Valve has released a new Steam Deck beta update, and it comes with a feature that many players have been asking for – display-off downloads. The update is now available in the Beta/Preview channel, and it allows the Steam Deck to keep downloading or updating games even when the screen is turned off. The battery can drain pretty quickly when downloading, so this is a big help.

The new Display-off downloads mode lets your Steam Deck complete all active downloads in a low-power state while the display is off. Once all downloads finish, the device will automatically go to sleep. By default, this feature is enabled when your Steam Deck is plugged in. However, you can also choose to enable it on battery power by going to Settings > Power. This gives you more control over how they want to manage your downloads.

Steam Deck beta update comes with Display-Off Downloads

Valve explained how the feature works in their official blog post. When you're downloading something, pressing the power button will now bring up a small pop-up asking if you'd like to continue downloading with the screen off. If you select Continue, the Steam Deck will switch to low-power mode while keeping your downloads active. The console can also automatically enter this mode after being idle for a short time.

Display-Off Low Power Downloads

• Added a new feature, allowing Steam Deck to complete all active downloads in a new display-off low-power mode before going to sleep.
• This feature is enabled by default when Steam Deck is plugged in to power, and can also be enabled on battery power in Settings > Power.
• Learn more about this feature at our blog post here.

General

• Fixed SteamOS updates failing to respect HTTP proxy configuration.

Remote Play

• Fixed regression where the performance graph wouldn’t display while streaming.

Source: Steam

While in this mode, if you press a button or move the Steam Deck, you'll see a status screen showing your download progress. From there, you can either wake the system fully or let it keep downloading with the display off. If you're using this mode on battery, the Steam Deck will automatically switch to full sleep mode once the battery drops below 20% to prevent it from running out completely.

Apart from this new download feature, the latest beta update also brings a few other improvements. Valve has fixed an issue where SteamOS updates didn't properly respect HTTP proxy settings, ensuring smoother and more reliable system updates. Additionally, a Remote Play bug has been fixed, as the performance graph now shows correctly while streaming games.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.