Steam Deck refuses to find an internet connection?

[littlesmegger]

Hi,

So a couple of days ago out the blue my Steam Deck refused to acknowledge any form of Wifi connection. Can't see them, never mind connect. This applies in both Gaming and Desktop mode.

I have just attempted to (via a dock) use an Ethernet connection to get online and see if I need an update or something, and it still doesn't acknowledge a connection in either mode.

Does anyone have any idea what I could do to get the device to acknowledge an internet connection again sorry? Thanks!

[Omega]

Go in to desktop mode and run the following commands in the terminal, provide me with the output of the commands.

This will tell you the status of the network management service, it should be active and running with no errors;

systemctl status NetworkManager

This will list all networking devices and their status, it should list a device called wlan0 and it should be UP;

ip addr

[littlesmegger]

Having to type this out by hand so won't be every single character sorry:

Loaded: loaded (.usr/lib/systemd/system/NetworkManager.service; enabled; preset: disabled)

Active: failed
Docs: man:NetworkManager(8)
Main PID: 1108 (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
CPU: 17ms

NetworkManager.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter i>
Stopped Network Manager.
NetworkManager.service: Start requestion repeated too quickly.
NetworkManager.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Failed to start Network Manager.

[Omega]

Originally posted by littlesmegger:

Having to type this out by hand so won't be every single character sorry:

Loaded: loaded (.usr/lib/systemd/system/NetworkManager.service; enabled; preset: disabled)

Active: failed
Docs: man:NetworkManager(8)
Main PID: 1108 (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
CPU: 17ms

NetworkManager.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter i>
Stopped Network Manager.
NetworkManager.service: Start requestion repeated too quickly.
NetworkManager.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Failed to start Network Manager.

Ok, so it seems like the network manager is not running for some reason.

We can attempt to fix it, or it might be easier for you to simply reinstall Steam OS.

To try and find out what exactly it is mad about;

journalctl -u NetworkManager --boot

Or just go ahead and reinstall SteamOS;
https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/1B71-EDF2-EB6D-2BB3

[littlesmegger]

Cannot create '/var/lib/NetworkManager': No space left

So what could be taking up space on the var drive? Because it is maxed out looking at it now... wouldn't know where to begin potentially deleting content to make space if possible.

[Omega]

Originally posted by littlesmegger:

Cannot create '/var/lib/NetworkManager': No space left

So what could be taking up space on the var drive? Because it is maxed out looking at it now... wouldn't know where to begin potentially deleting content to make space if possible.

You will have to run these commands as root, this is the super administrator who is allowed to do anything. It can easily break your system and it will not ask twice to do so so. Be very careful!

You will first have to set a password on your account before you are able to do so;

passwd

Follow the on-screen instructions to set up a password for you user. Do not forget this password, resetting it is a pain in the butt.

It will not show your input for security, but it will be typing.

sudo du -sh /var/*

I expect /var/log to be pretty full. Lets clean it up.

Now lets clear out all files inside of it leaving the folders.

sudo find /var/log -type f -delete

After having done this give the Deck a reboot.


Valve should automatically clear these logs out after some time or even every boot to prevent it all from filling up.

[littlesmegger]

So from this (and trying Just run du -h | sort -h) I deleted both the log and cache as log had 64MB but Chrome had built up 500MB+ of cache also. So deleted both, gave the device a reboot...

...and ta-dah! Wifi instantly connected!

Thank you very much for giving me this advice and giving me ideas to also expand on to find which flatpaks were also potentially filling up the cache in Konsole also. One of the joys of my Steam Deck is my first dive into handling Linux and knowing how to use it properly.

Much appreciated.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Is your Steam Deck new?
If so yes it's really a good idea to wipe it clean and do a fresh install of very latest SteamOS via USB

[Omega]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

Is your Steam Deck new?
If so yes it's really a good idea to wipe it clean and do a fresh install of very latest SteamOS via USB

There is no point in reinstalling, it does that every single time it updates already. The OS is image-based.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Well OK then, as long as you take the time to update the Steam Deck so the OS is fully up to date before making system wide settings changes.