Valve’s Steam Deck is the best portable way to play your favorite Steam games on the go. Since this is a portable handheld gaming device, the only thing that you need for the Steam Deck is a proper internet connection. But, what happens when the Steam Deck has no internet connection even when connected to a WiFi network?
Well, if you have recently been having Wi-Fi connectivity issues on your Steam Deck, we have a few troubleshooting methods that you need to check out! Let’s get started.
Fix Steam Deck has No Internet
The best part is that there are multiple troubleshooting methods. Because this is a very common issue, almost any of them will work just fine for you. First, you need to check is whether your internet connection is working.
Simply connect your smartphone or any device to your Wi-Fi network. If the internet is working fine, then follow these troubleshooting methods. If there is no interne on your other devices as well, it’s probably your internet connection going through some downtime.
Restart your Steam Deck and the Wi-Fi Router
This is one of the most basic and common troubleshooting methods for almost any electronic device out there. A quick, simple restart of both devices should help solve a lot of the basic issues. To restart your Steam Deck, simply keep the power button pressed for 4 seconds. If you have the OLED version of the Steam Deck, keep the power button pressed for about 7 seconds. The Steam Deck should reboot right away.
To restart your Wi-Fi router, simply unplug it from your power outlet, wait for a few minutes, and then plug it back in.
Disable Wi-Fi Power Saving Mode
If you have a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network, the Steam Deck will sometimes disconnect from it to save battery power. If you have noticed that your Steam Deck has randomly been disconnecting itself, then it’s time to disable the Power Saving mode for Wi-Fi. Here is what you need to do.
- Open the Settings menu on your Steam Deck.
- Navigate and select the Developer Options. You can enable developer option in System.
- Choose Wi-Fi Power management and disable it.
- Restart your Steam Deck, and it should be working fine, and you no longer have random Wi-Fi disconnections.
If the Seam Deck still has no internet issue, the continue with remaining troubleshoot methods.
Clear off Download Cache
Sometimes the Steam Deck can run into weird issues, especially when you are trying to log into Steam. The sensible way to beat around this no-internet connectivity issue is to clear off the download cache. Here is what you need to do.
- Press the Steam Deck’s power button and choose Desktop Mode.
- Now, launch the Steam app and select Settings.
- Choose Downloads and clear away the cache.
- With the Cache cleared, head back into the Steam Deck UI mode.
- In a few moments, the Steam Deck will now ask you to sign in to Steam. Once you sign in, the internet connection will be restored on your Steam Deck.
This has been the go-to solution for many users since 2022. And now even in 2024, this troubleshooting method has been working for a lot of people.
Change DNS Settings
If your Steam Deck is connected to your Wi-Fi network but is still displaying no internet connection even though your internet connection is working fine, one of the ways to solve this issue is by changing the DNS, here is how you can do that.
- Enable Desktop Mode on your Steam Deck.
- Right-click on Wi-Fi at the bottom and choose Configure Network.
- Select your Wi-Fi network and change the IPV4 method to Automatic.
- Now, change the DNS servers to either 9.9.9.9 or 1.1.1.1.
- Your Steam Deck should now be connected to your Wi-Fi network, and you should have an active internet connection.
Connect a USB-C Hub
One of the other ways to get an internet connection running on your Steam Deck is to connect a USB-C hub that has an Ethernet port. Once you have an internet connection via Ethernet, you can simply download any updates that might be available for your Steam Deck and then see if it can connect to your Wi-Fi network with proper internet access.
Forget Network and Connect Again
One other way to solve the problem where your Steam Deck shows no internet connection even after it is connected to your Wi-Fi network is to re-pair to WiFi. Here is how you can do that.
- Press the Steam button on your Steam Deck.
- Navigate to Settings and choose Internet.
- Now, select your Wi-Fi network from the list and press the three dots button.
- Choose Forget Network to remove the network from your Steam Deck.
- Once you have done that, select your network and type in the password to reconnect.
- This should help solve the no internet connection issue on your Steam Deck.
Switch Your Steam Deck Client from Stable to Beta
Now, this is another word troubleshooting method, but several users have reported that this also fixes the issue. Here is how you can switch to the Beta client.
- Press the Steam button on your Steam Deck.
- Select Settings followed by System.
- Now, navigate towards Beta Participation.
- Click on the System Update Channel pull-down menu and choose beta.
- In a few moments, you will be assigned to the Beta program. Make sure to restart your Steam Deck to complete the beta registration for your Steam Deck.
Factory Resetting The Steam Deck
Now, this is usually not the ideal solution that anyone would prefer to go ahead with but, if nothing else works, you can always perform a factory reset as the last resort. Factory resetting your Steam Deck will erase anything and everything that has been stored on the Steam Deck’s storage drive. Here is what you need to do.
- Make sure that your Steam Deck is running in the Steam UI mode.
- Press the Steam button on your Steam Deck.
- Select the Settings option followed by System.
- Now, select Advanced and finally Reset to Factory State.
- Select Factory Reset to confirm the reset process.
- Once the reset process has been completed, sign in and complete the usual first-time setup.
- Your Steam Deck should now connect to your Wi-Fi network and have an active internet connection.
Closing Thoughts
This concludes the guide on how you can solve Steam Deck having no internet connection even after it is connected to your Wi-Fi network. Sometimes these issues are known to occur because of some software problem. Many users have reported that they have hardly had such an issue if the Steam Deck was running on Windows. Now, if you still cannot fix the issue, it is probably best to install Windows on your Steam Deck and call it a day.
Also Check:
