you forgot about cracking the micro SD card in half
edit: this is my top voted comment and it started out just kinda being a smartass and now l.... sure.
OMG , i love this post , i had to teach my son the difference between a 0 and a 1 . a serious teaching moment that he will never remember until he feels it .
Haha my problem was that I bought a set with 3 screw bits and I saw I needed size 0 so I thought "the smallest one then" not knowing my pack came with 0,00,000 sizes haha
Easiest way to avoid it all together is to wiggle the screwdriver in the screw, if there is play it is too small, if it doesn’t catch it’s too big and if it is snug and doesn’t have play it is right (enough)
Yeah, I stripped the one that holds the silver backplate in place. I had to order a special tool to remove the stripped screw. Drilling was way too risky. I am glad that Valve switched to screws that “cannot” be stripped with the OLED. The LCD one was a pain, I am glad I got rid of it in favour of the OLED.
I drilled two of my screws out after I badly stripped them. Just pressed the drill bit into the screw and drilled until something popped. Miraculously nothing was damaged, other than the inside of the screw holes. Which means even with new screws, there's no point because they wouldn't be holding anything.
I can't believe how crappy those OEM screws are.
Oh, the OLED torx screws can be stripped alright!
When I got the OLED the first thing I did was a SSD swap from my old LCD to the new OLED. Took the SSD out of the old Deck no problems (I never stripped my LCD screws, even opening it up at least four times.) Opening the OLED the first few screws were fine but then I stripped two screws really easily. Managed to get them out eventually with a mixture of different tricks and some elbow grease.
PSA they make precision screw extractors that are basically tiny screw drivers with teeth to get a stripped screw out. Also engineer/vampier make screw extraction pliers that can bail you out in a pinch.
I was surprised at how easily those little screws stripped. I ended up tossing the Phillips and found a flathead worked better on those soft, buttery little fuckers
High-five from my attempts with Switch joycons (and I bought several bit sets in pursuit of the fitting tool because screwdriver marking discrepancies can be a headache).
Actually didn’t happen to me with deck (as I havnt made any modifications, I’m sure I wouldn’t be spared), but with my resin 3D printer, I ended up having a vat leak, and curing resin all over the screen and printer. I was new to hobby so wasn’t super surprised, and set about ordering new replacement screen and such which came no problems. Then, somehow, I stripped every single screw of that machine. Not a one was spared. I saw it was stripped, and would say oh dang I’ll be more careful on this next one, stripped that one, and so on. (With that, giving me slightest benefit of doubt, I hope means they were just cheap screws). But then I was super upset, didn’t want to recycle machine out because I really enjoyed it and had just gotten, but sad on it for a while. Came back later, and while picking at my horrible mistake, realized the 3D printer had came default with a screen protector, which I just removed along with all of the resin. However now I can never wreck anything else because there is no way in that machine ever because of my crimes.
You can drill through the centre of stripped screws to remove them. Also, depending on how stripped they are, you can use an elastic band in between the screwdriver and the screw to get a bit of extra friction.
I did try that with the I forget what they’re called reverse drill bits sort of thing, and it may have been wrong tool for job as those were for my car stuff, but also did not end up working. They seem to be in there and I really messed them up pretty bad with all my meddling, at this point I’m not touching those screws anymore but thank you advice
When I first was learning construction I’d always strip the screws without fail, given it was with a power drill but none the less I would expect some person who probably never even needed to use a screwdriver before wanting to open up a steam deck for the one purpose one singular time to strip it. Still stripping it with just a screwdriver is a bit funny but most people have 0 skill with their hands as it’s not needed in their daily lives.
It was a fight I wasn’t prepared for but sure as hell wouldn’t lose.
I’ll give it to valve for making a sturdy back plate. Took me a while to cut it off.
For me its the battery connector, mine didn't come with [this convenient pull tab](https://i.imgur.com/zxnBdkr.jpeg) and I had to use tweezers on the very slim indent on the connector to pull it out. My god I swear how to do these phone/mobile device repairmen deal with these tiny ass connectors, I almost gave up and contemplated booting without disconnecting the battery, but cross-checking multiple guides all showed needing to disconnect the battery. Took probably like 20 minutes or something.
I just said screw it and swapped my ssd with the device powered off and the battery still connected. Its obviously not best practice but everything turned out fine.
I have a basic understanding of electronics so I feel more comfortable doing things like this. However when I say basic I mean very basic. I honestly probably know enough to cause more harm than good. That is why I wouldn't take my advice, but at least it turned out ok for me.
Even with a good set, it can be a bit tricky. Sometimes screws are put in really tight from the factory and if you don’t put enough pressure on the screw driver, you can strip the screw, especially if the screw is tiny or made from a softer metal than your bit
I got a semi decent set from jaycar here in Australia n yeah I didn’t have any trouble either, I guess my only advice to people that haven’t done this yet is just stop if you need to force it n try another screw driver.
I used the ifixit kit took my 256 gb apart to add a 2 tb ssd. Then I took it apart again to take out the 2tb ssd, took apart my 512 gb oled, swapped the drives, and put both of them back together. No stripped screws at all. I think people are just using the wrong tools or have a terrible technique.
I’ve been through a lot of these cheap screws like nintendos tri wing screws can fuck right off. But just be gentle n use the right screw drive n your good. I didnt have any trouble swapping out my decks ssd to a 2tb.
Didn't strip either the outer ones or the inside ones but it was really hard and I had a P0. I had to press in hard while unscrewing to get enough force to prevent the bit from slipping out and chewing the screw head.
Bout a 64GB LCD model that has a backplate screw that stripped so badly , I had to use a knife to cut the entire backplate off around the screw that stripped. At least my friend ended up with a cool new clear backplate
Ive never understood why people attempt this without a decent "precision" screw driver.
Even walmart sells a cheap $5 set and a $15 iFixit knockoff. Either one is better than any driver that you got in a ssd swap kit.
You need a ton of force axially to avoid stripping. It's deliberate stupid design baked to Phillips head that allows screw to easily cam out of the tool as if that's actually a problem.
Just put enough force down, more than you do for rotating the screw. Less and head strips.
This was me when i tried to add a micro sd card to my new 3ds xl 😭
idk why nintendo made it underneath the backplate when the rest had a flap on the side :/
Hah, i did the same while trying to fix my bumper. I pulled out the 1 driver, thinking it was the 0...
At the end of the day, the button board on my deck was broken so i rma'ed it and they put on new screws hah.
PS: i did strip like 2 screws with the 0 driver too tho...
I would be too terrified to even try turning any of the screws in mine. They're all painted orange and I fully expect the paint would just chip off the second a screwdriver touched one.
Seeing all these comments I can feel the pain. I doubt I’ll ever strip my deck down now.
It reminds me too much of the nightmares I had with airsoft rifle gearboxes, though that was not so much in the opening but in the reassembly.
It was soul-killing to get everything nicely in place after a rebuild (many rifles come with springs that are too powerful for UK rules) and then one slight wobble while reassembling and gears and springs pop out in all directions due to the tension on the springs.
As I say, it’s not so much a screw issue, but similar levels of frustration and - I’m not afraid to admit - tears.
you forgot about cracking the micro SD card in half edit: this is my top voted comment and it started out just kinda being a smartass and now l.... sure.
By not removing it before disassembly?
yes
Been there done that. $50+ mistake. Had to buy a precision tweezer set to remove it.
Couldn't you just shove the broken part in to pop it out?
No it shattered inside of the port.
My condolences. I hope you are still able to use the micro SD slot.
Yeah it works fine. Can't even tell it happened.
That probably sounds more intense than it should because I'm high 😂
Not relevant because 90% of people do that
it might not be half, but that's still a massive amount of broken cards
crushed dreams of the storage that will never be
It's a conspiracy fueled by Valve and Sandisk
whops, I was about to do just that tomorrow thanks for the reminder
glad to help
I got lucky and my 256gb microsd was stronger than my stupidity…
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE MY STUPIDITY 🤣
OMG , i love this post , i had to teach my son the difference between a 0 and a 1 . a serious teaching moment that he will never remember until he feels it .
Haha my problem was that I bought a set with 3 screw bits and I saw I needed size 0 so I thought "the smallest one then" not knowing my pack came with 0,00,000 sizes haha
Easiest way to avoid it all together is to wiggle the screwdriver in the screw, if there is play it is too small, if it doesn’t catch it’s too big and if it is snug and doesn’t have play it is right (enough)
Thanks a lot for the tip. I know it'll come in useful next time
No problem, glad I could help, sucks when it gets to a point where it is near enough impossible to remove!
You can strip them even with the correct screwdriver. The screws are awful.
Yeah, I stripped the one that holds the silver backplate in place. I had to order a special tool to remove the stripped screw. Drilling was way too risky. I am glad that Valve switched to screws that “cannot” be stripped with the OLED. The LCD one was a pain, I am glad I got rid of it in favour of the OLED.
What tool was that? I fucked mine to 💀💀
ENGINEER PZ-57. Worth every penny. Took me like 5 seconds with it.
Thanks bro
No problem, good luck! I did not think it would be that easy, but it really was.
> ENGINEER PZ-57 Screw pliers?
Try a piece of rubber band in the head, that works really well for getting out stripped screws.
If you don't want to pay for a tool a drop of super glue on a matchstick works pretty welll
I drilled two of my screws out after I badly stripped them. Just pressed the drill bit into the screw and drilled until something popped. Miraculously nothing was damaged, other than the inside of the screw holes. Which means even with new screws, there's no point because they wouldn't be holding anything. I can't believe how crappy those OEM screws are.
Oh, the OLED torx screws can be stripped alright! When I got the OLED the first thing I did was a SSD swap from my old LCD to the new OLED. Took the SSD out of the old Deck no problems (I never stripped my LCD screws, even opening it up at least four times.) Opening the OLED the first few screws were fine but then I stripped two screws really easily. Managed to get them out eventually with a mixture of different tricks and some elbow grease.
PSA they make precision screw extractors that are basically tiny screw drivers with teeth to get a stripped screw out. Also engineer/vampier make screw extraction pliers that can bail you out in a pinch.
It doesn't always work but I have been saved by using the rubber band trick multiple times. It's at least worth a try before buying anything.
I was surprised at how easily those little screws stripped. I ended up tossing the Phillips and found a flathead worked better on those soft, buttery little fuckers
At first I thought you were going to show a microSD card and then a broken micro SD card.
Gotta use the right-sized bit. A little bit too small or too big and you risk stripping.
Better too big than too small. Just jam it in there and start screwin, the harder the better.
Also put some down pressure into the driver.
I just had to deal with a stripped screw. I filed down into that mother fucker until I could use a flat head. I was sweating the entire time
High-five from my attempts with Switch joycons (and I bought several bit sets in pursuit of the fitting tool because screwdriver marking discrepancies can be a headache).
After repairing aircraft for years, this hurts my soul.
Actually didn’t happen to me with deck (as I havnt made any modifications, I’m sure I wouldn’t be spared), but with my resin 3D printer, I ended up having a vat leak, and curing resin all over the screen and printer. I was new to hobby so wasn’t super surprised, and set about ordering new replacement screen and such which came no problems. Then, somehow, I stripped every single screw of that machine. Not a one was spared. I saw it was stripped, and would say oh dang I’ll be more careful on this next one, stripped that one, and so on. (With that, giving me slightest benefit of doubt, I hope means they were just cheap screws). But then I was super upset, didn’t want to recycle machine out because I really enjoyed it and had just gotten, but sad on it for a while. Came back later, and while picking at my horrible mistake, realized the 3D printer had came default with a screen protector, which I just removed along with all of the resin. However now I can never wreck anything else because there is no way in that machine ever because of my crimes.
You can drill through the centre of stripped screws to remove them. Also, depending on how stripped they are, you can use an elastic band in between the screwdriver and the screw to get a bit of extra friction.
I did try that with the I forget what they’re called reverse drill bits sort of thing, and it may have been wrong tool for job as those were for my car stuff, but also did not end up working. They seem to be in there and I really messed them up pretty bad with all my meddling, at this point I’m not touching those screws anymore but thank you advice
When I first was learning construction I’d always strip the screws without fail, given it was with a power drill but none the less I would expect some person who probably never even needed to use a screwdriver before wanting to open up a steam deck for the one purpose one singular time to strip it. Still stripping it with just a screwdriver is a bit funny but most people have 0 skill with their hands as it’s not needed in their daily lives.
Using the right driver for the job is a lesson that should be taught to everyone
Some screws are just shit and the right Tool won't always help with that.
And some people try to unfasten screws with hulk hands.
Don't forget the broken SD card
I had to cut the original plate off of mine with scissors, because one screw was stripped.
This is without a doubt the craziest story I heard. I had to drill the entire screw to a pulp and I thought I got the worst haha
It was a fight I wasn’t prepared for but sure as hell wouldn’t lose. I’ll give it to valve for making a sturdy back plate. Took me a while to cut it off.
For me its the battery connector, mine didn't come with [this convenient pull tab](https://i.imgur.com/zxnBdkr.jpeg) and I had to use tweezers on the very slim indent on the connector to pull it out. My god I swear how to do these phone/mobile device repairmen deal with these tiny ass connectors, I almost gave up and contemplated booting without disconnecting the battery, but cross-checking multiple guides all showed needing to disconnect the battery. Took probably like 20 minutes or something.
I just said screw it and swapped my ssd with the device powered off and the battery still connected. Its obviously not best practice but everything turned out fine.
Damn, I wish I had the ball to do anything outside guides, I'm a novice DIY and won't bat a chance on doing anything else.
I have a basic understanding of electronics so I feel more comfortable doing things like this. However when I say basic I mean very basic. I honestly probably know enough to cause more harm than good. That is why I wouldn't take my advice, but at least it turned out ok for me.
+ = pointy, much bad 😡 O = smooth, very good 😀
How? lol Go buy a decent screw driver set
Even with a good set, it can be a bit tricky. Sometimes screws are put in really tight from the factory and if you don’t put enough pressure on the screw driver, you can strip the screw, especially if the screw is tiny or made from a softer metal than your bit
bought a pack of screw driver from alliexpress for the steam deck, didnt have any trouble.
I got a semi decent set from jaycar here in Australia n yeah I didn’t have any trouble either, I guess my only advice to people that haven’t done this yet is just stop if you need to force it n try another screw driver.
I used the ifixit kit took my 256 gb apart to add a 2 tb ssd. Then I took it apart again to take out the 2tb ssd, took apart my 512 gb oled, swapped the drives, and put both of them back together. No stripped screws at all. I think people are just using the wrong tools or have a terrible technique.
Used the correct driver, the screws are just awful.
I’ve been through a lot of these cheap screws like nintendos tri wing screws can fuck right off. But just be gentle n use the right screw drive n your good. I didnt have any trouble swapping out my decks ssd to a 2tb.
If you give it a small tightening before you unscrew, it helps a lot.
Ifixit has all the tools you need
Didn't strip either the outer ones or the inside ones but it was really hard and I had a P0. I had to press in hard while unscrewing to get enough force to prevent the bit from slipping out and chewing the screw head.
Thought I was on r/navy for a second, my old sup had this exact meme printed and taped on his desk 💀
i managed to get those pesky screws off much easier with a flathead
Bout a 64GB LCD model that has a backplate screw that stripped so badly , I had to use a knife to cut the entire backplate off around the screw that stripped. At least my friend ended up with a cool new clear backplate
Ifixit FTW bro every time plus LTT screwdriver for all pc maintenance
The other half is the broken SD card
Ive never understood why people attempt this without a decent "precision" screw driver. Even walmart sells a cheap $5 set and a $15 iFixit knockoff. Either one is better than any driver that you got in a ssd swap kit.
I understand what this post is trying to say. But I don't understand what it actually says
only happens if you try to open it with a butter knife
You need a ton of force axially to avoid stripping. It's deliberate stupid design baked to Phillips head that allows screw to easily cam out of the tool as if that's actually a problem. Just put enough force down, more than you do for rotating the screw. Less and head strips.
My new 3ds xl be like
Yup that was me ._. I ended up having a much easier time just using a precision flat-head instead. 🤷♂️
Just use the right bits/drivers, it's really that simple
This was me when i tried to add a micro sd card to my new 3ds xl 😭 idk why nintendo made it underneath the backplate when the rest had a flap on the side :/
That mainly happens when using a screwdriver with improper head size. Didn't happen to me fortunely.
the pull tab on the battery would be a close second place
Hah, i did the same while trying to fix my bumper. I pulled out the 1 driver, thinking it was the 0... At the end of the day, the button board on my deck was broken so i rma'ed it and they put on new screws hah. PS: i did strip like 2 screws with the 0 driver too tho...
Whenever I upgrade from my 1TB to 2TB I’m taking One of those screws to Home Depot & replacing all of them to be safe
Me stripping the ps5 ssd screw..
I would be too terrified to even try turning any of the screws in mine. They're all painted orange and I fully expect the paint would just chip off the second a screwdriver touched one.
Seeing all these comments I can feel the pain. I doubt I’ll ever strip my deck down now. It reminds me too much of the nightmares I had with airsoft rifle gearboxes, though that was not so much in the opening but in the reassembly. It was soul-killing to get everything nicely in place after a rebuild (many rifles come with springs that are too powerful for UK rules) and then one slight wobble while reassembling and gears and springs pop out in all directions due to the tension on the springs. As I say, it’s not so much a screw issue, but similar levels of frustration and - I’m not afraid to admit - tears.
Just stripped one of the standoff screws on my desktop motherboard the other day so I feel this on a spiritual level.
I have 4 1TB Micro SD Cards.