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Steam Link's Latest Public Beta Adds Wired USB Support On Quest Headsets (www.uploadvr.com)
submitted 1 month ago by MyOpinion@lemmy.today to c/virtualreality@lemmy.world
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Following Virtual Desktop's implementation of the feature, the latest Public Beta release for Valve's Steam Link on Quest adds support for wired USB PC streaming.

Meta Horizon OS 2.5 and later includes Android USB networking (NCM) support, meaning that apps can request a direct network link to a connected host computer over USB after the user approves the system-wide permission required to enable the feature.

In the case of Steam Link, this works by simply plugging a data-capable USB-C cable into the headset after launching the app. An active USB connection is currently indicated by a cycling Wi-Fi signal on the SteamVR dock.

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[-] brsrklf@jlai.lu 5 points 1 month ago

I meed to try SteamLink/SteamVR again. It's been completely unusable for me for more than a year, so I had given up on it for a while.

I went for Vietual Desktop on windows and WIVRn on linux. VD worked perfectly, WiVRn was buggy but at least functional. SteamVR got utterly broken in an update and removed access to the previous functional build, Very shitty support for months.

I hope they finally got their shit together, because, they're not doing that as a gift. They're selling the games. Them fucking with compatibility of previously functional hardware for months was terrible.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 2 points 1 month ago

It's odd because I've found the official steam stuff to be great on my Quest 2/3, but was actually unusable for streaming regular flat screen games to a TV...

[-] brsrklf@jlai.lu 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

At the time the SteamVR forum was flooded with reports of connection errors, mainly Quest 3, I think some 2 too. Nobody seemed sure what caused it exactly.

Some were adamant it was a bitrate/stream quality problem, but I reduced it till it was instant vomiting-level of quality and still couldn't keep a connection for more than 5 minutes.

Some said it was a wifi bandwidth issue, but I ended up using a dedicated wifi 6 router with only the ethernet-plugged PC and wireless Quest 3 on it, at like a 4 meter distance with no obstacle and it was still not working.

The exact same hardware and configuration were flawless with VD, even better than SteamVR when it still worked.

So yeah, I'll try again, if for no other reason because I need something that works better with linux. Unfortunately no VD there.

[-] Euphoma@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 month ago

idk steamvr has been buggy for years on windows

[-] plateee@piefed.social 4 points 1 month ago

Damn, probably not supported on the quest 2019 edition.

I just picked one up for sub $200 to try and de-meta it.

[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

FWIW that did work for me with ALVR. I forgot the details but I do remember using it wired.

[-] plateee@piefed.social 2 points 1 month ago

I'll give it a shot then.

I tried ALVR on Linux, but the lag was so bad it made me feel sick. WiVRn has been great though.

[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 2 points 1 month ago

Might be that I had the computer act as a network interface over USB. That should work with basically everything.

[-] Hond@piefed.social 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I'm still really curious how well the Frame will actually work. Because like others in this thread i havent made any good experiences with SteamVR or Steam Link.

SteamVR is just a broken mess under Linux and to be avoided at all cost. Under Windows it was alright but if there was an easy way i would try to avoid it because of the negative performance impact.

Steam Link is the only software for streaming PCVR to a standalone headset which i got never working. Not even once. ALVR, Pico Connect, Virtual Desktop, wiVRn all just work out of the box on the same setup and maybe need a bit to a lot of tweaking to make the best of it. But atleast they work.

Yeah and now comes this Linux based standalone headset which everybody is hyped for. IDK man. I'm really curious for the experiences of people after the honey moon phase in like 3-6 months after the release.

this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2026
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