Steam Deck OLED 3.5.7 - Constant audio static/crackle from headphone jack. Not present on LCD 3.5.7. #1235
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Same with the Steam Deck OLED LE, I tried with 2 distinct earbuds and a headphone. I experience the static noise during all tries, but the crackling when navigating the menu only once. With the headphones, the static is less noticeable, what makes me wonder if it is something with the voltage, impedance levels or something power related. I tried to record it, but it is slightly different from what I hear. LCD I hear nothing, but the recording shows some white noise. Github does not let me upload WAV, sorry for the tar.gz, please let me know if there are any better ways to upload audio files. I also wonder if there is anything wrong with the board voltages because I get consistently 0.5W~0.8W more power drainage with OLED than with the LCD. |
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steam deck LCD here. seeing crackle/stutter on the pipewire network transport. as well as obscene latency. update: running |
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I am also experiencing this issue on my OLED. Updating firmware, changing firmware branch, and rebooting do not fix the issue. Noise is sometimes present when no sound is playing, but always present if any sound is playing. Occurs in Steam client and in games (though usually only noticeable in quieter menus or loading screens). Sound is inconsistent, can range from hiss to crackle to wine. Nature of the sound seems to change based on what the machine is doing (intense rendering, intense SSD reads, etc) |
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Same Issue on the 1TB OLED. Very noticeable static and crackling through the 3.5mm jack. Volume and pitch of the static decreases step by step, when adjusting the manual GPU clock towards 200. Static pauses/becomes unnoticable when displaying static images on screen (like the settings screen). Every time the dpad is used to highlight a different section the static returns temporarily. Very noticeable on the Home Screen / Library / Store all the time, regardless of input. Your system information |
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On my steam deck LCD, I am also getting my previously reported behavior on Bluetooth. Built-in speakers don't seem to be affected. I have yet to try with a TRRS output. Crackling/popping sound in Linux is almost always a symptom of "underrunning". Underrunning is a result of bad timing or scheduling with the sound server. Valve, please fix. |
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Also experiencing this, the audio hissing occurs with two different pairs of headphones. It occurs when something is moving on the screen, for example the banner previews on the Home screen move and cause hissing. In menus with no moving elements such as the settings menu, there is no hissing. |
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Experiencing the same issue on my 512 OLED as well. Plugging in usual pair of cheap earbuds leads to high crackling sound even in menus and Home Screen. But plugging in a pair of ANC headphones (Sony xm5) drastically reduces the noise. SteamOS version: 3.5.7 |
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Same here on a 1TB OLED Deck. Using exactly the same pair of IEMs I used on my LCD model. Constant static noise on the library screen, caries with input. Present also in game. Using SteamOS 3.5.7, build 20231122.1 |
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Just chiming in to say this is happening to me too. SteamOS 3.5.7, OLED LE (with the same headphones I use on my LCD model with no issues). Here are the questions Steam Support asked. If you include answers to these it might speed up the support request (assuming you want to try for a replacement - double assuming this isn't an issue that affects every unit):
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UPDATE: i have switched my LCD deck to realtime scheduling audio. this helped significantly, but did not fix the issue. it is still intolerably choppy and latent. disabling the framerate limit and allowing tearing seems to have helped latency, but crackling persists. |
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I had this issue in Star Wars: Empire at War Gold Edition (in the Forces of Corruption Expansion concretely) on OS ver.:3.5.5 (on LCD SD) - it somehow resolved itself after some time playing however... |
Actually I grabbed every pair of headphones I could find around the house, and the issue is present only with my 2 IEM pairs, both of which are from KZ. The static is much stronger on the higher end model. Couldn't this be something with the impedance of the jack output? It's really a shame because I 've been using this pair for years now, on a hoard of devices... Heck I 'm using it on PS5 and it worked perfectly on the LCD Deck. Hope it can get fixed. |
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I could find an older pair of earbuds I had stored as spare, a Xiaomi one, don't remember exactly the model. They are not explicitly branded as IEM. I would say I only hear a very faint static noise when switching items in the library. No audible static otherwise. |
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Just got my OLED today, updated it to the latest firmware (3.5.7), plugged in my headphones (Sennheiser HD599) and noticed that there's constant static when you open up the home screen menu, library or the store. While settings and download menus, for example, only have static when I move around, if I don't press anything then there's no static. I also tried out some cheap $10 wired Panasonic earbuds and they exhibited even more static. I then switched back to my HD599 headphones and they had even more static noise than before, which made it unbearable for me. It was also constant everywhere, even in the settings and download menus. I tried replugging the headphones, swapping back to the cheap earbuds then back to HD599, restarting Steam Deck, putting it to sleep mode, but nothing seemed to help. So I just let it run for around 10 minutes, came back and the static noise went down, back to the same noise level when I first tried the headphones out. When playing games, the sounds/music seem to drown out the static, so unless I turn down the volume or there's some sort of quiet scene, I don't really hear it that much, but the static itself is way higher, it sounds more like a whine. Also the static noise only appears with wired headphones, BT earbuds and speakers don't have this issue. |
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It seems this may be only related to more sensitive IEMs. Posting my IEM info in case it's helpful, not sure precisely what info is relevant: Impedance: 22 Ω @ 1kHz (± 15%) That said, I had no issues on my LCD Steam Deck, and have never had noise floor issues with these headphones in general across phones (android & ios), desktops, laptops (xps, thinkpad), or game consoles (PS4 via bluetooth controller 3.5mm jack). This noise floor level isn't acceptable, and shouldn't be written off as "use different headphones". |
Yeah, seems likely. Some common consumer headphones have similar sensitivities to IEMs, too. I noticed noise with my WH-1000XM3 (powered off - worked fine on the LCD and I've never had issues with them on other devices). Specs below in case that helps. (Powered off) |
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Using Venture Electronics Monk Plus earbuds and hearing faint static. Noticeable when navigating Game Mode menus or in quiet games. There's no static when using a USB DAC or 3.5mm to USB-C adapter. |
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Thanks for elaborating on that! It would be a real shame that for all the
upgrades the OLED Deck brings we'd have to put up with such a downgrade in
the sound department. I always favor wired over Bluetooth headphones for
gaming, so please Valve devs, take this issue seriously!
…On Thu, Nov 30, 2023, 18:55 Emilia Collins ***@***.***> wrote:
It seems this may be only related to more sensitive IEMs. Posting my IEM
info in case it's helpful, not sure precisely what info is relevant:
Impedance: 22 Ω @ 1kHz (± 15%)
Sensitivity: 117dB / Vrms @ 1kHz
That said, I had no issues on my LCD Steam Deck, and have never had noise
floor issues with these headphones in general across phones (android &
ios), desktops, laptops (xps, thinkpad), or game consoles (PS4 via
bluetooth controller 3.5mm jack). This noise floor level isn't acceptable,
and shouldn't be written off as "use different headphones".
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Same for me, my KZ ZST IEMs exhibits a terrible amount of static noise through the jack port, absolutely zero through an USB-C to jack adapter... |
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I received my OLED steam deck today, and also experience noise/buzzing on the 3.5mm headphone jack with the headphones and IEMs that I would like to use with it. Similarly to what others have reported so far, it occurs inside and outside of games, is specific to the 3.5mm headphone jack, and does not increase or decrease in volume as the volume is adjusted. Here are the results from my own testing of headphone jack with different wired headphones:
All of these work without background noise for me on all of my other devices. I've also tallied up statistics from a reddit thread that encouraged people that hadn't previously used the headphone jack on their OLED steam decks to test them and report if they had static or humming noise issues (https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/187pzhe/). This was nearly evenly split, with 19 reports of buzzing headphones and 18 reports of headphones with no issue. These reports appeared to be consistent across steam decks, as there were no reports of a headphone model working well for one person but being noisy for another. It is also consistent with my own sample of headphones that I have tested with. It appears that the steam deck OLED is currently incompatible with about half of the headphones that people are attempting to use with it, which seems like a major issue. |
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My OLED LE Steam Deck has the same issue, both with my Grado SR80x headphones and my Apple EarPods. It has a persistent static that varies depending on the load. During gaming I can hear it any time there’s a slightly quieter moment in the game. Using an Apple USB-C to 3.5mm adapter completely solves the issue. it’s reminiscent of the audio noise that I get when playing my old Gameboy Pocket - it’s a level of interference I’ve not heard on a device in a long time. |
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Got my SD oled 512GB today and yeah...I have it too. I use a pair of Blon BL03 IEM's and there is a very noticeable buzzing noise that fluctuates with movement of the UI or playing games. The intensity seems to scale with the GPU clock which can be confirmed by messing around with the GPU clock slider. On my DT770's I can't hear it at all, but those are some very beefy headphones... and not really suitable for portability. This is a dealbreaker for me as the regular SD had no such issue at all..... |
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I'm having the same issue with my 512 GB OLED.
The issue gets worse if I turn on bluetooth. |
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I got my 512GB unit this week and immediately noticed the problem. The noise floor is unnacceptably high and varies between menus, in-game, according to the chosen power options, etc. It is not directly correlated to actual volume - it's independent of it. I ran a few comparative tests using different headphones to see how bad it is:
I am somewhat hopeful that this issue can be mitigated through software. Maybe it's a voltage control issue with the internal DAC or something of the sort. My LG G7 ThinQ smartphone had a dedicated Quad-DAC with purpose-built "audiophile" internals and it read some audio inputs completely wrong. It had a "smart gain" feature which chose the source gain according to the impedance of the headphones you plugged in and ignored their sensitivity level, frequently creating lots of distortion with some headphones and none with others. I need to know if they plan to address the problem. I am not about to keep an almost 600€ portable device which can't play well with portable headphones and IEMs. I haven't had a reply from them for days now and I need to do something within the 14 days return period. One final consideration is that I suspect they have the pre-amping on the internal DAC/ Amp way too high. The fact that my Beyerdynamic basically run perfectly and without any lack of volume points to the source gain being way too high for regular, sensitive headphones and IEMs. I really, really wouldn't want to have to send this back. |
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Having the same issue. Steam Deck OLED 512GB. Your system information Sony MDR-EX15LP: Very noticeable I generally use the Sony MDR-EX15LP (which are cheap earbuds) but I've used them throughout the years with several cellphones, 3DS, Switch, tablets, etc. and never had this kind of issue before. |
Same model OLED 512GB, same issue, definitely some kind of hardware interference on the audio circuit. Noticeable on one set of headphones but not on another. Only tested after curiosity led me here. As mentioned elsewhere, I do wonder if there is an issue with gain and this could be mitigated with a software update. |
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I have the same issue on my LE model in both gamemode and desktop mode. If I go to the BIOS it's whisper quiet. |
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This was just posted on Reddit, I'm going to wait a bit before attempting it. https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/188fxu1/fix_audio_cracklingstatic_on_35mm_headphone_jack/ |
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@seanhoyt Thanks for sharing this, this seems like a pretty easy fix (afaik the headphone circuit is easily accessible once the back is off, and insulating tape isn't too tricky to come by). If Valve won't allow me to RMA I will probably attempt this, but I'll be waiting a couple weeks at least before trying it. Might be obvious but should be noted in case others aren't aware, this will void your warranty. But if Valve won't take responsibility for the issue this seems like a straightforward sense and seems logical to me on the surface even if I haven't personally verified it. It's almost certainly not going to happen but I would appreciate it if Valve did a recall on units, I love Valve but it seems like they've dropped the ball big time on this one. |
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Sure, I'm waiting for people to report back and hopefully a statement from Valve. However, how would they know you even did this modification? I can see isolating the ground causing other issues (like additional interference), but I'm not sure how if it would cause permanent damage they could identify. I think RMA is pointless at this point, they're just sending out units that likely have the same issue. |
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This is how the two boards look side by side. On top is my audio/headphone board. My Deck was preordered when it came out, and it definitely has the audio issue (or had it because I fixed it with the washer mod). The upper one on each picture is my board, and the lower one is the board listed in the iFixit Store. Despite the "H" (my board) and the "A" (iFixit) they look the same for me. It would be good to know if the boards that were repaired have a visible difference.
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@L0rdEnki Hard to say for sure because of the low resolution on the bottom image, but it looks like it's missing the surface mounted component between the 3.5mm jack and the connector for the ribbon cable. This change seem to be consistent with those that have had theirs repaired. |
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The best thing would be if Valve/iFixit could confirm that the board we can order, does not have the issue anymore. |
You're right. I came here to correct my post but guys arrived first 😆
Sorry, I don't. |
Yeah I'm from Poland and had to send it to facility stage in Nuremberg. From there it's was sent to Czech republic to be repaired. The company that was repairing was reconext I thing. Sadly there was no any notes when it arrived what exactly they have done it, to fix it. But it's fixed now 😎 |
Thanks for the reply! Glad that your device is fixed now. I'm so curious as to when shipments will have the "fixed" board already implemented. It has been over 2.5 months since Valve acknowledged the issue - of course I understand it takes time to move a fix like this into production units, let alone sell all of the ones that are already affected. But one would hope they did go down this route and quickly moved the fixed/revised board into production. Shame there were no repair notes, but I would assume it is similar to what United Radio have been doing in the US - either removing the SMD resistor next to the ribbon cable or replacing the audio board with a revised version. From the UK, I imagine it will follow a similar repair path in terms of where it ends up. Thanks again. |
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FYI for UK/EU users, Steam Support have confirmed that all repairs and replacements all take place via their partner in the Czech Republic:
They were unfortunately not too helpful with regards to any questions about the audio board though - they just want to direct me to the forum:
I did push a bit for actual useful info - initially they weren't even aware of the issue (!) until I sent them some links. But unfortunately, they are not able to provide any info regarding revised boards, etc. I was expecting this as Steam Support probably do not have access to this information (but thought I'd ask questions anyway). I was hoping they would escalate the ticket to an engineering team at Valve who may be able to confirm that a revised board is or has found it's way into production already, but unfortunately not. |
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I started the RMA process for my own Deck (finally), and asked if it was possible for them to just send out the replacement audio board (I have all the tools). This was their response:
So yeah I'm sending my unit back for repair, from the UK so it'll probably end up back at the centre in Czechia. Thought I'd shoot my shot. I've taken photos of the original audio board and will take photos of the replacement to see the difference... Should I post the before and afters once I get my deck back from the RMA? |
That sounds great, thanks! It would also be good to confirm if they do indeed send your original Deck back (repaired) or if they replace it entirely. I'm pretty certain it will be repaired, as a replacement will almost certainly have the same issue - unless of course they are now shipping new units with revised boards. Keep us posted - thanks! |
Sure, that's the plan. I'll update you guys when Valve updates me on stuff, I know they received it because I got the UPS notification this morning...
I reckon they will send me back the same unit, just in case I have noted down the serial number.
Will do and no problem! |
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Hey, I've been lurking on this thread for a while, and recently did an RMA from the UK which fixed my headphone jack static problem. I've had this issue since launch day, so I wanted to give a writeup of what happened to help others who have the same problem. Firstly I got in touch with steam support to open an RMA for me. I asked if they knew whether my replacement deck would have the new audio circuit board, but annoyingly they didn't have any information - "Replacement is handled at the warehouse level, so Steam Support has no information about the exact unit you will receive.". I figured it was worth a shot since it's been 3 months since release and maybe they've finished recalling/flushing out all the old inventory. It took 4 working days for the parcel to get shipped to their UK staging point, and another 5 working days for it to both reach Prague (in the Czech Republic where they handle returns) and then get processed. I then got my first returns confirmation email which said they'd received my return and will send out a new unit. (It's slightly nerve-wracking that you get no communication for about 2 weeks, but to steam support's credit they do inform you in detail about the 2-step shipping process and that it'll take a few days.) I then got no further communication until 3 working days later, when I got an email saying my new deck was out for delivery. I received it a few hours later and was relieved to discover I was finally in posession of a headphone static-free steam deck. So of course YMMV and maybe I was lucky with my replacement unit, but it might be worth a try if you've been holding out on a UK RMA until now. |
I dropped off my deck last Friday at my local UPS access point, and it arrived at their Portsmouth centre yesterday morning. The support guys did mention a 5-7 day wait until either getting a replacement sent or getting an entire new unit, so we'll see. As I've mentioned before, I will be posting photos of the audio board when I get the deck back (or when I get the new one), so we'll see if the issue remains. |
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Looks like my timeline will be similar to @alan-y-han... I followed up with steam support the day before yesterday, and they responded by saying to "expect up to three additional days (excluding holidays and weekends) for customs clearance and transit time to Prague", after which my unit "will be inspected and evaluated for repair and this process normally takes 5-7 business days after receipt" in Prague. Yesterday evening, I got an email saying that my unit had arrived at the centre in Prague (roughly about the time Liverpool were embarrassing Sparta Praha in their own stadium), meaning I can expect to get my tracking about a week from now. I'll keep y'all posted as and when they update me, including comparison pics of the audio board and whether or not they send me the unit I sent or an entirely new deck. |
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Just got the shipping notification... Valve have handed my deck over to UPS in Havant, so it's going to arrive tomorrow afternoon... |
Great news, thanks for the update! Sounds like a pretty quick turnaround if it does indeed arrive tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing about your findings! Thanks again. |
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Mine was picked up last Friday here in the Netherlands and it arrived today at RECONEXT in Nürnberg. |
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So, my deck actually arrived earlier today instead of yesterday, UPS messed up with the original notification. Overall, I received the deck exactly 2 weeks after dropping it off at the UPS dropoff point, almost to the minute. The issue is no longer present on my unit. Only a couple of changes were actually made to the audio daughterboard in my deck, I go over these in the pics below. Here are pics the front and back of the original audio daughterboard: And here are pics of the front and back of the new board: Other than the obvious change to the white markings to the right of the headphone jack ( Looking at how small it is, I think it would be a safer option to just RMA your unit if you have an affected deck, unless you're a professional, with lots of flux and a soldering iron (or a heat gun). |
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I can see that component on both boards. The one missing is between the ribbon cable connector and the audio jack. |
Damn, I must be either blind or an idiot, or both (most likely both). I see what you mean. |
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Thanks for sharing the information - especially being willing to open the Deck both before and after to remove the board for pictures. So it looks like you received your original Deck back, but with a revised board? Not a different Deck entirely? On first glance it looks like the only difference is the missing resistor to the left of the ribbon cable connector, from what I can see. Glad the issue is now resolved. I do wonder when Valve will get through existing inventory and start shipping Decks with this change already in place. Assuming they have actually put the revision into production already. |
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There was a comment posted yesterday evening from user @Wiggleplum, but it seems to have been deleted. It seems relevant though, so i'll paste it here:
If this is indeed the case (although we don't know what country this was ordered from), it does indicate that there is an existing inventory that needs to be exhausted, at least in some locations. It would be interesting to know if any users have ordered a new Deck with this change already in place, although as they won't have the issue, they are unlikely to stumble upon this thread. I just hope Valve have actually changed the board for the next batch of units. |
That's right - the serial number matches. I knew instantly though because I had sent it in with a Dbrand screen protector on the screen, and that was still on it when I received the unit back again...
As am I... It was finally getting annoying lol
I'm surprised they're not tbf. At least not in all regions...
Maybe we could put a post in the Steam forums requesting comments from ppl who recently received a new deck OLED? Maybe on some other community page? The people who get decks come from all walks of life, and I wouldn't expect everyone to know about GitHub, or that the static is even an issue... Posting on r/SteamDeck might also be an option...
So do I. It saves users time and effort. Also saves Valve the shipping costs, as well as other stuff. |
That's right - the serial number matches. I knew instantly though because I had sent it in with a Dbrand screen protector on the screen, and that was still on it when I received the unit back again...
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Apologies for the deletion. I tried it edit it via mobile and somehow managed that. I am located in the US. |
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Yes, it might be worth doing both. It would be great to know when units have the revised board already installed (and in which region). This might help people who are sitting on the fence waiting for a revision before they order. Some people just don't want the hassle of an RMA/repair and would rather wait. However, there is some reliance on the users being willing to open up the unit to physically check the board - also if they do receive new units with revised boards already in place, they are unlikely to be on Reddit or the Steam forums complaining about it as the issue doesn't exist. Still though, it might be worth a casual post. Someone with a brand new Deck is bound to be happy to take a look at theirs to see if that resistor is still in place or not. |
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My unit was picked up on the 8th of March in the Netherlands, arrived in Germany on the 12th, on the 15th I got an email telling me it was done and ready to be sent back and it arrived today on the 20th fixed. I didn't open it before and won't do that now but the problem is gone. |
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Quite late to the party but just wanted to add further anecdotes for those who may visit here, like I did. I got my Steam Deck OLED 1TB around Christmas 23. I noticed quickly that with my Salnotes Zero IEM's there was a background hiss, and less so on my Sony XM4s. I sucked it up and used the USB-C port like many others have done, with the BIOS tweak to make the USB-C port work as OTG. Having revisited here since Christmas and seen the post from @ben-watch on 3D-printing washers to raise the screws away from those grounding tabs on the Audio PCB, I thought I'd give it a go. The prints came out fairly okay with some better than others because the part is so tiny. Printed 6 in a batch, and about 3 were useable (just my printer being a bit meh). The comment was: #1235 (comment) I removed the Steam Deck back today following the iFixit Guide https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Steam+Deck+Back+Cover+Replacement/148893 - It was very easy, just get a T6 TORX Bit, and remove the screws. Pop the back off as per the guide. Putting the spacers into both screws was easy, even the one tucked behind the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antenna. Once tested and working. I snapped the back cover on, tested again, and then screwed everything up. The audio is fine now, though pedants like me can still here a 'hiss' between the sound effects as you move and pan around the Steam Deck main menu. Pretty sure this is a Linux-esque quirk which my laptop actually shares. The audio engine is loaded to play a single sound-effect, then quickly unloads when audio is no longer needed. If you keep moving in a flurry or launch a game, everything behaves as you'd expect with no hiss. You'd never notice it on larger headphones anyway. Worth reminding folks who do this workaround rather than RMA, that when screwing back up, never go past 'finger tight'. They'll never come loose anyway, and you're screwing into plastic which is easy to strip and give you a sad day. Also, tighten in a star pattern (top left, bottom right, top right, bottom left). For the back panel I did the outer-four-most screws first, followed by the 'inner' four. |
On the OLED they actually changed it so you screw into metal bosses with machine screws. That said, finger tight should still be enough. |
and others
Your system information
Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:
Steam Deck OLED 512gb - 3.5.7: The headphone jack has excessive crackling/static at all times. Restarts, adjusting the jack, etc do not resolve it. This issue does not appear on my LCD model running 3.5.7.
Steps for reproducing this issue:
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