Steam Beta Restores Rumble on Third-Party SteamOS Handhelds and Adds Pyrowave

Valve released a Steam Beta Client update on September 21, 2026, with two changes that matter directly to handheld players: a fix for lost rumble on third-party SteamOS devices and the first public beta of Valve's Pyrowave Remote Play codec.

This update is available in the Preview and Beta channels. It is not a Stable release, and Pyrowave is experimental.

Rumble restored on third-party SteamOS handhelds

Valve says the client fixes a regression affecting rumble on third-party SteamOS handhelds. That wording covers devices running SteamOS beyond Valve's own Steam Deck, such as supported models from other manufacturers.

The changelog does not claim wider controller compatibility or stronger haptics. It specifically addresses a regression, so players should expect previously working rumble behavior to return after installing the corrected beta client.

Valve also improved the styling of multibinding rows in the Steam Input configuration screen. This is a presentation change intended to make complex layouts easier to read; it is not a new binding system or a performance change.

Physical mouse input no longer forces the keyboard

The General section fixes another handheld annoyance: clicking a text field with a physical mouse should no longer summon the on-screen keyboard automatically.

That is useful when a handheld is docked or paired with a mouse and keyboard. Touch or controller-driven text entry may still need the virtual keyboard, but mouse users should no longer have it cover part of the interface unnecessarily.

What Pyrowave is

Pyrowave is an experimental Remote Play video codec created by Hans-Kristian Arntzen. Valve describes it as a high-bandwidth, low-latency option that uses the GPU to encode and decode frames.

It is available through the Steam beta client on Windows and macOS. Linux and SteamOS users must also enable the experimental SteamRT3 client in System Settings. Valve says support for the Steam Link mobile app is coming later.

Pyrowave is not enabled by default. It can be selected in Steam's advanced Remote Play client settings after the required beta client is installed.

The bandwidth trade-off

Valve says Pyrowave can use five to ten times as much bandwidth as other streaming codecs. The recommended environment is a direct connection to the router with at least Gigabit Ethernet.

Automatic bitrate remains available. Users who want direct control can disable it and choose a bitrate from 100 Mbit/s to 500 Mbit/s. Higher frame rates and quality settings increase the required bandwidth.

This makes Pyrowave primarily interesting for strong local networks. It should not be treated as a universal improvement for internet streaming or congested Wi-Fi.

HDR and sharper color

The codec supports HDR when both the host and client can use it. It also offers YUV 4:4:4 for more precise color reproduction, which can help with desktop streaming and small text on high-resolution displays.

YUV 4:4:4 is optional because it increases bandwidth and processing cost. Players should enable it only when the image-quality benefit matters more than network headroom.

How to test it responsibly

1. 1Install the latest Steam beta client on both ends of the stream.
2. 2On Linux or SteamOS, enable the experimental SteamRT3 client.
3. 3Open Steam Settings, Remote Play and the advanced client settings.
4. 4Select Pyrowave and begin with automatic bitrate.
5. 5Enable the Remote Play performance graph.
6. 6Compare encode, network, decode and display latency against the previous codec using the same game, resolution and network path.
7. 7Return to the previous codec if bandwidth spikes, dropped frames or latency become worse.

Valve stresses that total latency combines encoding, network transport, decoding and display time. A lower-latency codec cannot compensate for an unstable connection, slow Wi-Fi or a laggy display.

What this does not prove

Valve did not publish game benchmarks, battery tests or handheld power measurements with this client update. HandheldAtlas is not assigning an FPS increase, battery-life improvement, recommended TDP or performance preset to Pyrowave.

The rumble fix also should not be interpreted as proof that every controller or handheld now has full haptic support. It repairs the regression described in the official changelog.

Sources

Valve — Steam Beta Client Update: September 21st https://steamcommunity.com/games/1675200/announcements/detail/711161056325534576

Valve — Steam Deck News & Updates https://www.steamdeck.com/en/news

Valve Steam Remote Play discussion — Pyrowave video codec now in beta https://steamcommunity.com/groups/homestream/discussions/0/564794422009744473

Cover: official Steam Deck OLED product image, used to illustrate the Steam client update. It is not a performance screenshot.