Valve fixes Steam Deck update that caused boot loops

Valve has issued a corrective update to the Steam client for its Steam Deck gaming handhelds, after an earlier version left some devices stuck in boot loops and broke performance settings. The initial update reached the Steam Deck’s stable channel despite warnings from beta testers about the problems.

The problems were caused by a Steam Deck client update released on April 1st, shortly after a general SteamOS update to version 3.6.24 the day before. The client update was intended to fix a variety of minor issues, improve download performance, and resolve some problems with DualSense controllers, but owners took to Reddit and GitHub to report new issues including boot loops and the disappearance of settings to control GPU clock speed and TDP. 

Valve’s patch update now notes that the client update was “rereleased” on the same day with a fix for those problems, with a separate update released to the console’s beta channel today with the same fixes. Beta users had reported issues with the TDP and GPU sliders since the March 19th beta update, raising questions about how the errors made it through to a stable release.