Repairing the Steam Deck LCD Gets Much More Expensive as Official Battery Reaches $180
If you have a Steam Deck with an LCD screen and its battery is starting to fail, repairing it has become surprisingly expensive. The official replacement battery for the original model has gone up in price again at iFixit and now costs $179.99 for the battery alone, or $184.99 for the complete repair kit.
To put this into perspective, the battery originally launched at $79.99. Just a few weeks ago, it returned after a period of limited stock at $129.99, and this new $50 increase means its price has now jumped by 125% compared to the original price.
Steam Deck LCD Battery Price Soars to $180
The situation becomes even stranger when this replacement is compared with the one for the OLED model. The official replacement battery for the Steam Deck OLED remains at a much more reasonable $79.99, or $84.99 with the kit, even though it has a higher capacity of 50.08 Wh, compared with only 40 Wh for the LCD version. In other words, owners of the original console are paying $100 more for a battery that offers 20% less battery life.
Behind these changes is an adjustment to Valve’s supply chain. Some time ago, iFixit suggested that several parts for the LCD console would stop being made. Shortly afterward, Valve clarified that it would continue supplying batteries by working with an official distribution partner, which is where these new batches are coming from. However, neither Valve nor iFixit has explained why the replacement battery now costs so much.
For those looking for other options, the store still offers an alternative replacement battery from third-party brands for the usual $79.99, although it does not carry Valve’s OEM label. In any case, with Valve itself recently selling refurbished units of the complete console for around $279 during promotions, spending $185 just on the original battery leaves many users wondering whether it really makes sense to replace the part, move directly to a new device, or choose the unofficial battery instead.
