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Drawk Jun 28, 2022 @ 10:43am

First time setup not finishing

First time installation after getting my Deck and it either gets stuck at 1 second remaining for a looong time, or just suddenly restarts itself when it's halfway done. I've tried hard resetting (holding the power button down for 12 seconds) more than 10 times with no better results. This things just an expensive paperweight at the moment; have to get in touch with Steam support now to try and figure this out, as I can't find anything spot on with my issues through researching around. Wish me luck as I wait a week for an answer

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Originally posted by Marlock:

it's probably due to a frequent issue with the Deck's WiFi

here is my list of common Steam Deck wifi workarounds... some might not apply, some may help get through the updates

1) enable developer mode, then go to the new "developer" tab in steam settings and disable wifi power savings

2) unhide your wifi ssid if hidden (hiding it is well know to not really be useful for privacy nor for security, by the way)

3) if 2,4GHz and 5GHz bands are joined in a single ssid, split them in the router configs and use only one of them

4) choose a fixed wifi channel instead of leaving it in auto (configure the same channel in both the router and the deck)

5) try a different router brand/model or a smartphone wifi hotspot... some people have issues only with certains devices but not with others

6) try an ethernet dongle instead of the deck's wifi

7) try a wifi dongle with well-known good linux support instead of using the built-in wifi chip

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Showing 1-15 of 17 comments

The author of this thread has indicated that this post answers the original topic.

Marlock Jun 28, 2022 @ 12:38pm

PotatoPatato Dec 17, 2022 @ 9:29pm

Originally posted by Marlock:
it's probably due to a frequent issue with the Deck's WiFi

here is my list of common Steam Deck wifi workarounds... some might not apply, some may help get through the updates

1) enable developer mode, then go to the new "developer" tab in steam settings and disable wifi power savings

2) unhide your wifi ssid if hidden (hiding it is well know to not really be useful for privacy nor for security, by the way)

3) if 2,4GHz and 5GHz bands are joined in a single ssid, split them in the router configs and use only one of them

4) choose a fixed wifi channel instead of leaving it in auto (configure the same channel in both the router and the deck)

5) try a different router brand/model or a smartphone wifi hotspot... some people have issues only with certains devices but not with others

6) try an ethernet dongle instead of the deck's wifi

7) try a wifi dongle with well-known good linux support instead of using the built-in wifi chip

Thank you very much, This post from 6 months ago has saved me. You are a good human.

AVES7A May 15, 2023 @ 1:41pm

Originally posted by Marlock:
1) enable developer mode, then go to the new "developer" tab in steam settings and disable wifi power savings

How do I enable developer mode if its stuck on the initial setup? I dont see such option anywhere.

Marlock May 17, 2023 @ 1:10pm

you don't... some workarounds on that list are unfortunately only possible later

but do keep it in mind for once the initial setup hurdle is solved with another (maybe more cumbersome) workaround (eg: using your smartphone as an usb-c Access Point to your home wifi)

Last edited by Marlock; May 17, 2023 @ 1:11pm

Zephyrus Sep 16, 2024 @ 1:32pm

I’m having the same issue. I need step by step instructions on how to get past this “installing”screen. I just got my deck and just opened it. It’s been “installing” for 4 hours. Just says 1 second remaining. Plz halp

Spiff1977 Dec 5, 2024 @ 5:18pm

Excited to get mine. Now I just want to send it back.

AVES7A Dec 6, 2024 @ 3:14am

Originally posted by Spiff1977:
Excited to get mine. Now I just want to send it back.

I hope you can also get your SD pass the initial state
so from what i have experienced, the download countdown timer was not showing me the correct information, it was always starting from 3:45 minutes timer and every time the download percentage bar progressed before reaching zero seconds, the timer was resetting to 3:45 minutes again.

but i noticed when the timer reached zero second without the bar progressing, the download was completely interrupted and was not progressing further no matter how long i waited for progression.

i found out my internet connection was not stable back then and i struggled finding a stable and fast connection which i was ended up using mobile data, it worked and passed the initial setup.

Last edited by AVES7A; Dec 6, 2024 @ 3:17am

BLU66 Dec 25, 2024 @ 9:23am

Originally posted by AVES7A:
Originally posted by Spiff1977:
Excited to get mine. Now I just want to send it back.

I hope you can also get your SD pass the initial state
so from what i have experienced, the download countdown timer was not showing me the correct information, it was always starting from 3:45 minutes timer and every time the download percentage bar progressed before reaching zero seconds, the timer was resetting to 3:45 minutes again.

but i noticed when the timer reached zero second without the bar progressing, the download was completely interrupted and was not progressing further no matter how long i waited for progression.

i found out my internet connection was not stable back then and i struggled finding a stable and fast connection which i was ended up using mobile data, it worked and passed the initial setup.

What do you mean mobile data? Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the steam deck has mobile data.

AVES7A Dec 25, 2024 @ 1:46pm

Originally posted by Guard dog main:
What do you mean mobile data? Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the steam deck has mobile data.

I used my mobile phone to hotspot the internet data through wifi

Spazy Dec 25, 2024 @ 3:27pm

How is this not solved yet? I've found posts that are many years old with this exact issue. I tried all the tips and nothing works. I've turned it off and on now 10 times and it always gets stuck on 1sec. Tried multiple networks, 2.4ghz and 5ghz, mobile network and nothing works.

#10

AVES7A Dec 26, 2024 @ 1:32am

Originally posted by Spazy:
How is this not solved yet? I've found posts that are many years old with this exact issue. I tried all the tips and nothing works. I've turned it off and on now 10 times and it always gets stuck on 1sec. Tried multiple networks, 2.4ghz and 5ghz, mobile network and nothing works.

This is really unfortunate and sad to hear!

I don't want to scare you but mine got to work after 1 week of constantly trying daily, I got annoyed and frustrated so much.

It was worst new device experience of my life, but I am happy with the device since then (1.5 year already passed)

#11

duncs Jan 3 @ 2:58pm

I had this issue with my new oled steam deck that I got in Jan 2025. I changed my network to 2.4ghz (turned off 5ghz in my router) and force-restarted (held power off for a while). When it restarted it was able to do the full first time install.

#12