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First-day blocker

ReStory first phone stuck: cleaning and parts box checks

ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs

A patch-aware first-day checklist for ReStory players when the first phone makes cleaning sounds but stays dirty, or when the first box/item seems missing after pickup.

Steam PC and Mac players Last checked: 2026-09-06 Safe checklist

Quick answer

Check the game build before using an old workaround. Do not delete your save or reinstall first: put the dirty part onto the cleaning interaction, check the cup/tool area and the nearby box location to your right, then restart once only if the first-day object never appears.

Steam player threads still document the exact first-day cleaning and box confusion symptoms. The August 2026 update notes fixes for some cleaning and parts issues, so check the game build first and treat the old workaround as conditional. Competitor traffic is not connected, so this page is a small test, not a traffic claim.

Checklist

  1. Confirm you are working on the first dirty item and not a loose part from another device.
  2. Drag or place the dirty item onto the cleaning tool or cup interaction before brushing, rather than only moving the mouse over the bench.
  3. If cleaning makes sound but the dirt does not change, lift and place the part again, then try the brush interaction from the highlighted cleaning spot.
  4. After picking up an early item, check the right side of the bench and nearby shelf for a box or object before assuming it disappeared.
  5. If a joystick, box, or first-day object never appears, quit to the menu and restart the game once, then check the same shelf area again.
  6. If the same save still cannot progress after one clean restart, stop and watch the current Steam bug thread or developer update instead of deleting saves.
  7. For spare parts confusion, keep the active repair parts separate from owned salvage parts until the job state is clear.

Do not do this

  • Do not delete saves, reinstall the game, or wipe local files before checking the cleaning interaction and nearby box placement.
  • Do not use trainers, cheat tables, save editors, or downloaded save files to fix a first-day tutorial problem.
  • Do not follow generic real-world electronics repair advice; ReStory uses puzzle rules, not real teardown instructions.

Follow-up pages to watch

  • Parts box and salvage checklist
  • Device still dirty or missing a part
  • Safe restart versus bug report decision tree

Sources