Steam Deck eMMC to NVMe SSD upgrade

In this video, I install a 256gb SSD to the Steam Deck replacing the 64 gb eMMC drive, for the low low price of about $20.
So will this be as easy as all of the tutorials make it out to be? Of course not. But it can be done, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than the $130 upgrade. Of course you can also go bigger if you wanted to add the 512GB, but that’s a bit more expensive, and I wanted to do this as cheap as possible.
We’ll also find out if there is any significant speed up with using the SSD over the eMMC.

One note: The instructions I had said to select Reinstall Steam OS when booting from the flash drive. That did not work for me. I would recommend selecting Reimage Steam Deck, as that seems to be how to get it to work. There are other methods to getting SteamOS onto the deck including cloning the existing drive, Directions for that are here: https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-deck-ssd-upgrade-step-by-step/#section-how-to-clone-the-steam-deck-ssd

Instructions on how to make a SteamOS image for the Steam Deck: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/1B71-EDF2-EB6D-2BB3

You will also need a USB-C sized flash drive. I used this one: https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/2697605/Lexar-JumpDrive-Dual-Drive-D400-USB/

I bought the 256gb SSD on eBay. The seller I bought from is sold out but there are a ton of these out there, like these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266139627908
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185754518637

As always YMMV with these sellers, I cannot vouch for them as I have not purchased from them, and even if I had every transaction is different.

Standard disclaimer: For informational purposes only. Not a sponsored video. All items in my videos were (stupidly) purchased by the host, and he has not received any sort of compensation for presenting this information. The opinions in this video are of the host, and his opinions alone. Your mileage may vary. Not responsible for accidents. Not liable for damage to your items, your self, your family, your pets, your neighbors, your property, or your great grandmama who had a coronary cause she love my content a little too much. No warranties are expressed or implied in this or any universe, except for those universes where expression of warranty is required by the hive queen (in which case, all glory to the hive queen) Don’t try this in your house. Don’t try this in someone else’s house. Don’t try this at The House of 1000 Corpses because Rob Zombie* scares the crap out of me.
* not sponsored by Rob Zombie.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:55 Boot time with eMMC
2:07 Power Down
2:40 Remember Kids- Remove microSD Card before Disassembly
3:03 Disassembly
4:48 Remove heat shield
7:25 Disconnect Battery
8:04 Remove eMMC drive
8:45 Remove shielding from eMMC and install on NVMe
10:12 Install NVMe Drive
11:12 Don’t forget to plug the battery back in.
11:20 Reassembly
14:00 Installing SteamOS onto the new drive
15:56 Click Reimage Steam Deck not Reinstall Steam OS.
16:35 a few moments later
17:04 one eternity later (aka updates)
20:11 It did take a little more than an hour with all the updates
20:32 Don’t forget to reinstall the microSD
21:27 NVMe Boot time
22:16 Wrap up
22:47 Outro