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Steam Link > Android > Topic Details
Bug: SC2 - Doesn't work with other apps
With my OG Steam Controller, if you plugged in via USB, opened Steam Link, and then switched to another app, the Steam Controller would be usable as a normal controller in those other apps while Steam Link was running in the background. However, attempting to do this with the Steam Controller 2 has the controller immediately reverting to Lizard mode when switching out of Steam Link.

I confirmed Steam Link isn't being killed in the background, so it seems it's simply not performing the same function as OG Steam Controller. Would this be fixable with a future update to Steam Link?
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Originally posted by Packetdancer:
You're understanding correctly. Basically, the reason the OG controller works outside of Steam Link is that Android has support for it as a gamepad in more recent versions. It just looks like some versions of Android don't properly *initialize* the OG Controller, which is why you'd see it run after you started Steam Link, but not before. (Though testing on the most recent Android versions, it just works even without running Steam Link at all.)

So yes, for the new controller to work the same way, Android will need to add support for it at a system level.

On the plus side, the controller protocol is implemented (and documented) in SDL3, so I won't be surprised if that happens at some point in the future.
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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
Packetdancer  [developer]
May 11 @ 12:56pm 
So, this is not actually a Steam Link thing.

Apparently, the Android system image now has support for the Steam Controller as a recognized gamepad. (Which I actually didn't know until just now, when I investigated this! And that's cool!)

However, Android does not properly switch it out of Lizard mode, which is why Steam Link ends up being a necessary part of the setup -- Steam Link switches it out of Lizard mode, at which point Android recognizes it as a gamepad and uses it.

The practical upshot of this is that no, this isn't a thing that Steam Link will do with the new controller. But that's because it's not actually a thing Steam Link does with the original controller, either; we're just unintentionally (and until now, unknowingly) fixing an Android bug with support for the old controller.
#1
Jay And Problems
May 11 @ 1:12pm 
Originally posted by Packetdancer:
So, this is not actually a Steam Link thing.

Apparently, the Android system image now has support for the Steam Controller as a recognized gamepad. (Which I actually didn't know until just now, when I investigated this! And that's cool!)

However, Android does not properly switch it out of Lizard mode, which is why Steam Link ends up being a necessary part of the setup -- Steam Link switches it out of Lizard mode, at which point Android recognizes it as a gamepad and uses it.

The practical upshot of this is that no, this isn't a thing that Steam Link will do with the new controller. But that's because it's not actually a thing Steam Link does with the original controller, either; we're just unintentionally (and until now, unknowingly) fixing an Android bug with support for the old controller.
I think I get what you're saying...

So basically, SC2 support has to be added to new versions of Android? Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying?
#2
The author of this thread has indicated that this post answers the original topic.
Packetdancer  [developer]
May 11 @ 1:51pm 
You're understanding correctly. Basically, the reason the OG controller works outside of Steam Link is that Android has support for it as a gamepad in more recent versions. It just looks like some versions of Android don't properly *initialize* the OG Controller, which is why you'd see it run after you started Steam Link, but not before. (Though testing on the most recent Android versions, it just works even without running Steam Link at all.)

So yes, for the new controller to work the same way, Android will need to add support for it at a system level.

On the plus side, the controller protocol is implemented (and documented) in SDL3, so I won't be surprised if that happens at some point in the future.
Last edited by Packetdancer; May 11 @ 1:52pm
#3
Jay And Problems
May 11 @ 2:20pm 
Originally posted by Packetdancer:
You're understanding correctly. Basically, the reason the OG controller works outside of Steam Link is that Android has support for it as a gamepad in more recent versions. It just looks like some versions of Android don't properly *initialize* the OG Controller, which is why you'd see it run after you started Steam Link, but not before. (Though testing on the most recent Android versions, it just works even without running Steam Link at all.)

So yes, for the new controller to work the same way, Android will need to add support for it at a system level.

On the plus side, the controller protocol is implemented (and documented) in SDL3, so I won't be surprised if that happens at some point in the future.
Bummer, guess I'm out of luck on my current phone then. Here's hoping for my future phone.
#4
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Steam Link > Android > Topic Details
Date Posted: May 9 @ 7:25pm
Posts: 4
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