There’s a brand-new update for Steam Deck owners to enjoy, and it comes with a much-needed fix for anyone with an OLED model. A previous bug could stop your device’s speakers from working, and this has now been resolved. On top of that, those wishing to install SteamOS onto their ROG Ally machine will be happy to know that a controls-related bug has been squashed.

Valve is always making improvements to the Steam Deck, or more specifically, SteamOS (the Linux-based operating system that the popular handheld runs on). We think it’s one of the best things about the Deck, as other PC gaming handhelds can be stuck waiting forever for new upgrades – Lenovo even admitted to causing some frustration with its slow Legion Go updates.

SteamOS 3.8.5 Beta patch notes in full

The full notes below include all changes from the Stable SteamOS 3.7 release onwards, while the ‘new in 3.8.5’ section covers the latest changes for those actively using the more bleeding-edge Beta channel. If you’re using the Steam Deck OLED and have been experiencing problems with the built-in speakers, then we recommend installing this update right now.

New in 3.8.5

• Fixed a bug on Steam Deck OLED where rebooting would occasionally cause a loss of speaker output until rebooted again
• Further improvements to video memory management on discrete GPU platforms
• Fixed a bug in Desktop Mode causing previously open applications to not be remembered when using the ‘Return to Gaming Mode’ shortcut to logout
• Fixed a regression from previous 3.8 builds causing controls to misbehave after resuming from suspend on the ASUS ROG Ally
• Even more stability and security updates

General

• Fixed a case where WiFi performance could become degraded until the device was put to sleep or manually reconnected
• Fixed excessive trackpad sensitivity on certain early Steam Deck LCD models
• Initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware
• Added support for waking from sleep via connected Steam Controller
• Updated Arch system base
• Updated graphics driver with performance and stability fixes
• Fixed a case where per-app performance settings would intermittently fail to apply when launching a game
• Substantially improved speed of future OS updates on high-speed connections
• Improved support for the screencasts in Game Mode (e.g. OBS/Discord)
• Fixed dropdown menus not appearing in some games
• Improved VRR frame pacing
• Fixed FSR badge remaining off in the performance overlay, even if it was actually active
• Improved support for games that attempt to open PDF files in external viewers
• Added missing graphics features needed for titles such as “Crimson Desert”
• Fixed an issue affecting certain titles (such as “SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide”) where the game window could have an incorrect position
• Fixed closing certain titles (such as “STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor™”) and Starfield resulting in a session crash
• Improved support for certain USB racing wheels and USB devices that boot in a non-standard mode
  • Frequently these are devices that appear as USB storage devices with a driver installer, and must be switched to their normal mode by the OS
• Steam Deck controller firmware updates now display update progress on the splash screen
• Fixes issue on specific Steam Deck revisions where firmware updates could render the left controller inoperative for that session
• Fixes for experimental nested desktop mode
• Numerous stability and security updates

Bluetooth

• Re-re-enable Bluetooth Wake for Steam Deck LCD
  • Fix for more spurious wake issues that were present in earlier attempts

Audio

• Detect HDMI channel count and expose surround configuration if available
• Add a setting to allow using Bluetooth headset mics (Bluetooth playback quality will be worse while capture is active)
• Restore internal audio device on reboot if set to “Off” in desktop mode
• Increase suspend timeout for HDMI devices so initial audio isn’t cut off after a few seconds of inactivity
• Fixed a bug with switching input devices when a wired headset is plugged in
• Fixed an issue where audio underruns could be experienced after sleep/resume

Accessibility

• Added an option to force mono audio output

Desktop Mode

• KDE Plasma updated to version 6.4.3 from 6.2.5, and now uses wayland by default
  • Fixes several cases of reduced performance in Desktop Mode compared to Game Mode
  • Improved support for rotated displays
  • Better scale factor out of the box on TVs
  • Adds support for external HDR displays
  • Adds support for VRR displays
  • Adds support per-display scale factor
  • For more information, see Plasma release announcements
    • https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.3.0/
    • https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.4.0/
• Keyboard layout and language are now obeying Game Mode settings
• Improved windowing behavior for games running in Proton

System Firmware

• Includes Steam Deck LCD BIOS v133
  • Security updates
  • Added “Memory Power Down” setup option
  • Preliminary support for hibernation
• Includes Steam Deck OLED BIOS v114
  • Security updates
  • Charging LED now changes color when charge limit is reached, rather than only at 100%

Non-Deck

• Improved compatibility with recent Intel and AMD platforms
• Greatly improved video memory management on discrete GPU platforms
• Fixed a compatibility issue with the SteamOS chainloader that could cause a boot failure on some desktop systems with recent UEFI firmware
• Power button short and long presses now supported across a wide variety of devices
• Improved controller support for OneXPlayer F1 series, GPD Win 5, GPD Win Mini, Anbernic Win600, OrangePi NEO, and Lenovo Legion Go
• Added controller support for OneXPlayer X1 series and Lenovo Legion Go 2
• Added system and controller firmware update support for the Lenovo Legion Go 2
• Added preliminary charge limiting support for Legion Go, Legion Go S, and Legion Go 2 – currently only accessible in Desktop Mode
• Added controller RGB LED color settings for the Lenovo Legion Go 2
• Added controller, TDP control, and speaker audio support for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally series
• Reduced handheld controller input latency from 5-8ms to 100-500us
• Night mode, color vibrance, and color temperature sliders in Steam now work on Z2E and later AMD APUs
• Seamless boot fixes for Z2E and later AMD APUs
• Automatically handle internally rotated display for some third-party handhelds
• Improved motion control support for handhelds with BMI260 IMUs
• SD card reliability improvements for some third-party handhelds, including ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Legion Go 1, Legion Go S, Legion Go 2, and MSI Claw
• Fixed washed out colors for Zotac and OneXPlayer handhelds with OLED
• Fixed some GPU hangs on Phoenix APU devices (Tales of Arise, Octopath Traveler II)
• Fixed ASUS ROG Ally power consumption from fingerprint reader while shut down
• Fixed trackpad losing functionality after sleep/resume on the Legion Go
• Fixed spurious wake-ups when using a Logitech Bolt receiver

Developer

• Desktop Mode now uses Wayland by default
  • X11 support may still be selected via Steam developer settings, or via `steamosctl`
• Updated Linux kernel to 6.16
• Steam now uses steamos-manager to query available desktop sessions and trigger desktop session switching
• Added support for setting the desktop password in developer settings
• Initial support for running as a Virtual Machine guest (virtio guest drivers)
• Added support for third-party devices to trigger the SteamOS boot menu via EFI variable
• Added `custom-update` verb to `atomupd-manager` for easier testing of specific builds
• System reports now include more audio debug information
• Initial support for LAVD CPU scheduler via `steamosctl set-cpu-scheduler lavd`

Source: Steam Community

You’ll need to be enrolled in the Beta channel if you want to benefit from the new 3.8.5 changes. To do so, navigate to system settings and find the ‘System Update Channel’ under the ‘Beta Participation’ heading. Then, you can simply select ‘Beta’ from the dropdown list. You may also opt for the Preview channel, though this is even more experimental and may be unstable.

The 3.8.5 changes should soon come to the default Stable channel (which most Steam Deck owners will be using), though it’s always worth switching to Beta if an important fix has been included in the patch. This one is less impactful for LCD models.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.