Valve scrambled to fix a Steam client update that bricked Steam Decks and scrambled performance settings; the update initially rolled out to the stable channel despite prior warnings from beta testers, causing some devices to get stuck in boot loops.
The problematic Steam Deck client update, released shortly after the SteamOS 3.6.24 update on April 1st, intended to resolve minor issues, boost download performance, and improve DualSense controller functionality.
User reports on Reddit and GitHub revealed the update caused boot loops and settings disappearing, which controlled GPU clock speed and TDP.
Valve “rereleased” the client update on the same day with fixes and issued a separate update to the console’s beta channel; beta testers flagged TDP and GPU slider issues since the March 19th beta update.
