It makes a loud and very obnoxious mechanical clicking noise that gets worse under load. I’m guessing one of the internal fans got damaged in shipping.
I opened my ticket with a video and explanation - a quick “hey, this is the first boot I’ve not even hooked up a monitor and listen to this noise”.
So far Steam support has asked me if I’ve modified or disassembled it, then told me to try factory resetting it, uninstall any third party plugins, and turn off “updated fan controller”. Last I heard from them was early Wednesday that they’re looking into it. No followup just complete radio silence.
My first thought was to take it apart and fix whatever the problem is, I’ve fixed issues like this before.
But I also bought it to be plug and play - disassembling to fix what is either a shipping issue or manufacturing defect is not plug and play. So I decided I would use this opportunity to see how the support experience is. So far my consensus is I’m glad I haven’t had any issues with my Steam Deck…
What was wrong with it?
It makes a loud and very obnoxious mechanical clicking noise that gets worse under load. I’m guessing one of the internal fans got damaged in shipping.
I opened my ticket with a video and explanation - a quick “hey, this is the first boot I’ve not even hooked up a monitor and listen to this noise”.
So far Steam support has asked me if I’ve modified or disassembled it, then told me to try factory resetting it, uninstall any third party plugins, and turn off “updated fan controller”. Last I heard from them was early Wednesday that they’re looking into it. No followup just complete radio silence.
That could be something as silly as a loose cable being struck by a fan blade.
Doesn’t seem like getting access to the fan to confirm is terribly complex if you want to give it a shot yourself. This guide doesn’t cover that specifically, but it’ll get you most of the way there: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Steam+Machine+(2nd+Generation)+M.2+SSD+Hard+drive+Replacement/224781
The fan should be able to spin freely and quietly when you give it a push with your finger.
My first thought was to take it apart and fix whatever the problem is, I’ve fixed issues like this before.
But I also bought it to be plug and play - disassembling to fix what is either a shipping issue or manufacturing defect is not plug and play. So I decided I would use this opportunity to see how the support experience is. So far my consensus is I’m glad I haven’t had any issues with my Steam Deck…
The slow response sucks, but usually they’re really good about replacing things like this.