Despite all the innovations in handheld PC tech, it's surprising that no one has come close to replicating the brilliance of SteamOS. Its simple pick-up-and-play approach is leagues above the ROG Ally's Xbox FSE mode or Armory Crate. However, one thing that does seem to irk Valve's software is download speeds. You can have some of the fastest speeds around, but it always seems like an obstacle is in your way. Well, the latest Steam Deck update is here to help with that.
Valve is rolling out SteamOS 3.8.11 for a myriad of portable gaming consoles, targeting non-Steam Deck platforms in this first push. While the update seems minor at a glance, the biggest takeaway is the following addition: "Fixed an issue where Wi-Fi would be limited to lower speeds on certain routers that advertise incorrect MCS requirements." This fixes a bug that limited Wi-Fi speeds on routers that incorrectly reported their Modulation Coding Scheme (MCS) requirements.
If you've ever wondered why your handheld PC downloads games more slowly than your Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, or Xbox, this could be why. MCS helps routers talk with Wi-Fi devices by identifying supported speeds, signal strength, and other capabilities. When a router reports incorrect MCS information, affected devices can fall back to slower connection speeds. Toward the end of June, many Steam Deck owners experienced bottlenecked or inconsistent speeds, suggesting a bug was present in the previous SteamOS build.
It's too early to tell just how large these improvements are, but it should mean that downloading your favorite FPS games or some of the best Steam Deck games won't be as much of a hassle. Like I said earlier, this initial SteamOS update targets non-Valve devices, but you can expect a Steam Deck-specific patch to arrive soon. In fact, there's already a beta of SteamOS 3.8.22 that you can install right now. As a beta build, it may be somewhat unstable, though.
It's still unclear if or when this update will reach Steam Machine devices. Until recently, the Steam Deck was the only Valve hardware running SteamOS. With the Steam Machine now in the mix, future SteamOS updates may roll out separately across both platforms. Despite surges in hardware prices, I'm still holding out for a Steam Deck 2, but recent leaks claim that could still be a while off.
If you see any improvements with this SteamOS update, let us know on the Pocket Tactics Discord server.