iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens confirmed on Twitter that Valve sent the company a fresh batch of Steam Deck LCD batteries, ending a 48-hour panic over OEM parts availability. But the reprieve does little to answer the bigger question: how much longer will Valve support a handheld it no longer sells.
The scare started with a Reddit post showing an iFixit customer service email. "It is looking less likely that we will continue receiving OEM Steam Deck LCD batteries, and we are actively evaluating aftermarket options," a staffer wrote.
Another iFixit employee clarified on Reddit that "Valve is just starting to sunset these parts," a decision made by the game company, not the repair specialist.
Parts for the LCD Steam Deck like the battery, screen, and SSD, all went out of stock on iFixit's storefront. The OLED model was never affected.
Valve told The Verge that iFixit would continue receiving "the same OEM parts sourced through Valve's partners that they always have." Wiens said on July 16 that Valve "hooked us up with a supplier," and iFixit has an aftermarket battery supplier ready if OEM supply ever dries up for good.
The immediate crisis is over. The structural problem is not. Valve discontinued the LCD Steam Deck at the end of 2025. The 40Wh lithium polymer battery inside those units is a consumable part that degrades over time, and the LCD model is now entering the age where replacements become necessary.
iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens previously told The Verge in 2022 that battery availability would be "essential to making the Steam Deck stand the test of time." Meanwhile, upgrading to a new model has become prohibitively expensive. A 1TB Steam Deck now costs $950 after Valve hiked prices earlier this year, blaming rising memory and storage costs.
The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X runs $1,000, and the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ demands $1,800. LCD Steam Deck owners are effectively locked into their hardware.
Valve has not confirmed how long it plans to supply LCD replacement parts. iFixit says it is actively evaluating aftermarket alternatives, but questions remain about quality and cost compared to the OEM parts Valve has been providing since 2022.
