A player didn’t touch his Steam Deck for half a year and then lost $140 – here’s how to avoid the problem

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Flo
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The “battery storage mode” can prevent you from potentially repairing your Steam Deck. This is how you activate it when you need it.

If you haven’t turned on your Steam Deck for a long period of time, it can have serious consequences for the built-in battery under certain circumstances. Find out why and how to prevent the problem here.

This is what happened: After a six-month business trip, a player turns on his Steam Deck again and finds that the battery only lasts a few seconds. Now he would have to replace the battery, which would cost him $140. A replacement battery from iFixit would cost $95. What’s more, replacing the battery in the Steam Deck is not easy because the original battery is glued in place. Fortunately, there is a way to prevent the problem.

(PSA) Don’t leave your steam deck unplugged for 6 months, $140 to fix the battery
by inSteamDeck

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Battery Save Mode is the solution

Valve has integrated a function into the Steam Deck for this problem that is designed to prevent exactly this. It’s called “Battery Save Mode” and can be found in the UEFI menu (also called the BIOS menu).

What does battery save mode do?This mode turns off your Steam Deck and disconnects it from the battery. The next time you use your handheld, you will only be able to turn it on by plugging in a power cable.

This is important if you need to disassemble your Steam Deck for repairs and mods or for storage over a longer period of time.

This is how you activate the mode:

  1. Make sure your battery is charged to about 50 to 60 percent.
  2. Turn off your Steam Deck.
  3. Press and hold the volume up key and press the power button.
  4. Release both keys and your Steam Deck will enter the UEFI menu.
  5. Select “Setup Utility”.
  6. Navigate to the “Power” menu.
  7. Select “Battery storage mode”. If your menu is in English, the option is called “Battery storage mode”.
  8. Select “Yes” to confirm your selection.

Once activated, Battery Storage Mode allows you to travel for months without worrying about damaging the battery.

Why do batteries sometimes become unusable after sitting for a long time?

Batteries like the ones in a steam deck slowly discharge themselves, even when they are not used. If they are not charged for a long period of time, the voltage can drop to such an extent that the battery is “deeply discharged”. This can render it unusable or severely reduce its performance, as this case shows.

This problem is not limited to the Steam Deck, but can occur with many devices that use lithium batteries, such as smartphones, tablets or laptops. Regular charging, even when the device is not in use, can help to avoid such problems – or you can use battery saver mode if such a function is available.