The last time iFixit tried to offer replacement kits for the fans on Valve’s Steam Deck, they sold out so quickly most people didn’t even get a chance to stick a kit in a cart. In June, iFixit had a fan fix kit “drop” limited to just 100 kits. Now they’re back, and they seem like they’re sticking around. Even better, iFixit finally has a solution for replacing your Steam Deck battery.
The Steam Deck is a tinkerer’s dream device. A powerful PC in a tiny design that you can crack open relatively easily when you want to swap out parts. Two days after my Steam Deck arrived, I was replacing the offensively slow 64GB eMMC drive with a 512GB SSD I picked up on eBay.
But I’m also the kind of nerd that has a kit hanging around just to open up gadgets when the fancy strikes me. Most people don’t have the tiny screwdrivers and little plastic spudgers needed to pry open a Steam Deck and not leave it worse for wear. And if you’re having issues with the fans on your Steam Deck (some of them have a louder “whine” than others than can be distracting), you’ve been stuck buying the tools from someone like iFixit and then sourcing the fans elsewhere.
Replacing the battery was even harder. It’s not a very commonly made shape, and iFixit didn’t offer the part when it made other parts available back in May. Instead, iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens told The Verge it was coming “soon.”
Now both are available in kits with all the tools you’ll need to do the replacing. But if you’re looking to fix your fans or stock up on batteries, it might be a good idea to hurry. Supplies may not last.
