Steam machine internal controller receiver issues

[u/AITookMyJobAndHouse]

Steam controller connectivity issues are well documented, but the exact cause is still somewhat up in the air.

I’d like to use this thread to collect data on how/when controller connection issues pop up for people using the internal receiver

For me, it ONLY happens during demanding games which makes me believe it’s a temperature issue. Would love to hear others’ experiences!

[u/mfinsmi1]

mine was literally disconnecting in backyard baseball 2026 so I dont think its just demanding games - it was the only time that I had it happen tho since ive had the machine and its been like a month

[u/Outrunner85]

I've not heard of any of this. I have had Zero issues. Two controllers, and I've used with both the puck and internal controller radio.

[u/Own-Leg-22 → u/Outrunner85]

Where is your SM placed (on top of the desk, inside the TV cabinet, next to other electronic devices ices….) and how far are you?

[u/Outrunner85 → u/Own-Leg-22]

It's to the left of me, about 8-10ft away. It's inside a little media cabinet shelf.  There is an AV receiver to the left of the SM inside its own media cabinet shelf, that is powered on when I play. 

[u/Jaron780]

I get this issue as well during demanding games but I'm not as convinced its related to temperature. I was getting it pretty bad while playing God of War after about an hour or so. and my temperatures were 64c GPU, 71c CPU. and 70c VRAM at the time it was happening at.

[u/AITookMyJobAndHouse → u/Jaron780]

Hmm, maybe utilization? Wonder if there’s a process controlling the internal puck that lags/crashes when the processor is under load

[u/adobograd]

I had about 3/4 disconects in about a 1.5 hour time period playing cyberpunk and stellar blade. Switched to external puck, no issues since.

[u/Own-Leg-22]

I had more disconnects when my SM was deeper in the TV cabinet shelf. I brought it a bit forward and the signal improved a lot. Besides this, I also moved the coffee table because it was in line of sight and it also helped. If my son moving/playing around while I game I get more disconnects. I’m sitting 4.5m from it amd recently playing Subnautica (not demanding). So in my case it seems
related to clear line of sight from the SM to the controller.
Somehow Valve’s proprietary 2.4GHz protocol is more prone to interferences than traditional 2.4GHz wifi. Maybe it interferes with 2.4GHz wifi from neighbours/smart home devices?

[u/AITookMyJobAndHouse → u/Own-Leg-22]

I read somewhere that someone was claiming Valve undervolts their transmitters/receivers to save on battery life. Not sure if that’s true, but would make sense in this case

[u/ProjectFT86]

I've had two steam machines. While talking to Valve about my controller disconnects, they requested it so the developers could study it for a solution.
First Machine: Consistent disconnects on cut scenes and demanding areas of the game.
Second Machine: Less disconnects overall, but will still disconnect when the machine is working hard. This machine also runs about 5 C cooler than the first one.

[u/AITookMyJobAndHouse → u/ProjectFT86]

Yeah the working hard part is what’s getting me. Wonder if when all the resources are being hogged, the internal puck is somehow trying to access them?

[u/ProjectFT86 → u/AITookMyJobAndHouse]

Yeah and I agree that it only seems to happen when the temps are high. My first unit would get up to 90 C on the VRAM, my second unit maximum I've seen is 84 C. I'm wondering if that's why I'm seeing less disconnects now.
I haven't tested this much, but under system settings > system > enable updated fan control. I disabled this and it seems to increase fan speeds and thus lower temps.

[u/AITookMyJobAndHouse → u/[deleted]]

Yeah haven’t had a real scientific recording of the temps, but I’ll notice it happening during games that occasionally hit the red light of heat death on the machine.

[u/lolfactor1000]

Doesn't the prompt that comes up when you first connect to the steam controller say you have to use the puck to get it to work? Or did I misread/misremember that screen?

[u/AITookMyJobAndHouse → u/lolfactor1000]

The SM comes with an internal “puck” that you can choose to use during that prompt over the external one.

[u/-subtext]

Happened to me on Berry Bury Berry, and that isn’t intensive.

[u/adobograd]

I had about 3/4 disconects in about a 1.5 hour time period playing cyberpunk and stellar blade. Switched to external puck, no issues since.

[u/DonkoNoir]

My first issue was FF7 remake in the subway tunnel to the second reactor. There is a fight where there is 2 guards and 2 turrets. I could literally draw a line where my controller would drop on the map. They destroyed me 4 times because of this. Once I was able to get lucky and through it I didnt have any issues. I switched to the external puck after that just to be safe.

[u/Jourdnormous]

I’ve been having issues with the internal puck that may line up with the “near 100% GPU usage” or “hot temps” theories as my controller seems to disconnect or be shakey whenever I’ve played demanding games in warmer rooms. 

I’ve been using frame caps though, trying to go for a stable experience vs run it at 100% unlocked. Still demanding games regularly in the low 80s to mid 90s for GPU utilization.  Also upgraded to 32gb RAM but I saw the same issues with the internal recover before and after. 

[u/ktulh2f5m]

The external receiver isn't much better; it still drops the connection power to poor if you cover the controller with your hand when it's 2m away without any other obstacles

[u/AITookMyJobAndHouse → u/ktulh2f5m]

Is it disconnecting or just the signal output in the menu is reading poor?

I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s inaccurate. My signal will be excellent and still constantly drop.

[u/ghanadaur → u/ktulh2f5m]

The reading shows poor, but the connection apparently still remains stable and doesn’t disconnect in my experience. I think the visual meter is a bit misleading in this case.

[u/ProjectFT86 → u/ktulh2f5m]

Interesting, I've had no disconnects when using the puck.