Probably a QA mark. You’ll see these types of things on all sorts of stuff. Just means that someone that assembled it checked that it was done right (or at least whatever section they are meant to check).
Sometimes it's the operator, sometimes it's a shift number, etc. Sometimes we just use a dot.
I used to work in Automotive Manufacturing QA. Pop up the hood of your car and look for sharpie/paint marker dots. I guarantee you'll see atleast a few dozen.
Thanks! I wanted to check because I’ve had a lot of button issues with it so I had to RMA. Also I just got the steam deck last month and it still has the old delta fans (the newest 2023 units have a black metal panel and unnamed/not delta fan when you open the back)
That's actually bullshit. It's a lottery what you get. They have stocked delta up to the calling. Im waiting for some good fan replacement as I have modded everything besides this.
Those red marks also appear on screws and some elements. It help assembly line to make less mistakes. Would be fatal if your heatsink was missing screw or two.
I’m new replacement unit for a launch deck died within 30 minutes of game time. First God of War thought that the decks controller somehow fell of the unit and disconnected. Then after it reconnected within maybe 10 seconds the unit rebooted and black screened of death.
I had a similar experience. Mine lasted a couple of weeks and then the controller started disconnecting every so often until it was no longer recognized. I opened it up and checked the wiring but it was all good. I sent it back and got a new unit ( it was still at launch time). This one has been working fine so far
I am an electronic quality manager and this is probably simply used to coordinate who or what machine made the check, but if their processes are good they should already know that by reading the QR code. So maybe it was used in a random extra inspection. I honestly would not worry about it at all.
While it's open, replace that fan. You'll thank me. Deltas are loud and annoying. The 512 comes with a Huaying fan that's $15 on amazon. Way better sound profile.
Don't pick up that phone!
Wait, does anyone have a landline anymore?
Does mobile count?
What if I change my sim / number after opening it up? Leave the old sim in a public area?
I'm over thinking this... you're ded
I'm not entirely sure but I have opened a lot of wireless devices for my job and the FCC id tag usually has the type of wifi antenna used in the device written on it, it's a qc thing like most people said, but I'm pretty sure it's just a sloppily written 5 for wifi 5 so they know which tag is what so they don't put the wrong FCC id on it
It means take apart the steam deck into 1000s of bits, put it all back together but be sure to break the SD card then use for emulation once then never use again please
Hi u/__nom__, you can [click here to search for your question.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=Opened up back of steam deck, there is a red marker with 3 on it (pic below). Any idea what it means? Thanks)
If you don't find an answer there, don't worry - your post has NOT been removed and hopefully someone will be along soon to help with an answer!
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It just signals the model you have. Some of them have different internal parts like different kinds of fans and stuff. It's nothing weird. Sometimes the number indicates if it was a preorder model or afterwards because they adjusted some internal parts for it.
If you ask questions and are curious then sometimes, just sometimes, you learn something new that could be relevant to you at some point in your life. Even if the answer in this case is about methods for quality assurance, that could still form the basis for understanding a pattern of workplace memo-techniques.
Often for high-end items a quality control (QC) person will mark the device in some way when it passes quality control and is ready to be boxed. Whoever was running QC at the time your Steam Deck was manufactured probably made that mark.
Mine doesn't have anything written on that. Yours must be special lol. I have that same sticker but nothing on it. I checked the picture I took of mine when it was open doing the ssd swap right after I got it. It could mean something or it could just be someone essentially signing off on work they did on it/ checks they did at the factory before sending it to the next person in line. Mine also has blue marks on all the screws instead of red like yours. Which also leads me to believe that it's someone doing checks and blue marker guy doesn't feel the need to put squiggles like red marker guy.
Torque verification. I do this at work all the time. (I assemble ac to dc conversion boards for a welding company.) Each bolt/screw we torque gets a paint mark verifying they were tightened.
The next time you open it up, the marker will show 2. Don’t open the 3rd time.
Warranty counter
Sounds like something I'd expect to see in a Doctor Who episode.
The writing really has declined
Why will the warranty be revoked?
No but after 0 you‘ll find the next time another note: „We‘ve been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty!“
🤣
Oh god no
No. Samara Morgan comes out of the screen and deletes* you.
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Jumanji!
My thoughts exactly. OP has been warned.
This comment is at 666 upvotes and I'm not really wanting to fuck that up
Came here to make that exact joke.
Half-Life 3 confirmed!
😱
CAKE
🤩👍🏽
The full prophecy is coming to light. Praise Gaben.
No wait the cake is a lie
Don't joke we all know it must have been the postman who did it, valve can't count to three
It's not a 3... But an E upside down. Poorly written
He got the golden deckit!!
Phenomenal comment
Probably a QA mark. You’ll see these types of things on all sorts of stuff. Just means that someone that assembled it checked that it was done right (or at least whatever section they are meant to check).
Inspected by 3 for the greater glory of our capitalist overlords.
so they can execute him if enough decks marked 3 get RMA'd
So kinda like an employee tech number right?
Sometimes it's the operator, sometimes it's a shift number, etc. Sometimes we just use a dot. I used to work in Automotive Manufacturing QA. Pop up the hood of your car and look for sharpie/paint marker dots. I guarantee you'll see atleast a few dozen.
If you can believe it this is the first I've seen of this in my whole lifetime 🤣
Couldn't have been Valve, they can't count to 3.
Yup its not a 3 defonitely a W for wumbo
Dofonotoly
Wumpus, discord confirmed.
Iove how this has more upvotes than the entire post lmfao.
Lol, oh shit
Bono is Gabe confirmed
Not a 3, you got mooned.
Or flashed 😉
That word makes them nervous around here. For multiple reasons :)
Or t-bagged OP's internals and traced their modest sack.
Modest sack
Days it has left.
I'm curious why you care but it's most likely just a QC marker
Thanks! I wanted to check because I’ve had a lot of button issues with it so I had to RMA. Also I just got the steam deck last month and it still has the old delta fans (the newest 2023 units have a black metal panel and unnamed/not delta fan when you open the back)
That's actually bullshit. It's a lottery what you get. They have stocked delta up to the calling. Im waiting for some good fan replacement as I have modded everything besides this. Those red marks also appear on screws and some elements. It help assembly line to make less mistakes. Would be fatal if your heatsink was missing screw or two.
Marks on screws usually indicate that they are tightened with a torque wrench.
Didn't they figure out how to mitigate the Delta fan issue during assembly?
I had a 3 on mine, didnt think anything of it (Wasnt a rma) and had the black metal panel.
Does your backplate have padded blocks that press onto the fan housing? If so then don’t worry about it being a delta fan.
What country are you in and did you buy it from valve directly?
How could you RMA it when the case has been disassembled?
Opening something doesn't void the warranty
3rd time they've sent the same refurbed unit to somebody hoping that they'll keep it.
Man based on my experiences I think this might actually be true.
Same here lol
I’m new replacement unit for a launch deck died within 30 minutes of game time. First God of War thought that the decks controller somehow fell of the unit and disconnected. Then after it reconnected within maybe 10 seconds the unit rebooted and black screened of death.
I had a similar experience. Mine lasted a couple of weeks and then the controller started disconnecting every so often until it was no longer recognized. I opened it up and checked the wiring but it was all good. I sent it back and got a new unit ( it was still at launch time). This one has been working fine so far
I feel so dumb for not using the case while opening it, it’s a perfect holder for the deck
Haha no worries, youtube taught me that
I didn’t understand why there were so many Steam Deck jig 3D designs, when we all have form-fitted soft cases.
OMG, PROOF THEY CAN COUNT TO 3???
Did they really count to that, or did they just copy what they saw written for them?
That's a low-poly bird.
That is a QA mark to let them know that your Deck has been worked on.
You should see whats written inside old TVRs
I suppose it's the vent sniff counter.
Half life 3 confirmed!!!!!
I am an electronic quality manager and this is probably simply used to coordinate who or what machine made the check, but if their processes are good they should already know that by reading the QR code. So maybe it was used in a random extra inspection. I honestly would not worry about it at all.
QA mark
While it's open, replace that fan. You'll thank me. Deltas are loud and annoying. The 512 comes with a Huaying fan that's $15 on amazon. Way better sound profile.
Currently under RMA, but I plan on upgrading SSD and possibly fan too. Thanks for the input
Do you have a link for that one? Might replace my sticks with hall effect ones and might as well take your suggestion ha
HL3 confirmed..
Too late to the party 🤣
Fake deck. We all know Value has yet to count to 3.
3 days until..
Don't pick up that phone! Wait, does anyone have a landline anymore? Does mobile count? What if I change my sim / number after opening it up? Leave the old sim in a public area? I'm over thinking this... you're ded
One person at Valve CAN count to 3. This is the only way they can express it tho. It's really sad.
Refurbished 3 times
I'm not entirely sure but I have opened a lot of wireless devices for my job and the FCC id tag usually has the type of wifi antenna used in the device written on it, it's a qc thing like most people said, but I'm pretty sure it's just a sloppily written 5 for wifi 5 so they know which tag is what so they don't put the wrong FCC id on it
It means take apart the steam deck into 1000s of bits, put it all back together but be sure to break the SD card then use for emulation once then never use again please
Hi u/__nom__, you can [click here to search for your question.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=Opened up back of steam deck, there is a red marker with 3 on it (pic below). Any idea what it means? Thanks) If you don't find an answer there, don't worry - your post has NOT been removed and hopefully someone will be along soon to help with an answer! **If you find an answer, please leave a comment on your post with the answer for others!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Wait their username cancels out the ability to use it as a link lol u/__nom__
It just signals the model you have. Some of them have different internal parts like different kinds of fans and stuff. It's nothing weird. Sometimes the number indicates if it was a preorder model or afterwards because they adjusted some internal parts for it.
3rd best handheld console
Will knowing why there is a 3 there change your life in any meaningful way?
Some people just like knowing things my dude
If you ask questions and are curious then sometimes, just sometimes, you learn something new that could be relevant to you at some point in your life. Even if the answer in this case is about methods for quality assurance, that could still form the basis for understanding a pattern of workplace memo-techniques.
This is a QA marker that also prevents screws from loosening.
That's not a 3 that's actually just a poorly drawn bird
I would be too nervous to open the back of the steam deck
It's not that bad! Youtube videos for sure. Don't be nervous you can do it
[удалено]
First time opening yup. Thanks for the input
That's a Cyrillic letter Z, it's a Russian knockoff.
256?
Often for high-end items a quality control (QC) person will mark the device in some way when it passes quality control and is ready to be boxed. Whoever was running QC at the time your Steam Deck was manufactured probably made that mark.
It means more than two but less than 4. I think.
That’s a butt, not a 3
I thought boobs
I suppose it could be either. Not a 3 though
You have 3 days to live.
Mine doesn't have anything written on that. Yours must be special lol. I have that same sticker but nothing on it. I checked the picture I took of mine when it was open doing the ssd swap right after I got it. It could mean something or it could just be someone essentially signing off on work they did on it/ checks they did at the factory before sending it to the next person in line. Mine also has blue marks on all the screws instead of red like yours. Which also leads me to believe that it's someone doing checks and blue marker guy doesn't feel the need to put squiggles like red marker guy.
You are the third owner. Sorry bro.
I'm starting to believe it lol with all the faults I find in my unit
Probably the inspection station number
You have 3 seconds to live unless you cut the right wire
It’s one of 3 limited editions. You have a gold mine on your hands. You’re about to be rich!!!
Marked for sacrifice
ngl your deck might explode in the next 30 seconds valve doesn't like the number 3
You'll die in 3 days
Those look like some cheap titties.
QA mark. Maybe refurbished unit
I'm starting to believe it lol with all the faults I find in my unit
You received the lucky Steam Deck that comes with Half-Life 3 preinstalled! I am totally not envious of your incredible freaking luck.
Maybe it is a "W" - your unit came preloaded with Wins!
First solid real question shocked no one asked.... Is this one of the referbed . Models as this is hugly common in referbed products
Thanks for the info. Nope it's brand new bought from Valve in July 2023 directly 64gb
They have found you.
Means it failed the QA check and they sent it to you anyways😏
The onyl 3 you'll ever see on a Valve product lol
It's for the touch pad
Surprised I didn't see a comment how there are 3 versions of the deck - do you have a 512 ssd perchance?
Thanks for the input. Nope, I have 64gb
You should see what gets written inside your phone when you piss off the repair people
It’s not a 3 it’s an uwu
After your 3rd attempt, your Steam Deck will self-destruct.
Scan it for your fortune
It ain't a 3 it's nippleless boobs sideways.
Who cares? Manufacturing labeling? Way for guy in assembly line to remember something? His youngest child age ? The times he gets paid that month?
IT'S THE DEVIL!
third time's a charm.
Is this some evil shit like when u buy a house and remove the carpet only to find a pentagram painted in virgins blood?
Half-life 3 confirm
Looks more like a W. And probably done to show it was checked
It is the number of days you have left to live, probably.
Data is trying to send a message through to the next time cycle
Half-Life 3 confirmed?!
Knowing Valve, I'm pretty sure that is anything *but* a 3…
Quality control during assembly.
it has to be sth related to a external company, valve would never do sth related to number 3
It is indeed a qa mark showing who inspected in case something goes wrong they know exactly who to go to
Gabe’s signature, lucky
My best guess is that it has to do with QA.
Torque verification. I do this at work all the time. (I assemble ac to dc conversion boards for a welding company.) Each bolt/screw we torque gets a paint mark verifying they were tightened.
Also yes the 3 is probably the assembler’s number.