The new Steam Controller gamepad from Valve is popular, but its charging puck hides a potential hazard.
A Reddit user writing as Toikka stumbled onto the issue by accident: when a metal magnetic strap from their smartwatch contacted the dock, a short occurred and the strap began to sizzle from heat. The culprit? The dock's contact pads remain live even with the gamepad removed.
This pattern isn't limited to Valve. Journalists probed the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 charger w/ a multimeter and also measured a steady voltage on its contacts. The likely reason is simple cost trade-offs—keeping the contacts powered is cheaper than adding a presence sensor, which would raise BOM and testing complexity.
It gets worse for Steam Controller owners because the puck doubles as the wireless adapter for a PC—i.e., unplugging the cable cuts the wireless link, so you can’t just disconnect the dock when the controller isn’t charging.
Neither Valve nor 8BitDo currently warn about live contacts on their official sites. Users should keep metal or other conductive items (e.g., watch straps or metal bracelets) away from these charging bases to avoid burns, shorts, or hardware damage.