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The original was posted on /r/steamdeck by /u/Flyingasgod on 2025-03-03 17:48:19+00:00.

Hello, just wanting to share my experience in fixing my cheap Steam Deck from ebay. A litte bit of history how i got it: i was sniping for deals lower than 220$ for a working one, but i didnt get lucky, so i tried to snipe one in not working condition, and after not so much time i saw one guy who posted his SD for sale, there was only one photo and just "LCD 64GB not working" in description, without any detailed specification of problems. I was little suspicious about this listing (his ebay account was 10 years old, but no sales before), so i just threw a cheap offer of 80$, and he accepted it! I asked him, is SD even have all parts inside, and he answered "yes". Later, when i recieved SD, it was in great condition outside (and with original case + baseus dock!), but it wasn't turning on, as expected, even when i plugged my charger. I asked my friend (who had SD), and he suggested to wait a bit more, bc this is common problem with SD (they can sometimes enter battery storage mode), so i waited when battery was charged full, and it turned on! But the problems didn't end there, later i identifed a bunch of problems:

1. D-pad diagonals - i needed to press really hard with 2 fingers on UP+Left/Down+Right/etc. for registering diagonal input, and this was sad for me, bc i love playing retro games. I found 2 solutions, first - press really hard on D-pad center, and second - put some kapton tape on the inside of D-pad, where it presses on the membrane. I analysed both of this methods and found root of this problem - pivot point of D-pad is too high, so when you press 2 inputs, it just cant properly press on the membrane. So i disassembled my SD, and just filed down around 0.1mm (i didnt measured!) of pivot point. It took me 2 times to file down and reassembling SD (you dont need to reconnect battery and trigger for fast checking), for checking diagonals work (after first try diagonals started to press more easily, but not ideal), because if you file down too much, this will result in false inputs, so if you want to use this method, be careful, because this fix is inreversible, and you will need to find new Dpad if you fail it! After that diagonals started working like a charm, and SD Dpad for me now is one of the best for retro games.

2. Right trackpad - it wasnt working almost all the time, i needed to enter BIOS or press Volume down + (...) buttons (for inputs reset), then it start working, but just for 5-10mins, after it disables again. Later in comments i found a solution from one guy who reassembled his SD, he just reconnected loose trackpad cables and it started to work again. I reconnected my trackpad, but it didnt started to work, so i thought i need to go deeper inside trackpad, funny that even ifixit guide doesnt show how to teardown trackpad assembly. Photo1 Photo2 There is a hole on the side of trackpad and with opening pick, you can release latches and remove plastic cap. And inside, where connects other side of ribbon cable, there was unclosed latch (i think it was like that straight from the factory)! photo1 photo2 So, after when i reconnected inside part of the ribbon cable and closed the latch, trackpad started working how it should be!

3. Repasting with PTM7950 - overheating wasnt a problem for my SD, but when i started repairing it, why not change paste for a better one? Repasting lowered temps by not so much (only 2-3C), but fan started to be more silent, so its an upgrade indeed. Die dimensions is 13x12mm, for those who wants to repaste with PTM7950 too. chip1 chip2 Stock thermal paste

4. Undervolting and SSD change - I updated my BIOS to latest version, and undervolted with new settings to -50/-40/-40. Later, when i changed stock 64GB SSD to 256GB Kioxia BG4, SD suddenly started to freeze slightly after boot with loud weird sound, so i even thought, that i damaged something. But after i realised, that undervolt can be the problem in this case, so i lowered SOC undervolt to -30 (to -50/-40/-30 in total), and SD started working as intended again. SSD

5. SD not booting from cold start, properly boots from second or even third turning on - Almost everytime, when i left my SD turned off overnight, on next day, when i turn it on, i hear bios beep, fan slowly spinning, but LCD doesnt turning on. Power drain from charger raising to 5-6W, shortly after drops to 1-2W and stays like this. So i need to hold power button for ~5s (when power LED blinks brightly) and press power again, after that SD starts booting as intended. Sometimes i need to do this 2 or even 3 times, for starting my SD. Sadly, i didnt fixed that, i didnt find solution (i tried to reflash BIOS couple times). But since it didnt got worse, and almost always my SD starts on second time, i think this is ok, considering for which price i bought it.

(UPD) 6. Right Stick "click" sound - forgot about 1 more thing, there was a light click sound when i was moving right stick clockwise (or counterclockwise, dont remember). When i was fixing right trackpad, i also disassembled right stick, took off stick cap, and there was wire, which goes from touch sensor on stick cap to stick motherboard. Photo So i slightly realigned this wire, put stick cap on its place again, and click sound is gone!

I hope my experience helps someone with similar problems.