Steam Link Raspberry Pi Troubleshooting

[slouken]

The official Steam Link Raspberry Pi support page is here:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6153-IFGH-6589

Here is some additional troubleshooting information that may help:

I get a message that X11 isn't supported on this version of Raspbian
* Raspbian Bullseye does not yet have a hardware accelerated path for video to the X display. For the best streaming experience, we recommend that you use an SD card with Raspbian Buster installed, available here[downloads.raspberrypi.org].

I'm using a Raspberry Pi 4 and I'm getting a black screen
* Make sure you have the HDMI cable plugged into HDMI port 0 (closer to the power port)

I'm using a Raspberry Pi 4 and am getting exactly 30 FPS
* You are probably using a 4K display, which is limited to 30 FPS by default. You can enable 4K 60 FPS by adding this line to your /boot/config.txt and reboot:

hdmi_enable_4kp60=1

I'm using a Raspberry Pi 4 and don't have the option for HEVC
* You need to enable the HEVC decoder by adding this line to your /boot/config.txt and reboot:

dtoverlay=rpivid-v4l2

I'm using a Raspberry Pi 4 and I have HEVC enabled but I'm not getting a 4K video stream
* Remote Play is limited to 1080p by default, you can enable higher resolutions in the Steam Link app streaming settings.

I'm getting frequent stuttering and/or frame drops
* The wireless module on the Raspberry Pi appears to occasionally have delays of up to 250 ms. Wired networking is strongly recommended. You can also try switching to the ‘Fast’ streaming quality option from the Streaming settings in the Steam Link. You can find out more information about improving wireless experience here.

I'm getting black screen flashes, distortion, and/or video decoding errors
* Make sure your power supply is providing enough voltage and your Raspberry Pi isn't overheating.

I'm getting a prompt whether to execute Steam Link when I double-click the desktop icon
* Edit /etc/xdg/libfm/libfm.conf and add the following line under the [config] section:
quick_exec=1
.. and then reboot

[陸 - R I K U]

What about wireless 360 controller working in big picture mode but not in games.

[Xenophobe]

Any idea why the Steam Link App audio output on the Pi is in Dolby Prologic (5.1 is selected in the app settings)? The hardware link's audio output is PCM 5.1 using the same HDMI connection to my Sony STR-DH550 AV receiver. The pi's install is raspbian stretch full.

edit: 5.1 LPCM is working now on raspbian kernel version 4.19, without needing a manual patch and rebuild. the following link has the info on how to get it working.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/353380/discussions/6/1743353164095764346/

[PainKiller[HUN]]

What I have done so far:
1. Tried the steamlink app with a Raspbian Stretch Lite (Headless). > Everythin works perfectly, but after a couple of minutes the picture freezes, and the audio disappears. In the meantime I was able to SSH to the Pi, but it needed a restart because I was unable to kill the unresponsive steamlink app. This happened all the time, so I decided to move on.

2. I saw in a post here that the EGLFS implementation is quite buggy, so I decided to install xorg and try running from there. So I installed the raspberrypi-ui-mods group (lots of packages: xorg, lightdm, window manager, etc).
After running the steamlink app from the menu (PIXEL menu?), everything was OK, except from some random lagging, so this method was also bad for me.

3. Then I decided to run steamlink on X11, but without any window manager, which can steal precius resources from the steamlink. So I stopped the lightdm, entered 'exec steamlink' in the .xinitrc and executed the 'startx' command.
This way the only app started on the X11 was the steamlink app. Performance was OK, SteamController working, mouse/keyboard working in the app, but not working after the streaming starts (so no keyboard/mouse in games or steam overlay, only in the steamlink app, before connecting).

I have tried to replace the 'exec steamlink' to 'exec xterm', to see if the keyboard works with the startx method, but it works. The keyboard worked with the first 2 methods, so I don't really understand what happened.


Can someone please help me? I don't even know, how to find the logs, or something to google:)

Thanks!

[TheDrifter363]

Hi,

I started using the steam link app on my Raspberry Pi 3 B+, with an Ethernet hookup. Regardless if I'm using Raspbian Lite or OSMC, after I install the steam link app, there is a bug. When the encoder switches to "Desktop DWM", which it does when you minimize Steam Big Picture mode and certain games, there is a delay with the mouse movement on the controller. I'm using a PS4 controller connected via Bluetooth; however, this error also occurs with the controller connected via USB. For example, if I wish to scroll across the screen, using the right analogue stick, the mouse moves across the screen, not accepting any input, until the mouse is at the end of the screen. I notice that the performance statistics window also freezes at this time, and there is a high frame drop percentage. Otherwise the app works great. If anyone could confirm this same issue that would be great. It has to do with mouse movement, via a controller, when the encoder is set to "Desktop DWM".

Also as a suggestion, do you think you'd be able to have audio control in the future? For example I have my wireless PS3 Headset connected to the Raspberry Pi and I wish to play audio out of the headset instead of the TV. It has a USB wireless DAC so it is a separate audio device from the TV's native HDMI.

Thank you!

[CyberRamses]

Not working with macOS through RetroPie. Steam Link app resets Mac all the times. Windows works just fine.

[Silence]

I have the problem with the Image Scaling. The TV does a overscan on the image that can not be disabled. Fixing this with the config.txt are ignored from the SteamLink app. Is there a Option in the App to adjust the visible Screen?

[slouken]

Originally posted by Silence:

I have the problem with the Image Scaling. The TV does a overscan on the image that can not be disabled. Fixing this with the config.txt are ignored from the SteamLink app. Is there a Option in the App to adjust the visible Screen?

Try adding this line to /boot/config.txt and reboot:

overscan_scale=1

[slouken]

Originally posted by CyberRamses:

Not working with macOS through RetroPie. Steam Link app resets Mac all the times. Windows works just fine.

You'll have to disable audio streaming in the Steam Link streaming settings, due to a kernel panic in Mac OS X Mojave.

[Silence]

Originally posted by slouken:

Try adding this line to /boot/config.txt and reboot:

overscan_scale=1

I did that and the App does not start until i remove that line, because it would cause a back screen while streaming.

I'm on the Steam Link App 1.07

EDIT: I updated the the Steamlink app and i can now use it with forced scale *thumbs up*

But there is another issue i noticed. I have on my Pi just the Xboix360 Gamepad connected. if i press the xbox button i see a mouse cursor on the streaming maschine that is moving slow to the left. in this moment i cant do anything anymore. Just go to the streaming Maschine and exit the game myself (the mouse is still moving so its not always easy). after i end the streaming the mouse stops moving.

I did test this on the Steam link Hardware and i notice a similar behavior while pressing the xbox button. if i pres it just fast i get the overlay.

[[Bouncy]-|Henky‼|-[TTC]]

I am getting a lot of audio issues on my Raspberry Pi 3B+ both over a wireless and a wired connection on any quality setting.
Its running the latest version of OSMC with the script from Toast that unloads kodi completely when it starts the steam link.

The error message shown in the console is :
ALSA: lib pcm.c:8306:(snd_pcm_recover) underrun occured.

I am using the following kernel: 4.14.78-4-osmc

Any suggestions as to why the underrun occurs?

Full topic: https://steamcommunity.com/app/353380/discussions/6/1743356517531059287/

[Mike]

I'm trying this out on my RPi 3B+, and so far I have two major issues. Number one: While streaming, the screen goes black at random times (anywhere from every 3 to every 20 seconds). The blanking out lasts only about a half a second, but it'd be very frustrating in a high-speed-action game. Second issue: My PS4 controller connects fine and works in the Steam UI, but not in any games, which makes using a controller pointless. Any help on these problems would be great! Thanks for the work on this!

[[Bouncy]-|Henky‼|-[TTC]]

Originally posted by Mike:

I'm trying this out on my RPi 3B+, and so far I have two major issues. Number one: While streaming, the screen goes black at random times (anywhere from every 3 to every 20 seconds). The blanking out lasts only about a half a second, but it'd be very frustrating in a high-speed-action game. Second issue: My PS4 controller connects fine and works in the Steam UI, but not in any games, which makes using a controller pointless. Any help on these problems would be great! Thanks for the work on this!

Mike, is the audio also pausing simultaniously to the video signal? If so this may be related to the audio topic i have been posting as i can emulate your issue on my own Pi when i use HDMI Safe Mode. If you have this enabled disabling it can make things a little better, but its also likely its because of your specific display device.

With a bit of luck both our issues are indeed related and will be resolved by a future update in the app.

[cozybuild89]

Had some problems with WiFi (5G) and multiple Bluetooth controllers (Xbox One) on my RPi3 B+. The controllers stay connected but doesn't send anything from time to time.

Using an external Bluetooth dongle and deactivating the internal Bluetooth fixed the problem for me.

Insert the BT dongle and add to your /boot/config.txt

dtoverlay=pi3-disable-bt

Credits: https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=140471#p970982

[Uranium Fever]

Hi everyone,
I have encounter some problem with my raspberry pi /steamlink because when i start the streaming, after a couple of minutes all freeze and i can't do anything to kill the steamlink app. I had already the same problem with the version raspbian full et now i tried with a lite to see if it change anything, but nothing better. I don't think that is due too lagging or unsync connection because i have 25ms of ping max and i'm wire to the router. Maybe it happened because i have two screens on my desktop ? I don't know, but something is sure, i need help !
Thank you !

[xwize]

Would also like to know how to kill the steamlink app on the PI if misbehaves. It swallows all my keyboard and mouse input.