Oliver Cragg/Android Authority
long story short
- Users of the limited edition Steam Deck OLED are reporting cracks on their handheld computers.
- The cracks appear to be caused by over-tightening the screws.
- The issue may also be related to the clear plastic used on the back.
It’s been about five months since Valve launched the limited-edition Steam Deck OLED. While there were no major issues with the unit at the time, owners now seem to be noticing a common problem starting to appear – cracking.
The first thing discovered was my city, many Reddit users have flocked to the site to share stories and images of cracks appearing to suddenly appear on their gaming systems. All the cracks reportedly appeared on the back of the device, next to the screws.
The limited-edition Steam Deck OLED is Valve’s most expensive model, priced at $679 for 1TB. It contains all the features of a regular OLED Steam Deck, but adds a few frills like orange parts and a translucent plastic back. While this translucent plastic back is a nice aesthetic choice, it may be part of the problem.
The report states that the screws on the back are too tight, causing excessive stress on the case material. Therefore, a widely recommended fix to prevent cracks is to slightly loosen said screws.
Fortunately, the cracks don’t appear to be too serious. The damage is more superficial than anything else. But when you’re spending nearly $700 on something, that kind of flaw isn’t very acceptable.