Steam Deck + Remote Play Streaming + Dock + External Launcher == fail to launch

[church1138]

Hey Deck forums,

See the post.

I've seen some very specific behavior when using Steam Deck for Remote Play.

For context - I use my Deck a lot for remote streaming quite a bit. For native Steam games, it seems like it works flawlessly. But for non-Steam games or Steam games that launch with an external launcher (EA games on Steam as an example), I'm noticing very specific behavior while the Deck is attached to a dock that will not launch the game correctly.

For the record, I have a wired network for both Deck (in docked mode) and my PC is also docked. Latency-wise everything is flawless, etc. While in game everything is fine, etc

Here is the behavior -

I have Diablo 4 (as an example, but Jedi Survivor's Steam version also has the same issue as it launches the EA App) that I've added to my host PC as a non-Steam game.

On the Deck, I'll hit "Stream", and it will talk to the host, and the host will launch the game, which first hits the launcher.

From the Deck's standpoint, after hitting Stream, we'll see it try to connect, screen will go black, and then we'll fall back to the game launch page with "Stream" still there. Sometimes it will say Connect, but mostly it will just say Stream, as if the Deck did not hook into the host PC correctly.

For non-Steam games like D4, it'll do this in perpetuity.

For games like Jedi Survivor, where the launcher kind of has its automatic behavior, you can try to keep connecting maybe 3 times or so, and it will continue to fail while the launcher is trying to start the game, but on the 4th attempt, it seems like it will hook in properly and start to display the game (usually in the middle of the logo splash pages).


Note, this *does not* happen when we are using a direct USB-C to HDMI connection to an external display, nor does it happen on the Deck itself with no external connectivity - in those scenarios, the config works well. With the USB-C to HDMi method, I do see that the resolution on the external display of the launcher is pretty janky, but it's workable to at least get the games launched.

I've tested with multiple Docks and multiple HDMI cables, and it seems that this behavior *only* happens when the Deck is trying to remote stream, while attached to a Dock, while doing a game that requires a launcher.

[Challak]

I'm getting this too! Came here for a solution. Hopefully someone has found a fix, or Valve has one in the works.

I can Stream from my PC fine when I am NOT docked.

But the moment I Dock and try it, I push the "Stream" option, it LOOKS like it's loading and if I go to my PC it's starting up the game.

But then I get kicked back to the Game page on the Docked Deck with the "Connect" option. It never actually Streams to Docked Deck.

[Ricanwarfare]

Same here

[church1138]

Guys I fixed it. Found it on a reddit thread.

Here's the problem - your Deck defaults to wireless, right? When you're not docked, it will use wireless.

When your Dock and you've got Ethernet, for some reason, the Deck either tries to use both, or something weird breaks there.

Disabling an adapter (wired or wireless) will fix the issue.

I can play flawlessly now.

I hate that I went like this for months.

[Challak]

Originally posted by church1138:

Disabling an adapter (wired or wireless) will fix the issue.

This aligns with my own findings too. Can Stream ONLY on WiFi.

How does one disable an adapter on Deck?

[comboklutz]

Found a workaround to stream using ethernet.
1. Disable wifi from the internet settings (toggle switch)
2. Still in the Deck's internet settings, disconnect the wired connection (no, no need to get up. Do it from the settings only)
3. Again, from the settings, select the wired connection and connect.

This will basically refresh the wired connection letting you stream without issue. And with the wifi disconnected, you are only using ethernet. When you're done, just re-enable wifi.

[Challak]

Awesome! Can't wait to give this a go! You're the best

[Squiple]

Did this fix it? I'm still having the same issues over here even with wifi disabled

[Challak]

Yeah! Pretty much all I had to do was disable Wi-Fi while I am connected by ethernet.

[Challak]

I will warn you though, just in case you want to play with a controller. The last time I tried streaming there was a bug with the controller where it kept treating a button as being held down when all I did was press it. A lot of people reported it, and it was a known bug, and a lot of people said that it was fixed by switching to the beta branch.

I didn't do that because I'm waiting for it to make it to stable, I just prefer that, but figured I would let you know in case you were really looking forward to streaming + controller

[Majin Bui]

Bumping this discussion to link the reddit thread in question that did an investigation on it and provided a workaround (not me):
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/18k9gyb/steam_link_on_deck_refuses_to_connect_through/

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/18k9gyb/comment/ktuhzlj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

And the relevant message:

Originally posted by /u/Mudkipman98:

First, the fix. When you go to dock your Deck, turn off wifi, then put the Deck into sleep mode/restart it completely. While wifi is turned off, connect the Deck to your dock. Once it establishes a connection to the internet, your other devices signed into Steam will appear as notifications as normal. Try to stream a game, and it should come through, barring any other issues with your network configuration/internet connection or settings for Steam Remote Play. Do the same thing if you want/need to switch to streaming using wifi. Undock your Deck, re-enable wifi, then put your deck into sleep mode/reboot it. When it wakes up, you should see that you can try streaming again from your computer.

[Majin Bui]

I will add on that:
- It didn't matter what kind of game I played, launcher or not, remote play did not work from Steam Deck (client) -> Home PC (host)
- No changing of settings made this better (e.g. changing HW encoding/decoding on/off)

Only did staying on WiFi or disabling WiFi and restarting the deck work in my case