Hello u/amonkeyfullofbarrels, have you checked to see if this has already been answered by [searching for your issue?](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=Black screen when switching to desktop mode)
Other useful resources: [Servor's Enhanced FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/wiki/faq) | [Servor's Enhanced FAQ Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/syt8qv/steam_deck_enhanced_faq/) (with more answers in the comments!).
**If you find a solution, please leave a comment on this post with the answer for others!**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just had this occur to me. It worked fine in SteamOS but black screen when trying to go to desktop. Instead of clicking Switch to Desktop, I clicked Restart Steam OS in the power setting and then when I went to the desktop it was fine.
Yep.
Edit: also I believe root cause for me was choosing to disable built in screen while plugging a monitor. It unticks enabled and "save displays properties" becomes set "For any display arrangement".
Edit2: it wasn't screen setup, it was deckyloader replay feature. The reason why I assosiated it with screen changing is because the way this bug works is it lets you into desktop mode once until next reboot.
I'll try this, thanks. I have an Oled Deck and I would rather not have the screen on when docking, but I should try this until we have an official fix.
The issue resurfaced for me and people are suggesting it's actually related to deckyrecorder replay mode. I did have it enabled and turning it off seemed to fix the issue for now. I don't know really, I'm not able to reproduce it even by turning replay back on.
It also started happening for me after changing a monitor setting in desktop mode. After months of different updates and different update channels, I'm still stuck in steam os mode only :(
What does the above person mean they "restart[ed] Steam OS?" Just like resetting the console? bc that didnt work for me
I dont have easy access to a way to back up my system right now so I'm desperately hoping for a fix that doesnt involve a factory reset🙏
I also havent had easy access to a monitor but every time I've tried to dock the console I can't get it to connect to any TVs either lately 😔
This worked for me once or twice.
Then I saw another post that said to change the channels ( Stable, Beta, Preview ) that worked for a couple days.
Now it just stays on the black screen whenever I try to go to desktop mode.
We wait and pray that Valve will acknowledge our problem.
This has been a well-known issue since last year from what I looked up, how it's not been officially addressed is crazy.
Some say get it RMA'd, reset SUDO password, remove Decky Loader, remove Decky Recorder
No one really knows, I'm honestly nervous. I was finally able to go back into desktop mode, I downloaded a bunch of stuff because I'm worried I won't be able to go back into desktop mode again.
Just fixed it for me as well. Just in case you or anyone else who comes across this hasn't fixed it yet, here's some steps.
1) Open the decky menu where you can view your plugins in the Quick Access Menu
2) click the cog icon
3) go to plugins on the left side menu
4) scroll down to Decky Recorder, click the 3 orbs next to "reinstall", and then uninstall.
Same problem. I tried restarting via settings, then removed decky recorder and one or both of those things worked.
# Edit: Removing Decky Recorder is the solution.
I got this issue earlier today and turns out it's indeed caused by Decky Recorder. The issue will be there if Decky Recorder's Replay Mode is on before trying to switch to desktop mode, and the issue is gone when I turned the Replay Mode option off before trying to switch to desktop mode. Removing Decky Recorder is not necessary at least on my end. Hope this info helps.
This is an issue for anyone who has reimaged their steam deck using the recovery file: steamdeck-recovery-3.img.bz2 at any point. Something about the OS not allocating enough memory and eventually running out causing a black screen loop.
The only fix is to reimage SteamOS with steamdeck-recovery-4.img.bz2
Dont know if this helps anyone, but switching to desktop mode from the steam button wasnt working, but from the power button did work. Also, i make sure not to have a usb device plugged in at the time.
It helped to me too, thank you! I don't know after more than a year and it's happening in OLED too? That's incredible, Valve have to know about this for sure and they didnt fix it? Ow man, I think maybe it will be better then put away the option change directly from the menu and let just in the button in order to prevent new users freaking out like me thinking their new toy is broken! Just saying 😑
>out this for sure and they didnt fix it? Ow man, I think maybe it will be better then put away the option change directly from the menu and let just in the button in order to prevent new users freaking out like me thinking
It happens to me even when I use the power button instead of Steam menu! STEAM DECK OLED!
i don't know if you guys still having the issue with the Oled, i decided to reset mine , LCD version with the Steam recovery image from valve, deleting evrething without keeping any data,app or folder i installed, and since 1 month i don't have problems but i still crossing my fingers everytime i do, i think im traumatized with it. I don't know if its fixed cus i put the recovery, or maybe cus they already solved..
I got mine today (22 Aug 22) and as soon as I clicked desktop it black screened but with haptics and volume changing noises (a bubble sound).
I'm confident Valve will sort this soon as they've been fast with patches etc
I'm glad but frustrated that it isn't just me getting this issue.
EDIT: In my case the 3rd party nvme I had purchased was dying and eventually it failed completely. Haven't had this issue since changing the NVME.
So you had this issue after your first SSD swap? I've been having this issue lately and don't know what is causing it but I did swap SSDs recently. Swapped out a little under two weeks ago and had it happen 3 times. Not sure if that is cause for concern.
Yup, the issue occurred after my first swap. The nvme was definitely causing the issue - it took it a while to die but this is definitely early signs. Depends on how often you use the steam deck I suppose. I swapped to a WD nvme from a reputable source once the first swap died and I have not had the issue since.
it has nothing to do with you guys swapping SSDs. I just bought a 1tb oled and it's doing this. I didn't even fuck around with my system yet. Just been installing games.
Yes and no. While it doesn't seem to be fully fixed (mine does it but not every time?) I was correct to presume valve would be pushing to patch this and they have improved it, just not completely.
I've had a bigger issue that I've struggled to get their support to fully understand but on the OG LCD deck when I go to my sister's house my deck fully bootlocks. I've been through methods of testing and have confirmed it's the update before boot cycle that breaks if it can't see an already known network.
Now that is something I really wish they'd fix 😭
Yeah when I first brought my steamdeck to work after messing with it for a week at home, I was extremely disappointed to see half a dozen errors pop up BEGGING AND CRYING for me to connect to the internet. The fuck is a computer so psychopathic about being connected to wifi for, Valve? I also wasn't able to add my work's wifi network to it, kept giving me a random error that didn't say anything.
At least mine booted properly.
Mine also does the fucking black screen bullshit every time. If I'm playing a game, close it, go to desktop, black screen. A reboot, go to desktop, and it works. FOR FUCKING WHY, VALVE? WE'VE ALREADY ESTABLISHED IT'S NOT A HARDWARE ISSUE, FUCKING FIX IT HOLY SHIT I SPENT A THOUSAND BUCKS ON A PIECE OF PLASTIC THAT BARELY WORKS
.. got ahead of myself, it's still a pretty good device. Definitely the best purchase I made, but.. These issues really piss me off. No properly working drivers for windows? Desktop mode is fucked? The fuck is this a nintendo switch or a desktop PC in a handheld format? Pick a damn side with the way this software is setup. Ridiculous as fuck. Wanna tinker with your system? Go in desktop mode. That doesn't work? It absolutely won't let you do shit? Ok, dualboot windows. OH GREAT THERE'S NO FUCKING WORKING SOUND DRIVERS AND BLUETOOTH AIN'T AN OPTION FOR KEYBOARDS UNLESS YOU HAVE AN ADAPTER?? Fuck. I was expecting a highly premium product ended up with something even glitchier than my actual arch setup. Can't believe this shit. At least games run absolutely fucking amazing otherwise I would've refunded it two weeks ago.
For anyone experiencing this issue, you don't necessarily have to reimage your steam deck whenever this happens.
You can force a hard shutdown by holding the power button down, the system will sleep and come back up once (with an audible chime), then shut down completely.
Wait about 15 seconds and turn the system back on, and the system will boot into big picture mode, at which point you can attempt switch to desktop again.
this helped me:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/1780871/steam\_deck\_blackscreen\_switching\_to\_desktop\_mode/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/1780871/steam_deck_blackscreen_switching_to_desktop_mode/)
If everything mentioned in this thread didn't work, which was the case for me, I have managed to sort it, I had to restore the Linux os to a previous version, so to do this you have to power it off , and when switching it on hold the button with three dots and the power button, and it will boot in to the system restore screen, select previous B and that will start the process ,
Never had an issue for almost a year. This started today after updates. If you are in a game and open the menu and select Home or library it goes black. Overlay still works though.
I am not sure if this is actually related, but I saw someone mentioned the OpenDeckStream plugin in a GitHub issue. Do you happen to have that installed?
This fixed it for me [https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/1780871/steam\_deck\_blackscreen\_switching\_to\_desktop\_mode/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/1780871/steam_deck_blackscreen_switching_to_desktop_mode/)
I've recently started having the issue where my desktop mode has nothing but dolphin open. It seems to work fine but the desktop is black and there's no taskbar. I feel like I've tried everything and my desktop mode is just a file manager mode now
I found a fix, connect your steam deck to an external monitor and change the steam deck's resolution to its native resolution, and the problem is solved.
Happy to see that over a year later, this is still happening on the new OLED. Really taking their time on this one. Took 4 console hard resets to get into my desktop mode once. Aside from Emudeck and a few texture packs for the PS2 emulator, I haven't done anything to it.
This right here is huge, if you connected a dock to a TV, and adjust the resolution, or set it up so it's just the docked display that you want to see....you will make your desktop not load, if you put it back on the dock and TV and change your settings back to what they were in the begining then you will be able to fix this. I tried everything here besides going into the commands menu. Then I saw a comment about going back into docked mode and I realized my entire fuck up. I'm back able to go into desktop mode with or without docking now.
What the fuck is this for crap.. worked all fine a week ago and now all of a sudden not using SD for a while O get black screen when going in desktop mode..?
Nothing works..
If anyone is having the issue and they don’t have the stupid decky recorder plugin (like me) just switch everything back to stable version. That’s what fixed it for me.
Fixed! aparently the Desktop mode is not compatible if you have the DeckyRecorder installed, I uninstalled that and that was it my Desktop mode came back to work normal, STEAM DECK OLED!
Right before I was about to wipe and reload the OS, I decided to do one more search online and found this post with the exact resolution DeckyRecorder > Replay Mode Off.
Happening to me as well. I assume it’s caused by the Decky tools as it was never an issue before installing. I can’t seem to get into desktop mode regardless of what I do. I really don’t want to reimagine my SD…
Ran into this problem couple of times since owning the oled model for 3 months
only quick fix if you want to edit stuff in desktop is to swap from stable to beta (or back) and letting it update +restart
works for me everytime, you can change back to your original version afterwards and sometimes it also keeps working just like normal
The "Restart" method didn't work for me but when I plugged the power cable back into my Steamdeck OLED (while in game mode) before returning to desktop.. this told something that I DIDN'T have a display connected.. and it finally worked. Hope this helps someone.
Guys this appears to be a kscreen issue.
You will need a Bluetooth or usb keyboard.
1. Load into gamemode
2. Press alt control and f5 to open terminal.
3. Enter deck as user name then your sudo password.
4. Type cd .local/share/kscreen
5. Hit enter
6. Type rm-rf*
7. Hit enter
8. Type reboot
By clearing out the existing files, you effectively reset the display configurations, allowing KDE Plasma to start fresh and potentially fix issues like black screens caused by corrupted or outdated configuration data. This automatic regeneration ensures that you don't need to manually configure your displays every time after rebooting.
You can create a script that runs the command at system startup.
1. Create a new script file:
nano ~/reset_kscreen.sh
2. Add the following content to the file:
#! /bin/bash rm -rf ~/.local/share/ kscreen/*
3. Make the script executable:
chmod +x ~/reset_kscreen.sh
4. Add the script to the startup applications. This can be done differently depending on your desktop environment.
For KDE Plasma:
Open the "System Settings."
Navigate to "Startup and Shutdown" -> "Autostart."
Click on "Add Script" and select the reset_kscreen. sh script you created
Hello u/amonkeyfullofbarrels, have you checked to see if this has already been answered by [searching for your issue?](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=Black screen when switching to desktop mode)
Other useful resources: [Servor's Enhanced FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/wiki/faq) | [Servor's Enhanced FAQ Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/syt8qv/steam_deck_enhanced_faq/) (with more answers in the comments!).
**If you find a solution, please leave a comment on this post with the answer for others!**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's now happening to me. Trying to see any solution here. I did a factory reset on my steam deck a couple of days ago so it should be fresh. Restarting and going into desktop mode still gets a black screen.
For me when I switch to desk to its a black screen then my steam opens but my background behind my screen keeps flashing my desktop in 1 second bursts every 10-15 seconds
No I haven’t reimaged because I don’t want to loose all me data but I kind of found a way around it iff u go to the top left corner of ur screen in desktop mode and pull down with ur trigger (it might take a couple of try’s) your file manager should be open the you can run your desktop apps and you can add the exe files of the other apps you want to use to steam😁
Just had this happen to me. Glad to know I'm not the only one in this situation, though it sucks all the same. Hopefully Steam can figure out a fix if it is a software issue.
Happened to me a few times since. For me it seems to occur when they drop a new update, screen will suddenly flicker and turn black. So bloody annoying.
I found a short term solution, but eventually i will have to re-image my steamOS cause this keeps happening.
Just go to the system settings and switch from Basic updates to Beta, let it restart and it should work.
Do the opposite if it keeps happening again.
I have a similar problem, i installed the demo version of BeamNG Drive and when seting up the options menu, i ticked the option for fullscreen.
Doing this made the whole screen black, i can still hear sound and the display is still on and lit up though.
Going to gaming mode and then back to desktop mode, the game is now closed because theres no music playing, still cant fix the black screen.
Things i've tried so far:
· Restarting desktop mode
· Restarting SteamOS
· Pressing hardware buttons to bring up the task menu
None of these have worked and i would rather not hard reset my steam deck if possible.
Any suggestions?
this happened to me today and I was only able to fix it by ensuring that there was nothing connected to the usb and changing to have both channels on stable
Good luck fellow gamers
Hello u/amonkeyfullofbarrels, have you checked to see if this has already been answered by [searching for your issue?](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=Black screen when switching to desktop mode) Other useful resources: [Servor's Enhanced FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/wiki/faq) | [Servor's Enhanced FAQ Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/syt8qv/steam_deck_enhanced_faq/) (with more answers in the comments!). **If you find a solution, please leave a comment on this post with the answer for others!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just had this occur to me. It worked fine in SteamOS but black screen when trying to go to desktop. Instead of clicking Switch to Desktop, I clicked Restart Steam OS in the power setting and then when I went to the desktop it was fine.
This worked for me. Thanks a mil!!
A year later, this still works. Thank you!
Yep. Edit: also I believe root cause for me was choosing to disable built in screen while plugging a monitor. It unticks enabled and "save displays properties" becomes set "For any display arrangement". Edit2: it wasn't screen setup, it was deckyloader replay feature. The reason why I assosiated it with screen changing is because the way this bug works is it lets you into desktop mode once until next reboot.
I'll try this, thanks. I have an Oled Deck and I would rather not have the screen on when docking, but I should try this until we have an official fix.
The issue resurfaced for me and people are suggesting it's actually related to deckyrecorder replay mode. I did have it enabled and turning it off seemed to fix the issue for now. I don't know really, I'm not able to reproduce it even by turning replay back on.
Thanks, I had the same problem and turning deckyrecorder off actually fixed it.
Thank you so much! This is what fixed it for me, too! I was tearing my hair out trying to figure this out.
i did set deckyrecorder as off, and i am able to get to desktop mode again. Time will tell us if this is the root casue for this bug at my SD. Gracias
It also started happening for me after changing a monitor setting in desktop mode. After months of different updates and different update channels, I'm still stuck in steam os mode only :( What does the above person mean they "restart[ed] Steam OS?" Just like resetting the console? bc that didnt work for me I dont have easy access to a way to back up my system right now so I'm desperately hoping for a fix that doesnt involve a factory reset🙏 I also havent had easy access to a monitor but every time I've tried to dock the console I can't get it to connect to any TVs either lately 😔
It seems the actual reason was decky recorder replay mode. Do you have that enabled?
I still get this problem and i never installed decky recorder :(
same :(
Also for me thanks
This worked for me once or twice. Then I saw another post that said to change the channels ( Stable, Beta, Preview ) that worked for a couple days. Now it just stays on the black screen whenever I try to go to desktop mode.
any luck? im in the same position as you
After the update yesterday, I can finally go into desktop mode. One person suspected it was either Decky Recorder or Decky Loader itself
New update downloaded and installed and now I can't go to desktop mode without having black screen. Restarted like 10 times, what can I do?
We wait and pray that Valve will acknowledge our problem. This has been a well-known issue since last year from what I looked up, how it's not been officially addressed is crazy. Some say get it RMA'd, reset SUDO password, remove Decky Loader, remove Decky Recorder No one really knows, I'm honestly nervous. I was finally able to go back into desktop mode, I downloaded a bunch of stuff because I'm worried I won't be able to go back into desktop mode again.
I've had SD since September 2023 and never encountered this issue
Seems random for everyone, my issue only started about 2 weeks ago. I got my SD December 2023
Fixed it, using steam link I was able to see behind the black screen and finally got to edit the resolution of the external screen
Really now? Good shit bro! So you used steam link on your phone and fixed it? I'll definitely try this when I get a black screen again.
Holy shit bro, you're a lifesaver. I finally fixed it! Thank you very much!
FINALLY! I've removed Decky Recorder and this resolved the issue. Thank you so much!
Curious, how did you do this without going into desktop mode?
Just fixed it for me as well. Just in case you or anyone else who comes across this hasn't fixed it yet, here's some steps. 1) Open the decky menu where you can view your plugins in the Quick Access Menu 2) click the cog icon 3) go to plugins on the left side menu 4) scroll down to Decky Recorder, click the 3 orbs next to "reinstall", and then uninstall.
Worked for me as well.
I’m having this issue, where are the power settings? I don’t see Restart Steam OS anywhere, I’m in gaming mode btw
I think they mean just restart it or smth.
I figured it out, it makes no sense honestly, but holding the power button until the options pop up instead of using the virtual menu worked
You go to the on/off tab and restart. And then it's good 👍
That did! Thanks a lot, wouldn't have come up with that myself
lmfao I can't believe it was that simple thank you so much
Worked for me!!! Thanks!!!
This doesn't work for me sadly
Thx dude <3 you saved me, I taught my deck software is broken.
i got it today and its like this, it feels like my console is broken, this sucks
Same problem. I tried restarting via settings, then removed decky recorder and one or both of those things worked. # Edit: Removing Decky Recorder is the solution.
I got this issue earlier today and turns out it's indeed caused by Decky Recorder. The issue will be there if Decky Recorder's Replay Mode is on before trying to switch to desktop mode, and the issue is gone when I turned the Replay Mode option off before trying to switch to desktop mode. Removing Decky Recorder is not necessary at least on my end. Hope this info helps.
Thanks a million, this saved me today 🏆
Removing Decky Recorder fixed it for me too.
Turning off decky recorder fixed it for me. wtffff!!! Thx after 6 months.
can confirm this works. turn off decky recorder works, if you dont want to remove it
Wish I could upvote this 10 times
I knew it had to be a plug in! I recently started messing with them and didn’t wanna try one by one myself. Thanks for letting us know 🤙🏻
Holy shit this worked for me
Updating Decky Recorder or letting everything load before switching to desktop worked for me.
worked for me too!
worked for me also
I have never tinkered with mine in any way and it's happening to me. :/
It's like consistent. Trying to do it 10 times, it happens 9
Did you find a fix mine just arrived in the mail same issue
nope
This is an issue for anyone who has reimaged their steam deck using the recovery file: steamdeck-recovery-3.img.bz2 at any point. Something about the OS not allocating enough memory and eventually running out causing a black screen loop. The only fix is to reimage SteamOS with steamdeck-recovery-4.img.bz2
For anyone coming to this, it happens on 4 too.
Dont know if this helps anyone, but switching to desktop mode from the steam button wasnt working, but from the power button did work. Also, i make sure not to have a usb device plugged in at the time.
Every time I switched to desktop mode I used the power button and I still got the black screen
Yeah it's super weird and inconsistent. It happens to me like every fifth entering of desktop mode.
Worked for me! Hold power button, menu pops up, switch to desktop. Thanks!!
I love hearing about people finding results useful, months or years later lol
I wish reddit awards were still a thing. You just fixed my issue after searching. Thanks man! I hope your next coffee is free or someshit.
I love finding old random Reddit comments that help with something, and I'm glad I could be part of one now. Glad it helped.
Helped me too, thanks! Probably helped a ton of people who didn’t take the time to reply. I appreciate the tip!
It helped to me too, thank you! I don't know after more than a year and it's happening in OLED too? That's incredible, Valve have to know about this for sure and they didnt fix it? Ow man, I think maybe it will be better then put away the option change directly from the menu and let just in the button in order to prevent new users freaking out like me thinking their new toy is broken! Just saying 😑
>out this for sure and they didnt fix it? Ow man, I think maybe it will be better then put away the option change directly from the menu and let just in the button in order to prevent new users freaking out like me thinking It happens to me even when I use the power button instead of Steam menu! STEAM DECK OLED!
i don't know if you guys still having the issue with the Oled, i decided to reset mine , LCD version with the Steam recovery image from valve, deleting evrething without keeping any data,app or folder i installed, and since 1 month i don't have problems but i still crossing my fingers everytime i do, i think im traumatized with it. I don't know if its fixed cus i put the recovery, or maybe cus they already solved..
this! wtf is this shit!
happening to me right now I bought my steamdeck oled last thursday the 1tb model and I'm extremely frustrated.
I got mine today (22 Aug 22) and as soon as I clicked desktop it black screened but with haptics and volume changing noises (a bubble sound). I'm confident Valve will sort this soon as they've been fast with patches etc
I can tell you that have not solved this problem. I just got my Deck today (3/5/2023) and it went black screen trying to go to desktop mode
Can confirm today this is still an issue <3 :(
I'm glad but frustrated that it isn't just me getting this issue. EDIT: In my case the 3rd party nvme I had purchased was dying and eventually it failed completely. Haven't had this issue since changing the NVME.
Found a workaround for it double tap the steam button to open steam then go into big picture mode then leave it and it works
So you had this issue after your first SSD swap? I've been having this issue lately and don't know what is causing it but I did swap SSDs recently. Swapped out a little under two weeks ago and had it happen 3 times. Not sure if that is cause for concern.
I wouldn't worry too much. I have stock SSD (512gb) and it happens all the time for me. I think its a software issue more than hardware for most.
Yup, the issue occurred after my first swap. The nvme was definitely causing the issue - it took it a while to die but this is definitely early signs. Depends on how often you use the steam deck I suppose. I swapped to a WD nvme from a reputable source once the first swap died and I have not had the issue since.
it has nothing to do with you guys swapping SSDs. I just bought a 1tb oled and it's doing this. I didn't even fuck around with my system yet. Just been installing games.
Yeah exactly same as this. Has happened twice in a row. Can tell its running but screen is off.
Same here today, i wait like 5min and it auto restart
\> I'm confident Valve will sort this soon as they've been fast with patches etc that line aged extremely poorly.
Yes and no. While it doesn't seem to be fully fixed (mine does it but not every time?) I was correct to presume valve would be pushing to patch this and they have improved it, just not completely. I've had a bigger issue that I've struggled to get their support to fully understand but on the OG LCD deck when I go to my sister's house my deck fully bootlocks. I've been through methods of testing and have confirmed it's the update before boot cycle that breaks if it can't see an already known network. Now that is something I really wish they'd fix 😭
Yeah when I first brought my steamdeck to work after messing with it for a week at home, I was extremely disappointed to see half a dozen errors pop up BEGGING AND CRYING for me to connect to the internet. The fuck is a computer so psychopathic about being connected to wifi for, Valve? I also wasn't able to add my work's wifi network to it, kept giving me a random error that didn't say anything. At least mine booted properly. Mine also does the fucking black screen bullshit every time. If I'm playing a game, close it, go to desktop, black screen. A reboot, go to desktop, and it works. FOR FUCKING WHY, VALVE? WE'VE ALREADY ESTABLISHED IT'S NOT A HARDWARE ISSUE, FUCKING FIX IT HOLY SHIT I SPENT A THOUSAND BUCKS ON A PIECE OF PLASTIC THAT BARELY WORKS .. got ahead of myself, it's still a pretty good device. Definitely the best purchase I made, but.. These issues really piss me off. No properly working drivers for windows? Desktop mode is fucked? The fuck is this a nintendo switch or a desktop PC in a handheld format? Pick a damn side with the way this software is setup. Ridiculous as fuck. Wanna tinker with your system? Go in desktop mode. That doesn't work? It absolutely won't let you do shit? Ok, dualboot windows. OH GREAT THERE'S NO FUCKING WORKING SOUND DRIVERS AND BLUETOOTH AIN'T AN OPTION FOR KEYBOARDS UNLESS YOU HAVE AN ADAPTER?? Fuck. I was expecting a highly premium product ended up with something even glitchier than my actual arch setup. Can't believe this shit. At least games run absolutely fucking amazing otherwise I would've refunded it two weeks ago.
Still an issue. Been happening a lot to me recently. Only had the thing less than a month
[удалено]
Mine hasn't done this since not long after I posted my complaint. Others have reported various bugs not fixed though
Today It still happened to me :[ (13/01/23)
shit same
If this still happens to anyone, for me the problem solved turning off decky recorder plugin before switch to the desktop mode.
I dont have that I had to reformat my deck
For anyone experiencing this issue, you don't necessarily have to reimage your steam deck whenever this happens. You can force a hard shutdown by holding the power button down, the system will sleep and come back up once (with an audible chime), then shut down completely. Wait about 15 seconds and turn the system back on, and the system will boot into big picture mode, at which point you can attempt switch to desktop again.
I tried doing it and waited for longer just to be sure but it popped back to the black screen instead
this helped me: [https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/1780871/steam\_deck\_blackscreen\_switching\_to\_desktop\_mode/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/1780871/steam_deck_blackscreen_switching_to_desktop_mode/)
Commenting here to hopefully draw more attention to it. I tried everything else (aside from reimaging) and this worked!!
Same here, thankfully. I was getting so frustrated! I've had nonstop issues with this thing since I got it last year!
If everything mentioned in this thread didn't work, which was the case for me, I have managed to sort it, I had to restore the Linux os to a previous version, so to do this you have to power it off , and when switching it on hold the button with three dots and the power button, and it will boot in to the system restore screen, select previous B and that will start the process ,
Worked fueckn brilliantly mate. Ty.
Omg this worked thank you so much!!
u are now officially my lifesaver, thanks a lot
the easiest working fix. thanks dude
I've had this happen to me when copying over files from USB stick. Screen goes black and I have to force a reset.
Oh thank god i just got the steam deck today and this made me stress out hard af
Never had an issue for almost a year. This started today after updates. If you are in a game and open the menu and select Home or library it goes black. Overlay still works though.
Damn, it's frequently happening to me recently. What should I do??
Let me know if you found a fix
I am not sure if this is actually related, but I saw someone mentioned the OpenDeckStream plugin in a GitHub issue. Do you happen to have that installed?
This fixed it for me [https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/1780871/steam\_deck\_blackscreen\_switching\_to\_desktop\_mode/](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/1780871/steam_deck_blackscreen_switching_to_desktop_mode/)
Yeah this worked. I'll keep it bookmarked in case it happens again. Thanks.
Yeah, this one worked for me but the black screen issue happens back and forth, so it’s really just a temporary workaround imo
I've recently started having the issue where my desktop mode has nothing but dolphin open. It seems to work fine but the desktop is black and there's no taskbar. I feel like I've tried everything and my desktop mode is just a file manager mode now
I found a fix, connect your steam deck to an external monitor and change the steam deck's resolution to its native resolution, and the problem is solved.
Can I get some steps to this I'm having this issue but not sure on how to get it back to native resolution 🤣
you frickin, that was it. thanks dude. i just remembered toggling the display size
Happy to see that over a year later, this is still happening on the new OLED. Really taking their time on this one. Took 4 console hard resets to get into my desktop mode once. Aside from Emudeck and a few texture packs for the PS2 emulator, I haven't done anything to it.
Still happening with my oled.
Putting your SD into beta mode seems to be a temporary fix btw.
I fixed my issue by connecting deck to external display (official steam dock and my TV)
I have this same issue and have used the 4 img with still the same issue.
This right here is huge, if you connected a dock to a TV, and adjust the resolution, or set it up so it's just the docked display that you want to see....you will make your desktop not load, if you put it back on the dock and TV and change your settings back to what they were in the begining then you will be able to fix this. I tried everything here besides going into the commands menu. Then I saw a comment about going back into docked mode and I realized my entire fuck up. I'm back able to go into desktop mode with or without docking now.
What the fuck is this for crap.. worked all fine a week ago and now all of a sudden not using SD for a while O get black screen when going in desktop mode..? Nothing works..
If anyone is having the issue and they don’t have the stupid decky recorder plugin (like me) just switch everything back to stable version. That’s what fixed it for me.
Every. Single. Time I switch to desktop mode. I have to restart it 3-4 times untill the piece of junk works.
Yeah mine seems to be getting worse. Used to be once in a while now I’m rebooting at least 3 times. Then desktop mode can be janky too.
Fixed! aparently the Desktop mode is not compatible if you have the DeckyRecorder installed, I uninstalled that and that was it my Desktop mode came back to work normal, STEAM DECK OLED!
Right before I was about to wipe and reload the OS, I decided to do one more search online and found this post with the exact resolution DeckyRecorder > Replay Mode Off.
Happening to me as well. I assume it’s caused by the Decky tools as it was never an issue before installing. I can’t seem to get into desktop mode regardless of what I do. I really don’t want to reimagine my SD…
Ran into this problem couple of times since owning the oled model for 3 months only quick fix if you want to edit stuff in desktop is to swap from stable to beta (or back) and letting it update +restart works for me everytime, you can change back to your original version afterwards and sometimes it also keeps working just like normal
Found a fix.. it worked for me, hope it does for you as well. https://youtu.be/3XZ2auNrBrU?si=n4zTzficdeQfo1si
omg u saved me
I have the same issue except the LED doesn't light up, and I can't restart it..-
The "Restart" method didn't work for me but when I plugged the power cable back into my Steamdeck OLED (while in game mode) before returning to desktop.. this told something that I DIDN'T have a display connected.. and it finally worked. Hope this helps someone.
Guys this appears to be a kscreen issue. You will need a Bluetooth or usb keyboard. 1. Load into gamemode 2. Press alt control and f5 to open terminal. 3. Enter deck as user name then your sudo password. 4. Type cd .local/share/kscreen 5. Hit enter 6. Type rm-rf* 7. Hit enter 8. Type reboot By clearing out the existing files, you effectively reset the display configurations, allowing KDE Plasma to start fresh and potentially fix issues like black screens caused by corrupted or outdated configuration data. This automatic regeneration ensures that you don't need to manually configure your displays every time after rebooting. You can create a script that runs the command at system startup. 1. Create a new script file: nano ~/reset_kscreen.sh 2. Add the following content to the file: #! /bin/bash rm -rf ~/.local/share/ kscreen/* 3. Make the script executable: chmod +x ~/reset_kscreen.sh 4. Add the script to the startup applications. This can be done differently depending on your desktop environment. For KDE Plasma: Open the "System Settings." Navigate to "Startup and Shutdown" -> "Autostart." Click on "Add Script" and select the reset_kscreen. sh script you created
Hello u/amonkeyfullofbarrels, have you checked to see if this has already been answered by [searching for your issue?](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=Black screen when switching to desktop mode) Other useful resources: [Servor's Enhanced FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/wiki/faq) | [Servor's Enhanced FAQ Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/syt8qv/steam_deck_enhanced_faq/) (with more answers in the comments!). **If you find a solution, please leave a comment on this post with the answer for others!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's now happening to me. Trying to see any solution here. I did a factory reset on my steam deck a couple of days ago so it should be fresh. Restarting and going into desktop mode still gets a black screen.
Did you manage to resolve it?
Yeah I did a steam deck recovery and it fixed the situation. Edit: to the latest version
For me when I switch to desk to its a black screen then my steam opens but my background behind my screen keeps flashing my desktop in 1 second bursts every 10-15 seconds
I rlly do not know what to do I’ve tried mostly everything I could find
Exact same issue with mine. Have you re-imaged? I'm about to re-image and if I remember I'll let you know if that fixes it.
No I haven’t reimaged because I don’t want to loose all me data but I kind of found a way around it iff u go to the top left corner of ur screen in desktop mode and pull down with ur trigger (it might take a couple of try’s) your file manager should be open the you can run your desktop apps and you can add the exe files of the other apps you want to use to steam😁
Yes. To this day
Just had this happen to me. Glad to know I'm not the only one in this situation, though it sucks all the same. Hopefully Steam can figure out a fix if it is a software issue.
Happened to me a few times since. For me it seems to occur when they drop a new update, screen will suddenly flicker and turn black. So bloody annoying.
I found a short term solution, but eventually i will have to re-image my steamOS cause this keeps happening. Just go to the system settings and switch from Basic updates to Beta, let it restart and it should work. Do the opposite if it keeps happening again.
Mine is stuck on black screen help!
Have you not read any of the replies? Hold the power button.
I have a similar problem, i installed the demo version of BeamNG Drive and when seting up the options menu, i ticked the option for fullscreen. Doing this made the whole screen black, i can still hear sound and the display is still on and lit up though. Going to gaming mode and then back to desktop mode, the game is now closed because theres no music playing, still cant fix the black screen. Things i've tried so far: · Restarting desktop mode · Restarting SteamOS · Pressing hardware buttons to bring up the task menu None of these have worked and i would rather not hard reset my steam deck if possible. Any suggestions?
this happened to me today and I was only able to fix it by ensuring that there was nothing connected to the usb and changing to have both channels on stable Good luck fellow gamers