Popular Steam Deck model just became harder to repair (updated)

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Updated on Thursday, July 16 at 2:57 p.m. ET — In a pleasantly surprising turn of events, Valve has confirmed it will resupply Steam Deck LCD batteries to iFixIt in the coming week or so. The company confirmed as much in a statement to PC Gamer, and iFixIt CEO Kyle Wiens separately confirmed it in a post on X. Crisis averted.

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You can find our original report below.

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The original LCD Steam Deck is a great value, if you can still find one. If you need to repair it, though, you might run into some trouble.

A Reddit post from earlier this week (via Tech PowerUp) showcased a customer support email from iFixIt, one of the most popular purveyors of repair parts for tech products. According to iFixIt, which partners with device manufacturers to source high-quality replacement parts, batteries for the Steam Deck LCD are out of stock, and "it is looking less likely that we will continue receiving OEM Steam Deck LCD batteries."

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SEE ALSO: Steam Deck OLED gets huge price increase amid RAM shortage

A further comment from an iFixIt representative said Valve is sunsetting parts for the original Steam Deck, which is unsurprising if you've been following the news lately.

Valve's popular gaming handheld has been hard to get for months now, thanks to RAMageddon, as Valve discontinued production on the LCD model and has only maintained limited production of the newer OLED model. Of course, the Steam Deck OLED also got a massive price increase as part of this whole deal.

As Tech PowerUp noted, there are third-party alternatives available on other e-commerce platforms like Amazon, so iFixIt may still be able to facilitate Steam Deck repairs before too long that way. Still, you'd rather have Valve provide the parts itself.

For gamers, it's the latest in a string of bad news related to affordability. Not only are major console makers all raising prices, but new handheld gaming consoles can cost as much as $1,500.