With the Steam Deck OS Beta Patch and a new BIOS, which provides needed support for the Trusted Firmware Platform Module (fTPM), Valve now allows Windows 11 to be installed on a portable game console for the first time. However, the necessary drivers are already available.
BIOS update makes it possible to install Windows 11
After Valve has already released drivers for Windows 10 on Steam Deck, which are also suitable for Windows 11, the installation of the new operating system has failed so far due to a suitable BIOS with fTPM support. The now released Steam Deck OS Beta Patch bridges this gap and makes it possible to install Windows 11 on laptops for the first time, as confirmed by the official release notes from the Steam community.
In addition to updating the BIOS for Windows 11, the developers have also worked on game console stability under SteamOS 3.0, battery life, and USB-C port compatibility, which should now support multiple docking stations and power supplies.
- Added messages when connecting a charger that does not meet the bar minimum
- Added unlimited frame rate setting in Quick Access > Performance menu
- fTPM support added, allowing to install Windows 11
- Added button combination: Press and hold “…” + “Volume Down” to reset the PD nodes in cases where Steam Deck gets stuck due to an incompatible Type C device
- Updated power LED to dim a few seconds after power supply events for better experience in dark environments
- Improved compatibility with a number of Type C docks and power supplies
- Improved battery life in idle or very low usage scenarios
- improved stability
- Fixed issues where the touch screen does not work after some shoes
- Stable compatibility with some SD cards specifically when used as boot devices.
- ACPI bug fixed in kernel
Steam Deck OS Beta Patch Release Notes
In addition, there are mandatory optimizations and error corrections, which also fix ACPI error and compatibility issues with various SD memory cards.
Graphics Drivers, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
The following Windows drivers for the graphics unit in a custom Zen 2 RDNA 2 APU also known as Van Gogh, WLAN, and Bluetooth chipset can be downloaded from Windows resources provided by Valve.
- wifi driver can reach
- bluetooth driver can reach
- graphics card driver can reach
- audio driver Still working with AMD and other companies. This document will be updated when these drivers become available.
- Until then, the audio output is not working either through the speakers or via the 3.5mm audio jack.
- In the meantime, you can use audio via Bluetooth or USB-C.
There is no official support from Valve
Valve again explicitly states that the company is involved in providing Windows resources, but cannot provide any official support. “Unfortunately, we are unable to offer Windows support on Steam Deck‘ says the developer.
It was already announced in August of last year that Valve and AMD were working on Windows 11 support on Steam Deck. Now that Windows 10 is officially supported, Windows 11 support is still listed as beta.
There is no dual boot on Steam Deck at the moment
Currently, Steam Deck does not have dual boot capability and can only handle the full installation of the operating system. But it should be less because of the Steam Deck itself and more because of the SteamOS 3.0 installation routine, which will only be available with one of the upcoming releases.”Provides dual boot wizard‘ says Valve.
While the Steam Deck is fully dual bootable, the SteamOS installer, which will provide the dual boot wizard, is not complete at this time.
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For users who want to go back to SteamOS 3.0 from Windows 10 or Windows 11, Valve has instructions for getting your laptop back ready.
Field reports from the ComputerBase Forum
Meanwhile, reports from the community are already providing the first reader tests for Steam Deck. More on this in the article “Steam Deck Experience Reports” from the console talk of the ComputerBase Forum.
