Check out the two ways to factory reset Steam Deck handheld gaming console in this guide.
In this guide, I am going to explain how to factory reset Steam Deck in two different ways. Both are completely official and will help you to recover the factory settings safely on your handheld console. Whether you want to improve the performance of the device or if you have installed Windows on your Steam Deck and you want to return it to its original Steam OS 3.0 operating system or solve an error, what I tell you here will interest you a lot. Follow the complete tutorial below to reset Steam Deck to its original state.
In the steps below, check out the two methods to factory reset Steam Deck: by restoring the handheld from the options menu, or restoring with a clean installation.
The first way to restore the Steam Deck is from the console settings itself. This is a recommended procedure for those who are going to sell the device or want to improve performance. It is also convenient for you if you experience a specific error that does not prevent you from accessing the operating system.
Obviously, if you have personal data that you have not synchronized in the cloud, you will need to create a backup copy before proceeding. Otherwise, you will lose your information.
Following are the steps you must follow to factory reset Steam Deck directly from the preferences:
There is a possibility that due to a serious error, the operating system may not start. In that case, the previous method will not help you at all. Before you panic, you should know that you have an alternative to factory reset Steam Deck.
As you can imagine, we are referring to installing the operating system from scratch. Remember that the Steam Deck is basically a computer converted into a portable console. So you need to get the SteamOS 3.0 system image first to factory reset Steam Deck, follow the steps below on how to do that:
In the recovery environment, you can use the trackpad, buttons, and trigger to navigate between the different options. The tools included in the recovery image are the following:
If you want to apply a clean installation of SteamOS, the tool you need to run is the third one, that is, the one that completely reinstalls SteamOS to finally factory reset Steam Deck.
That is all you need to know about how to factory reset Steam Deck. If you are searching for similar types of Steam Deck Troubleshooting Guides, check out our other articles here: fix compatibility tool failed error, and installing Battle.net on the Steam handheld.