r/SteamOS • u/fefrank • 21h ago

question Bluetooth Controller Problems

So, I recently built a Steam Os machine since I didn’t get a chance at the Steam Machine. It works better than I thought with a few caveats.

The biggest issue I’m seeing right now is Bluetooth controller connectivity is terrible. I have the Nintendo switch pro controllers connected to it. When I have one, they keep getting disconnected at random times. When I have two connected they disconnect even more frequently. Can’t seem to get an Xbox controller to pair at all, and I have not tried a ps5 controller.

I have disabled haptic feedback and gyro on both controllers, also have change the names of the controllers. I’m at a wits end. Here are my hardware details:

CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X (6C/12T)
CPU Cooler
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Mini
Motherboard
ASRock B850M-X WiFi
GPU
ASRock Radeon RX 9060 XT Challenger 16GB
Memory
16GB (2×8GB) Patriot Viper Venom DDR5-6000 CL36 (EXPO Enabled)
Storage
1TB Timetec NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen3)
Power Supply
Montech Beta II 550W 80+ Bronze (ATX 3.1)
Case
Zalman T6 Mini (Micro-ATX)
Operating System
SteamOS (Beta Channel)

Any recommendations? The only thing that works consistently right now is the steam Controller with the puck.

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1

u/stevedore2024 17h ago

I have problems with the built-in Wifi/Bluetooth on my MSI B850M-VC mobo, they're probably the same parts. Not dropping connections, but not going through the pairing process and subsequent detections well.

Have you tried a separate Bluetooth adapter? They're cheap. Disable the built-in wifi and bluetooth, put the adapter in a USB2 (not USB3) port, or even at the end of an extension similar to the way the Puck does. I've heard USB3 may produce extra RF noise that can conflict but dunno how true that may be.

1

u/thaqman 17h ago

Just built my own SteamOS machine and I'm having the same problems as you with both a Steam Controller and Nintendo Pro Controller. My motherboard is B850M Gigabyte. Might be a driver issue, going to try a separate BT adapter or pick up a controller with an adapter.

I've seen scattered reports of bluetooth issues on the current version of SteamOS, so there's a chance this gets fixed in a future update.

1

u/TheSmashMatt 3h ago

I'd like to imagine that some issues in SteamOS are the same as in vanilla Arch. Gigabyte uses MediaTek for its wifi and Bluetooth radios which are very inconsistent in working correctly on Linux. I would suggest getting an adapter or PCIe card that uses Intel

1

u/thaqman 2h ago

Turns out the board I'm using has a Realtek module (Realtek® Wi-Fi 6E RTL8852CE).

From what I'm seeing online, the Steam Deck OLED is using an older revision (RTL8822CE). There's also a bug report for SteamOS claiming there's interference being caused by the wifi antenna on the Deck.

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/SteamOS/issues/2530

Going to test turning off the wifi and see if that helps, will report back.

1

u/Ecks30 7h ago

It could be the beta version of SteamOS that you're using could have issues with Bluetooth controllers which you could try the stable build and see how well they would work then.