This is a post I wish I never had to make. Forgive my grammar and spelling as I am a bit emotional.
My Steam Deck was stolen and I just had it for less than 2 months.
It has been more than 2 weeks since it happened but it still hurts the same. I wanted to make this post because it was a very costly mistake from my side and I don’t want it to happen to anyone else.
<story>
It happened when I was shifting from one house to another house and there were lots of maintenance workers at the destination house. After I kept my luggage inside the house, I left to buy some essentials. My mom was the only person left who was watching over the stuff. By the time I came back, the workers had left. I thought I have some free time so decided to pull the Steam Deck out but it was missing.
<vent>
I was absolutely devastated; I can’t even begin to explain in words what it felt like. I asked, through the person who hired the workers, if they took it. But all the workers refused. I was just crushed; I could feel my heart dropping into my stomach. Even now, as I am typing this story, that emotion is replaying.
</vent>
After this happened, I removed all payment methods from my Steam account (Steam Guard 2FA was already active). I saw after 5 days that the Steam Deck was online for a brief period of time, via Steam Guard. I purposefully didn’t sign out of the device because I wanted the thieves to make the mistake of signing in and giving me some clue about their location; the Steam Deck was still inside my city. I took the IPs and submitted it to the police and asked them if they could track it. They said they will try their best since getting the customer details from an IP is a “lengthy and time-consuming process”. But at this point, I can’t do anything; it’s not possible for me to visit all the worker’s home individually and check as I don’t have the authority. I gave up and convinced myself to move on.
</story>
This taught me a lot of things and I wanted to share with the community, now that I have slightly recovered mentally.
Secure your luggage when moving
When you are moving, you usually have a million thoughts in your head. This can cause you to neglect your luggage’s safety. If you are going to unload your luggage temporarily, KEEP IT IN A SECURE MANNER FIRST and then do everything else.
A secure manner could mean
- Under someone’s watch
- Putting it far away from the exit
- Putting a lock on the luggage
- Putting it inside a cabinet and locking it
Don’t just unload the luggage and start doing something mentally involving.
Be wary of outsiders
Sometimes, there will be outside people in your home. It’s crucial to keep the Steam Deck out of reach of everyone. Not everyone is a thief but different people have different moral standards. Don’t create a tempting scenario for others. Keep it secure when there are guests/workers at your place.
Put some form of tracking on the device
The Steam Deck is like a traditional laptop; it has no SIM or GPS. Once it’s lost, it’s really hard to get it back. There are methods by which you can track the Steam Deck (Steam Guard) but it involves IP and it’s not enough to get an exact location. Other than law-enforcement, no one can find the customer details associated with an IP address.
An alternate approach, which can be slight pricey, is to put a Tile tracker on the device. There are tutorials on how it can be attached to the device.
Note: I’m not associated with Tile in any way.
Get the official Serial Number and MAC ID of the device
It will help you to uniquely identify the device IF it gets stolen. You may find the serial number on
- The bill of purchase
- Inside the Steam Deck settings section
- On the Steam Deck package
- You can ask Steam support for the serial number once it’s associated with your account The MAC ID is present on the Steam Deck settings page (and also on your access point logs if it has connected even once).
I hope this post is educational and makes you wary of the physical dangers around us. Please keep your handhelds or any valuables safe
<vent>
What hurts even more is that the Steam Deck, which was the 1 TB OLED model, was a gift from a very special person and I feel like I have betrayed that person by losing it. I had lots of plans with the device, like making a couch plug-and-play setup, a retro gaming setup, a productivity device by using desktop mode, etc. But all my plans were shattered in an instance. I’m now convincing myself to move on to something else.
</vent>
Edit: As of 20th August, I can see via Steam Guard that the device was logged into a few hours ago (2 weeks post the burglary). I know the risks involved in keeping my device signed in. I’m counting on the person’s stupidity. Any proper thief would have formatted the device.
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“is a lengthy time consuming process”
No, it REALLY isn’t, and any pig that tells you otherwise is trying to get you to drop the issue so they don’t have more paperwork.
They don’t give a shit about your stolen items, and 9/10 times it’s a complete waste to even contact them over “petty theft”, regardless of how valuable the item/s are to you.
They don’t give a shit about your stolen items, and 9/10 times it’s a complete waste to even contact them over “petty theft”, regardless of how valuable the item/s are to you.
When I was in college, my apartment got broken into. The cop that came when I called was less than helpful. Some highlights:
- He immediately argued with me that the crowbar marks on the door frame must have been there before.
- I told him about the TV that was stolen and he bragged that he had two TVs that were larger than that.
- He tried to bust me for weed when he saw my hookah. I had to explain to him that it was in fact not a bong and was only used for tobacco.
- He mentioned that if it were him robbing me, he would have stolen the microwave instead.
- As he was leaving, he told me that they wouldn’t be able to catch whoever did it, so they weren’t going to look.
The cops are so unhelpful with break ins. I had a very similar experience when our house was broken into. First they told us our TV couldn’t have been stolen out the window if we only had a bigger tv, then they told us they couldn’t find any of our stuff and that they wouldn’t try either.
sounds about right
Just claim your a company and they will magically give a shit about $1 of missing junk
Makes you wonder who they’re working for.
In the UK its not a “complete waste to even contact the police” because you need a crime number from them to claim on insurance.
I can and would claim home insurance for this and just buy a new one. It would only cost me time but my dumb ass has a lot of that
True, but I would have been filled with regret if I never even tried the official way of recovering it :(
is trying to get you to drop the issue so they don’t have more paperwork.
I had to visit 3 police stations before they agreed to take my case
I am so sorry, that is a horrible story. It is not your fault!
I, along with the rest of my family, are probably too trusting of people. At my old place, i used to leave stuff like this all the time and I never even thought that it could get stolen.
I wish I learnt this lesson earlier but in a different manner. 😔
Sorry for the loss OP.
Maybe not what you want to hear right now, but I’m really glad Steam cloud minimises the impact of a loss. When I had a Nintendo Switch I was terrified of losing hundreds of hours of Dead Cells or Enter the Gungeon progress. Losing a Deck is obviously a financial loss (and the emotional attachment of someone special giving you yours), but at least there isn’t insult to add to the injury the way Nintendo would do.
I am extremely grateful of Steam Cloud. I was playing Celeste and I saw that my progress is saved.
Also, I thankfully didnt use my personal IDs on the device. So the thieves couldn’t use it for any other purpose.
I’ve a suggestion that might work depending on how honest the perspn hiring the worker is and on their contract. You can tell the person to send some questionnaire or feedback form etc to all of them which will track their ip and name/email (say unique form per worker). Then you can match the ip, as home ips are mostly static for short duration. Tell them to send the form at night or sometime when they’ll be at home and give it a short deadline.
This is actually a terrific idea. Unfortunately there is a high probability that the workers will use their mobile data to access the form. But I’m thinking how it might be possible to set this up in a believable manner. These workers from the lower lower middle class section of society and they don’t understand forms. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hi there, I can see that the thief is currently using the device. Will it be possible to send a link via my friend saying “Yo bro, check this meme. This girl is crazzyyyy
<link>” which, once clicked, gets the GPS coordinate?For example, it’s possible via browser to get the location of a device. Can the same thing be done on Linux? I can create a simple nginx webserver on my spare server but unsure about how to proceed.
grabify link, hide it as a pic.
Afaik steam deck doesn’t have a gps module. You’ve to get any of their identifying information.
What you can do is perhaps sending memes with different cannery token redirects for each worker. Send them around when the device is being used. That way you can compare the grabbed ip with steam log and see which worker’s match. As the deck doesn’t have sim they either will use home wifi or mobile hotspot. Both will work this way.
Do you have renters insurance?
The deductible is probably more than the SD is worth.
Ya sadly it might be, but worth checking
When it comes to small expensive electronics, you can never be too careful.
I was still in school when the PSP came out, and I had one on launch. I was dumb and was taking it to school daily, but I was very careful not to leave it out of my sight. One day in science class, it was stolen from right under me as it was inside my backpack, which was under my chair the entire class.
At the time, I blamed the 2 trouble makers in front of me since at points I was facing the back of the class for a group activity. I found out years later it was the Mormon next to me I trusted, who I can only assume expertly unzipped my bag and slipped it out while nobody was paying attention. I never got that PSP back, and I ended up buying another one later, both with my own money… It was a brutal reality check that taught me a handful of lessons in life
My brother had a moment like that as a kid. He had a phone and put it in a locker when he went to gym (kids stuff, you know. Get them active, get them tired) and… the locker wasn’t locked. Plus having the pin enabled was annoying so he didn’t have that either. Yep. He learned that lesson…
In highschool I had a gameboy color in my backpack with pokemon tcg in it.
I went to the bathroom and came back. It was no longer in my backpack after that. Thanks sophomore year physics class.
Heads up, Google now has a FindMy network like Apple’s that’ll update much more frequently than a Tile due to the sheer number of users. The downside, as compared to a tile, is that it’ll notify the thief that a tracker is following them.
Can you give me a little more detail on this? How to enable it and does it work on devices without GPS?
It works like Tile and Apple’s FindMy network, mostly through Bluetooth I believe. Every single phone running android (and with the setting enabled) can ping the location of your trackable when nearby. It’s just like Tile, except with a network of every single Android device instead of just Tile users. If you’re unsure how Tile or Air tags work, then you might have bit more research to do that’s outside the scope of this comment.
I’m not sure what you mean by enable it, the first step would be to purchase a compatible trackable. Currently there are only two brands making them, unless others have started since I bought mine. Pebblebee seems to be the more popular ones, and that’s what I went with.
If you want to play around with the app, you can download it here, but there won’t be much to do in it until you have a trackable.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.adm
Thanks a lot! I wanted something like AirTag but for Android. I am convincing myself to wait for the Steam Deck OLED 2. I’ll buy the tracker and put it under a decal or something.
Yeah, it’s cool that Google has finally got their shit together with that. What’s fascinating is that Google and Apple worked together to provide cross device notifications if an Air tag is following an Android or a Google FindMy tracker is following an iPhone.
Google and Apple worked together to provide cross device notifications
One of the rare instances of collaboration where it actually matters.
Somehow this news flew under the radar for me
All the times I checked, there isn’t any hardware yet that would be worth it. Chipolo sounded promising, but the reviews really disagree. I wish Samsung adopted Google’s network. Their trackers are fantastic and offer features no other company does.
How do you mean not worth it? The pebblebees are working fine for me.
The reviews I had taken a look at as chipolo came out unfortunately made it clear that those trackers didn’t… Well, track very well. I haven’t researched pebblebees yet, thanks for the hint. One feature that I believe no Google find my device trackers have yet, though, is utilizing UWB for close-range tracking, like the Samsung ones do in their ecosystem. I’ll take a look at the trackers you mentioned, but I’d like to see some more development from other companies.
Ahh, yeah, I’d guess the ecosystem isn’t that large yet, as updates roll out to Android devices n such. I haven’t really tested mine in the real world yet. I’ve been meaning to.
One time I got a notification that someone was tracking me with a tracker. It was my own wallet that is registered to my account lol.
One week later and I’ve since looked into, ordered, and received a few pebblebee trackers. I’m very pleased with them so far. I might check how they track by leaving one at my partner’s place and checking if I can find it on the map.
I feel you, mine got lost/stolen about 6+ months ago, seemingly just inside my house, since I never take it anywhere. I’m not a hoarder, keep a relatively tidy house, though I have kids (so tidiness is only ever temporary). I turned over and looked through literally every room in the house, every cupboard, shelf, drawer, and piece of furniture was checked and re-checked and still, nothing. I only just got over it a few weeks ago and broke down and got another one, but this time got an AirTag for it. I’m just more annoyed at the not knowing part, hopefully it’ll just turn up in some stupidly ridiculous place that it hadn’t occurred for me to look, but I suspect I won’t see it again. I doubt it was stolen, since that’s seemingly the only thing gone. Potentially one of the kids broke it and, rather than tell me, they trashed it, but that doesn’t seem like them either or one of them would’ve broken ranks and confessed.
It drove me insane trying to find it before and it still bothers me, but at least I have a Steam Deck again.
Not to make light of your situation, but I cannot count the number of times I have put something in a “very secure location” then been unable to locate said item for months.
That’s what I thought too, I was like, “Maybe I hid it from myself and I hid it too good,” but I checked through all the usual hiding spots and unusual spots. Maybe it will show up again years from now in some stupid place like taped to the inside a toilet tank or something dumb, but I went through every room as methodically as possible and checked/re-checked anywhere I might’ve hidden it from myself. I’m so annoyed.
I put my Nintendo switch under a pop up panel with the spare tire in the trunk of my car and forgot about it. Searched through the whole house and most of the car a week later and assumed it was stolen. I found it when I needed jumper cables about a year later…
Yeah, that was another spot I went through too. Under the seats, took everything out one by one, emptied out the trunk and got down to the spare tire. Found out that mice were apparently living in or had lived in my car, but sadly no Steam Deck :(
How old are your kids? Is it possible one of their friends could have stolen it when they were inside your home? Speaking from experience, kids don’t always have the best judgment regarding who they hang out with.
Only one is old enough to have friends in that range that they might be stealing stuff without their own parents seeing them with a new handheld console. They don’t normally have friends over without me knowing though, and nobody was over around the time it disappeared. Anything seems possible and I can suspect anyone, but that one seems to have a lower possibility.
Well, hopefully that means it’s still around somewhere. Best of luck finding it.
One of the workers definitely stole it
Plot twist, it was the mother.
I’m pretty sure about it. I put the Deck in the bag, put the bag in the house and leave. After I come back, it’s gone. There was no one else other than the workers.
Did you contact Valve or have the person who bought it contact Valve to report it as stolen?
Yes, i contacted valve. They marked the device as stolen. The Valve employee said that it won’t be applicable for future warranty attempts. I’m not sure what else is possible.
I hope when the thief connects his account to the device, it get banned or something.
I have mixed feelings about this. Steam could make a lock that is more like the IMEI or android and iPhone lock that means it is far less valuable to steal and easier to track and lock. But by reporting it you remove THEIR obligation to provide warranty to someone that innocently buys a used steam deck that is still within its warranty period but that doesn’t hurt the person who stole it only another innocent party in the ordeal. Now if they gave you $25 off another steam deck or something I would see the point.
Not saying don’t do it. Just that it seems a little redundant now.
Buying stolen property isn’t innocent and can take the matter up with the person that sold it to them.
Buying stolen property unknowingly is innocent. A steam deck can end up on eBay or Facebook marketplace place or even in second hand stores like CEX etc without being tagged as stolen.
If you buy something and a few months later it dies from a recognised fault, it sucks for the person who bought it in good faith. They have no recourse and the only person gaining anything from it is Steam.
Not sure which country you live in, but renter’s insurance covered a stolen item for me when I was renting. Worth a check if you have a similar thing.
FYI, the cops will not do shit with the info you gave them. Probably never even wrote it down.
My deepest condolences… Can I offer you an egg in your trying times?
Thanks for the egg. It’s eggcelent.
Classic SuperTux would like to know your location.
stop! you’re scaring the americans with that unwashed egg!
Looks like the eggs I have in America
That’s because it’s not dirt but normal pigmentation of the shell.
There are pre-rinsed eggs in the US? I know our rice comes pre-washed, but I’ve never heard of pre-washed eggs.
All eggs sold in stores in the US are pre-washed. It’s why they need to be refrigerated, unlike most other places.
Huh, TIL. I’d always heard that you need to wash eggs before using them.
It’s really insane that paid help went digging through your shit and stole an expensive item. I do not think that is something people would or could expect.
I work a labor job and had three ladders stolen from me on a single project. As I was a contractor at the time it came out of my pocket. There was actually a fourth attempt when I found mine with painter’s tape over where I wrote my name.
That’s messed up. Has that been a common occurrence?
I’ve had a couple tools go missing at other sites but all the ladder theft was at one site.
You should expect it. A huge % of people are shitbags just waiting for their chance. I’ve found and returned 3 wallets in my life and every time when I mentioned it to someone else they were in total disbelief that I didn’t just steal the person’s money and calling me an idiot for it. These were people I would have thought were trustworthy otherwise.
A huge % of people are shitbags just waiting for their chance
The existence of civilization as we know it depends on this being false.
they were in total disbelief that I didn’t just steal the person’s money and calling me an idiot for it. These were people I would have thought were trustworthy otherwise.
Then you aren’t a good judge of character
Civilization exists because of strong people keeping week people in line. It has nothing to do with morality. It put Donald Trump in the white house FFS. Watch what people do when they think no one is paying attention and won’t face any consequences and they show their true colors.
I’m an excellent judge of character. I just had to learn to stop giving people the benefit of the doubt. No one has gotten anything past me in years and I’ve had countless moments of telling others “I told you so” when someone I warned them about fucks them over.
This is a stupid way to think. And you obviously aren’t a good judge of character. You admitted to thinking thieves were honest people
You really have been hurt by a lot of people obviously, but spreading miserable amounts of cynicism isn’t helping. I know people throw around “you should seek therapy” flippantly but I think it should be a serious consideration for you if you aren’t already doing so
The only country I’d trust paid help in is Japan. Anywhere else and it is very likely a considerable portion are either thieves or one unlocked door away from thievery. Doesn’t matter if it’s in my home or in their shop(like for a car).
That’s really sad. Many movers could’ve stolen from me over many moves, if they wanted, but I haven’t yet found a case of it happening. That sounds like a really stressful way to live, thinking that way
lots of maintenance workers at the destination house.
Did these people work for a specific company? Complaining to the company directly about stolen items or leaving negative review of the company might help.
Either way it really sucks though, I’m sorry you went through that.
While they belong to Urban Company, they were called as external agents for this particular job by my renter.
![[PSA] The terrible tragedy of a stolen Steam Deck](https://lemm.ee/pictrs/image/d0025178-349f-4b06-b0c0-d068fb24e279.jpeg){kind=link}