Steam Deck - ArchWiki

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Warning: SteamOS is an Arch based distribution, it has several packages that differ from the official repositories. It is not supported by the Arch Linux support staff.

This article or section needs expansion.

Reason: Mention opensd-gitAUR. (Discuss in Talk:Steam Deck)

Hardware | PCI/USB ID | Working?
--- | --- | ---
microSD card reader | `1217:8621` | Yes
WiFi | `10ec:c822` | Yes
GPU | `1002:163f` | Yes
Audio | `1002:1640` | Yes
Bluetooth | `13d3:3553` | Yes
Gyroscope |  | Yes
Touchpads |  | Yes
Touchscreen |  | Yes
Steam Deck controls | `28de:1205` | Yes

The Steam Deck is a custom PC hardware from Valve that is focused on gaming. It can, however, also be used as a regular PC, and comes with a customized Plasma session. Also, it is completely unlocked, so one could install any OS they wish on it, including Arch Linux.

## Installation

A USB flash installation medium can be used through the microSD card slot or the USB-C port.

While booting up the deck, hold down `Volume Down` and press the `Power` buttons. Choose your Arch Linux installation medium.

## Firmware

As of October 2022, fwupd does not support any devices in the Steam Deck. Updates for the firmware are provided through SteamOS.

### Shortcuts

- Hold down `Volume Up` and press the `Power` button to access the UEFI settings,
- Hold down `Volume Down` and press the `Power` button to access the boot menu,
- Hold down `Volume Down+Power+⋯` (the button under the right touchpad) to reset the UEFI settings to their defaults (keep the two buttons other than `Power` held after the first blink of the LED: the LED will blink during the operation and stop once done, then release the buttons).

### Advanced settings

Warning:

- As opposed to regular UEFI settings available on consumer boards, there are no guardrails after following the instructions below: backup your firmware, it is possible to completely "brick" your device, which then requires an SPI chip programmer to fix.
- While undervolting will at worst "brick" your device, overclocking or overvolting should be done with the usual caveats in mind.

AMD's CBS (Custom BIOS Settings) and PBS (Platform BIOS Settings) are not accessible by default, but can be unlocked (running the resulting binary will be silent and finish with a return code of 119) to have access to undervolting and overclocking options. These options are then visible when booting into the Steam Deck firmware, but there are restrictions on the TDP settings that can be overcome using a different method of loading the UEFI form browser.

A fix is needed for AMD Van Gogh APU PowerPlay limits to scale properly after higher frequencies are set when overclocking the CPU and GPU of the APU in the BIOS after unlocking it.

## Fan controls

The Steam Deck's fan control can be enhanced by a daemon provided in Valve's jupiter repository, but are fully functional without it.

If you are using a mainline kernel, you need patches from Valve's kernel to expose the corresponding ACPI functionality, for example by installing the linux-steamosAUR kernel.

## See also

- Steam Deck Recovery Instructions
- Linux Hardware Database probe

Category:

- Ultra-mobile PC

Hidden category:

- Pages or sections flagged with Template:Expansion