Steam Deck Controller working in Windows with Handheld Companion

[@foff967]

U are a lifesaver, was trying to get steam deck working for like 3 hours, thank you so much

[@R.u.g.0]

This is exactly what i was looking for. Thank you

[@ulissesjunior5280]

Thats amazing!! Got it working here, great tutorial! Only thing is that it's a little bit laggy, but unless you have some suggestions I'll look around for a solution

[@Loaded0]

Yeah sometimes I feel like it’s not registering button presses like my issue with the quick menu not showing right away. Other times it works great. They seem to be working on it a lot though so hopefully it’ll get better.

[@ulissesjunior5280]

@@Loaded0 I actually discovered I had glossi running as well so it was getting double input! Much better now :)

[@chariothe9013]

1:18 I talked about this to developer, It's not handheld companion's fault, it's actually a HWinfo fault, freeze occurs when hwinfo tries to pull information on steamdeck hardware.

[@Loaded0]

Yeah, I don’t think it used to happen so hopefully it can be fixed again. Plenty of ways to get performance monitoring outside of HWinfo though.

[@voidvoidvoid7274]

Hey, thank you for the video ! Just a quick note : they disabled the OEM button by default on version 0.19.1.8 :)

[@StrudleMaster]

Is there a feature to invert the y axis for the right stick? A couple games i wanna play dont work with steam overlay and dont have a toggle for it

[@warlockboyburns]

Steam deck tool is the best after I worked out how ....to get gyroscope in gamepass games install steam deck tools (instead of handheld companion), set the desktop controller to ds4 and in steam delete all the controls for the desktop profile except for the trackpads as mouse and scroll wheel and enable gyroscope and choose to activate it with right trackpad touch.

[@Loaded0]

I haven’t seen this tool before but it looks promising. Thanks for the heads up.

[@JoeDrinkWater]

Steam deck tools make my windows crash everytime

[@warlockboyburns]

@@JoeDrinkWater try the latest graphics drivers

[@Campinberto]

Thanks dude, very helpful video

[@Loaded0]

Thanks for watching!

[@jaketheman2029]

When I click on handheld companion to run the .exe file it asks how id like to open it. I tried using steam but no success. What do I open the file with? Thanks

[@betablockrr]

I only want to use the gamepad function, no TDP etc to avoid anti-cheat. I wanted to use Exclusive mode but the track pad isn't working at all, how do I fix this?

[@Loaded0]

I think the trackpad only works in desktop mode or while using Steam Input unfortunately.

[@gamingwithgoku6250]

how to make quick tools menu like to yours ? When I click quick tools bottom ,it’s open the steam . How to fix that ?

[@Loaded0]

You can’t have steam running to use all of the handheld companion features. Steam takes over all controller inputs so that might be your problem.

[@PokeBurnPlease]

thx this works. I tryed Glossi but there is no executable to be found just some source data i cannot use. Any everything else swizz or whatever the other one was called switched to mouse and keyboard controls when i pressed B.

[@tylerdeavellar4270]

You’re a life saver

[@emanndaman8315]

Which is better Steam Deck Tools or Handheld Companion?

[@Loaded0]

I haven’t tried Steam Deck Tools, but it seems like it’s a good simpler alternative. Handheld companion has more features and is constantly being updated. Depends on what you’re looking for I think.

[@Shise-]

How do you update steam OS bios or firmware when an update comes out if you fully replaced it with Windows 11?

[@Loaded0]

I replaced the SSD that was in the Steam Deck so I just put the old one back in to update the bios. The bios isn’t updated frequently so you won’t have to do it often, but it helps to have the original separate from the Windows SSD. That said besides security updates the bios isn’t that important to update if your Deck is working fine with Windows at the moment. When official dual boot support comes out it should be easier to update bios too.

[@JeetCoinDo]

It's not compatible with all the oled models yet, hence you're getting the firmware errors. It still works without fan control.

[@Loaded0]

All the Windows drivers haven’t been released by Valve for the OLED so I’m waiting for those before trying Windows on it.

[@jamyeung8938]

may i know which touch keyboard app are you using?

[@Loaded0]

It's the normal on screen keyboard for Windows 11.

[@mrburns366]

I just open everything through Steam so i have full access to all the Steam controls. In my opinion the Steam controls are an absolute necessity. Emulating a basic gamepad is really selling the steam deck short of what it's capable of

[@Salmon_Ranger]

It just doesnt even start, it comes up with the give permission thing and then just doesnt do anything

[@Loaded0]

Well, try a reinstall and make sure you give it all the permissions it needs. It’s best to start it with nothing else running like Steam. Especially on the first run as it configures everything. If it just doesn’t run at all usually the required Windows libraries didn’t get installed correctly.

[@Gamethinker]

So I’m trying to use hand held companion but it doesn’t wanna open and keeps asking me to allow changes and Ik this could be cause of steam but can I not have steam at all?!

[@Loaded0]

Yeah Windows has a lot of security prompts that show up. You always have to allow the app to make any changes it needs to. If you miss one or deny a permission it may not run correctly.

[@joshwelker423]

Why does your handheld companion look better than mine does my HC doesn't show a picture of a controller and is all white ?

[@Loaded0]

This video is an older version and they’re constantly updating it so it’s going to look different now. Functionally should be pretty similar though.

[@EmulationOtaku]

Thank you so so so so much!!!!

[@sallehden2771]

i don't get it I follow every step from your video, but my handheld companion doesn't launch after restart.. is it because I use window 10?

[@Loaded0]

It should work for windows 10 too. It doesn’t launch manually either? It might not be set to auto launch in its settings.

[@Azhureus]

I downloaded this for Steamdeck, this thing is useless, always keeps stopping the service. Works fine for the first start, then if you exit the game and start a new one or if you disconnect and connect the controller just once, it never works again, have to restart the whole system. I dont know who makes these, its 2024 and fairly simple apps dont work as they should. Maybe I am doing something wrong, its possible, but the app should be simple to use, start once and thats it, no hassle to make it work everytime something new is run on the steamdeck.

[@Loaded0]

If you’re running your games through Steam or have Steam auto startup with Windows it could be the problem. It’s better to use the built in Steam Input in that case. Handheld Companion should mainly be used for games from other stores or launchers. Unfortunately Handheld Companion itself is basically a collection of individual software that all updates independently so things can break too.

[@MasterMMM703]

So do you recommend having Windows on it? Or its linux os better still and if i want a windows handheld its still better to get any of the windows ones?

[@MasterMMM703]

Liked and sub from me , love the video even tho i don't have any handhelds , i do wish to buy one but prob should wait until next year to see what new stuff gonna keep appear and cus I don't got a buget for anything at the moment just hard time financially

[@Loaded0]

I would say Valve did an amazing job making SteamOS easy to use. Windows unfortunately feels like using a small laptop with only a touchscreen to navigate. Huge benefit of SteamOS is that it has really good suspend support. You can hit the power button during a game to put the Deck on standby and start right where you left off like a Nintendo Switch. Linux still can’t play all games though and I have a lot of games outside of Steam so I’m willing to deal with Windows right now. Hopefully when you’re ready to get one there will be a lot more companies making them and better Windows handheld support. I’m really tempted by the Legion Go coming out soon. Can’t go wrong with a Steam Deck for price though if Steam is your main store.

[@MasterMMM703]

@@Loaded0 i see , thanks

[@2wxt]

How can I go back to normal? I’m using lenovo LG and the quick menu is not working with this app

[@Loaded0]

I haven’t tried it on my Legion Go, but once you uninstall everything it should be back to normal. Maybe try installing the Legion Space software again.

[@2wxt]

I tried everything but nothing worked, unfortunately. So I reset the device and it worked. Thank you for your response

[@buputyin]

Hi,do i need to uninstall my swicd first before i install handheld companion?

[@Loaded0]

No you shouldn’t have to. For a while I had both because I liked SWICD for certain things but now Handheld Companion is all I use. They can’t be running at the same time though.

[@gr4j0m3r]

How can I set up one button for taking screenshot?

[@unwantedfingerboarding]

For some reason my r2 still clicks mouse and not the actual trigger for some reason idk yoo how can i fx it still using mouse controls or double imputs if that makes sense

[@Loaded0]

I can’t look up the actual setting because I haven’t put Windows on my OLED model yet, but it could be a few things. You might be in “desktop mode” for handheld companion. You’ll know because the right trackpad moves the mouse cursor. You should turn that off when using the controller to play games. You might have Steam open. It takes over the controls and you shouldn’t use it with handheld companion. You might have another software running like SWICD that does the same thing as handheld companion.

[@unwantedfingerboarding]

@Loaded0 okay thanks idk I tried swicd it doesn't work for emulation

[@unwantedfingerboarding]

My steam deck is strictly windows only it doesn't have steam os

[@Loaded0]

Yeah this is all based on Windows only. Make sure you either uninstalled SWICD or just make sure it’s not running with handheld companion. The “desktop mode” is what handheld companion uses when the right trackpad moves the mouse and triggers work as mouse clicks so you need to disable that.

[@reignofswords6575]

Your issue will 99.9% be you don't have vgembus driver installed.

[@96lopsan]

Awesome video! I was able to follow all steps - but unfortunately, when launching Fornite, even though Main Menu and even while waiting for a Game, I can play, and it detects Xbox Controller settings, the game kicks me out before the match starts: Error "You were removed from the match due to internet lag, your IP or machine, VPN usage, or for cheating. We recommend not utilizing VPN or proxy services while attempting to play Fornite". What can I do to solve this problem? I am using Windows 10 on a 512 SD Card.

[@Loaded0]

Sounds like it might have to do with your internet. Are you using a school or work connection? See if it still happens when you use another network somewhere else.

[@96lopsan]

@@Loaded0 I'm on my home network, but what is weird is that I can play Fortnite just fine with Mouse and Keyboard, but it's only when trying to use HC that I get kicked out of games. :(

[@Loaded0]

It works with mouse and keyboard while playing on the Steam Deck? It does sound like a handheld companion issue which they’ve had before, but it was supposed to have been fixed.

[@Loaded0]

Oh, I just found a that a lot of people have been having the same problem on Steam Deck within the last couple of weeks. Might be that Epic changed something in Fortnite. How recently did you play with mouse and keyboard when it worked?

[@96lopsan]

@@Loaded0 Today hehe, yeah Mouse and Keyboard works fine Windows 10 (120fps), but HC using the virtual Xbox Controller gets me kicked out before game match begins.

[@bingcom5250]

Is there a way to make the track pads work as a mouse again????

[@Loaded0]

Yes, there’s a desktop mode setting.

[@bingcom5250]

@@Loaded0 I've been trying that, toggling it on and such. But it does nothing. I don't know what I'm doing wrong or missing

[@Loaded0]

That’s weird. Does the trackpad work when HandheldCompanion isn’t running? If it still doesn’t work you might be missing a driver.

[@cnargurbuz7975]

After installing a handheld companion, can we assign controllers to games via Steam?

[@Loaded0]

Handheld companion and Steam don’t work well together. Steam takes over all the controllers. You can still use the other handheld companion features, but you’ll have to turn off its controller emulation when using Steam.

[@cnargurbuz7975]

@@Loaded0 Thank you for answering :)

[@Mr.BARBOZO]

How the hell do I map my back buttons to joystick clicks?

[@Loaded0]

You’ll see around 5:34 there’s a controller layout option where you can set practically any button to either a keyboard, mouse, or another joystick button.

[@Mr.BARBOZO]

It just won’t let me do it tho it’s like greys out the joystick option or something

[@Mr.BARBOZO]

Oh wait I was just been stupid I fixed it

[@Loaded0]

Glad you were able to fix it.

[@Mr.BARBOZO]

@@Loaded0 😄

[@jish4062]

How do I access the actual app?

[@Loaded0]

After you install it just run the HandheldCompanion app. It might not show a window, but there should be an icon in the bottom right of the taskbar you can use to open it too.

[@VulpesVulpes144]

Do you have any recommendations on how to get battlefield 3 on EA desktop to recognize steamdeck as a controller and not m&k

[@Loaded0]

I have read that controllers can have a problem with battlefield 3. Did you try handheld companion? Since it tricks windows into thinking there’s an Xbox 360 controller I would think it should work.

[@VulpesVulpes144]

@Loaded0 yes that's what I've been using to no avail. I'm going to try steamdeck tools tonight and see if that works. For whatever reason it's really difficult because it's through a browser

[@Loaded0]

Turns out I have battlefield 3 too so I’ll see if I come up with anything.

[@VulpesVulpes144]

@Loaded0 you're the man. Can't wait to see what you figure out.

[@Loaded0]

@VulpesVulpes144 Battlefield 3 is a mess with controller support it seems. I tried various things last night and what worked the best for me was to use still use handheld companion. It’s a bit of a setup but you only have to do it once. Basically make a profile for battlefield in HC and map all the keyboard keys to the controller buttons. You still get keyboard prompts for the quick time events, but it sounds like they don’t support button prompts for those anyways. Luckily the control sticks still work fine so you don’t have to set those to WASD and mouse emulation.

[@thevampiremesha]

I had a question how do you fix it from sometimes opening and then not opening and then stopping completely

[@Loaded0]

Not really sure what you mean, but if it’s intermittently working it could be another app taking control of controller. Steam does this. So does other apps similar to handheld companion like reWASD or SWICD. If you have or had any of these installed you shouldn’t run them together or fully uninstall them.

[@OliviaCarchi-dx6bc]

Doesnt work for me

[@Loaded0]

I wonder if something changed recently as other people have been saying the same thing. I would try again later though since handheld companion is updated often.

[@AdamMucha-h7s]

​@@Loaded0 hi i háve problém with aplication sometimes i mušt reštart the steam deck in Windows 11

[@Loaded0]

@AdamMucha-h7s I have noticed sometimes the controls don’t work after waking up from sleep mode. Usually restarting HC or just disabling then enabling the controller in the HC settings makes it work again. Also Steam running in the background could make it not work too.

[@echospace7347]

What about Linux?

[@Loaded0]

If you’re using Linux you should probably just use SteamOS and its controller configurator.

[@echospace7347]

@@Loaded0 it makes me just use mouse and i cant use controller

[@Loaded0]

You have to run any apps or games through Steam so SteamInput (controller support) will be active. You can manually add any non Steam game or app to your Steam library.

[@qwertyuiop53504]

It doesnt work with ps remote :(

[@Loaded0]

Weird. That's one of the features it's supposed to support. Did you change the emulated controller to the dual shock 4? I don't have Windows on my Steam Deck OLED yet so can't test it for you unfortunately.

[@AriFox83]

For some reason my steam deck doesnt connect

[@Loaded0]

What do you mean by connect? Like the controller doesn’t work?

[@AriFox83]

@@Loaded0 I fixed it, my dumb a$$ had another virtual controller on

[@Loaded0]

Oh ok, glad you were able to figure it out. I remember someone else here had the same problem.

[@Slurpee99]

Anti cheat on fortnite detected this as cheating. Idk why everyone else could use it hut not me

[@Loaded0]

I haven’t tried fornite, but yes it could be detected as a cheat since it’s emulating a controller. Also why you can change between an Xbox or PS controller type. It’s not ideal, but you can use an actual Xbox or PS controller via Bluetooth to the PC and it should let you play.

[@Slurpee99]

@@Loaded0 i heard some say they can use it in fortnite. That’s what gets me puzzled. I just don’t want to plug in an external controller. But thank you for the suggestion.

[@CJKile]

if you change any of the default tdp or fan control settings or anything overclocking (basical anything but the default hardware settings) especially while running fortnite or call of duty or any game with anti cheat matter of fact, it will detect as an "unusual input" or whatever and will assume your using tools to cheat, a buddy of mine found this playing call of duty, Ive been playing fortnite for about a year now with HHC and no issues, kept everything default.

[@Slurpee99]

@@CJKile I didn’t change anything but i figured what the problem was and it don’t have anything to do with HC. Something to do with the wifi drivers

[@CJKile]

@@Slurpee99 thats weird, did this recently happen,? I play cod everyday on steam deck so hopefully I don't get the banhammer :/

[@stephenmackenzie9016]

It’s just doesn’t work for me well on windows 11. Shortcut keys just do not work when in game

[@Loaded0]

I would try again later since handheld companion is updated often. Also make sure Steam or another app hijacking the controller inputs.

[@stephenmackenzie9016]

@@Loaded0 should I just shut steam down? HC doesn’t need it open? I hid the steam controller

[@Loaded0]

@stephenmackenzie9016 yeah Steam will interfere with the controller inputs. You don’t need HC for Steam games since all the Deck controls will work in Steam. I recommend using Steam only for your Steam games and run HC (without Steam running) for other games.

[@AdamMucha-h7s]

​@@Loaded0 HC doesnt Works in Windows the hotkeys doesnt show

[@AdamMucha-h7s]

kzbin.infotWO6ePKkvM4?si=kbdVieF4xt6Psdq9

[@masterbenjamin3348]

I cant Play Cyberpunk and other Games when this is Open 😊

[@Loaded0]

If you’re playing the games through Steam you might have to disable Steam Input.

[@masterbenjamin3348]

@@Loaded0 the Game dont lounch with this toll

[@Loaded0]

It shouldn’t affect games launching at all. I would try to uninstall it and see if the games run. If they don’t then you might have another problem not related to Handheld Companion.

[@reignofswords6575]

Steam deck tools is miles better

[@Loaded0]

Someone else mentioned that. I’m looking forward to giving it a try when the OLED model has all its Windows drivers available.

[@reignofswords6575]

@@Loaded0 I have windows and play cod on my Oled , only work around you need is for audio drivers and I use an app called audio relay which streams deck audio to my mobile

[@depoolricardo]

It wont open :(

[@Loaded0]

Did you get it to work?

[@depoolricardo]

@@Loaded0 i even tried the old version, i have win 11 home edition

[@Loaded0]

Make sure you’re not running any other controller software too. Someone had that problem with it. If it still doesn’t work I guess you should try SWICD. Not as many features but it’ll get the controller working if that’s what you’re trying to do.