FCC Listing Hints A Steam Deck Refresh Is Inbound But With Possible Security Concerns

In early September, Valve received a radio certification in South Korea for an unknown model product listed as “1030.” At that time, it was unclear what exactly that product would be, though it was known that it would be a low-power wireless device of some sort. However, with a recent FCC listing, it is becoming clearer that Valve is working on a revised Steam Deck model, but it might just raise some security concerns.

On X, Brad “SadlyIsBradley” Lynch, an XR influencer, posted that the previously mentioned mysterious model 1030 Valve product would be a revised Steam Deck model “with AT LEAST a new Wi-Fi card capable of the 6E (6Ghz) spectrum.” This came thanks to a tip toward the FCC listings, which state as much, mentioning a “Valve Steam Deck (Model: 1030).” However, the FCC listing does not appear to show that the wireless module will operate in the 6GHz band, though we may be missing something.


In any event, this discovery casts doubt on the upcoming “Deckard” HMD, which is interesting as Valve seemed to be in no rush to push out a new Steam Deck as of late September. A direct reference to a Steam Deck in the documents puts a pin in that, though, so it seems that Valve is working as Valve does in rather mysterious ways. Either way, as a fun speculation, it was roughly two months from FCC filings becoming available to when Valve intended to ship the Steam Deck originally, so hopefully, we will be hearing something soon.


Another interesting sidebar we realized is that Valve is seemingly working with Quectel to provide the wireless module for this new Steam Deck. Curiously, this company has been reported to work directly with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), especially in the cellular IoT space, which we covered toward the end of August. If the government does crack down on Quectel, among other CCP-linked companies, as it has been doing or had pressure to do, this could prove to be a problem for Valve in the long run.

At the end of the day, we will have to wait and see what kinds of announcements Valve makes, as something must be coming soon. Further, it will be interesting to see if or how Valve deals with Quectel should sanctions or other governmental interference arise. All of this will become clear in time, so stay tuned to HotHardware for the latest on Valve’s upcoming products.