I tried reimaging my Steam Deck’s SD card and after the update completed, it won’t boot anymore. There’s no startup chime, no backlight, and no touchpad feedback. I’m a bit lost because some instructions I’ve seen are vague or inconsistent — for example, when resetting BIOS/firmware, some say to wait 1-3 minutes while others mention 15-30 minutes. What’s the proper way to perform and observe a BIOS reset? Do I just leave it plugged in while it blinks? Will there be any display or BIOS screen afterward? Also, if anyone has any alternative fixes that have worked for them, please share!
1 Answer
Here’s a step-by-step process that’s worked for me when reimaging the Steam Deck’s SD card:
1. Get your SD card ready.
2. Use a flashing tool like Balena Etcher or Rufus.
3. Download the Steam Deck recovery image.
4. Flash this image onto your SD card.
5. Power off your Steam Deck.
6. Insert the SD card, then hold the VOL DOWN button while powering on.
7. Choose the SD card as your boot device.
8. Reimage using the boot image.
9. When prompted with “cancel or reboot,” choose cancel and then shut down from the start menu.
10. Get a USB drive and format it.
11. Put the BIOS image onto this USB drive.
12. Insert the USB into the Deck.
13. Hold VOL DOWN plus another button (usually select or power) and press power.
14. The device should flash blue a few times—don’t release the buttons yet.
15. After the flashes, hold the power button (while still holding the others) for about 7 seconds.
16. You’ll see a white light flash once, then press power again.
17. Hold until the white light pulses, then release the buttons.
18. Wait for the BIOS update.
19. Once the Steam Deck shuts down, remove the USB.
20. It will reboot automatically. The screen might stay black while the fan runs loudly for about 15 seconds.
21. After rebooting, you should get to the setup screen as normal.
Heads up: Some users have had wifi issues after the update, with disconnects and trouble booting if the network disconnects. Just keep that in mind!
Also, my Steam Deck doesn’t even beep or show any backlight when I press the power button. I’m not sure how to get into any boot or reboot menus without any feedback.
Thanks for the detailed walkthrough! I actually don’t have an SD card right now. Could you clarify where to find the BIOS image to put on the USB?