Valve confirms that iFixit will be an authorised seller of Steam Deck parts

[WYP]

iFixit has also released a teardown for the Steam Deck.



Read more about iFixit being an official reseller of Steam Deck replaceable parts.

 

[Warchild]

A promising start, and definitely will help them in regards to repairs. I had a terrible time with my Valve index trying to get a replacement cable. I feel like hardware replacements via Valve is unnecessarily made difficult.

But... does this mean that we can question the reliability of the steam deck? I do wonder how the battery will cope given a AAA title on full beam will last approx 3hours, and then considering the average user will often charge a battery to 100% instead of the recommended 80%. You might see rapid degradation. Time will tell I suppose.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Only concern is how long will they have stock? Just enough to last through the initial warranty time frame? What about 5 years from now? Is iFixIt even able to support this type of service on a large scale assuming the deck sells a lot of units?


It is nice though that valve is being so open about it. Gives some confidence boost.

 

[ET3D]

So basically if you want a Steam Deck outside the sale zones, you need to buy everything as spare parts and put it together?

 

[dazbobaby]

Apple take note, this is how you go about repairs.

 

[dazbobaby]

A promising start, and definitely will help them in regards to repairs. I had a terrible time with my Valve index trying to get a replacement cable. I feel like hardware replacements via Valve is unnecessarily made difficult.

But... does this mean that we can question the reliability of the steam deck? I do wonder how the battery will cope given a AAA title on full beam will last approx 3hours, and then considering the average user will often charge a battery to 100% instead of the recommended 80%. You might see rapid degradation. Time will tell I suppose.

I assume from your 80% vs 100% comments you know about dendritic crystals in Li-ion batteries.
So I also assume that you know about heat, and there's probably going to be a fair amount of it in that tiny space.


That said, a good quality Li-ion battery could still take a beating and last for 12 months or more, before any significant degradation occurs.

 

[Warchild]

I assume from your 80% vs 100% comments you know about dendritic crystals in Li-ion batteries.
So I also assume that you know about heat, and there's probably going to be a fair amount of it in that tiny space.


That said, a good quality Li-ion battery could still take a beating and last for 12 months or more, before any significant degradation occurs.

Not to mention high voltage stress too. But yes, my thinking behind it is more towards what happens outside of the warrantee period.

Interestingly the Valve Index only has 1 year. Did that apply here too or did i miss that part.

 

[meuvoy]

Only concern is how long will they have stock? Just enough to last through the initial warranty time frame? What about 5 years from now? Is iFixIt even able to support this type of service on a large scale assuming the deck sells a lot of units?


It is nice though that valve is being so open about it. Gives some confidence boost.

Considering Valve has never been able to produce any hardware in volumes similar to the likes of Samsung, LG or Apple, I don't think it will be an issue, Any distributor of parts will probably be able to handle the orders and then scale up their logistics with time. Considering current shortages and the way the steam deck is being released in waves you can rest assured if valve manages to sell hundreds of thousands of steam decks globally in 2022 it will be a miracle. Plus I'm pretty sure Ifixit won't be the only supplier.

 

[Warchild]

Considering Valve has never been able to produce any hardware in volumes similar to the likes of Samsung, LG or Apple, I don't think it will be an issue, Any distributor of parts will probably be able to handle the orders and then scale up their logistics with time. Considering current shortages and the way the steam deck is being released in waves you can rest assured if valve manages to sell hundreds of thousands of steam decks globally in 2022 it will be a miracle. Plus I'm pretty sure Ifixit won't be the only supplier.

Ifixit probably has exclusivity deals with Valve, but it wont stop a plethora of unofficial repair/parts vendors.


Edit*

It is now confirmed that Ifixit will also be a supplier of Valve Index parts according to UploadVR.com