Though it's still decisively a niche product, Valve's handheld gaming PC - the Steam Deck - has already proven its worth on the market, and Valve is underlining this with the launch of several new Steam Deck repair centers. These specialized facilities will allow Valve to more quickly and efficiently execute the users' RMA requests, but there's good news even for those devices that might no longer be under warranty.
The Steam Deck isn't without its problems, of course, and there are reports of QA issues with some devices. According to Valve's announcement, the newly launched repair centers will be able to assist users that ended up receiving a less-than-stellar device with, for example, a faulty battery. Affected users should simply reach out to Valve's support team to set up a shipping procedure for their device, after which the nearest repair center will diagnose the issue and repair it at no additional charge - as long as the problem is covered by the warranty.
The particularly good news, however, is that even those problems that aren't covered by the warranty can also be resolved by the Steam Deck repair center. "If your dog gnaws on your thumbstick and breaks it," says the blog post, "this is not covered by warranty." Whereas previously the only available option was to attempt a DIY repair using Steam Deck parts from iFixit's store, users can now have the official repair center resolve the issue instead, albeit for a fee.
While Valve may be looking at new versions of the Steam Deck in the future, the company also seems to be very interested in maintaining the first iteration's longevity. The mere fact that separate components are available for sale via iFixit is practically unprecedented in this niche, and with dedicated Steam Deck repair centers in the picture, even running out of warranty years down the line shouldn't be a huge problem for owners of the device.
The bigger issue, perhaps, is the fluid nature of modern software. Just a few days back, 2K's BioShock trilogy update broke Steam Deck support when the publisher attempted to integrate its new launcher application with the old titles. While leveraging Linux and coming up with SteamOS was the right way to go instead of relying on Windows for Steam Deck support, Valve opened a curious can of worms with this approach, and odds are that this was just the first such problem to have cropped up, with more coming in the future.
Still, Steam Deck remains an exciting prospect for the vast majority of PC gamers. And, thanks to the ramp-up of the device's production capabilities, Valve had good news for Steam Deck reservation holders. Namely, everyone with a reservation as of late July can expect to get the Deck before the end of 2022. And, with repair centers now online, even if someone ends up with a faulty Deck, it should be a relatively easy issue to resolve.
Source: Steam