7 Ways to Customize Your Steam Deck

Main points

• Here’s how to customize your Steam Deck – like using unique themes and animations to personalize your gaming experience.
• I’ll walk you through how to adjust performance settings to optimize gameplay and save battery life during long gaming sessions.
• There are also little things you can do, like enabling a lock screen, to increase security and peace of mind when using your portable gaming PC.

A Steam Deck is basically a small computer. Its main purpose is to play games, but it’s more open to customization than other consoles or even the Switch. Even though you can use it without any problems because it comes out of the box, you’re missing out on a lot of possibilities.

There are two main styles for personalizing your Steam Deck: aesthetic and technical. The former involves giving your deck a unique, cool look, while the latter focuses on ease of use and improved performance. I know diving into the technical details can be a little intimidating, so I’ve chosen seven of the coolest and most useful customization tips you should try, none of which require a computer science degree.

1 Change your startup video

Brand new startup screen

When you open the Steam Deck, the first thing you’ll see is a short startup video before you enter the main UI. Valve anticipated that people might get tired of the default setting, so it generously provided a way to change it. Just go to the points store Cash in any Steam Points you’ve accumulated to get a brand new introduction to one of your favorite games.

If you’re willing to tinker a little more in desktop mode, you can technically add any video file to the startup animation. This can be anything from home videos to your favorite YouTube clips, or whatever you want to watch before watching a game.

2 Choose your keyboard theme

flashy key

Along with your startup movie you can choose another option Spend your Steam Points on are various keyboard themes.These obviously won’t change any functionality of the virtual keyboard, but can give it a more pleasing color palette and are a small way to Add a personal touch Get on your deck.

You can get a few free keyboard themes to start with, while the rest cost the aforementioned Steam points. Unfortunately, unlike the boot movie, there doesn’t seem to be a way to add your own custom keyboard, you have to use the one provided on the system.

3 Experiment with Decky Loader

make it your own

If we were to discuss tweaking every cosmetic aspect of the Steam Deck, I’d have to call out the big guns and go straight to Decky Loader.This is the plugin you need Install via desktop modebut the small amount of trouble required is worth it.

There is almost too much to cover in this program, but some of the highlights include Change system sound effects, animations, and menu styles,etc.it even makes Easier access to settings Comes with quick access menu.

4 Adjust your performance settings

Balance your strength and performance

While you can’t get as detailed a setup as you can on PC, the options Steam Deck provides to make your game run and look as good as possible is usually enough. Depending on the game, adjusting a few settings can significantly improve your experience and even help save battery on longer trips.

Just entered Performance settings The menu lets you adjust your system’s FPS limits, refresh rate, HDR, and more based on your game and situation. You can push the deck to its limits and run out of power within an hour, or scale it down to last as long as possible.

5 Turn off (or turn on) notifications

do not disturb

Games are a wonderful communal experience. That said, sometimes I just want to play a single-player game quietly, without any distractions. In theory, the Steam Deck should be great for this as it keeps you away from your PC, but by default you end up carrying all your Steam distractions with you.

Even if you don’t mind the occasional notification, I still highly recommend checking in notify The Settings menu section lets you see which notifications are turned on. You can always disable any non-critical features (only in-game), or choose what and how you’re told.

6 Remap your buttons

Default is not always best

For the most part, Steam games have good controller support by default. This is usually because the game is developed for PC and consoles. However, there are a large number of PC-exclusive games that are not designed for use with a controller. While you have the option of using a keyboard and mouse on the Steam Deck, this isn’t always practical, especially when you’re on the move.

If you click the Steam button in game and access controller settings, You can completely rebind all controls to suit your preferences. It’s also a very in-depth system, allowing for customization of radial buttons and more. This also applies if you play games with a Bluetooth-connected controller, such as a PS4 or PS5 controller.

7 Enable lock screen

be safe

I think this feature should be enabled by default, not only is it a great custom feature but it also adds security. The Steam Deck’s lock screen behaves exactly like the lock screen on your iPhone.You only need to set a six digit password This information is required to access your system.Enable lock screen is in Security Section your settings, and can trigger the popup when you wake the console from sleep, or only when entering desktop mode.