Steamcontroller 2026 hyprland desktop mode bug

[og-mafk]

Your system information

• Steam client version (build number or date): 1.0.0.85-6 (also tested with Steam Beta)
• Distribution: CachyOS (Arch-based), Hyprland/Wayland compositor, kernel 7.0.5
• Opted into Steam client beta?: Yes (tested, no change)
• Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
• Steam Logs: [see key excerpts below — full logs available on request]
• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3070

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

The Steam Controller 2 (USB ID 28de:1304, "Steam Controller Puck") does not function as a system-wide mouse in desktop mode on Linux. The controller works perfectly in games. The trackpad moves an invisible secondary cursor separate from the system cursor — hover effects are visible in Steam but the visible system cursor does not move.

Root cause identified via logs (~/.steam/steam/logs/controller.txt):

Steam Linux is misidentifying the SC2 as a Steam Deck component and attempting to register it via the Deck hardware registration path. This fails on every launch:

[2026-05-10 08:58:45] Deck Controller PCB Serial# invalid: NA
[2026-05-10 08:58:45] BYieldingRegisterSteamController
[2026-05-10 08:58:45] BYieldingCompleteSteamControllerRegistration
[2026-05-10 08:58:45] BYieldingCompleteSteamControllerRegistration - Error committing registration completion of controller & account pair: FXA99604045FB Invalid Parameter

This error has occurred on every Steam launch since day one (May 8, 2026). Due to the registration failure, Steam never creates a uinput virtual mouse device, so the SC2 cannot take over the system cursor.

Critical finding: The trackpad works correctly as a system mouse in lizard mode before Steam launches. As soon as Steam launches, it grabs exclusive hidraw control (/dev/hidraw12 through /dev/hidraw16) and the cursor stops working. Steam takes the device out of lizard mode, fails to create the uinput virtual mouse, and leaves the user with no cursor control from the device.

Confirmed not the cause:

• udev rules — vendor-wide 28de rules present and correct
• uinput access — user has direct ACL access confirmed via getfacl
• uinput module loaded — confirmed via lsmod
• Steam hidraw access — Steam holds all five hidraw interfaces open (confirmed via /proc/[pid]/fd)
• Registering via Windows Steam — attempted, error persists on Linux (Windows works perfectly)

Also confirmed by another user (Jojopanis, plain Arch Linux + Hyprland) in this Steam discussion thread: https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/11/834998218919117234/

Steps for reproducing this issue:

1. Connect Steam Controller 2 via USB dongle
2. Unplug and replug dongle with Steam not running — trackpad correctly controls system cursor ✅
3. Launch Steam
4. Trackpad no longer controls system cursor ❌
5. Check ~/.steam/steam/logs/controller.txt — Deck Controller PCB Serial# invalid: NA and BYieldingCompleteSteamControllerRegistration - Error... Invalid Parameter appear on every launch

Expected behaviour:
Steam should create a uinput virtual mouse device and take system-wide cursor control, as it does on Windows and SteamOS/Steam Deck. If uinput virtual mouse creation fails for any reason, Steam should fall back to leaving the device in lizard mode rather than holding exclusive hidraw access with no cursor output.

---

[noisersup]

I'm experiencing the same issue on the Hyprland.
I dug into my Steam logs, and it looks like the Steam client is identifying my Steam Controller as Steam Deck aswell:

[2026-05-11 14:29:48] !! Controller 0 attributes (wireless):
  Type: 10
  ProductID: 4866
...
[2026-05-11 14:29:48] Loaded Config for Local Selection Path for App ID 769, Controller 0: controller_base/basicui_neptune.vdf
...
[2026-05-11 14:31:23] Steam controller device closed after HID IO failure

[DemiDaemi]

I have the same issue and same symptoms, using hyprland on Fedora.

[mlebjerg]

I had the same issue, but i have fixed it.
Bazzite had the same issue a while back and they added Extest
ublue-os/bazzite#4512

Just pull the project, compile it and then run steam with LD_PRELOAD=/path/to/libextest.so steam, it is all in the repo
https://github.com/Supreeeme/extest

[Stefcio345]

Yup that did it for me, now mouse for controller works perfectly

Arch

I downloaded package from here (had to install rust and support for 32-bit)
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/lib32-extest

rustup target add i686-unknown-linux-gnu
yay -S lib32-extest

then edited steam desktop (on my arch its in the /usr/share/applications/steam.desktop) entry to use the extest

Exec=env LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libextest.so /usr/bin/steam %U

[mlebjerg]

Steam complains that it uses 32-bit, but the 64-bit version won't work.

I will be praying i don't need to look at the logs, but it works for now!

ERROR: ld.so: object '/usr/lib32/libextest.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.

Remember to update your start ups:
hl.exec_cmd("LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libextest.so steam -silent")

[og-mafk]

works for me so far

The fix is:

yay -S rustup
rustup default stable
rustup target add i686-unknown-linux-gnu
yay -S lib32-extest
Then add to your Steam desktop entry Exec line:

Exec=env LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libextest.so /usr/bin/steam %U

[Jojopanis]

I can confirm that this works for me too, thanks a lot!

[zjeffer]

I haven't tested the extest fix yet, but it seems like this should be fixed in steam? A workaround like that shouldn't be needed imo, ideally it should work out of the box. Perhaps this issue can be reopened until there is a permanent fix without having to apply that workaround?

EDIT: I tested it now and can confirm it works very well, the steam controller is now fully usable in games and on the desktop.

[mierak]

I haven't tested the extest fix yet, but it seems like this should be fixed in steam?

It works, but I definitely agree that this should not be needed and should be fixed in steam.

[NoahIles]

This fixed the issue on niri as well.

[og-mafk]

on further testing, this solved one problem but created another. now when I open steam settings or the steam input menu, both trackpads seize up and stop working/no haptics