r/SteamController 17h ago

Support Can I turn off the annoying red and orange battery low rectagles that keep popping up?

Post image

They are very annoying and block the bottom right of the screen.

115 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

101

u/lumpycustard__ 17h ago

39

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 16h ago

Well I'll be! It's not under controller settings but under notification settings. 🤦‍♂️ How did I not think to look there?

11

u/Cute-Acanthaceae-193 9h ago

Because you used normal thinking skills, and missed a section and that’s fine.

You see a notification related to controller, you assume, it’s in controller, which is normal to think like that and they could have a reference there to take you to the notification setting related to it.

So not your fault, and honestly there could be a section there that directs you to the notifications since they are related to each other.

5

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 8h ago

My brain didn't really use the word notification because yeah sure but like when I think of the word notification I think of like someone texting you or you getting an achievement or something so.

You're right they should have the setting in both places.

88

u/ThisJoeLee 17h ago

Easy fix: charge your controller. 

28

u/daxtonanderson 16h ago

Glyph shows it's an OG steam controller which ran on AA batteries

But yes I agree, get 4x rechargable AAs and keep a 2 on the charger

8

u/figmentPez 15h ago

Does the OG Steam Controller correctly gauge battery life when using NiMh batteries these days? I remember Valve disabled the battery indicator for a long time specifically because it wasn't reliable on on the SC 2015 with anything but alkaline batteries.

7

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 12h ago

It doesn't correctly report battery for any battery I mean -15 is definitely not a correct battery percentage.

4

u/vWaffles Steam Controller (2015) 12h ago

Yeah it's definitely not accurate. I remember it reporting 15 on one device and like near max on another or on restart.

-24

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 17h ago

Not all controllers can charge and that's not a good solution considering it just randomly pops up whenever it feels like it.

8

u/daxtonanderson 16h ago

Get 4x rechargable AA batteries and thank me later, I burnt through SOOOO many batteries using my OG steam controller. 4 so you always have a set on the charger, when the controller gets low you just rotate them.

+1 amazon has USB-C recharable AA batteries now, I also use them in my headlamp camping so I can recharge during the day using a solar powerbank

The breaking point was when the rumble motors in my OG Steam Controller started heating up and burning through a set of batteries every 2-4 days. Stopped using disposables right then and there. Would eat through a pack of Costco Kirklands in under 2 months.

10

u/figmentPez 15h ago

It's likely OP already is using rechargeables, and that's the exact reason why they're getting erroneous low battery warnings all the time.

2

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 12h ago

Nope I use regular AA because the rechargables are usually dead by the time I want to play with them.

7

u/figmentPez 12h ago

When was the last time you tried rechargables? Low self-discharge NiMh batteries have been available for while, and they keep their charges for months. There are even models that can be shelf stable for years.

-2

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 13h ago

No you don't always have a set charged. The ones you charged looses power as it's just sitting around and by the time you grab them they are dead again.

The breaking point was when the rumble motors in my OG Steam Controller started heating up and burning through a set of batteries every 2-4 days.

No idea what you are talking about. That's never happening to me.

1

u/daxtonanderson 11h ago

Just leave the charger plugged in and they'll always be at 100% when you need them.

I got a similar set to what I pictured years ago, I got a 8 pack because my Logitech G602 also uses AAs, they charge via USBC or with this 4x charger via USB-A to Micro. Stays plugged into the top of my PC so there's always a set charged and ready.

2 in my mouse, 2 in my steam controller, 2 in my headlamp, 2 in the charger ready to go. Even if I get the low battery warning on my mouse and controller at the same time, they both last long enough for a swap and charge before the other runs out. Steam Controller (second one without the battery eating issues) gets 10hr after low battery and G602 gets multiple days.

This is nothing new, this charger was from my Xbox 360 controller batteries in the 2010s, stayed plugged into the front, and I also rotated Energizer rechargables in the 00s for my Gameboy Advance and Digital Camera before that, keeping a set on the charger is nothing new lol

2

u/figmentPez 14h ago

Sorry people on Reddit don't understand how AA batteries work and the history of the Steam Controller 2015's battery indicator. You're getting downvoted unfairly.

2

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 12h ago

History? This is the first I'm seeing of a battery indicator.

1

u/figmentPez 12h ago

There hasn't been one for nearly a decade. It was present when the SC 2015 was first released but wasn't around for long because it wasn't reliable.

2

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 12h ago

Sounds like it should have stayed gone then.

12

u/Watcherxp 16h ago

Charge your controller?

-13

u/Veno_0 16h ago

You just really needed to post even though you had nothing to contribute huh

6

u/Watcherxp 16h ago

Well, I did offer a suggestion, seems the controller needs recharging or a new set of batteries. Says it right there on the screen.

5

u/figmentPez 15h ago

Unless Valve has released a new firmware for the OG SC that I haven't heard about, the battery indicator on it is not reliable when using NiMh batteries, and will either randomly report low battery when the battery is fine, or never report it before the controller dies, because NiMh batteries have a different discharge curve than alkalines.

"Just put in new batteries" is not helpful advice if the battery warning is in error.

2

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 12h ago

I'm using Duracell and Energizer Alkaline batteries (unless I'm wrong but they are black and brown for Duracell and silver and black for Energizer).

-10

u/Veno_0 15h ago

How about next time you just dont? Especially when there is a setting to disable the notification, which someone already told OP how to do might I add? Especially when the controller OP is using DOES NOT CHARGE?

3

u/Watcherxp 15h ago

Just trying to help, I suspect the controller being out of battery could be useful to know for some folks.

(FYI, Reading and replying to most posts is optional)

Weird hang-up TBH

4

u/big_rod_of_power 13h ago

I wish I could handle life the way you handled that interaction

3

u/RunnerLuke357 SC '15 and '26 15h ago

Controller doesn't charge? Then replace the fucking batteries. Why is that so hard for you to understand? Generally speaking when your battery is low you want to remedy that.

1

u/GabePlays7 8h ago

you must be fun at parties

3

u/Brigapes 12h ago

change your batteries lmao

1

u/TIRedemptionIT 9h ago

Sure. Charge your controller.

6

u/Kzero01 8h ago

It's the one from 2015, it uses AA batteries and is often wrong about the battery level.

1

u/TIRedemptionIT 6h ago

Ah. My bad, that makes sense.

1

u/wRath-Burn 3h ago

I have aps4 controller connected to my computer and I always have that message up

1

u/Dekthor 2h ago

My OG Steam controller reports 0% most of the time. Still works, I use it till it dies and then replace the batteries as needed. Usually reports full a while then drops to 0.

1

u/jknvv13 12h ago

Steam client should follow good standard Linux (or Windows or macOS as well, they have a notification tray quite long ago) desktop practices like using the freedesktop notifications instead of their zero-integrated Windows 98 on a cyber-café feeling implementation.

3

u/danholli Steam Controller (2015 + 2026) 12h ago

Many systems default to automatically enabling Do Not Disturb when a game is detected and those notifications would be lost. Though outside of games I can definitely agree

1

u/jknvv13 11h ago

That's exactly what DND is for, but anyhow one thing is the game overlay (where I am totally fine with it as well) and other is using the whole desktop as the canvas for the notifications without any consistence and way of uniformly disable them if was treated as another notification.