This has been possible via the BIOS for a while now, but it's long overdue at the OS level. I love that Value keeps adding little QoL improvements to the steam deck, it's turned out to be one of the best pieces of tech I've ever bought.
It’s so weird that it doesn’t have it because both my kubuntu and endeavorOS installs have it by default. Like that’s a basic feature
It was already an option in desktop mode afaik, just wasn't part of game mode.
Decky has a Powertools plugin, what I've been doing, can set per game profiles and restrict charge rates as well with that.
I do hope they focus a bit on the UI going forward - we've noticed a lot of silly little bugs while either using the Steam Deck controls or a controller.
A little hard to close a window without focus when using a controller....
Also I literally can't get it to use a plugged controller when docked. Sure, it will charge it and I can pair it with Bluetooth and it works, but it's a little silly that I can't just use it as "pure" USB controller (even though it works flawlessly in that way on multiple PCs, including a Linux desktop, and through weird peripherals like my monitor's USB hub).
Streaming games on the home wifi is also basically non-functional in the OS, even though it works pretty damn well when I do it through Moonlight. I'm assuming the steam version doesn't do enough compression (and yes I have tried tweaking the settings)
Finally!!
Still can’t believe some phones don’t have this
...i just assumed they knew how to keep the battery safe already... My deck has stayed plugged in and docked since i got my projector to use with it..fuuuuuck
There’s a big difference between “safe” and “ideal”
All lithium ion batteries degrade quicker at 100% vs 80 or even 60%. But it’s not going to explode and kill you.
Actually thanks, now trust you mention it i should not have used safe. I was not meaning danger, just that i might have damaged the battery life or at least put it at risk at the least. Just assumed that it came optimised to be as ideal as valve usually goes a bit overboard on their hardware from what i remember reading
I think since the beginning if plugged in for some time it decharges to 95% so you are probably fine. You can check the battery health in desktop mode.
I really appreciate this one. Have done this on my other devices too, and while it does cut battery life by a little, your battery health will remain high for considerably longer
I implemented the same on my laptop with tlp. It is actually pretty easy to do so.
What do people set it to?
On my devices where it’s available I usually set it to 80-85%.
Default limit when toggled on is 80%, which generally seems like a good middle ground between usability and battery life. You can also raise the limit higher if you want more battery, or lower if you want to preserve the battery life better.
I thought the steam deck already had this. Admittedly, I’ve only had mine for about a month, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it charge to 100%. I think 95% was the highest I’ve seen. It seemed like it had something similar to smart charge like Windows has.
When it charges up all the way, it stops charging and just does passthrough power instead. You can then see the battery % slowly drop over time, which is probably why you were seeing stuff like 95%
You shouldn't see the battery drop if it is not using the battery, which is what pass through would suggest.
Not quite - batteries have something called self-discharge, which happens faster at higher temps. If you're actively using the deck, it can get warm which speeds up this process. It's not fast, but it's absolutely possible to see depending on how long you leave the deck docked
Battery self discharge is measured in days at worst, more typically weeks or months. It should not be dropping 5% over the course of an hour or so even if the device is a bit warm. Plus having it plugged in should start charging again once the battery starts dropping too low.
Sparky1337 hasn't said anything about how long it had been plugged in before he saw it at 95%, so I was kinda assuming he was leaving it plugged in overnight, or leaving it docked for long amounts of time.
Plugged in 24/7? I’d set it to 60%. If I have a mix of use 80%.
A place to discuss and support all things Steam Deck.
Replacement for r/steamdeck_linux.
As Lemmy doesn't have flairs yet, you can use these prefixes to indicate what type of post you have made, eg:
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