Modder creates ingenious Steam Deck hack to never lose it again

If you’ve ever feared losing your pricey Steam Deck, one Reddit user has put together a clever mod that lets them know where their handheld is at all times.

The Steam Deck is a formidable piece of machinery, the handheld has the portability of a console, with the functionality of a desktop PC. But, since it’s such a unique piece of hardware, it has become an attractive target for thieves.

With no built-in tracking, If you’ve lost your beloved Valve handheld, you’re left to your own devices to get it back. One Reddit user has taken it upon themselves to rectify this problem. By using an Apple AirTag, via a clever mod, that doesn’t come without compromise.

RIP Steam Deck L4 button

Reddit user thetax45 posted on the r/SteamDeck subreddit to show off their clever Steam Deck mod in all its airtagged glory. The image shows a Steam Deck OLED, with its backplate exposed to show off the integrated Apple Airtag. The Airtag has been added to the left side of the handheld, attached haphazardly with electric tape.

The mod was put together to “demo that’s it’s still possible to put an airtag into the oled model.” However, the AirTag placement means that the L4 button is unusable, but the Reddit user is “comfortable” with that compromise.

With the AirTag functioning as a GPS tracker, this could be an ingenious way of tracking the Steam Deck. Many fellow users in r/Steam Deck were quick to support the clever ingenuity. Even users like flying_wrenches stated they’d “soon be performing the same mod” on their own Steam Deck.

Obvious flaws

However, while many supported this clever tinkering, some pointed out the obvious flaws. AirTag batteries only last a year, and so unless attached via a battery, this could be a tedious addition. Every year, you’d have to take apart your Steam Deck only to charge the AirTag and put it all back together again.

With its placement, losing the functionality of the L4 button was also mentioned throughout the comments. With r/Steam Deck user aspiring_dev1 stating that it was a “pretty bad idea especially when losing functionality.”

Regardless of the collective thoughts on the mod, it does bring up hopes for the Steam Deck 2. If high-powered smartphones can contain GPS trackers, why not a PC gaming handheld? Let’s just hope we won’t have to sacrifice our L4 buttons to get this add-on.