this post was submitted on 02 Feb 2024
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Steam Deck

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Almost replaced the shell on my brand new deck... got caught out by the display (images2.imgbox.com)
submitted 9 months ago by lemann@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/steamdeck@sopuli.xyz
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Title pretty much, my brand new deck arrived today and I wasted no time loading up all my games and linux desktop apps onto it. I was pretty much firmly sold on it after having the opportunity to experience one 😁

Out of excitement I also impulse ordered a full replacement shell in advance, thinking I was prepared to also tackle the screen. Turns out I was wrong - the screen is so well stuck down that I couldn't get it to budge with a 2kw hot air gun. The battery was also getting quite warm from the heat.

Pretty much ended up putting everything back to the original casing before I damaged something, and settled for just changing the back cover instead 😢

Maybe I'll give the replacement shell another shot in future, but not too sure to be honest.

Anyone managed to do a full shell swap? How did you find it?

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[–] conciselyverbose@kbin.social 63 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It can definitely be done.

But when all the actual experts who do it every day are telling you "fuck that shit; it's too much work", it's probably a pain in the ass.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 14 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

no hardware that glues screens and batteries like this should ever be free of heavy criticism.

those are the items that needs the most replacement and are the easiest to ruin when trying to pry them off.

[–] dlove67@feddit.nl 29 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Did a full shell swap on mine:

The thing with the screen is you have to pull on one corner (with heat) until that single corner comes up just enough for you to slide some kind of tool underneath to slice the adhesive and separate them better. Then you can move the heat gun around a bit more and move the tool with it to keep cutting through the adhesive.

[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 17 points 9 months ago (2 children)

That sounds tedious.

[–] TwanHE@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago

I remember swapping ds lite shells in like 5 minutes for some friends after getting the hang of it. Now everything is glued together like some old wii portable conversations

[–] Gh05t@beehaw.org 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Also heat on the screen? Yeah hard pass my dude.

[–] histic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

why is heating the screen so bad?

[–] Gh05t@beehaw.org 1 points 9 months ago

Because overheating it causes permanent damage. Just because you see people online doing it doesn’t mean it’s not without consequences if precautions aren’t taken or if you’re not familiar with what you’re doing. You’re heating up the glue - sure but you’re also heating the panel and that can cause it to not function properly anymore.

[–] IronSage@sh.itjust.works 22 points 9 months ago

I did a shell swap and now I have a white steam deck that feels slightly cheaper. Don't recommend

[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not done a shell swap, but I did want to mention: dbrand makes some really high-quality skins (high cut-tolerances). They even have X-ray skins, if you want a clear-ish look. There's other skins of varying quality from other sellers, too).

Just saying, if you want something that looks unique, a skin might be the easier solution.

[–] Gh05t@beehaw.org 4 points 9 months ago

This is the way

[–] cordlesslamp@lemmy.today 4 points 9 months ago

I can't wait for the steam deck to sell officially in my country. Currently it's $1000 for the top version, without any warranty.

[–] Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ive done a full shell swap it was tedious and took me like 6 hours being careful the screen is definitely one of the hardest parts followed by the trackpads. An ifixit kit comes in handy but you must take your time with it and use heat. You may just want to consider getting a screen upgrade and dropping that in cause everything goes back together wayyy easier

[–] histic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

dont you still have to take the screen off for disassembly though with a full swap

[–] Nindelofocho@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Should just be able to disconnect the screen and leave it attached to the front part of the shell. If i recall correctly

[–] histic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 9 months ago

I thought they was a screw or something behind the screen I dont fully remember tbh it was kinda a blur when I did it

[–] histic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 9 months ago

personally I didn't find it that hard just took awhile. the screen did require a considerable amount of force. as long as you get one corner up with a suction cup. you should just be able to go around the edge slowly with a metal pick or similar flat piece of metal or plastic and cut the glue just be sure to take your time. i would recommend working a short edge first then work your way on top and bottom till you can just lever the screen out without break it