How to Replace the SSD In Your Steam Deck for More Storage

The advent of handheld PC gaming has been a boon for players, with Valve’s Steam Deck leading the charge and standing as one of the best user-friendly options for getting into the format. The Steam Deck itself remains one of the better handheld devices players can buy, with the one caveat that even the higher-end models are somewhat lacking in their storage options. The increasing file sizes of most AAA games result in many players only being able to fit a small handful of titles on their Steam Deck’s default SSD. Even the 1TB model of the Steam Deck OLED can be limiting, given that the standard size for most new releases is anywhere from 60-100GB or more. Thankfully, it’s a relatively easy and straightforward process to replace the SSD in the Steam Deck, whether you’re someone comfortable with sensitive electronics or a total newcomer.

I recently made the decision to purchase a new SSD for my Steam Deck, an original production line model in the 256GB storage configuration. I had been on the fence about replacing any of the device’s internal components despite my familiarity with working on electronics, but a recent sale on a compatible 2TB SSD pushed me to go ahead and take the plunge. With just a few minor hiccups (including a last-minute need to purchase a USB-C hub), the entire process took less than an hour and was completely stress-free. Following our guide, you can go through the same order of operations I did in upgrading my paltry 256GB of storage to a mighty 2 terabytes.

What You’ll Need

Before we get started, let’s look at everything we’ll need to replace the SSD in the Steam Deck. Regardless of whether players have the standard model or the newer OLED version of the handheld, the same general components will be necessary.

• Replacement SSD: This probably goes without saying, but you’ll need a compatible SSD to replace the stock drive in the Steam Deck. The drive should be in the M.2 2230 form factor.
• Phillips #0 and #00 Screwdrivers: The screws for both the Steam Deck’s back cover and the motherboard cover will require a Phillips screwdriver with an incredibly small footprint. A toolkit with both a #0 and #00 should suffice. Most electronics repair toolkits will have these and even smaller heads.
• Tweezers: Tweezers will be helpful for both peeling the foil tape on the motherboard cover and sliding the ESD shielding off of the stock SSD. Like the screwdrivers, these will be included in most electronics repair toolkits (such as the iFixit)
• Flash Drive (8GB or larger): The final step in replacing the SSD for your Steam Deck is reimaging the new hard drive with the Steam OS. To do so, you’ll need to first download the Steam Deck recovery image from Valve’s website, which requires at least 8GB of storage.
• USB-C Hub: Some sources will tout that players can simply use a USB-A to USB-C dongle (which, as you’ll see in the photos, was my original solution), but the reimaging process necessary to write the Steam OS on the new SSD requires that the Steam Deck is also receiving power. This means you’ll need a USB-C hub with at least one USB-C port for the Steam Deck’s charger and a USB-A port for the thumb drive.

Find a Compatible SSD

Thankfully, finding a compatible drive to replace the stock SSD in your Steam Deck has never been easier (or cheaper). When the M.2 2230 drives first hit the market, a 2TB SSD could run as much as $400 or more. Today, most good quality M.2 2230 SSDs offering that much storage are anywhere from $130-$180. When choosing a drive, there are really only two things to make sure of:

• Make Sure It’s the Right Form Factor: A compatible SSD for the Steam Deck MUST be in the M.2 2230 form factor. Even then, some players report that certain drives are larger than the stock SSD in the Steam Deck (e.g. being slightly thicker), causing issues with putting ESD shielding or a heat sink on when replacing the drive. Read reviews for any drive you’re considering picking up.
• Get a Compatible SSD With Read Speeds of 5,000MB or More: The better the read speed, the more expensive the SSD, but it’s a crucial component of what makes these drives the ideal solution for game storage. Better read speeds result in games loading faster and experiencing fewer performance hiccups.

The drive I ended up choosing was the Corsair MP600 CORE Mini in the 2TB storage configuration. Not only was this drive reasonably priced (available for $139 on Amazon), but it also features adequate read speeds of 5,000MB/sec and is from a brand that I’ve generally had a great experience with concerning PC components.

Prepping Your Steam Deck for Disassembly

Once you have everything you’ll need to tackle replacing the SSD, it’s important to prep the Steam Deck itself for doing any repairs. To do so, Valve recommends leaving the Steam Deck on and using it until the battery is below 20%. This is a safety precaution to prevent any possible injury or death if the Steam Deck’s lithium-ion battery is accidentally punctured during the replacement. Additionally, Valve also recommends placing the Steam Deck into Battery Storage mode, though this isn’t totally necessary.

To place the Steam Deck into Battery Storage mode, hold the Power Button and the Volume Down Button until the Steam Deck boots into BIOS. From here, navigate to the power settings and place the Steam Deck into Battery Storage mode. Note that you will need to connect the Steam Deck to power via the charger to turn it back on after placing it into Battery Storage mode.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, MAKE SURE TO REMOVE ANY SD CARD IN THE DECK. Before attempting any repair on the Steam Deck, it’s of the utmost importance to remove your SD card from the SD card slot. Removing the back cover with the card still in place will literally snap it in two. After prepping the battery and turning the Steam Deck off, go ahead and remove the SD card and safely store it somewhere.

Prepping the USB Drive to Reimage the Steam Deck

Before you begin the replacement, it’s best to go ahead and prep the USB flash drive you’re going to use to rewrite the Steam OS onto the new SSS. To do so, plug your available USB drive into a PC, and head to Valve’s Steam Deck Recovery page. Here, follow the steps to download the recovery image and write it to the drive. For Windows users, this means also downloading the recommended Rufus program to correctly write the Steam Deck Recovery Image to the drive and format it correctly.

After downloading Rufus, open the program and click “Select” next to where you’ll see Boot Selection. Navigate to where you downloaded the Steam Deck Recovery Image and click on it. Click “Start” and let Rufus do its thing. After a few minutes, it will complete, allowing you to close the program, safely eject the drive, and be ready to re-image your Steam Deck once the SSD replacement is finished.

Safety Considerations

Some final considerations to make before beginning the replacement involve general safety tips for working on electronics.

• Choose a clean and static-free workplace: It’s best to avoid opening the Steam Deck (or any other sensitive electronics) in a room with carpet. You can unknowingly build up a static charge and unintentionally fry fragile components. I recommend working on a clean, uncluttered space with no carpet or other minuscule fibers nearby.
• Grounding: Building off of the previous tip, it might be worth grounding yourself before beginning to replace the SSD in your Steam Deck. While it’s not totally necessary, you can purchase a grounding bracelet or simply touch any non-conductive piece of metal to discharge any latent static buildup before working on your Steam Deck.

Step 1: Remove the Back Cover of the Steam Deck

Begin the process of replacing the SSD by placing the Steam Deck face-down to view the back cover. To prevent the device from sliding around on its analog sticks, I recommend placing it face-down in the original carrying case. It ends up working as the perfect housing for performing the SSD replacement.

With the Phillips #0 and #00 screwdriver, carefully remove and store the 8 screws on the back cover. Note that the 4 screws in the center of the back cover are shorter than the 4 exterior screws (this will be important when putting the back cover back on. Before attempting to remove the back cover, double-check to make sure the Micro SD Card has been removed (if you had one in the slot to begin with).

Using an opening pick (most electronics repair toolkits will come with one), carefully slide one side into the small opening around the Steam Deck’s trigger buttons and begin to angle it so that the back cover “pops” off, gently working your way down the side of the grips. With one side fully off, you can work the rest of the back cover off and place it to the side.

Step 2: Remove the Motherboard Cover

With the back cover completely off, you’re now ready to begin work on your Steam Deck. What you see should look like the image above, unless you happen to have a Steam Deck OLED. The launch of the Steam Deck OLED coincided with Valve redesigning the internal layout of the device, and your internals will look slightly different. For starters, the motherboard cover will be black instead of silver, and there will be a small ribbon cable covering the motherboard cover. That said, other than watching out for the ribbon cable, the same general steps apply.

Using the tweezers, carefully peel back the foil tape covering one of the screws on the motherboard cover. Do NOT fully remove the tape, as we’ll need to place it back after we successfully swap the SSD. Instead, peel it back just enough to where you can get to the screw underneath with the Phillips head screwdriver. Remove this screw and the three smaller screws around the edge, carefully removing the motherboard cover and placing it to the side.

Step 3: Remove the Battery Cable

Some guides on replacing the SSD for the Steam Deck will state that it’s important to “remove the battery”, which is a bit of a misnomer. You’re not removing the entire battery, but rather disconnecting the cable for the battery from the motherboard. To do this, I recommend using either the pull tab for the battery cable or the opening pick used during the removal of the back cover. I actually ended up needing to do both, with one hand gently pushing on the connector with the pick and the other gently pulling on the pull tab. With the battery unplugged, gently lay the connecter on top of its housing as shown in the photo.

Step 4: Remove the Stock SSD

With the battery disconnected, you are now ready to work on removing the stock SSD. As you can see in the photo, there is just one screw to take out, which will result in the drive popping up at an angle for easy removal. Pull out the original SSD and place it somewhere safe.

If your new SSD does not come with ESD shielding or a heat sink, this would be the time to go ahead and install those protections. While some guides will suggest installing a heat sink on a new M.2 2230 SSD, the ESD shielding is actually more important and more appropriate for the Steam Deck. If your new SSD has no ESD shielding, you can carefully slide off the existing shielding from the original drive. If it’s not sliding off, you can use the tweezers to carefully peel up the edge of the ESD shielding, opening it up and placing it on the new SSD.

Step 5: Mount the SSD and Put the Battery Back In

After making sure that the new SSD has ESD shielding (either included with the new drive or replaced from the Steam Deck’s stock SSD), go ahead and mount the drive into the slot, making sure that the connectors are lined up properly. With the new SSD installed, you can now replace the screw that holds the drive in place on the motherboard and reconnect the battery cable.

Step 6: Replace the Motherboard Cover and the Steam Deck’s Back Cover

With the new SSD installed and the battery reconnected, go ahead and re-install the motherboard cover, making sure to replace the screws in all of their original positions. Use the tweezers to secure the foil tape back over the motherboard screw.

Line up the back cover for the Steam Deck, starting from the bottom and gently snapping each corner into place. With the cover back on and lined up properly, begin the process of putting the 8 screws back in. Remember that the 4 shorter screws will go in the 4 center holes and the 4 longer screws will go back on the outside corners.

Step 8: Install the Steam OS on the New SSD

With everything back in place, you’re now ready to begin the final (and most important) step — re-imaging the new SSD and installing the Steam OS.

Plug the USB flash drive containing the Steam Deck Recovery Image into one of the USB-A ports on your USB-C hub. Next, plug the Steam Deck’s charger into the appropriate USB-C port on the hub. Plug the hub itself into the Steam Deck and press the power button. Some sources suggest holding the volume down button when pressing power and letting it go when you hear the chime. I did not find this to be necessary, as pressing the power button immediately began booting from the USB flash drive when using the hub.

Once the Steam Deck begins to boot from the USB flash drive, you will see a long code string containing several command prompts. Let the Steam Deck work through this process, and eventually, it will land on a desktop environment that looks similar to the Steam Deck’s desktop mode. Here, you can use the Steam Deck’s track pad to navigate and the touch screen to select options. Select the “Re-Image Steam Deck” option from the provided 4, and once again let the device do its thing. It may restart several times before eventually landing on a screen that looks like this:

Final Steps

When it reaches this screen, the Steam OS has been successfully installed and will begin downloading updates after you connect it to your wireless network. It may need to work through several updates before it is finished, but it will eventually bring you to the initial startup screen, allowing you to set your device’s language and log into your Steam user profile.

And that’s it! You now have a substantial storage upgrade for your Steam Deck, allowing you to install more titles before needing to manage your game library. Do note that you will need to redownload any programs you previously had installed (including web browsers for desktop mode, compatibility tools like Proton, or any other apps from the Discovery store).

The image featured at the top of this post is ©CheatCC/Matt Karoglou.