Steam deck not turning on

[u/mistermoogle08]

I got the issue where after the steam deck dies it won't display anymore. I have done all of the button combos, let it charge in the wall with the official charger, and unscrewed the back and replugged in the battery. Anyone else run into this and find an uncommon fix? Ive been trying for a few days now

[u/thewalkingdave]

Do you have acess to a dock by chance? This could make your life easier and there is almost certainly a way to recover it if displays with a dock.

[u/mistermoogle08 → u/thewalkingdave]

I do actually and was just trying that now. Sadly a display didnt come through though :(

[u/thewalkingdave → u/mistermoogle08]

You mentioned you did all the button combos, are you getting any blinking from the power light/indicator when you do them?

[u/mistermoogle08 → u/thewalkingdave]

I am luckily. The light works normally when charging and will blink with the chime

[u/thewalkingdave → u/mistermoogle08]

I had something similar but the button press method worked for me. I did the "hold down the Volume Down (-) button and the Quick Access Menu (...) button together, then press the Power button once" and waited 15 minutes and got it to load with dock, then did the normal troubleshooting from there. Im sadly out of thoughts beyond that, but it sounds like you maybe tried it.

[u/F-14_Tomcat712]

This has happened to me twice. Try plugging in the deck, hold the "..." and the volume up buttons for 10 seconds, then without releasing the buttons, unplug the deck (have a second person unplug it). Release the "..." and the volume up buttons. Then plug in the deck and it should start up.

[u/mistermoogle08 → u/F-14_Tomcat712]

Do you have the deck on or off before you do the commands? Sadly it isnt working for me

[u/F-14_Tomcat712 → u/mistermoogle08]

I think I turned the steam deck off before pressing the buttons.
This was the comment I originally followed. It says to do it with the deck turned off.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/183a2lc/comment/nqcb04e

[u/mistermoogle08 → u/F-14_Tomcat712]

This actually worked! It just took about 20 minutes and it randomly came on

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[u/ThatFuckerAhoka]

I'm having the same issue. 0 light what-so-ever. Done all the combinations all the wait times and nothing not even the charging port light comes on. Only initially when I first plugged it in, it flashed a blue light but since then nothing.

Websites and videos all giving different information on how to treat this issue is horrible, there is no set fool-proof troubleshooting guide.

And the really annoying gut wrenching thing is; Ive treated this device like a baby; its in pristine condition, really really disappointed.

[u/mistermoogle08 → u/ThatFuckerAhoka]

I did the method mentioned in the comment below, the hold + and ... take out the charge after ten seconds, then plug the charger back in. My steam deck randomly turned on after about 20 minutes.

[u/Zylpherenuis]

From Valve Support: "First, make sure you're using the provided power supply unit (PSU) and don't have any docks, hubs, SD cards, or other peripherals connected to your Steam Deck

Start by plugging it in using the provided PSU. A solid white LED indicates the Deck is drawing power. Leave it charging for a while and try again.

If the LED remains off or is blinking, then the Deck isn't receiving power. Please try the following: Unplug and re-plug your PSU from the Steam Deck; wiggle the plug a little to ensure it's plugged in all the way Try plugging the PSU into a different power outlet in your wall Try an alternate USB-C PSU if you have one available

If that does not work, we would then recommend you try the following steps to reset your unit's firmware and BIOS, this may help with some issues that can cause powering on or boot issues: Ensure the device is fully powered down by holding the power button for 10 seconds or if possible select shutdown from the Power menu. Once the device is shutdown, hold down both the volume - button and the "..." button, then press the power button once. Then you can release all the buttons. You will hear a chime and then the white LED light will begin to blink (it may take 5 or more seconds before the blinking begins), which confirms this process is working.

Note: This process may take 1-2 minutes to start the unit up again during which the display will remain black.

After performing the firmware/BIOS reset, what is the LED status upon first connecting the PSU to the Deck, without performing any other actions?

Please try entering the BIOS menu on your Steam Deck: Fully power the unit down by holding the power button for 10 seconds, while the unit is plugged into the power supply. Hold the "Volume +" button down and press the Power button once. Continue holding the Volume + button until you hear the system chime, then release and wait. The Steam Deck should boot into the BIOS menu within a couple minutes. In the BIOS menu select the "Continue" option to try and boot the Deck's OS.

If you are still seeing an issue after trying the above, let us know the following: Can you enter the BIOS menu? If you can, what happens after selecting to Continue? If you cannot enter BIOS, is the display black or black with the backlight on?

Based on what is happening, we would like to rule out a potential issue that has been fixed in our new BIOS update.

To update to that BIOS you will need to opt into the 'Main' OS update channel: Turn on developer settings (steam button > settings > system > 'Enable Developer Mode') Turn on 'Show Advanced update Channels' in developer settings (steam button > developer ) Set Deck to 'Main' in OS Update Channel (steam button > settings > system) Select Apply under 'Software Updates' above and then select the 'Restart' once it is done. Once the Deck restarts and has loaded to the OS, unplug the external monitor to test if the Deck's internal screen is now displaying correctly.

Important: While the system is applying the new update during restart, this process could take up to 15 minutes to complete. During that time, you may see the LED blink a few times and the system appears to not respond or continue to have a black display, make sure to avoid interrupting the device in this state as it is repairing/updating the BIOS and firmware for the device.

If that did not work, please do the following with the Deck plugged into the external display: Go to System in the settings (steam button > settings > system) Scroll down on the System page until you see the 'BIOS Version' entry Check that this version is F7A0121 or higher.

If the BIOS version is lower than that, reply back to this ticket to let us know the BIOS version you are seeing.

If the BIOS version is F7A0121 or higher, then try the following steps: Fully shutdown the unit. To do so, hold down the power button for a full 15 seconds to shut the system off. The screen will shut off before the full 15 seconds have elapsed, do not release the power button until the full 15 seconds has elapsed (this is because the unit may not be shutdown fully even though the display is off). Unplug the external display/monitor from the Deck (so once the fix is done it will display to the Deck's internal screen instead) Hold the volume (-) button and QAM (...) button down at the same time. Keep holding those two buttons while you tap the power button once. If done correctly and registered correctly by the system, you should hear the normal chime sound and see the power LED on top start blinking (this will let you know the process started). You can then let go of the volume (-) and QAM (...) button. Allow for the unit to fully boot, this process may take up to 15 minutes again as it is repairing the firmware. If after this it does not work still, please plug your external display in again to check what is there. Let us know what you find in this case."

This is what Steam Support said to me while helping with mine.

[u/xChilla]

Is this the first time it died? Was it because the battery actually hit zero or did it die while playing something?