 2600161 Steam Deck Left Bumper Button Assembly $6.99 2600171 Steam Deck Right Bumper Button Assembly $6.99 2600181 Steam Deck Back Plate $24.99 2600191 Steam Deck Front Plate $24.99 2600201 Steam Deck Motherboard $349.99 2600211 Steam Deck Right Daughter Board $29.99 2600221 Steam Deck Left Daughter Board $34.99 2600231 Steam Deck Battery Adhesive $4.99 2600241 Steam Deck Screen Adhesive $4.99 2600251 Steam Deck AC Adapter (US) $24.99 2600261 Steam Deck AC Adapter (EU) $24.99 2600271 Steam Deck AC Adapter (UK) $24.99
GamingOnLinux has a partial list of UK prices as well.
One thing you won’t see right away is the Steam Deck’s battery, however, which is obviously a critical wear part for a battery-powered console that can easily drain in two hours flat. iFixit only has a placeholder link for the battery (and the SSD, thanks u/Fidler_2K @ Reddit).
Here’s what iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens tells The Verge about the battery sitch:
We are building a solution for repairing the Steam Deck that includes all the step-by-step guides and parts that you need to fix your Deck. Our initial release includes the parts and tools to complete most repairs. We don’t have a solution for battery repairs on day one, but we are committed to working with Valve to maintain these devices as they age. Battery replacements are going to be essential to making the Steam Deck stand the test of time.
He couldn’t say when they’ll go on sale beyond “soon.”
There’s also no touchpads, D-pads or buttons on the list yet, though iFixit will sell the rubber membranes that go underneath them. And no internal metal frame, EM shields, or flexible ribbon cables. So it’s not like you could build a complete Deck from parts. But if you crack the plastic front panel, it might be an easy $25 fix, and you can’t say that about most gadgets.
It’s fairly easy to get into the Steam Deck, by the way: when my thumbstick got a little sticky, I was able to get it out for cleaning by removing just seven screws (and snapping open tricky little plastic clips, I admit).
By the way: if you’re interested in right-to-repair and official parts, I’ve got a story coming out later this morning that you might like to read.