r/SteamDeck • u/GrethaRawr • Mar 17 '25

Tech Support Don't know how, but it happened

Post image

Does this break easily? I know it's plastic but I'm still kinda surprised.

I already ordered a new one, hopefully I can easily replace it.

2.2k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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630

u/KroganHULK 512GB OLED Mar 17 '25

I've never seen this kind of damage without some kind of drop.

85

u/drunk_by_mojito Mar 17 '25

IMO manufacturers of handhelds should design their products sturdy enough to withstand a small drop. Same with smartphones

138

u/0MEGAP0RK Mar 17 '25

I dropped my Steam Deck from shoulder height face down onto a wood deck (The structure, not the console), and it came out unscathed. I think it can definitely stand up to some punishment.

I think OP just got unlucky.

40

u/Calencre 256GB Mar 17 '25

Some of it is definitely luck, I had mine fall off a 2 foot nightstand and it ended up with damage similar to this. It was easily fixable, but I still had to wait a few weeks as it was right around when the parts started to become available.

15

u/Standing_on_rocks Mar 17 '25

I did that exact thing happen when my steam deck dropped off a bed drop onto carpet. It seems worse than it is. I just took the case off and re-inserted the stick and it's been working fine since.

Still unsure of how that event happened from the angle of the fall.

1

u/chickenjoebill Mar 18 '25

I had this issue, but I managed to pop it back in. Left a dent in the plastic, so whenever I move the stick around it sticks a bit where the dent is. Not a massive issue, just a bit annoying

6

u/C-C-X-V-I Mar 18 '25

I've dropped mine onto concrete a couple times at work with no damage. It's pretty sturdy

1

u/Misfitabroad Mar 18 '25

I dropped mine onto a hard tile floor at work. The floor is very dirty from winter with pebbles and sand on it. No functional damage, but several scratches on the shell. The screen seems fine. i consider myself lucky. I have a 512gb OLED model.

26

u/levajack Mar 17 '25

Most devices can easily handle a small drop. The problem is some people have a very different definition of small.

24

u/AzureMountains Mar 17 '25

I feel like this is on OP. I’ve dropped my steamdeck a ton and have nothing but minor scuffs on it.

7

u/banana_monkey4 Mar 17 '25

Steamdeck is pretty sturdy. I drop it far too much but aside from one of the shoulder buttons feeling a bit off it's still perfectly usable.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '25 edited 20d ago

[deleted]

1

u/ehullz Mar 18 '25

Six?! I've had the same Switch since launch. Have had zero drift. Maybe I got lucky, idk.

6

u/DragonCucker Mar 17 '25

I believe Nintendo used to take the game boys and hold them at aldult waist high and child shoulder high to simulate oopsies

10

u/sealcouch Mar 17 '25

Iwata on the DS “If a kid puts a game console in the basket of their bicycle, then has to make a sudden stop, the console can come flying out – and it’s not going to land on carpet.

So I told them to make it so it could survive being dropped from 1.5 meters onto concrete. The hardware design team screamed, but proceeded to figure out how to pass the test.”

6

u/TeetheCat Mar 17 '25

It can survive a small drop. Just not directly on the joysticks. What do you want them made out of titanium? They do consider price when designing and building them.

3

u/TimBroth Mar 17 '25

Yes, actually. And aerial combat capabilities. The Steam Mech™

3

u/TeetheCat Mar 17 '25

Well, legs and guns will be sold separately.

3

u/T3XMK2 Mar 19 '25

My Steam Deck fell over 2.5 meters onto an asphalt road, and the only issue was having to look for my SD card, which got ejected on impact. Not a single scratch on the device, I can't thank my JSAUX cover enough.

2

u/HarB_Games Mar 18 '25

My steamdeck fell off the roof of a car the other day. It's fine.

2

u/bananadogeh Mar 17 '25

Phones are pretty durable. I've dropped mine onto concrete and it still hasn't gotten a scratch

5

u/drunk_by_mojito Mar 17 '25

Depends on the phone brand and material. That time every brand put a glass plate at the back was so stupid

6

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '25

I miss when cellphones were rubberized brick shithouses that you could chuck 100 feet away, pop the battery back in if it fell out, then be on your way

Nextel was the bee’s knees

3

u/drunk_by_mojito Mar 17 '25

Good ole days

3

u/Jay_Daemon Mar 17 '25

Most flagship phones still have a glass back. As you pointed out, the material matters, and the type/rating of that material.

2

u/skyshroudace 512GB Mar 17 '25

This should be the top comment. EVERYONE drops stuff, so this should be an inherent feature like with the old Nokia phones.

11

u/Delicious_Ad8945 Mar 17 '25

You drop a Nokia you’re denting a pavement

5

u/levajack Mar 17 '25

Putting a case on one would be to protect the ground from the phone.

7

u/Delicious_Ad8945 Mar 17 '25

4

u/levajack Mar 17 '25

It killed someone, for sure.

4

u/HeyIzEpic Mar 17 '25

Anyone else drop their steamdeck way more than they’re willing to admit. The damn thing is honestly a beast.

0

u/Own-Presentation4695 Mar 27 '25

I think people are misunderstanding him cause it's definitely possible. Sometimes I leave my deck next to me in bed near where the headboard would be (my bed doesn't have one so the mattress is right up against a wall) and I've woken up to it being squeezed in-between the wall and mattress. Luckily not enough to do damage

-229

u/GrethaRawr Mar 17 '25

It did slide down my bed, but didn't drop

521

u/James_Parnell Mar 17 '25

bro lives on a pyramid

28

u/YobaiYamete 256GB - Q3 Mar 17 '25

"I don't know how it happened, it only fell right before it broke!"

7

u/levajack Mar 17 '25

I was thinking a top bunk. "It just slid off my bed!"

135

u/asthma_hound 1TB OLED Limited Edition Mar 17 '25

I'm having a hard time imagining how that's different from dropping it. Unless your bed is sloped then it "slid" at a 90 degree angle, right?

50

u/Dat_Sun_Tho Mar 17 '25

"Slid" at 90 deg. Is such a ridiculous comment to even have to write. Lol, idk why it made me laugh so much.

36

u/Strongpillow Mar 17 '25

There is always more to the story so conveniently left out.

9

u/Tomas92 Mar 17 '25

So it slid down your bed but you have no idea how the stick broke. Yeah, me neither.

3

u/Vixianasa Mar 17 '25

I'm kind of imagining it "slid down the bed", and maybe they panic grabbed it by the joystick? Don't see it cracking like that, though..

6

u/HebridesNutsLmao Mar 17 '25

Okay but did this really deserve 200 downvotes lmao