Does the Steam Deck Stop Charging at 100%?
Yes, absolutely. Once the Steam Deck battery reaches 100% charge, the charging system will stop sending power to the battery to prevent overcharging issues.
As a passionate gamer who relies on battery life across long play sessions, I decided to dig deeper into exactly how Steam Deck charging works, and how to keep your battery healthy long-term…
How Steam Deck Charging Works to Avoid Battery Degradation
Valve designed intelligent charging logic for Steam Deck to promote battery longevity and avoid performance degradation issues over time.
Here are the key technical details on how it works:
Charging Phases
| Phase 1 | Fast Charging |
| Phase 2 | Trickle Charging (slows nearing 100%) |
| Phase 3 | Holds at 100% |
| Phase 4 | Discharges slightly to ~95% |
| Phase 5 | Trickle charges back to 100% |
As you can see, once the battery hits 100%, the Steam Deck stops actively pushing in more charge to avoid stressing the battery. It‘s normal to then see it discharge a bit to ~95% then slowly top back up.
Why It Works This Way
Stopping at 100% helps prevent lithium-ion battery overcharging. This can cause faster degradation and swelling over time. All modern consumer electronics from phones to laptops now use similar charge limiting.
However, tiny trickle charging at max capacity still strains batteries long-term. So full discharge/recharge cycling is healthier, via the discharge to 95% then recharge you see in the Steam Deck charging phases.
Overcharging Concerns
But what about just leaving my Steam Deck plugged in at 100% all the time – is overcharging still a risk?
According to battery experts, maintaining a max charge causes gradual internal battery damage over months and years that reduces capacity and lifespan.
"Sustained high voltages stress battery chemistry…" – Cadex Electronics
This is why Apple, Dell, and other manufacturers now tell users to refrain from keeping devices at 100% when not needed.
Qualcomm recommends discharge cycles:
"Ideally, every user should drain the battery all the way down once a month and then charge fully to keep their phone battery calibrated."
While Steam Deck does self-discharge/recharge somewhat on standby, minimizing uptime at 100% charge remains best practice.
Leaving Charger Plugged In Overnight
Many gamers wonder – what about leaving my Steam Deck plugged in to charge overnight?
The good news here is that once the battery hits 100%, Steam Deck stops actively charging as described above. So overnight while powered on, it will:
- Charge quickly to 100%
- Discharge a few % while you sleep
- Slow trickle back to 100%
So feel free to leave it plugged in overnight for a full battery in the morning!
However, if you won‘t use Steam Deck for days on end, it‘s still ideal to discharge around 40% then power off before extended idle periods.
Battery Care Tips and Best Practices
To summarize key learnings around caring for your Steam Deck battery:
- Don‘t leave perpetually plugged in at 100% when not using for a while. This degrades long-term capacity over time.
- Power down before storing unused for weeks, and discharge battery around 40% instead of packing it fully charged.
- Cycle discharge monthly by running battery below 20% then recharging fully. This helps calibration.
- Reduce screen brightness to conserve power – auto-brightness can help!
- Limit max charge to 80-90% instead of full 100% via Steam Deck settings if staying plugged in frequently.
- Avoid exposing battery to high heat as this accelerates lithium-ion capacity loss.
Adopting these battery best practices will pay off for years by maintaining close to the Steam Deck‘s full ~6 hour runtime.
Prolonging Your Steam Deck Battery Health
How much lifetime capacity loss is normal, and how much runtime can you expect to keep?
Consumer Reports data estimates lithium-ion batteries lose 20% capacity after 2 years. However, careful charging/discharging can minimize loss.
Here is a projection for well-cared-for Steam Deck battery runtime over time:
| Year 1 | 100% (5.5 – 7 hours) |
| Year 2 | 90% (5 – 6.3 hours) |
| Year 3 | 80% (4.5 – 5.6 hours) |
| Year 4 | 70% (3.8 – 4.9 hours) |
So while some capacity loss is inevitable, proper care should still leave you with strong runtime for 3-4 years.
Charger & Power Bank Recommendations
To finish off, here are my top accessory recommendations for keeping Steam Deck batteries topped off:
- Anker 715 Charger (65W) – $35
- Anker 737 Charger (65W, PowerIQ 3.0) – $46
- Baseus 65W Portable Charger – $36
- Anker 737 Power Bank (10000mAh) – $55
I suggest the Anker 737 as the best overall charger in terms of charging speed, advanced safety features, and future laptop compatibility!
And that sums up my complete guide on understanding Steam Deck charging! Let me know if you have any other battery or charging questions.
