Getting Started

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If you just got your Steam Deck, or have had it for a while and want to learn about the more advanced features and community applications, this is the page you want to read. This will assume you just received your device and give you lots of options for setup and customization.

Note: Most games with a campaign mode will be playable offline, but games with network co-op or multiplayer features will not work while you’re offline. Before you go offline, connect to the Xbox network to sync your most recent game save to the cloud. While you play offline, your game save progress will continue to be saved locally, and it’ll sync the next time you sign in to Xbox. If you want to continue playing on a different device, you’ll need to go online and connect to the Xbox network to allow your local saved game to sync with the cloud again.
Note 2: PC Game Pass game licenses expire after 30 days when playing offline, and licenses for owned games expire after 14 days. To keep playing your game offline, go back online and launch the game. This renews the game’s license on your device and ensures you can go back to playing offline.

You can only have one device as your designated offline device. To set your device as your designated offline device:

Make sure that you’re online.
Check that your device has the latest Windows updates: Go to Start -> Settings -> Update & security -> Windows Update and see if any relevant updates are available.
Open the Microsoft Store. You’ll be prompted to sign in if you haven’t already.
Select your profile icon in the upper right corner.
Select App settings, and then under Offline permissions, make sure that the toggle is set to On.

Once you set this, any devices previously designated as offline will be toggled to Off, and you’ll no longer be able to play games offline on those devices.

Prepare your game or games

Once your device is set up, you’ll need to launch each game you want to play offline while signed in to the Xbox network. You only need to do this once per game, and you’ll need to do this even if you’ve already launched the game on your device.

Make sure that you’re online, and that your device is set as your designated offline device. (See the steps above for details on how to do this.)
Launch the game you want to play offline. When prompted, sign in to Xbox.
Once you’ve started playing the game, you can exit at any time.

Repeat this process for each game you want to play offline. Once completed, you can go offline at any time and launch those games whenever you want to play them, without needing to sign in online each time.

Setting up OpenGamepadUI

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OpenGamepadUI is a free and open source game launcher and overlay written using the Godot Game Engine 4 designed with a gamepad native experience in mind. Its goal is to provide an open and extendable foundation to launch and play games. It also implements a gamepad input system that can allow you to remap gamepad input to mouse and keyboard inputs.

Features:

In-game overlay menus.
Power tools (TDP control, SMT, etc.).
Fully configurable gamepad input (buttons, axes, mouse & keyboard, etc.).
Per-game customizable gamepad profiles.
Launch games from multiple sources.
Automatic artwork downloading.
Plugin architecture.

Adding Gyro Support

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Handheld Companion is a combination of a Windows service and a touch interface optimized GUI to increase your handheld gaming computer experience.

Features include:

Motion control a.k.a. gyro control through a device's inertial measurement unit (IMU, Gyroscope and Accelerometer) or external sensor. Settings availible for racing, 1st and 3rd person gaming and emulator support.
Quicktools overlay, with easy access to various settings and information such as TDP, GPU, Screen Hz, Resolution, Brightness, Volume, Powermode control and battery level.
Virtual controller simulation of Microsoft Xbox 360 Controller and Sony DualShock 4 Controller.
Profile settings system, automatic detection of active game and applying of settings.
PS Remote Play support with DS4 controller, including motion and touchpad.
3D Controller overlay for stream recordings.

Setting up Universal Tuning Utility Handheld

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Universal x86 Tuning Utility Handheld is a tool that unlocks the full potential of your AMD based handheld.

GUI controller input:

Previous Menu: LB
Next Menu: RB
Show/Hide: LB + RB + D-Pad Up or ROG button
Navigating Menu: Left Joystick or D-Pad
Toggling Options: Left Joystick, D-Pad, or A

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Getting Started.md

Getting Started.md

Getting Started

Table of Contents

Official Steam Deck Resources

Steam Deck Community Resources

Steam Deck Certified Refurbished

YouTube Videos on the Steam Deck

Gaming on Xbox Game Pass

Setting up Game Pass for Offline use (Windows Only)

Setting up OpenGamepadUI

Adding Gyro Support

Setting up Universal Tuning Utility Handheld

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Getting Started.md

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Getting Started.md

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Getting Started

Table of Contents

Official Steam Deck Resources

Steam Deck Community Resources

Steam Deck Certified Refurbished

YouTube Videos on the Steam Deck

Gaming on Xbox Game Pass

Setting up Game Pass for Offline use (Windows Only)

Setting up OpenGamepadUI

Adding Gyro Support

Setting up Universal Tuning Utility Handheld