SteamOS 3.8.25 Beta Adds Steam Controller 2026 Support and Fixes Several Hardware Edge Cases

SteamOS 3.8.25 has landed in the Beta and Preview update channels, authored by nya and published on 2026-08-08. Players can opt in via Settings > System > System Update Channel.

A known issue to flag first: this beta build carries a degraded performance problem in scenarios where composition is required — FSR being the cited example. That fix is already present in the stable release (3.8.16), and affected users may want to return to stable while the fix is ported over.

What changed

General

• Wake-from-sleep support added for the Steam Controller Wireless Adapter (2015)
• Battery indicators improved when the device draws more power than the charger can supply
• Preliminary support for the Steam Frame Wireless Adapter
• Steam Controller (2026) now supported in the built-in hid_steam driver, allowing use with native controller applications independent of Steam
• HDMI hotplug lockups in Desktop Mode resolved
• TVs with HDMI Game Mode no longer display the boot logo before the mode engages, removing an unnecessary delay and flash
• Several slow or stuck Wi-Fi connection cases addressed
• Fixed a bug preventing previous SteamOS updates from applying for some users

Steam Machine Firmware 108

• Occasional immediate wake after sleep fixed
• Rare CPU performance degradation after wake-from-sleep fixed

Audio

• HDMI audio dropout fix for certain game and TV pairings
• More reliable HDMI hotplug audio detection
• New option to prefer lower-latency codecs for Bluetooth audio devices

Non-Valve Devices

• Improved support for MSI Claw and OneXPlayer variants
• Better handling of devices with external or absent Wi-Fi adapters
• Input-ignored bug on some third-party handhelds fixed
• Initial gamepad support added for MSI devices

Taken together, the update meaningfully broadens the hardware ecosystem SteamOS can address while tidying up sleep, audio, and connectivity reliability for existing Deck owners.