A $1,000-plus VR headset strapped to a sweaty forehead needs to survive more than one launch hype cycle. So the most useful thing to know about Valve’s Steam Frame might not be its resolution but what happens when something wears out. iFixit now has an answer, and it’s mostly good news.
In its teardown published September 23, iFixit found that the face and headrest foams are replaceable, and so is the nose bridge, which the teardown calls a step further than it has seen before. The strap and battery section detaches from the optics and compute module, so battery work happens without wrestling the whole headset on the bench.
The curved two-cell battery pack is rated at 20.9 Wh and is held in with plain adhesive, with no stretch-release tabs or easy-peel wraps. iFixit got it out with isopropyl alcohol and gentle prying. It also says it won’t be selling Steam Frame batteries when its parts store goes live, though it hopes that changes.
The lens and LCD stacks ride an IPD rail and are held on magnetically. Their cables are adhered to the back of the panel, so this isn’t a tool-free swap, but iFixit calls it among the most approachable optical-module replacements it has seen. Replacement displays aren’t coming right away either.
Inside, the board carries Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 under 16GB of SK hynix LPDDR5X, with 256GB of SK hynix flash on the teardown unit. There is also an external microSD slot good for up to 2TB. The fan is the sore spot. Getting to it means going past the optics and through the densest part of the assembly. That’s an odd choice given that the Index, which had no fan, ran hot enough that owners bolted third-party fans into its frunk.
The controllers run on AA batteries, a big improvement over the Index controllers’ buried rechargeable cells. Valve’s TMR magnetic thumbsticks should resist the wear that causes potentiometer drift, but CT scans show they’re soldered to the board.
iFixit has partnered with Valve since 2022 and will sell Steam Frame parts through its Valve Repair Hub. It says Valve had no input on or review of the teardown before publication, and the post doesn’t include a numerical repairability score.
We covered the headset when Valve’s Steam Frame went on sale at $1,059, and last weekend’s Weekender rounded up the early reviews, which couldn’t agree who it’s for. Repairability is one question the reviews mostly skipped.
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