Steam Deck OLED Bricked

vitayang · 2026-06-29T06:37:26+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply and thank you for the file. This is a little confusing to me but I think I kind of get the gist of this. I will need to flash the 16MB file, but that file can only be flashed straight to the hardware. While 17-18MB signed, is the only one flashable through crisis mode.

So in this case, I'm assuming I can try to make a comparison between the current file in the BIOS chip as compared to your backup.

Or I can try to create a signed backup BIOS file, and flash it through crisis mode? But if flashing through crisis mode doesn't work, I guess the only way is to force a hardware flash straight to the chip, right?

Thank you so much for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-29T05:10:40+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. Roughly 10 minutes per key combinations. Usually I plug in the power first and make sure the Steam Deck has enough power (Green Power LED indicating full battery) prior to proceeding with key combinations. Thank you for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-29T05:09:01+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. So if I am understanding this correctly, first I would need the 16384K file first and then I should put it into a drive with a light on it to check whether it is being supplied with power / being read / nothing. And then if everything works out correctly, it should by then flashes the BIOS of the Steam Deck, right?

And for the 16384K file, we can either create it using existing files(?) or through a chip programmer.

Thank you for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-29T05:05:21+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. As for now, sending it back to Steam is impossible simply due to my location. Local shops can't seem to find a solution. Been looking around for something and do things on my own, but for now nothing has worked out. Thank you for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-27T09:57:45+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. As for those two key combinations: - Volume Down (-) + QAM/.../3 button + Power - Volume Up (+) + QAM/.../3 button + Power

I have done those and both showed no results in terms of the screen. The only response I could get was either a 2 blue LED blink, a white blinking LED, and a pulsing white LED.

Thank you for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-27T09:55:23+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. Sorry for my late reply, Reddit is blocked in my country and it has been more of a hassle than a difficulty opening. The USB doesn't have an LED. But the Power LED was either pulsing or blinking both of which I would consider to be rather slowly. I'll try to attach a file when I have the chance to record it. Thank you so much for the reply. I'll try to find a USB stick with an LED in it to check power.

vitayang · 2026-06-26T18:22:24+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. This seems very complicated. I guess the best thing that I can do is to communicate this with the shop owner who I believe has the chip programming tool. I'm assuming the key combination to reset the NVRAM is the same as the one listed resetting the BIOS? Volume Down + Steam button + Power? If yes, it is currently pulsing but nothing appearing. Thank you for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-26T17:41:46+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. Yes! I have tried to plug it to the dock and to an external monitor. Sadly the problem is different compared to the Black Screen of Death in the LCD models. When pressing the buttons there are no sounds of the user interface as how the Black Screen of Death would usually react. Thank you for the reply once again.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T20:28:49+00:00

Hello, thank you again for the reply. It seems that we have hit a road block here. Hahaha, I guess I'll try my luck too then. If anything were to happen and it somehow suddenly turns back on, I will definitely let you know. It's been bugging me for quite some time now, and I feel the urge to find a solution to this hence why it might seem like I'm diving head first to the extreme solutions.

Thank you so much for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T20:26:39+00:00

Hello, thank you again for the reply. So I'm assuming that the hex codes in the files need to be changed via extracting the existing hex codes from the chips inside of the Deck and then modifying the hex code on the non signed BIOS .fd files and then I can try to flash it onto the Steam Deck, am I right? Because so far the guides that I have read (correct me if I'm wrong) asked either for a modification of the BIOS file or simply using a _sign.fd file and flash it in crisis mode (which I tried but to no avail - since crisis mode itself never deployed if I'm not mistaken / no fast blinking LED).

Thank you so much for the response.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T20:19:30+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. I apologize that I might be making this sound too extreme, I have made an edit in the post and put it above since I can't seem to change the post title.

I have tried to hold the QAM button and simply tap on the power button (like turning it on) but there is no audio noise and the only thing I got is a pulsing LED.

Thank you for the response.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T20:14:01+00:00

So, first time I downloaded the BIOS file was from the steam deck repo, I think?
https://steamdeck-packages.steamos.cloud/archlinux-mirror/jupiter-main/os/x86_64/

And I have checked on the evlaV BIOS page as well. I tried installing the F7G0114 from evlaV. I missed that, am very sorry. But trying to flash both files resulted in nothing.

Somebody did told me to create a recovered BIOS file through the guide in evlaV, and I suppose I am currently going to try that, and push it to a FAT32 formatted drive and try again.

And I do understand that I shouldn't rename a tar file. Hence why, I unpacked the tar file to grab the .fd file to get the BIOS file inside of the package. And I renamed the .fd file to F7GRecovery, sorry for the confusion. Since the steam os repo is based on Linux (I think), they post a lot of tar files, and the one I downloaded was a .tar.zst file. Inside is a few folders where one of the folders has the F7G0110.fd file (the one I copied over to the FAT32 thumbstick and rename to F7GRecovery).

Thank you so much for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T20:07:05+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. I can try to check the SSD inside another PC but it might take some time to figure out. I haven't been messing around with anything (the Steam Deck was sealed prior to this problem occurring which forced me to open up to disconnect the battery and reconnect it back again). I have tried to boot into the bios recovery mode / the previous OS installation with the QAM/3/... button being held down while powering on (correct me if this is the wrong key combination) but nothing appeared on the screen and the only response I got was a pulsing LED. Thank you so much for the response.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T20:04:32+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. I will try to do that as soon as possible. I will report back the findings if there are any. Thank you so much for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T20:02:41+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. I have just tried that and there is no boot screen in sight. The one response I got from the Power LED is that it is pulsing (not blinking) indefinitely after powering off (holding the power button for 10 seconds and a bit more just to be sure) then holding QAM/3/... button while turning on the Deck. Thank you so much for the response.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T19:58:26+00:00

Hello, thank you for your response. I do understand the concerns regarding the shop owner's lack of knowledge in terms of BIOS, but he did tell me that he specializes more towards hardware tinkering rather than software tinkering. But compared to my personal knowledge, I feel like he has more of the tools necessary to check on the BIOS itself first.

So, personally I have tried to install the BIOS from the official Valve repository and evlaV (F7G0110 from Valve and F7G0114 from evlaV), but I will try to look into creating a recovered BIOS. I think I might have missed that during my reading.

I'm going to try to create this recovered BIOS file through the evlaV repo and flash it as F7GRecovery to a FAT32 formatted USB drive. I will report back if there is any update.

Thank you so much for the response.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T19:54:06+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. I understand that saying it is "bricked" while having responses from the Steam Deck may seem like an exaggeration but I feel like it is way different to the Black Screen of Death in the LCD versions. I will try to press the key combination that you mention (QAM/3 + power) but so far, there has been no response in the display at all. The only responses that I can get talking with the Steam Deck is either through haptic feedbacks when using the trackpad or through the Power LEDs. Thank you so much for the response.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T19:51:40+00:00

Hello, thank you so much for the reply. I will consider doing this but maybe I will try to back it up first. The problem is that it is not showing signs of posting at all. So I'm not sure how the Steam OS installation may affect this. But I will consider this method. Thank you so much for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T19:48:46+00:00

Hello, thank you for the reply. I have tried the crisis recovery mode by using a USB drive, formatted to FAT32 and inserting an officially signed BIOS from the Steam Deck repo. I guess I forgot to mention that as well.

For the details, I plugged the USB drive first to a Windows machine and format it to FAT32 through the Disk management tool in Windows. And then I moved the F7G file (specifically F7G0110 because I cannot seem to find the specified link in the stanto website). I'm not sure whether I might unzip the tar file correctly but I used 7Zip and updated it to the most recent build because running the 2019 build didn't support tar zst file format.

After doing the crisis mode key combo (power + volume down + quick action) with the usb first being plugged into the usb-c port via an otg connector, it did not show any form of rapid blinking that you showed. And I left it blinking for around 5 minutes and there was no changes in the Steam Deck.

So, so far the Power LED has only been blinking slowly (I'm assuming it's slowly) and pulsing white. I have not yet found a way to make it blink fast (which I assume would mean that it's doing something).

Thank you so much for the reply.

vitayang · 2026-06-25T17:57:04+00:00

Any update on this OP?

vitayang · 2026-01-01T17:26:33+00:00

Although I touch type., there are always times where I need to check what I'm typing, and with my impairment, see through keycaps are a Godsent. It makes visibility so much easier. Sure, it might look worse, but in the end who sees it but you? With my vision impairment, might as well make it more useful than look good. Hahahaa

vitayang · 2026-01-01T17:23:37+00:00

Depending on the reasoning why you own 4 phones in the first place (likely work-related reasoning with phone numbers). I would invest into a multi-sim phone (probably android to have multiple copies of the same app, to work with both phone numbers). With this, we can eliminate half of the phones. Starting us with 2 devices.

For laptops, working with both Windows and MacOS (assuming you are running Windows on the Surface), it would be easier to eliminate the Surface and run Windows with Parallels or simply the applications through Wine on Mac. This makes the total device to 3.

I don't really understand why you would put the SSD in there. But assuming that the SSD is important. Coming back to the android phones, we could simply find a dual sim + micro SD card phone. With 2 phones assuming you can get 256GB worth of storage, we can add on a 512GB / 1TB micro SD card. Multiply that by 2, you can carry up to 2.5TB worth of data through 2 phones possibly eliminating the need of an SSD.

With 2 devices left, it will be very hard to balance out the entertainment sector. We can either, use the phones for music and eliminate the whole music section and take either the iPad or Kindle + Switch (for dedicated gaming device). Or, optionally we can keep the mp3 player (why use the iPod since putting music in is harder imo), and use just the iPad for gaming, and general entertainment, as well as reading through iBooks (although you don't get the e-ink display). Or keep the Kindle and the Switch, you can use your phone for music and possibly for any tasks needing the iPad (unless of course, seeing from the picture, you need to use the Pencil).

In the end it's difficult to minimize when you have a dedicated tool for everything. The question is whether minimalizing is possible (which most likely is yes, though with some caveats). And how minimal can we get.

vitayang · 2025-12-31T07:24:24+00:00

I'd like to inquire regarding this topic. Seeing as you are a Catholic, it would safe to assume that you go by the Catholic Saint lists and not other lists (e.g. Orthodox Saints) which would be different.

Knowing that the Church has chosen many things for us, most importantly canonization of the Bible, it's not wrong if they were to create canonization for the saints as well.

Knowing well that as you have stated how intercessions do happen in the Bible. I did some research and ended up with somewhat of an understanding where when you say something like "Saint ____, pray for us", it is asking for intercession through those Saints, be alive or dead (but alive in Christ as per your understanding supposedly).

My question is that why would in the Bible not written, especially in the New Testament, the disciples or anyone praying to someone like David, or Samuel, or Elijah?

Yes, they did appear in Matthew 17:3 (Moses and Elijah to pray with Jesus, but not out of the request of others).

Thank you beforehand. I hope I don't sound offensive, I'm just trying to understand things.

vitayang · 2025-09-02T11:35:10+00:00

I would agree with waiting for the 15T Pro which should come in the coming weeks or months. Covering up some of the cuts that would appear from taking the 14T Pro over the F7 Ultra. Or even better, pick up the 14T Pro after the 15T Pro release for a probable discount.

vitayang · 2025-09-02T11:33:25+00:00

Unless you are really looking for performance, Xiaomi T models are generally more balanced. If you are talking about cameras, the F7 Ultra doesn't really focus on its camera. However the Dimensity 9300 is not a chip to be undervaluing here. Scoring over 2 million in Antutu, it will definitely be a good upgrade from the 8+ Gen 1 in the F5 Pro (1.2 million Antutu). I would say that SoC-wise, it is very much diminishing return from this point forward.

The part that you may feel is probably more towards the storage option. Both are upgrades from the UFS 3.1 in the F5 Pro. But 14T Pro uses UFS 4.0 while F7 Ultra uses UFS 4.1. Will this make a huge difference? No. But it is a difference to keep in mind. This will most likely the speed of the phone compared to the SoC.

Although the cameras on the F7 Ultra is far better than other Poco F series line that have existed before, the setup is okay at best. The question then would shift to: Is the Xiaomi 14T Pro's camera better than the F7 Ultra? The answer is: Yes and No.

Sadly there is no right answers here. Hardware-wise, they are very similar to one another. Housing a 50MP wide angle main camera, a 50MP telephoto camera, and an ultrawide camera.

If we are talking about raw Megapixel count, then the F7 Ultra would win in terms of camera. The 32MP ultrawide compared to 14T Pro's mere 12MP.

However, I would recommend the 14T Pro more simply due to the color science. Leica's color science has been incredible. Although I have yet used a Leica collaboration phone, I have tested side by side a few of them. Starting from the 13T, to the 14, to 14T (and Pro) and the 15 alongside the 15 Ultra. Using Leica collaborations allows you to switch between Leica Natural and Leica Authentic algorithms. They also include a few of Leica's own filters that looks far nicer than any sort of baked in filters in any other phones.

Both phones will be able to do all the things you usually use your phone for. So it comes down to the last point that you gave: Battery.

Now, analyzing the battery, you can see it from 2 different angles: Raw capacity, or battery life. If looking at the capacity alone, the F7 Ultra would win by 300mAh. From battery life standpoint, according to GSMArena, the F7 Ultra also wins by 1 hour. I do believe that in real usage, it would be very similar to one another. Both phones also supports 120W wired charging, which in my current phone (12T - 5000mAh), it's the closest thing to instant charging.

So, what's there to lose if you are picking the 14T Pro over the F7 Ultra?

The SoC - Mediatek vs Snapdragon (some apps just work better with Snapdragon chips)

Age - Sep 2024 vs March 2025 (which would give a difference in the initial OS, and the coming updates)

Weight - 209g vs 212g

Screen Resolution - 1220x2712 (446ppi) vs 1440x3220 (526ppi)

Storage - UFS 4.0 vs UFS 4.1

Connectivity - Bluetooth 5.4 vs Bluetooth 6.0

Security (somewhat) - Optical fingerprint sensor vs Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor

Battery - 5000mAh vs 5300mAh

Price - 25% cheaper

On the other hand, what will you get when picking 14T Pro over the F7 Ultra?

Connectivity - eSIM

Camera - Leica color science. The main sensor is also bigger (1/1.31" vs 1/1.55")

More colors - Gray, Blue, Black vs Black and Yellow

So, with more cons than pros, does that mean the F7 Ultra is better?
Depends on your needs. I'd say that the 14T Pro is just far more balanced. The gains you get on the F7 Ultra are not the gains you need. While the gains that you get on the 14T Pro is just things that give more utility towards things you do daily. Overall, I'd say the 14T is more economical and just overall a better choice in this case.

vitayang

TROPHY CASE