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Repair, disassembly, and troubleshooting information for the Steam Deck with LCD display, a handheld gaming console made by Valve, released on February 25, 2022. Identified by model number 1010.

Backlight bleed after SSD replacement

Yesterday, I opened my Steam Deck up to replace the default 256GB SSD with a 1TB SSD. I followed iFixit’s guide to the letter, and I was using their Steam Deck tool kit to make things easier for myself.

Upon completion, there is now some backlight bleed in the bottom left corner of the LCD and a faint vertical line of bleed up the left-hand side from top to bottom that wasn’t there before. I’m not sure what that could be as I was working on the opposite side of the deck to replace the SSD.

The bleed isn’t so major that I would replace my entire Steam Deck over it. It’s more noticeable on dark backgrounds like the boot up screen than when I’m in a game. I’m just feeling upset that the screen is no longer in the perfect and evenly contrasted state that I know it was in. There might also now be a reduced viewing angle from the sides where it looks more washed out/hazy, but I could just be imagining that now that I am scrutinising things!

I’m wondering what could be causing the backlight bleed after an SSD replacement. I’ve read that others have experienced this same thing after replacing their SSD. I even tried loosening the back plate screws just a tad in case I had done those back up too tightly. No change.

Any ideas what might have caused this?

I have only owned my Steam Deck for a couple of weeks. I bought it directly from Valve and it is new, not refurbished.

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Maybe share some pictures so we can have a better look?

It seems like you used too much force when screwing in the SSD. Maybe you pressed the whole thing too hard when you're unscrewing/tightening the SSD screw and somehow something poked the backlight or bent the screen, causing some of the LEDs to not emit light and therefore have an "bleeding" effect. Take the screen off and check for bend or dents around the corner so you can identify the issue.
Also, loosening the backplate screws would probably not help. Even if the original problem is caused by a tight backplate screw, the damage is already done and the only thing you can do is buy a new screen. Replacing the backlight alone is not impossible, but it requires a lot of skill and sometimes worsen the problem. You might spend less overall by selling the original screen with the bleeding backlight at a lower price, if people are willing to take it.

Anyway, all LCDs have this kind of "washed out" kind of effect when you stare at it at an angle. It's just an effect that is related to how light passes through the screen or something and therefore nothing to be worried about.

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