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Steam Deck is a fantastic mini-PC, wrapped in the skin of a handheld gaming console. As with any computer system, sometimes things go wrong, resulting in a Steam Deck that won’t boot. This could be software-related, a power issue, or something wrong with the hardware of the console. Thankfully, Valve has built several troubleshooting systems into the Steam Deck that could fix the issue and get you back to gaming again. There’s also a recovery image that can get things back to a factory installed state, or a handful of other things you could try before sending your system back for repairs.
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What you’ll need to fix a Steam Deck that’s not turning on
Just a few prerequisites to have on hand:
- The official charger (or any good 45W capable USB-C charger): You may want to check its connection sites for any visible damage or abnormalities first
- A stable internet connection: You might need to create a Steam Deck recovery USB, which means downloading a large file from Steam
- A computer or Mac: If you end up needing to reimage the Steam Deck’s internal drive, you’ll need another device in order to create the recovery drive
- A USB drive and USB-C adapter or dock: You’ll need this if you have to reimage the Steam Deck
PNY 128GB Elite-X Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 1 Flash Drive
Avoid needing to keep fiddly adapters or docking stations around for those times you need a USB drive for the Steam Deck by picking up one that’s already USB-C.
Why your new Steam Deck won’t turn on
If your Steam Deck is brand new, it’s probably a simple fix
If you’ve just received the Steam Deck LCD model, and it won’t boot, there’s likely a simple fix. Take the power adapter out of the box, then plug it into a socket and the USB-C port of the Steam Deck. Then try pressing the power button again.
Valve ships the LCD versions of the Steam Deck in battery-saving mode for shipping, and plugging them into a power source is the only way to get it to boot for the first time. Steam Deck OLED models are shipped in a slightly different mode that requires the power button to be held down for seven seconds until first boot, so try that if you have the OLED version.
Check the power
The simplest solutions often work the best
Source: Valve
If you find that your Steam Deck isn’t booting, before you try anything else, simply attempt to charge it up. While in sleep mode, the Steam Deck battery drains slowly, and it might have just run below what it needs to boot. Plug it into the charger that came with the console, or one of our favorite chargers for the Steam Deck, and into a wall socket that you know works. Leave it alone for at least three hours, and see what happens when you press the power button.
Another common reason for the Steam Deck not powering on is a damaged or malfunctioning charger. Plug the cable into the Steam Deck, and check to make sure the LED next to the charging port is lit. If it is charging normally, it should be white; if not, your charger is probably the issue. Note that the LED will dim after a few seconds following plug-in on both models of the Steam Deck, so check for this light as soon as the cable is plugged in. Try a second charger with 45W of output if you think the charger might not be working.
Try a force restart
Sometimes a software glitch can stop the Steam Deck from booting normally. As with most electronics, rebooting can fix the stuck data and get things running again. To force a reboot, hold the power button down for four seconds on the LCD model or seven seconds on the OLED version. It should boot after that, but if not, it might be an OS-level issue according to Valve. To force a reboot in that situation, hold the power button down for a full ten seconds on the LCD Steam Deck, and sixteen seconds for the OLED version.
Then try a hard reboot
If you have tested that the Steam Deck is charging normally, but the power button is still unresponsive, you can try booting into the BIOS. Hold down the Power and Volume Up buttons until you hear the chime (which takes about a second or so), then release. If your Steam Deck is able to enter the BIOS you’ll see the main page below, which has four options: Continue, Boot Manager, Boot From File, and Setup Utility. Select Continue with the cursor and see if it boots into Steam OS smoothly from there.
If all else fails, reimage the Steam Deck to factory installed state
You’ll need to create a recovery drive on another computer in this case
1. Download the Steam Deck recovery image from Valve.
2. Make the recovery drive. We used Rufus on a Windows computer to create it for this tutorial, but you can use Balena Etcher or your favorite method if you’re on Linux.
3. Plug the recovery drive into your Steam Deck.
4. Your Steam Deck should be off at this stage. Now hold the Volume Down + Power Button at the same time until you hear the chime.
5. Once the Boot Manager screen loads up, select the EFI USB Device to boot from.
6. Wait for the Steam Deck to boot up from the USB. Once it’s finished, you’ll see the SteamOS desktop.
7.Double-click on the icon at the top of the screen that says Reimage Steam Deck.
8. A Konsole window will open with some running code. After about a minute, you’ll get a pop-up asking if you want to Proceed. Click on Proceed to start the process.
9. Wait until your Steam Deck is reimaged back to a factory state.
Your Steam Deck’s software is now in the state it was when you first opened it. This means that it won’t have anything that you’ve installed on it. But it should have no problem booting up.
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Your Steam Deck is powered on again
You might be wondering what to play now…
So, your Steam Deck has now booted to gaming mode, and it’s time to play some games. You could start with any of our favorite Steam Deck games, which include the system-crushing Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Libertyor the test of timing, endurance, and patience that any Elden Ring playthrough becomes. Personally, I don’t feel like twisting my handheld gaming PC into pieces while any of the bosses teach me a lesson in humility, but I can see the appeal of traversing the Lands Between while traveling.
Or in the unfortunate situation that your Steam Deck still won’t boot, it’s time to talk to Steam Support, who can offer suggestions for other troubleshooting, or help you get your Steam Deck repaired or replaced.
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Of course, your Steam library isn’t the only game source that you can access on the Steam Deck. It’s simple to add an emulator to the console, and play through hundreds upon hundreds of retro classics from console gaming’s earlier years. Nor is Steam the only game store that you can access, as the Epic Games Store can be easily integrated into your backlog of titles. Now that you know how many games you can choose from, you might want to upgrade your storage, either with a quality microSD card, or by installing a new internal SSD for extra capacity. And you don’t even need to install games at all, thanks to cloud gaming services like GeForce Now.
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