Valve Promises to Keep Supplying Steam Deck Replacement Parts After Shaky iFixit Ordeal [Updated]

Update 7/16/26 @ 11:43 a.m.: In a statement sent to PC Gamer, a Valve representative said that the brand has “confirmed with iFixit that they plan to have batteries back in stock by next week.” iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens has confirmed as much via X.

A Steam Deck owner looking for a replacement battery for their LCD model has found themselves stuck: iFixit hasn’t got any and can’t seem to get more from Valve. Despite Valve pitching the Steam Deck’s repairability at launch, it’s now reneging on that by sunsetting this particular model early, leaving buyers with broken or failing Steam Deck LCDs stuck with no viable repair solution.

When Valve launched the Steam Deck, being able to repair and maintain it yourself was part of the pitch. The brand partnered with iFixit to supply these parts, and until recently, if something went wrong with your Deck, you could rest easy knowing that a repair was possible. But now some parts are completely out of stock and unlikely to come back.

One Steam Deck LCD owner on Reddit noticed problems with their handheld’s battery and contacted iFixit for a replacement. But they were told there were no replacement parts, and iFixit doesn’t expect to get any more, either. There are some batteries in Europe, but they’re not official replacements.

The iFixit battery kit is available in some territories, but not the US.
Credit: iFixit

Considering the battery is such a major point of failure for devices like this, the fact that it’s one of the parts that’s no longer in stock seems particularly egregious. Valve moved away from selling the LCD model some time ago, but not stocking the battery for extended support seems short-sighted.

Valve has faced repeated criticism for its hardware support strategies in recent months. It failed to prepare for the RAMpocalypse, despite the impending launch of its Steam Machine, meaning it shipped systems with memory sold at inflated prices. As a result, the Steam Machine goes for over $1,000, and the Steam Deck’s prices have leaped by hundreds of dollars. Now, Valve is failing to live up to its repairability promises.

Moving forward, even if iFixit and other partners can find aftermarket parts that can sub in for the official ones, Valve doesn’t appear keen or able to supply effective OEM parts for a product it launched just a few years ago. You have to wonder if the pricey Steam Machine will suffer a similar fate.

This is especially problematic with Valve hardware, which has bespoke components. In the Reddit thread discussing this issue, an iFixit staff member said they’d be unlikely to source replacement daughterboards for the LCD Steam Deck, either.

“They haven’t been (and most likely won’t be) available to us,” they wrote. “They require special calibration not publicly available from Valve.”