If you’re one of the lucky ones who got the new Steam Controller, you may want to be careful with the charging puck it comes with. One customer discovered the hard way just how quickly it could start a fire.
The customer in question shared a post on Reddit detailing how they were charging their Pixel Watch 3 next to the Steam Controller charging puck when the watch’s metallic band hit the puck’s exposed pins, and the metal “started sizzling due to a short circuit.” The user saw this immediately and disconnected the Puck, but there was some damage to the Puck and the band.
PSA: Watch out for the exposed contacts of the Puck! Almost started a fire due to metallic smartwatch strap
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u/Toikka in
SteamController
Valve is aware that this can happen and actually warns against this in the user manual. “Magnetic parts may attract metallic items. To reduce the potential risk of sparks and resulting property damage or possible injury, make sure that the wireless adapter, charging puck and Controller are free of metallic objects before connecting.”
However, as someone who makes a point of never reading through the manual, I don’t blame the Redditor for this incident. When a spark could be created this easily, maybe a warning should be shown during the startup process. Or just make it so there needs to be a handshake between the puck and the charger, so that there isn’t a power exchange.
In an update to the Reddit post, the user said the Steam Hardware team contacted them, offering to send a replacement puck and to investigate their damaged puck.
Source: Android Authority
