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SteamOS 3.6.0 Preview: Remote-Controlled Now Available


The next major installment for Steam OS is now in the Preview Channel, which is available from your Steam Deck Settings Menu -> System -> Update Channel

Before you go switching channels though, Preview is the early testing phase and expect to hit a few issues before it moves into Beta and then full release.


We'll be taking a look on the channel very soon at the differences but for now, here's what was released:


General

  • Updated to a more recent Arch Linux base

  • Improved pairing experience with Apple AirPods

  • Improved session recovery speed after GPU crashes

  • Fixed some connectivity failures with access points supporting WPA3 security

  • Updated Linux kernel to version 6.5

  • Improved speed of subsequent OS updates

  • Improved reliability of certain microSD card usage scenarios

  • Fixed game session cursor offset alignment

  • Worked around misdetection of some SanDisk microSD cards

  • Fixed an issue where a thin grey line could appear at the bottom of the screen during boot in some situations

  • Fixed an issue causing temporary files to accrue when using Flatpak

  • Enabled support for Bluetooth A2DP and BAP profiles

  • Improved connection speed of some Bluetooth devices

  • Improved performance and stability in memory pressure situations

  • Fixed an issue where the Performance Overlay would spuriously enable itself under certain conditions

  • Added mechanism to configure which Bluetooth device categories are allowed to wake the system from suspend

  • By default, controllers are the only devices that can wake the system from sleep

  • Finer-grained UI configuration options will be available as part of a future update


Display

  • Improved display uniformity, under some conditions (Mura Compensation)

  • Improved display color balance (reduced green tint) at lower brightness levels, under some conditions

  • Improved gamma uniformity (yellow tint), under some conditions


Graphics and Performance

  • Updated graphics driver to Mesa 24.1, with many performance and correctness improvements

  • Improved responsiveness of the Steam UI


Desktop Mode

  • Updated to KDE Plasma 5.27.10

  • Enabled thumbnail previews for videos in the file browser

  • Fixed an issue with desktop use that could cause subsequent microSD card auto-mount to fail


Deck Dock

  • Added support for some HDMI CEC features:

  • TV remote input

  • TV wake up

  • TV input switching

  • Updated Dock firmware, with compatibility fixes for high-refresh-rate VRR displays


BIOS

  • Added overclocking controls on Steam Deck LCD

  • Fixed not being able to set the SDCard as default boot device

  • Adjusted power LED slow charging threshold

  • Fixed spurious power LED blinking in S5



Development and Modding

  • Modified files in /etc are now migrated to new OS versions based on a whitelist

  • Fixes numerous issues with incidentally touched /etc files becoming 'sticky' and persisting unexpectedly

  • Additional whitelist entries can be added via config fragments

  • See /etc/atomic-update.conf.d/example-additional-keep-list.conf

  • Added /etc/previous/ containing modifications from the previous update to prevent unexpected data loss

  • Up to five previous snaphots of /etc modifications will additionally be retained in /var/lib/steamos-atomupd/etc_backup/

  • Added support for {ssh,sshd}_config fragments


Known Issues

Frequent session switches can result in the sound driver crashing, needing a system reboot


You can follow the news directly on the Steam Store here

Links in this article may link to a partner site we are affiliated with, if a purchase is made through one of our links we may get a small commission, we do not get any commission from the Steam Store, we also utilize some AI tools such as Grammarly and Chat-GPT to aid article creation however all source content is our own.

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