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Valve has delayed the Steam Deck Docking Station indefinitely, citing COVID closures and parts shortages as the reason. The Docking Station had been delayed before, but Valve was still confident they could release it in late Spring. Now, they can only give reassurances that they're working on the situation, and will provide an update when they have one, whenever that may be.

However, this will not affect production schedules or reservation windows for the actual Steam Deck, as it uses different parts from different factories.

Valve also claims that they're still working on "improving the docked experience" with existing USB-C hubs and external displays.

Source

 

[tech3475]

The only positive is that at least you're not 'forced' to use it for similar functionality.

 

[Daggot]

3d printed Etsy shit here I come!

 

[lokomelo]

I don't know how big the PC-less deck community is, I assume that is not too much. For gaming PC owners the dock is not that useful, the cloud on steam works close to perfection.

 

[diggeloid]

I hope this doesn't lead to more delays for my Steam Deck

 

[relauby]

I hope this doesn't lead to more delays for my Steam Deck

It won't. They say in their post that Steam Deck production won't be affected, and I totally spaced on including that in the news post. My bad.

 

[djpannda]

yea theres no real down side for consumers.
1.They already stated its not going to impact Steam Decks production itself
2. You are not limited to only use their dock as most Crappy $20 docks work fine
2. They also stated they are working on more 3rd party dock support

 

[Skelletonike]

Still curious as to when I'll get my deck purchase link. I'd rather just pay upfront and not have to worry about my email ending up in spam. >.>"

 

[Chary]

Good to know I should just get a regular dock, then...was really excited for a solution from Valve that might have been a little more hassle free. Oh well.

 

[Taleweaver]

Still curious as to when I'll get my deck purchase link. I'd rather just pay upfront and not have to worry about my email ending up in spam. >.>"

In my case, the steam deck calculator(moo) was accurate to the day months in advance.

Edit:right... On topic: I've got to be honest and say i was pretty indifferent. The deck is a pc. As far as I've read, any regular usb-c dock works. So why buy a valve one?

 

[tech3475]

Still curious as to when I'll get my deck purchase link. I'd rather just pay upfront and not have to worry about my email ending up in spam. >.>"

Related question for others, does Steam and the mobile app also notify you when you can order?

 

[Skelletonike]

In my case, the steam deck calculator(moo) was accurate to the day months in advance.

Didn't know about that, thanks.

Seems to say it'll be ready by the 18th.

Interesting website.

Also good to know that emails are only sent on Mondays, that saves a lot of hassle.

 

[The Catboy]

Does the dock actually make a difference or would something like this do the same thing?

I actually use this on my Switch and get the same results as if I was using the actual dock.

 

[Taleweaver]

Related question for others, does Steam and the mobile app also notify you when you can order?

Steam certainly does(heck... You can barely close it if you don't click the'I've read it'button). I presume it's similar for the app, but i hadn't tried it.

 

[Xzi]

Does the dock actually make a difference or would something like this do the same thing?
View attachment 312415
I actually use this on my Switch and get the same results as if I was using the actual dock.

Should work fine as long as it's got at least 65W passthrough charging. Switch is down lower at like 45W IIRC.

 

[The Catboy]

Should work fine as long as it's got at least 65W passthrough charging. Switch is down lower at like 45W IIRC.

It should be able to but I’ve yet to test it on anything other than MacBook Pro (2017,) and an ASUS chromebook. I am pretty sure the MacBook Pro uses something like 61 to 65, according to Google but I would suggest verifying that. If that is the case, then an adapter like this should work on Decks, kind making an official one not as important. It’s nice but seems easily replaceable.

 

[djpannda]

It should be able to but I’ve yet to test it on anything other than MacBook Pro (2017,) and an ASUS chromebook. I am pretty sure the MacBook Pro uses something like 61 to 65, according to Google but I would suggest verifying that. If that is the case, then an adapter like this should work on Decks, kind making an official one not as important. It’s nice but seems easily replaceable.

you should be becareful, I also have a MacBook Pro 2017 I have 3 usb hubs for it. but not all hubs are the same
I had one refuse to charge the Steam deck ( even though it charges the Mac fine) another one was really bad a using the external display ( Displayport) it would take forever to switch and someones doesn't .

I ending up buying a crappy dock for 17$ dock (for DisplayPort) and switches perfectly

 

[djpannda]

system double post for some reason

 

[The Catboy]

you should be becareful, I also have a MacBook Pro 2017 I have 3 usb hubs for it. but not all hubs are the same
I had one refuse to charge the Steam deck ( even though it charges the Mac fine) another one was really bad a using the external display ( Displayport) it would take forever to switch and someones doesn't .

I ending up buying a crappy dock for 17$ dock (for DisplayPort) and switches perfectly

I found that to be the case as well. I had one hub stop working after the Catalina update. I’ve yet to have issues with hubs on my Switch though. I don’t have a Deck to test if my current hubs will work on it, so yeah

 

[RHOPKINS13]

I don't know how big the PC-less deck community is, I assume that is not too much. For gaming PC owners the dock is not that useful, the cloud on steam works close to perfection.

I have the Steam Deck, and I use it with a USB-C dock almost daily. Yes, it's easy enough to copy files back and forth from my PC. But having a keyboard and mouse plugged in is a godsend when it comes to configuring emulators, dual boot, other game stores, and other stuff.

If you strictly plan on using the Steam Deck for Steam games, the keyboard and mouse may not be that helpful. But if you want to spend the extra time to configure the Deck to use it for it's full potential, a USB-C dock will save you from a lot of headaches.