Steam Deck Settings: the ten-entry SteamOS menu in Gaming Mode

How Steam Deck organises its Settings

Internet and Bluetooth lead, with the saved networks and the paired controllers and headphones. Display sets automatic brightness, Night Mode, the colour profile, from Native to Boosted and Custom, and the refresh rate. Sound picks the output between speakers, headphones and Bluetooth and adds Bass Boost. Power holds the battery, the screen-off and suspend timers, and the battery charge limit that stops charging at eighty percent.

Controller opens Steam Input: layouts, official and community, and the switch that turns Steam Input on. Storage manages the internal drive and the microSD card, moves install folders and formats the card. System has System Update, Check for Updates, Enable Developer Mode and the time zone. Security holds Require PIN on wake, Change PIN and the Parental Lock. System Settings, a separate entry from System, has the startup movie, the home interface, Accessibility with High Contrast and Bold Text, and About.

The top-level menu in Steam Deck SteamOS 3.8

The 10 entries on the first screen of Settings, in the device's own order; each links to the options inside it.

1. Internet
2. Bluetooth
3. Display
4. Sound
5. Power
6. Controller
7. Storage
8. System
9. Security
10. System Settings

What changes between versions

Three releases are here. SteamOS 3.5 from late 2023 and 3.6 from 2024 share the ten entries with the pages inside them growing. SteamOS 3.8, the 2026 stable release, adds initial Steam Machine support, restores Bluetooth wake on the LCD model and updates the graphics drivers, without changing the list. SteamOS 3.9 is still in preview and will be added when it reaches the stable channel. The System Update page reports the build you chose.

• Steam Deck SteamOS 3.8 (newest)
• Steam Deck SteamOS 3.6
• Steam Deck SteamOS 3.5

Three settings worth knowing the path to

1. Settings > Power > Enable Battery Charge Limit

   Stops charging at eighty percent, for a Deck that lives docked. It is the one Power setting that changes battery longevity rather than today's runtime.

2. Settings > System > Enable Developer Mode

   Unlocks the developer options and CEF debugging. Most guides for installing non-Steam software start with this switch, three rows into System.

3. Settings > Security > Parental Lock

   A PIN that gates the store, the desktop and settings changes, separate from the wake PIN above it. It is the row to know before handing the Deck to a child.

Questions people ask about Steam Deck settings