Valve recently released a new Steam Deck client update on January 28th, bringing several useful improvements and fixes. One of the key changes is that in-game notifications for friends will no longer reappear when reconnecting to Steam. This is a big win for those who were previously overwhelmed with 20-30 notifications of friends in games after waking up their Steam Deck.

Additionally, errors were fixed for accessing notes and receiving voice chat invites. The default startup animation when docked has been corrected, and the Backup Game Files dialog now completes correctly. There were a few other improvements, which you can check out in the full patch notes below:

General

• When reconnecting to Steam (including when resuming from suspend), in game notifications will no longer appear for friends currently in a game.
• Fixed an error when accessing notes.
• Fixed an error when receiving a voice chat invite.
• Fixed default startup animation when docked.

Desktop Mode

• Fixed the refresh button on the server browser dialog needing to be scrolled into view.
• Fixed the Backup Game Files dialog sometimes failing to complete.

Steam Input

• Fixed L3/R3 buttons not working on fightsticks or other devices that don’t have left/right stick analog axes.

Steam Deck Client Update: January 28th

Not everything has been fixed with this update, as some users are still mentioning a VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) issue in which VRR works “for a few seconds or minutes” before the screen starts flashing black. One user has noted that this might be why they've been experiencing ghosting in many games while using a 144Hz FreeSync display. We should clarify that the built-in Steam Deck screen doesn’t support VRR, but an external VRR-compatible display can be set up with the handheld when docked.

As of now, there's no official word on a fix for this, nor confirmation if everyone is affected. That said, you can download the new Steam Deck client update in the System Settings on your Steam Deck, which requires approximately 57 MB of free storage space. Make sure your update channel is set to Beta or Preview.

About the Author

Hassam Nasir

Hassam boasts over seven years of professional experience as a dedicated PC hardware reviewer and writer.