Steam Link is a hardware and software solution developed by Valve Corporation that lets users stream content from their personal computers to another device, like Android smartphones, iOS smartphones, etc. Some users have found that Steam Link is not recognizing controllers in game. The issue mostly appears with non-Steam games. In this article, we will see some possible solutions to fix this problem.
Steam Link – No Controller Detected
Steam Link not recognizing controllers in game
If Steam Link is not recognizing controllers in game, the following solutions may help you fix this problem.
- Make sure that you have set up and paired Steam Link correctly
- Run Steam as an administrator
- Check if the game supports controller input
- Check your Controller Configuration settings
- Connect your controller to your PC instead of connecting it to the Steam Link
- Launch your games in borderless windowed mode
- Prevent Steam from starting automatically on system startup
- Download SteamGrid
Let’s see all these fixes in detail.
1] Make sure that you have set up and paired Steam Link correctly
It is important that you set up and pair Steam Link correctly. After pairing your controller to your Android or iOS smartphone via the Steam Link app, you have to pair the Steam Link app to your PC and keep the Steam app running on your PC. The steps are as follows:
- Download the Steam Link app on your Android and iOS smartphone.
- Open the Steam Link app.
- You will see the following three options:
- Pair a Steam Controller.
- Pair other controllers.
- Use touch control.
- If you have a Steam Controller, tap on the first option. If you have a controller of other brands, tap on the second option. Do not use the third option.
- Now, Open the Steam app on your computer and pair your Android or iOS smartphone with your computer using the Steam Link app. To do so, tap on Rescan or Other Computer options to connect your mobile to your computer.
- The Steam Link app will show you a four-digit code.
- Now, go to the Steam app on your computer and open Steam Settings.
- Select the Remote Play from the left side and click on the PAIR STEAM LINK button.
- Enter the four-digit code (the code that is displayed on the Steam Link app on your smartphone).
- Click OK. After that, the Steam Link app will test your network. After the testing is complete, you will see your device listed in the Remote Play in the Steam app on your PC.
2] Run Steam as an administrator
Run the Steam app as an administrator and see if it helps. If the problem was occurring due to administrative privileges, running the Steam app as administrator will fix it. To do so, right-click on the Steam icon on your desktop and select the Run as administrator option.
3] Check if the game supports controller input
According to the affected users, the controller is not working in Steam Link with non-Steam games. It is possible that the non-Steam game does not support the controller. You can check this by hovering your mouse cursor over the game in the Steam app. If you see the controller icon on the bottom right side, it means that the game supports controller input. On the other hand, if you see the keyboard icon, it means that the game supports the keyboard and mouse inputs. Your controller will not work in such games.
The following steps will help you:
- Open the Steam app on your PC.
- Click on the Big Picture Mode icon on the top right side just next to your username.
- Steam will be launched in the Big Picture Mode. Now, go to “Library > Games.”
- Hover your mouse cursor over the game to see if it supports the controller input or not.
You can see in the above screenshot, that the Counter-Strike game shows the controller icon on the bottom right side. This means it supports the controller input.
4] Check your Controller Configuration settings
Check your Controller Configuration settings. Follow the instructions mentioned below:
- Launch the Steam app.
- Open its settings.
- Select the Controller option from the left side.
- Click GENERAL CONTROLLER SETTINGS.
- Enable the checkbox for the controller you are using. For example, if you are using the Xbox controller, enable the Xbox Configuration Support option.
5] Connect your controller to your PC instead of connecting it to the Steam Link
This solution has worked for some users. If you are using a wired controller and you have connected it to the Steam Link, disconnect it from the Steam Link and connect it to your PC. After that, your controller should start working in Steam Link.
6] Launch your games in borderless windowed mode
When you launch a game in a borderless windowed mode, it gets launched in the windowed mode but covers your entire screen due to which it appears that the game is launched in the full-screen mode. Some games have an option to enable the borderless windowed mode. Check if your game has this option. If yes, you can enable it.
7] Prevent Steam from starting automatically on system startup
Steam and other game launchers are set to start automatically on system startup. Disable this option for Steam and other game launchers (if you have added them to Steam). Follow the instructions provided below:
- Open the Steam Client on your system.
- Remove your game launchers from the Steam app.
- Open your Task Manager and go to the Startup tab.
- Right-click on Steam and other game launchers and select Disable.
- Open your game launchers and check if there is a setting to close them completely instead of minimizing them to the System Tray. If yes, enable that option.
- Close Steam and other launchers completely. Make sure that none of them is running in the background.
- Power off your Steam Link and computer.
- Wait for a few minutes and turn on the Steam Link and your computer.
Check if the problem is fixed.
8] Download SteamGrid
SteamGrid imports non-Steam games to Steam. Download and run it on your system and see if it helps. SteamGrid has worked for some users. However, when I ran it on my system, it did not add the non-Steam games to my Steam Library. You can give SteamGrid a try. Maybe it works for you. You can download it from github.com.
Read: Microphone is not working in Steam.
Why is my game not detecting my controller?
If your game is not detecting your controller, check if it supports the controller input or not. Some games only support keyboard and mouse inputs. Your controller will not work in such types of games. We have explained how to check this in Steam above in this article.
How do I fix Steam not detecting my Xbox Controller?
If Steam is not detecting your Xbox Controller, check if you have properly connected your Xbox Controller to the Steam app. In addition to this, if your controller supports both wired and wireless connections and you have connected it wirelessly to your PC, try to connect it via the USB cable. Wired connections are always more stable than wireless ones.
I hope this helps.
Read next: How to fix SteamVR Error Codes.
