Had that exact issue with my first SteamDeck, I was able to RMA immediately. This was near launch which makes it understandable. But it’s disappointing to hear they’re still sending units out like this.
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This is all assumption from me, but I think a lot of testing would likely be diagnostic machines and specialized testing – not actually playing games. I would assume it’s something like plugging in, confirming the parts all meet spec after whatever the refurb is. That spec is probably more around frequencies, power use, temperatures.
Obviously that’s not good enough if they’re sending out these clearly broken refurbs.
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Sure, they obviously are dropping the ball here, just trying to explain what they might mean by “thoroughly tested” and why it’s not succeeding
I bought my wife a refurbished 512GB unit as soon as I heard they were available. It was delivered about a week later on a Thursday and immediately, we noticed battery life was very poor compared to mine.
Desktop mode showed battery health at 17%, and so by that Saturday, it was packed up to be sent back. Ended up going with a new unit instead, so your story sounds a lot like ours, sadly.
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Yes, that’s exactly what we did - I’ve been happy with my new unit since January, and when her refurbished one was a dud, she said, “Let’s just get a refund and buy me a new one.”
I, as well, had applied a screen protector right off the bat, but I’m glad I didn’t put the skin I’d bought her on it before we noticed it wasn’t in good health. Thankfully, it was painless and cost-free to return it, but I agree - if they wasted some of your time doing the testing they themselves should have done, it would have been nice to get some kind of compensation as a token of apology.
