How to exit a game on the Steam Deck

If you aren’t familiar with using the Steam Deck, then you may have a hard time trying to close a video game and get back to the Steam operating system.

To see how you can properly exit a game, you can take a look at this guide from Seeking Tech.

Method #1

The most efficient way to exit a game and return to the Steam system menus on the Steam Deck is by using the Steam Menu. In order to do so, you need to take the following steps:

1. Make sure that you are currently playing the game.

2. When playing a game, press the Steam button, which should open the Steam Menu.

3. From the Steam Menu, make sure that you navigate to the top most option, which should have the name of the videogame you are currently playing.

4. From the top most option of the Steam Menu, move to the right.

5. You should be able to select the Exit Game, Quit Game or another similar option in order to close the videogame and head back to the Steam OS.

Method #2

You can also use the Library menu in order to close a game on the Steam Deck by doing the following:

1. When playing a video game on the portable system, press the Steam button to open the Steam Menu.

2. Select Library on the left column of the Steam Menu.

3. In the Library section, select the game you are currently playing.

4. On the game’s page, select the X icon, which should be located directly to the right of the Resume option.

5. A notification should then pop-up, asking if you want to exit the video game. Select confirm to close the currently running game.

Method #3

Most games also have an option in the pause menu and/or title menu where you can exit out of the game and head back to the Steam system menus.

Method #4

Another way that you can close a game is by restarting your Steam Deck.

In order to do so, open the Steam Menu and then select Power. You then need to select the Restart option.

Method #5

You can also turn off your portable system and then turn it back on again in order to close a game.

To do so, go back to the Power menu from the Steam Menu. You should then select the Shutdown option. Afterwards, press the power button on the Steam Deck in order to turn it back on again.

How to customize rumble on the Steam Deck

The Steam Deck comes with haptics on the left and right grips. To see how you can customize the force feedback of this portable gaming system, you can take a look at this article from Seeking Tech.

How to enable rumble on the Steam Deck

There are multiple ways you can enable rumble when using the Steam Deck.

The quickest way to do so is to use the Quick Access menu by taking the following steps:

1. Press the button that has the three dots located on the bottom right side of the system.

2. In the Quick Access menu, scroll down to the gear cog icon.

3. From the Quick Settings section, scroll all the way down to get to Controller.

4. Make sure that the Game Rumble and Steam Haptics features are both turned on.

You can also use the Steam Menu to turn on vibrations by doing the following:

1. Open the Steam Menu by pressing the Steam button located on the bottom left side of the system.

2. After launching the Steam Menu, go to Settings.

3. From the Settings menu, select Controller on the left column.

4. On the right side of the same screen, select the Open option next to Calibration and Advanced Settings.

5. In the Calibration and Advanced Settings menu, select Haptics Settings on the left column.

6. On the right side of the same screen, make sure that both the Game Rumble and Steam Haptics settings are enabled.

Along with enabling rumble support on your Steam Deck, you should also make sure that rumble is also enabled for the game when you are playing it as well.

How adjust the vibration intensity on the Steam Deck

In order to adjust force feedback intensity of your portable system, you need to take the following steps:

1. Open up the Steam Menu and then head into Settings.

2. Inside of Settings, select Controller and then the Open option next to Calibration and Advanced Settings.

3. From the Calibration and Advanced Settings menu, select Haptics Settings on the left side.

4. On the right side, you will be able to adjust the Left Haptics Intensity and Right Haptics Intensity. Both can be adjusted anywhere between a value of 1 to 10.

With that said, Valve recommends that you keep the rumble intensity to 5 or below for the most optimal gaming experience.

How to disable force feedback on the Steam Deck

In order to disable force feedback when using the Steam Deck, you can press the three dots button to open the Quick Access menu. Afterwards, select the gear icon to go Quick Settings. From there, make sure that Game Rumble and Steam Haptics settings are disabled.

Alternatively, you can open the Steam menu and then head to Settings. In the Settings menu, go to Controller and then open the Calibration and Advanced Settings menu. From there, select Haptics Settings on the left side before disabling the Game Rumble and Steam Haptics settings.

How to view download speed and do a speed test on the Steam Deck

The Steam Deck uses a Wi-Fi connection for downloading games, updates as well as other digital content. To see how you can view the download speed, as well as perform a speed test, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

How to view the download speed when downloading from the Steam Store

In order to view the download speed while you are downloading a game (or other content) from the Steam Store, you need to take the following steps:

1. First off, turn on your Steam Deck portable console if you haven’t done so already.

2. You should make sure that the system is connected to the internet as well.

3. Furthermore, you should make sure that you are currently downloading a file.

4. When you are downloading a file on the Steam Deck, you need to open the Steam Menu.

You can do so by pressing the Steam button. Alternatively, you can tap the Steam Menu icon located on the bottom right corner of the screen if it is visible.

5. With the Steam Menu opened, select Downloads from the list of available options.

6. You should now be in the Downloads section. Here, you can see the download process of the content you are currently downloading. You will find the download speed at the top right side.

7. If you want to view the download speeds in bits per second, then you need to open the Steam Menu and then select Settings. Inside of Settings, you need to select Downloads on the left column and then make sure that the “Display download rates in bits per second” setting is enabled.

How to perform a speed test on Steam Deck

If you want to perform a speed test on the Steam Deck, you need to do the following:

1. For the most accurate results, make sure you aren’t downloading or streaming anything during the process. Otherwise, the download and upload speeds will appear to be slower.

2. Once you are ready, turn on your portable console and then make sure it is connected to the internet.

3. Next, you need to switch over to the Desktop Mode, which you can do by taking the following steps:

  • Open the Steam Menu.
  • Inside the Steam Menu, select the Power option.
  • From the Power Menu, select Switch to Desktop.

4. After the Steam Deck has been switched to Desktop Mode, you need to open a web browser.

If you are unfamiliar with using the Desktop Mode, then you need to use the right touch pad as a mouse. To bring up the virtual keyboard, you need to press the Steam and X buttons at the same time.

5. With the web browser opened, you need to go to a web site that can test your download and upload speed.

We used the tool from Google. To find it, search for the term “speed test” on the Google website. The first option you should see should be the speed test tool. Select the Run Speed Test option in order to test your download and upload speeds.

How to turn off notifications on the Steam Deck

When playing games or browsing through the system menus on your Steam Deck, you may get pop-up notifications for achievements, when friends go online, when you redirect cat message and more. These messages may also be accompanied by a sound effect.

If you want to disable notifications from popping up on the screen of this portable console, then you can check out this tutorial at Seeking Tech to find out how to do so.

1. Of course, make sure you turn on your Steam Deck if you haven’t done so already.

2. Once the Steam Deck has booted up, you need to go to the Steam Menu. To do so, you can touch the Steam Menu icon located on the bottom left corner of the screen if you are using the system menus.

Alternatively, you can bring up the same menu by simply pressing the Steam button. You can find this button in between the left track pad and the bottom left speaker on the portable system.

3. With the Steam Menu opened, you then need to select Settings.

4. After opening the Settings menu, select Notifications from the column located on the left. It should be in between the Internet and Display options.

5. On the right side of the same screen, you should now be in the Notifications section. This is where you can customize the pop up messages that appear on the Steam Deck screen.

6. Make sure that you enable the following settings in order to disable general pop-up messages:

  • Disable non-critical notifications
  • Hide non-critical notifications when in game

7. You can also choose to disable the sound effects that played when a friend notification pops up. By doing so, the text messages will still pop-up on the screen but they won’t be accompanied by a sound notification.

Furthermore, you can disable friend notifications altogether.

The following friend notification settings can be customized:

  • When a friend joins a game
  • When a friend comes online
  • When I receive a direct chat message
  • When I receive a chat room notification
  • Group events and announcements

By disabling the notification type, it should no longer pop-up on the screen of your portable gaming system.

How to customize trackpad haptics on the Steam Deck

The left trackpad and right trackpad of the Steam Deck features haptics to provide feedback for touch inputs. To see how you can disable, enable and/or customize this feature, you can take a look at this article from Seeking Tech.

How to enable and customize the Steam Deck trackpad haptics

In order to turn on, as well as customize, the trackpad haptics of the Steam Deck, you need to take the following steps:

1. If you haven’t done so already, make sure your turn on your Steam Deck console.

2. Next, you need to select a game.

Keep in mind that you aren’t able to turn on or customize the trackpad haptics on a system-wide level. Instead, you can only do so on a game-by-game basis.

3. On the game page, select the controller icon located on the right side.

If you are already playing a game that you want to add trackpad haptics to, then you can press the Steam button. From the Steam menu, move to the top option of the left column and then move to the right several times to get to the controller layout section. Here, you need to select Controller Settings.

4. In the Controller Settings menu, select Edit Layout.

5. After arriving at the new screen, select Trackpads on the left column.

6. On the right side of the same screen, you should be in the Trackpads section.

Here, you can select the gear icon next to Right Trackpad Behavior if you want to customize the vibrations for the right trackpad or the Left Trackpad Behavior if you want to customize the vibrations for the left trackpad.

If you don’t see the gear icon next to the Right Trackpad Behavior or Left Trackpad Behavior, then you need to assign an action to these settings first by selecting the drop-down menu. Afterwards, the gear icon show appear on the right side.

7. In the next section, scroll down and then select Haptics on the left column.

8. On the right side of the same section, select the drop-down menu next to Haptic Intensity.

9. In the drop-down menu, you can choose between the Low, Medium and High force feedback levels.

How to disable trackpad haptics on the Steam Deck

If you want to disable vibration effects for either, or both, trackpads of your portable system, then you can go back to the aforementioned drop-down menu for Haptic Intensity and then select the Off option.

Alternatively, you can press the button that has the three dots on your portable console. From the Quick Access menu, scroll down until you get to the gear icon. In the Quick Settings section, make sure that Steam Haptics is disabled. You may also want to disable Game Rumble as well.

After disabling haptics, you can test out the changes by playing the game on your Steam Deck.

How to use the right trackpad as a trackball on the Steam Deck

In addition to using the right trackpad of the Steam Deck as a mouse, you can also utilize this input as a trackball. To find out how to do so, you can follow this tutorial at Seeking Tech.

Before we begin, it is important to note that you can only simulate the right trackpad as a trackball as the same customization can’t be done with the left trackpad.

Furthermore, there is currently no way to utilize the right trackpad as a trackball on a system-wide basis. Instead, you need to customize this controller feature individually for each game.

1. To start off, make sure you turn on your Steam Deck.

2. With the portable system powered on, select a game in your library that you customize its controller layout where you can use the right trackpad as a trackball.

3. On the game’s page, select the controller icon.

If you are currently playing the game that you want to add trackball functionality to, then you can press the Steam button. In the Steam menu, make sure you are you are in the top most row, where the game’s name is displayed. From there, navigate to the right until you get to the controller’s layout section. Afterwards, select the Controller Settings option.

4. After getting to the Controller Settings for the game, you then need to select the Edit Layout option.

5. In the next screen, you can switch between two different action sets.

If you want to use the right trackpad as a trackball when playing the game, then you need to switch over to the In-Game Controls Action Set.

If you want to use the right trackpad as a trackball when using the in-game menus, then you need to switch over to the Menu Controls Action Set.

6. In the same screen, scroll down and then select Trackpads.

7. From the Trackpads section, you should see Right Trackpad Behavior. Select the drop-down menu and then set it to #Mouse.

8. Afterwards, select the gear icon located on the same row as the Right Trackpad Behavior.

9. After getting to the Right Trackpad as Mouse Settings section, scroll down and then select Trackpad on the left column.

10. On the right side of the same screen, make sure that the Trackball Mode setting has been turned on.

11. There are also other settings that you can customize when using the right trackpad as a trackball:

  • You can change the Trackball Friction to low, medium, high or none.
  • You can adjust the Vertical Friction Scale from a value of 0 to 200.
  • You can modify the Double Tap Duration from a value of 20 to 500.
  • You can choose to enable or disable the Double Tap Beep.
  • You can change the Edge Spin Speed from a value of 0 to 1000.
  • You can adjust the Edge Spin Radius from a value of 0 to 32767.

12. Once you are done enabling and customize Trackball Mode, you can test out the changes by playing the game and using the right trackpad on your Steam Deck.

How to mute the menu sound effects on the Steam Deck

When browsing through the system menus of your Steam Deck, you will hear a sound effect any time you move or perform an action. If you want to disable these noises, then you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

How to turn off menu sound effects on the Steam Deck

In order to turn off the sound effects that are played when you are using the system menus of your portable system, you need to take the following steps:

1. To start off, open the Steam menu, which you can do by pressing the Steam button.

2. With the Steam menu opened, scroll down and then select Settings.

3. Once you get to the Settings menu, scroll down on the left column and then select Audio.

4. In the Audio section, make sure that the switch next to the “Enable UI sounds” setting is set to off.

5. If you can still hear audio when using the system menus after disabling the “Enable UI sounds” setting, then you can try putting your Steam Deck to Sleep Mode and then turning it back on again.

To put your console into sleep mode, you can simply press the power button. Alternatively, you can press the Steam button to bring up the Steam Menu, select Power and then select Sleep.

If putting your system to sleep and then waking it does not work, then you can try restarting the Steam Deck. If a restart does not work, then you can try turning it off completely and then turn it back on again.

Can turn off the startup sound of the Steam Deck?

When turning on your Steam Deck, or waking it up from Sleep Mode, you will hear audible noises coming from the portable system. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to mute these startup sounds.

To avoid hearing these noises, you can try putting on earphones or headphones. To prevent others from hearing the startup noises, you can try temporary covering the system in order to reduce its noise level. Alternatively, you can also try moving to a different location to avoid bothering others when booting up the portable system.

Hopefully, Valve will be able to add an option to disable the startup sound in a future firmware update. To manually update the firmware of your Steam Deck, open the Steam menu and then select Settings. Inside of Settings, select System on the left side and then Check for Updates on the right side. If there is a new file to download, then you can start the update process.

How to adjust the trackpad click sensitivity on the Steam Deck

The left and right trackpads can be pressed down, allowing you to simulate a mouse click or perform other actions. To see how you can adjust the click sensitivity of these touch pads, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

1. Before you start, it is important to note that there is no system-wide way to change the click sensitivity of the left trackpad and right trackpad. Instead, you need to adjust this parameter on a game-by-game basis.

2. To begin, turn on your portable system if you haven’t done so already.

3. Next, you need to select a game that you want to change the trackpad click sensitivity setting for.

4. On the Steam page for the game, select the controller icon on the right side of the screen.

5. After getting to the Controller Settings screen, select Edit Layouts.

6. In the next screen, you first need to select Trackpads on the left column.

7. On the right side of the same screen, you should see the Trackpads menu.

If you want to change the click sensitivity of the right trackpad, then you need to select the gear icon located on the R Click row.

If you want to change the click sensitivity of the left trackpad, then you need to select the gear icon located on the L Click row.

8. In the pop-up window, select Settings.

9. Depending on the trackpad press type, you can adjust the click sensitivity in the next screen.

  • If you are using Double Press, then you can adjust the Double Tap Time setting.
  • If you are using Long Press, then you can adjust the Long Press Time setting.
  • If you are using Soft Press, then you can adjust the Soft Press Threshold setting.
  • If you are using Analog, then you can adjust the Analog Range Start and Analog Range End settings.

The Regular Press, Start Press, Release Press and Button Chord types don’t have click sensitivity settings.

In order to change press type, select the gear icon on the R Click for the right trackpad or L Click for the left trackpad. In the pop-up screen, you then need to select the top row option and then select the press type that you want to switch over to.

10. After changing the click sensitivity level, you can then test it out by playing the game on your Steam Deck.

If the same game comes with a setting where you can adjust the click sensitivity of your trackpad, then you can try using that as well to fine tune the clicks.

How to adjust the right touch pad sensitivity on the Steam Deck

You can use the right touch pad of the Steam Deck as mouse movement as well as control other aspects of a game. You can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech to see how you can adjust the sensitivity of this trackpad.

1. Before we begin, it should be noted that you can only change the touch pad sensitivity on a game-by-game basis as there is no system-wide setting.

It is also important to note that you can only change the sensitivity of the right trackpad as the left trackpad’s touch sensitivity level currently can’t be adjusted.

2. To start off, you need to go to the Controller Settings for a game.

In order to do so, you can open the game’s Steam page and then select the controller icon.

If you are currently playing a game, then you can press the Steam icon to open the Steam menu. Inside the Steam menu, move right to switch screens until you get to the In-Game Controls/Menu Controls section. From there, select Controller Settings.

3. Once you get to the Controller Settings menu, make sure you are in the correct tab.

If you want to adjust the touch pad sensitivity during gameplay, then you should be in the In-Game Controls section. If you want to adjust the touch pad sensitivity when using the in-game menus, then you should switch over to Menu controls.

In order to switch between different sections, you can press the L1 and R1 buttons while you are in the Controller Settings menu.

4. Once you verified that you are in the correct section, you then need to scroll down until you see the Right Trackpad Sensitivity.

If you don’t see this option, then you make sure you bind the Right Trackpad Behavior to a specific action.

If you can’t find the Right Trackpad Behavior setting in the Controller Settings menu, then you can select the Edit Layout option located near the top. You then need to select Trackpads in the next screen. The Right Trackpad Behavior setting should be located here.

5. Next, select the Right Trackpad Sensitivity option from the Controller Settings menu and then adjust the sensitivity level by using the slider.

6. If you want more options when it comes to adjust the sensitive levels of the right touch pad, then you can select the gear icon right next to the Right Trackpad Behavior option in the Controller Settings menu.

In the next menu, you are able to adjust the general sensitivity, vertical sensitivity scale, acceleration, movement threshold as well as make other changes to how the right trackpad will function.

7. After adjusting the sensitivity levels, you can test it out in the game.

Keep in mind that some games may also let you adjust the sensitivity levels of the right touch pad as well. So, you might want to use the in-game setting as well in order to find tune the right trackpad sensitivity.

How to enable 40 Hz mode on the Steam Deck

Thanks to a recent firmware update, you can play games using the 40 Hz mode on the Steam Deck. To find out how you can turn this feature on, you can take a look at this tutorial at Seeking Tech.

Why should you use Steam Deck 40 Hz mode?

The 40 Hz mode will let you play games at up to 40 frames per second. 40 fps should look a lot smoother, as well as feature lower input lag, when compared to 30 fps.

While 60 fps is smoother and more responsive than 40 fps, the differences aren’t as noticeable as when going from 30 fps to 40 fps.

By limiting the screen to a refresh rate of 40 Hz instead of 60 Hz, you can also put more hardware resources towards visual fidelity. Alternatively, you can leave the graphical settings as is so that you can save some battery life.

How to change the screen refresh rate to 40 Hz on the Steam Deck

1. Before we begin, make sure you update the Steam Deck to the latest available firmware as you may have an older software version that does not support the 40 Hz refresh rate mode.

In order to manually update, you can try taking the following steps:

  • With the Steam Deck turned on and connected to the internet, open the Steam menu by pressing the Steam button.
  • Next, you need to select Settings from the Steam menu.
  • After getting to Settings, select System on the left column and the Check for Updates on the right side.
  • If there is a new firmware available, download and install it.
  • The new update should be applied when the portable system restarts.

2. Once you have your Steam Deck updated, open the Quick Access menu by pressing the button that has the three dots icon on the portable system.

3. In the Quick Access menu, scroll down until you reach the battery icon.

4. You should now be in the Performance menu.

Here, you need to scroll down to the Refresh Rate slider. You may need to click the Advanced View option to expand the Performance menu in order to find this slider.

5. Select the Refresh Rate slider and then move it all the way to the left in order to set the Refresh Rate to 40 Hz.

6. In the same Performance menu, make sure that the Framerate Limit is also set to 40 frames per second.

7. In order to see whether or not a game is running in 40 Hz mode, you need to do the following:

  • In the Quick Access menu, you first need to go back to the Performance menu.
  • From the Performance menu, you then need to select the Performance Overlay Level slider at the top of the screen.
  • You should then set the Performance Overlay Level to 1.
  • On the top left side of the screen, you should see the frames per second counter.