Steam Controller Puck shorted when metal watch band touched exposed contacts
Valve’s new Steam Controller ships with the Steam Controller Puck, a 2.4 GHz wireless receiver that also works as a magnetic charging dock. The accessory is now getting attention for a different reason after a user reported a short circuit caused by a metallic smartwatch band.
According to a Reddit post, the user was charging a Pixel Watch 4 near the Steam Controller Puck when the watch band touched the exposed contacts. The user said the band started “sizzling” after it bridged the contacts on the puck.
The user separated the devices before a fire started. The reported damage was visual and affected the puck and the watch band. The user also said they do not blame Valve and called the incident their own fault. Still, this is not something that should happen this easily, I know many people who wear metal bands, and this seems like an issue that should be that serious.
Steam investigating
Valve already warns about this in the Steam Controller product guide. The manual says the wireless adapter, charging puck, and controller contain magnets. It also warns that metallic items can be attracted to them and may create sparks, property damage, or injury if objects are present before connecting.
The Steam Hardware team has been in touch and is investigating. I’ll send them the items soon so they can reproduce the issue. They’ll send me a replacement Puck.
The warning is easy to miss because it sits inside the safety documentation (and who reads them?). In daily use, the puck may sit on a desk near watches, phones, keys, MagSafe accessories, or other metal objects. This is where the exposed contacts can become a problem if metal bridges them while the puck is powered.
Source:
PSA: Watch out for the exposed contacts of the Puck! Almost started a fire due to metallic smartwatch strap
by u/Toikka in SteamController
