Steam Deck SSD Upgrade Guide

The Steam Deck comes with various storage options, ranging from 64GB eMMC to 1TB NVMe SSD. While these options provide ample storage for most users, some may...

Rahul Verma

Last updated on January 30, 2024

Rahul Verma

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The Steam Deck comes with various storage options, ranging from 64GB eMMC to 1TB NVMe SSD. While these options provide ample storage for most users, some may find the need for additional space, especially with the growing size of modern games. If you are planning to add more games to your library and you are short of storage, you should buy a new SSD with more storage and follow our Steam Deck SSD upgrade guide.

The Steam Deck has revolutionized the portable gaming landscape, offering a powerful handheld device capable of running AAA games and providing a truly immersive gaming experience on the go. However, the amount of storage it comes with is not enough if you are a gamer or you love trying every new game. It doesn’t matter how big your storage is in your Steam deck, but you can not install new games due to the small storage. The only solution is to upgrade your Steam Deck storage by inserting a new SSD.

Upgrading the SSD can not only increase the storage capacity but also enhance the device’s overall performance, loading times, and responsiveness. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the process of upgrading the SSD on your Steam Deck. It doesn’t matter if you’re really good with technology or just starting out; this guide will give you the information and the assurance you need to do the upgrade on your own.

Remove the Back of the Steam Deck

Flip your Steam Deck, and you will see eight screws behind, unscrew them one by one. You have to keep these screws somewhere safe. Avoid making your screw slip, as this will make things worse for your device.

You have to unclip the back of the Steam Deck to access your device’s SSD. Use a metal card or a slicer to unclip the back of the device. Try to move the slicer from the right side of the device from top to bottom, and once the gap is made, tug out the back of the Steam Deck.

Remove Steam Deck Storage Drive

Disconnect your device battery instead of tugging it out. Disconnect the plastic connector from the sheath first and put it aside.

You have reached the Internal of the device. A metal plate covers the SSD drive, remove this metal plate, and you will see hidden screws. Remove these screws with a suitable bit and set them aside for reassembly later.

Replace NVME drive

The 2230 NVME drive is in the wrapper, just remove the screw and set it aside and gently pull out the drive from its socket and remove the wrapper around it.

Now place this Wrapper in the New 2230 SSD and place it onto the same socket from where you removed the old SSD, and screw it down.

Reassemble Steam Deck

It’s time for the final step, reassembling the steam deck. But before going onto that, reconnect the battery, put your Steam Deck back in place, put all eight screws in place, and start tightening them up. Once the Steam Deck starts, verify the storage and set up the Steam Deck as you like.

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of this Steam Deck SSD Upgrade Guide. It’s important to note that Upgrading the SSD can not only increase the storage capacity but also enhance the device’s overall performance, loading times, and responsiveness. We have tried to make this guide as easy as possible, but it’s still important to keep all the precautions before proceeding with these steps.

Please keep in mind that you should not use any sharp objects to open the back of the Steam deck as it can damage the inner parts of the device. Try to keep your screws carefully, as losing these screws can make your console useless.

Steam Deck SSD Upgrade Guide