Steam Deck Back Cover Removal for Battery

Written By: Carsten Frauenheim

Comments: 1

Steam Deck Back Cover Removal for Battery

Difficulty

Easy

Steps

Time Required

15 - 30 minutes

Introduction

Prerequisite-only guide! This guide is part of another procedure and is not meant to be used alone.

Use this guide to remove the back cover from a Steam Deck. Instructions and procedures within this guide are unique to and only used on the battery replacement guide.

Tools

Parts

Steam Deck Back Plate

Step 1

Unplug any cables connected to your Steam Deck.
Turn on your Steam Deck and allow the battery to discharge below 5% before starting your repairs, as a charged lithium-ion polymer battery can be dangerous if accidentally punctured.
Put your Steam Deck into battery storage mode within the BIOS. Read how to do that here.
If you have a microSD card installed, make sure to remove it before opening the Steam Deck. If you attempt to remove the back cover with it still installed, it could snap right in half.
Pro tip: it can be helpful to lay the Steam Deck face-down into its case to protect the thumbsticks and prevent wobble.

If your Steam Deck won't charge or turn on, you might need to disconnect your battery and then plug it back in.

I thought my battery had gone completely dead but when I plugged the battery back in, the Steam Deck would then accept a charge.

My Deck wouldn't accept at charge or respond at all prior to disconnecting the battery.

Make sure to try this trick before completely removing your battery.

Thanks iFixit for making these guides.

Duane Degn -

Step 2

Use a Phillips driver to remove the eight screws securing the back cover:
Four 9.5 mm screws
Four 5.8 mm screws
Despite the standards, Phillips screwdrivers can vary in size and shape—two drivers labeled as the same size may fit differently in the same screw. Use the size that fits the snuggest into the screw head.
Throughout this repair, keep track of each screw and make sure it goes back exactly where it came from to avoid damaging your Steam Deck.

Step 3

Insert an opening pick into the thin gap between the back cover and the front shell, along the edge of one of the grips.
If you're having trouble inserting your pick at the grip seam, try starting at either the top or bottom long edges first, then slide the pick towards the grip.
Pry up on the back cover to release it from the locking clips.

Step 4

Once the clips are disconnected from one edge, the rest disconnect easily.
Grip the back cover at the opening you just created and pull it up and away from the device to unclip the long edges.
Remove the back cover.