Dbrand Pulled Killswitch From Sale Yesterday due to Delta Fan Issue

Last night, Dbrand sent out a tweet mentioning that their Steam Deck Killswitch case will NOT be sold to the public as planned, but offered no explanation about it. Today, they gave us the update, and it’s a pretty big one.

Per a Reddit post on the r/Dbrand subreddit, they proceeded to explain that they sent out a bunch of Killswitch kits to content creators and press. The Verge was one of those and reported that, when the magnetic kickstand was attached, the Delta fan would slow down, which actually forced the Deck to push it higher on the fan curve and unnecessarily increase its speed.

Dbrand has tested their magnetic kickstand with all of their Decks, which they noticed were Huaying fans and not Delta. Valve had been using Delta fans for their Decks, but recently switched to the less whiny Huaying ones. So most current Deck holders from Q1-Q3 will be affected by this issue.

To make up for it, Dbrand will be offering a full replacement for all those who purchased a Killswitch already (which inadvertently will include myself) with a new Killswitch that has a mechanical interlock system. They mention this will be expected to be available around January. Those who are getting a replacement will NOT be required to send the magnetic one back.

While this is a gigantic oversight, it is good that Dbrand is taking full accountability and offering full refunds, as well as no-strings-attached replacements. If you want a full refund, email [email protected]

The Killswitch is now open to the public at this time of writing, so you can order one if you want to. Just know it can take some time to arrive as now there has to be a complete retooling of production.

What do you guys think of this development? Could Dbrand have handled this better? Let us know what you think!