Valve just recently launched a big stable update to the Steam Client for both Steam Deck and Desktop PCs, which has come with one big issue for Steam Deck.
Sadly, it seems Remote Play on Steam Deck is now broken. Trying to play a game from a Linux or Windows host just results in a spinning Steam logo screen on the Steam Deck. Weirdly, in my testing, the Steam Deck did get audio but no visual or input — the only choice is to press B to exit the stream.
The thing is, this has been a reported bug since at least February 3rd, when it was noticed from people on the Preview / Beta update channels with multiple confirmed reports.
Hopefully Valve will solve it. Although, other reports have noted that it does work again in the current Release Candidate update available via Developer Options (for the next upcoming major update), which is not meant for any normal users so I wouldn't recommend changing it as enabling the advanced update channels could cause future problems.
Pictured - Steam Big Picture Mode
A shame to see such a useful feature broken in this way. Hopefully Valve will ensure this feature is fully tested when rolling out future updates to the Steam Deck. Remote Play has always bin a bit iffy in my testing, something with it always seems to be broken but this is the first time I've seen it entirely broken like this.
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13 comments
LordDaveTheKind Feb 28
I rarely used it. Can it work as well as Sunshine does (i.e. with hardware encoding too)?
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Oh no, I just used it (remote play together) two days ago in order to use a second Steam Deck as a controller (while the first one was connected to a projector, and used by another person).
The lag on the screen was a bit much (for a platformer, ultimate chicken horse in this case), but it worked decently when looking at the big screen.
The lag on the screen was a bit much (for a platformer, ultimate chicken horse in this case), but it worked decently when looking at the big screen.
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A workaround that works for now is using the steam link application from the discovery store, just add it to steam and you can play almost as normal except controller configuration may need to be reconfigured if you swap games and so on, so it's a bit tedious to use it.
3 Likes, Who?
A brief test shows it's broken on bazzite too now :-/
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hardpenguin Feb 28
In case Valve doesn't provide a fix in a timely manner, it may be necessary to downgrade the client (I don't own a Steam Deck to test):This is some dark magic, downloading Steam client from the Internet Archive :p
- Enter desktop mode (Deck users)
- Exit Steam
- Launch Steam and downgrade using archived 1705108172 version:
steam -forcesteamupdate -forcepackagedownload -overridepackageurl http://web.archive.org/web/20240113112425if_/media.steampowered.com/client -exitsteam
- If the client successfully downgrades and launches, inside `~/.steam/steam`, create a new `steam.cfg` file with contents:
BootStrapperInhibitAll=enable
Source
0 Likes
I rarely used it. Can it work as well as Sunshine does (i.e. with hardware encoding too)?
I've never been able to get Sunshine to work, so at least on my setup, it worked 100% better.
Last edited by melkemind on 28 February 2024 at 8:34 pm UTC
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I rarely used it. Can it work as well as Sunshine does (i.e. with hardware encoding too)?
For a period it was really great.
For some time after the Deck was released, streaming was broken. As you played, audio would get distorted and then die completely.
Then the fix for that got released, and streaming was really good. Play with the performance of your desktop with the convenience of the Deck.
Then the OLED got released, and the update after that (which brought colour management in) made streaming super dark, so it was broken again.
And then this update has made it so streaming doesn't even really start.
1 Likes, Who?
Ironically, this week was the week I actually have time to stream from my desktop to my steam link in the living room. I'm assuming, since it was a client update, it's probably broken across the board.
I like the work they do, but Valve's overall support for their stuff, particularly remote play, isn't very good. It took them years to fix the audio corruption bug they introduced.
I will admit, my very few attempts to stream from PC to Deck were mostly a let down. One would think, since the whole thing is in Steam's walled garden, the serving computer would pass some info to the game about the client computer. It makes no sense to send a desktop experience (complete with glyphs, resolution and interface) to a deck client.
I hope they do fix it, though! I personally think streaming is the future for the deck as it ages. It would add a lot of longevity to the platform with newer and more demanding games!
Last edited by denyasis on 28 February 2024 at 9:23 pm UTC
I like the work they do, but Valve's overall support for their stuff, particularly remote play, isn't very good. It took them years to fix the audio corruption bug they introduced.
I will admit, my very few attempts to stream from PC to Deck were mostly a let down. One would think, since the whole thing is in Steam's walled garden, the serving computer would pass some info to the game about the client computer. It makes no sense to send a desktop experience (complete with glyphs, resolution and interface) to a deck client.
I hope they do fix it, though! I personally think streaming is the future for the deck as it ages. It would add a lot of longevity to the platform with newer and more demanding games!
Last edited by denyasis on 28 February 2024 at 9:23 pm UTC
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It makes no sense to send a desktop experience (complete with glyphs, resolution and interface) to a deck client.
Those are all entirely down to the game. If the game uses Steam Input, though, it does get appropriate controller glyphs automagically.
It does seem like In-Home Streaming is a really low priority for Valve, which is surprising when they've released their high-profile hardware where it's such a good fit. But then, you'd think that letting people give Valve money would also be high on the "do not break this" list, and yet the Deck launched without being able to buy things from the Store, and browsing one's wishlist to pick things to buy is still really janky.
1 Likes, Who?
Those are all entirely down to the game. If the game uses Steam Input, though, it does get appropriate controller glyphs automagically
Nice! I was unaware it did that through In Home Streaming! The last game I tried it with (Rimworld) did not work like that at all, despite very clearly being Deck Verified and having some way to tell it's running on a Deck and adjust accordingly. It's wasn't just the glyphs. The resolution was off, as was the interface scaling. It just seemed very half baked to me. Hence why I prefer to stream to my Link as opposed to the Deck.
0 Likes
I rarely used it. Can it work as well as Sunshine does (i.e. with hardware encoding too)?
Sure it's has hardware decoding but the performance is garbage compared to sunshine. I tried to use it quite a bit but it just doesn't work well even with to s of tweaking.
Lag is worse, jitters and blocky pixelation. No issues at all with sunshine/ moonlight on the same devices.
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LordDaveTheKind Mar 4
Lag is worse, jitters and blocky pixelation. No issues at all with sunshine/ moonlight on the same devices.Thank you for sharing. This was exactly my same experience. That's why I switched to Sunshine/Moonlight.
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