I’ve seen it. If it was bad enough to actually be noticeable, I would probably just send it back for a refund. But it’s so quiet that I can’t tell if it’s there or not half of the time even in complete silence.

I notice it in the menu but it’s very difficult to hear in the menu and basically impossible to hear in game unless I turn the volume all the way down. Definitely not RMA territory for me.

Both OLED models I’ve tried show this behavior, although it’s very quiet with the headphones I’m using.

It’s so common that I’ve heard it on both OLED Decks I’ve tried and I’m going to assume there’s a software fix like you’re suggest. On both of my OLED Decks it was very faint and I had to be in a silent room to catch it, but I notice the frequency changing when moving around the UI.

I’m not going to RMA again because both Decks had this behavior and this current Deck I have is perfect. It’s also not game breaking and distracting for me so I wonder if other people have it worse.

I hear a very slight buzz with my headphones on my otherwise perfect 512 GB OLED. I already RMA’d an LE model for two dead pixels that had the same hum so I figured it was software related. I’m not going to return this because it’s very faint and I feel like it’s so common that there might be a software fix.

You’re the first one I’ve seen, but valve will take of you!

I’m returning my LE model and I ordered a 512 to replace it because of two dead pixels. Hoping it doesn’t suffer the same fate.

A 70” 4K TV is also technically less sharp than the LCD Deck.

Most exciting for me. I know the Steam Deck will never have the mass appeal of an iPhone. But to have almost my entire Steam library, that I have been building for almost two decades, now accessible in a handheld with a gorgeous OLED panel (I’m an OLED fanatic)… I couldn’t ask for too much more but I know that Valve will continue to improve and it’s exciting to see where it will go. The iPhone feels stagnant right now, but the Steam Deck does not.

It really depends on what one finds exciting, but the iPhone was extremely exciting because all it was capable of in something that could fit in your pocket all with a very easy to use UI. I’ve been a big handheld gaming nerd since the 90s and I was excited to see what the iPhone could bring in that regard. Apple’s chip advancements were the most exciting thing about the iPhone over the years, but it was clear pretty quickly that it would never be a serious gaming machine, at least not for the foreseeable future. A very convenient pocket computer no doubt that I cannot live without now. BUT, I still felt like handheld gaming was just not moving at the pace of things like phones or PC hardware.

I think what caught my attention and got the gears turning in my mind was the first time I played a Switch. Seeing DOOM 2016 run on a handheld blew my mind and I realized what Nintendo had done was break the barrier between handheld and home console that had never been done in such a seamless way. Yes, there were handheld PCs at the time, but they ran Windows and were extremely underpowered and physically unergonomic. Just like the smartphones before the iPhone could email, browse the web, etc… it was a pain to do and not pleasant at all. The Steam Deck has made handheld PC gaming finally, pleasant, affordable, and accessible. The OLED model further refines it while slapping a display on the Deck that any iPad or MacBook would be jealous of. Come to think of it, I feel like the Steam Deck is Valve’s iPhone moment.

I have two dead subpixels on mine, but Valve is super cool and I already initiated a return and purchased a 512GB model. I kind of miss the black body and want to avoid the BOE screen lottery altogether.

Totally agree. I think the OLED SD might be the best consumer electronic device ever made IMO. Nothing Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, or Apple has ever made has been this exciting and useful to me at the same time, and the fact that it’s so relatively affordable and it fills a unique but important role in my life makes it so easy to love. I’ve been playing mine for 4+ hours a day since I got it and am not even remotely bored. Every game from the most retro to Cyberpunk looks incredible, and I am someone who also owns a desktop PC with an RTX 4080 and an LG OLED monitor that I also love. Valve knocked it out of the park with this and the fact we can have this incredible handheld gaming PC and OLED display for $550 is unheard of.

Found two dead subpixels on my LE BOE Deck. I’ve already started a return and ordered the 512 GB. I also don’t like the translucent body as much as I expected and want a glossy screen.

I have two dead subpixels on my LE with the BOE panel. I’m sending it back and I already ordered a 512 GB model. I don’t want to play the lottery with the LE model.

I have a LE model with the BOE panel. Two dead subpixels.

I don’t think they wanted to get rid of stock per se, but I do have a feeling the “Limited Edition” model was also a limited test run of BOE’s viability as a supplier for future iterations of the Steam Deck so Valve can see how their mass production compared to Samsung.

This is similar to how Apple tests new suppliers like how they had Samsung supply a portion of the A9 chips that TSMC usually supplies. It was discovered that the Samsung chips had worse battery life so Apple dropped them as a supplier. If BOE can’t refine their manufacturing process and get better panel yields, I’m sure Valve would consider not buying from them in the future.

This is all speculation of course and we’ll have to wait to see what is actually going on. There is a lot more dead pixel reports with the OLED than I remember with the LCD launch. I have handled four LCD Steam Decks and none of them had dead pixels amazingly, but the first OLED I get has two. So statistically it seems like the OLEDs are more prone to dead pixels.

Yep, two dead subpixels on my LE OLED. A dead green and dead blue. I just initiated a refund process and placed an order for a 512 GB model. I want to try out that glossy screen anyways even though this etched glass looks perfectly fine. But if the main selling point is the screen and the resolution is this low, a dead pixel is annoying. If my 512 GB Deck also has a dead pixel, then idk what I’m going to do.

Question for those of you with dead pixels, do you plan on keeping them or returning them? It seems so common that I definitely do not want to play the lottery on the LE model. I like the transparent body but maybe not enough to put up with dead pixels.

The green tint on the OLED Switch was horrendous in dark scenes and people acted like I was crazy when pointing it out. This display, even with the dead pixel I have on my LE Deck, is one of the best OLED panels I’ve ever used.

Sorry about the three dead on yours. Most of my displays, including my OLED displays in my house, have dead pixels so I’m not completely surprised that my OLED Deck has a dead pixel. I’m debating playing the screen lottery, but since I don’t notice it while playing games I think I’m going to hold onto it for at least a year and maybe use it as an excuse with Valve to exchange for a new one as a ‘manufacturing defect’ even though it’s within spec according to Valve.

Yep. Found a dead pixel on my LE OLED. It’s not noticeable during gameplay so I’ll probably try to live with it for a while.

A couple of dead pixels on a 4K OLED TV are normal and expected, but on a handheld device you hold so close to your face at a lower resolution, I think 1 dead pixel is too much.

Mine arrives tomorrow and I dread noticing a dead pixel. I’m not going to look for it, but if I see one while using it normally I’ll RMA.