In all the time I've been a PC gamer, I never felt the need to check out Steam's remote play features like Steam Link. All my gaming happened on my PC, and my TV and phone were reserved for streaming and doomscrolling, respectively. Lately, however, I wanted to introduce my partner to co-op gaming, and since we now had the Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen) for the TV, I hoped the performance would be up to the mark. Little did I know I would be spending more time troubleshooting the Steam Link app than actually playing games with my partner.

"Slow connection" even when the Wi-Fi is perfect

Resigned to the whims of Steam Link

Before you point out that my connection problems on Steam Link can be traced to using a wireless connection instead of a wired one, I'd like to point out that the problems only surface occasionally. At times, the Wi-Fi works flawlessly, getting registered as "Good Connection", but there are instances where Steam Link can't seem to get beyond "Slow Connection", even though I'm getting the best speed and latency on other devices. Even other apps on my Apple TV don't seem to be affected by the supposedly slow connection. So, I know it's a problem localized to Steam Link, and not the TV or the streaming box.

I've checked the network settings on the Steam app on my PC as well as on the Steam Link app on Apple TV, and there's nothing I can point to that could be causing this issue. At this point, I can only attribute it to being a Steam Link bug that I can't do anything about. The streaming performance on the so-called "Slow Connection" is measurably worse, but it isn't downright terrible, so on the few occasions I actually use Steam Link on the Apple TV, I'm able to get by without cursing Valve.

Random frame drops for no reason

Even lightweight indie titles are not immune

I understand occasional frame drops in heavy games like Alan Wake 2, Silent Hill 2, or Death Stranding, but sluggish performance in titles like A Short Hike is inexplicable. This game is short and sweet, and can run on almost anything. Even streaming it from my gaming PC to the TV shouldn't introduce scope for frame drops, but that's exactly what I experienced. The game worked smoothly for the first 30 minutes, but devolved into a laggy mess after that. The "Slow Connection" issue I mentioned earlier might be at play here, but this isn't a demanding title at all, so I can't wrap my head around what's really happening.

I tried to diagnose any misconfigured network settings that could be contributing to the problem, but the frame drops don't seem to go away. When they inevitably reappear, all I can do is terminate the session and hope that it doesn't happen the next time I'm in the mood for some couch gaming on the TV. I thought Steam Link would turn my Apple TV into a console, but the results have been mixed at best.

The controller working in the Steam Link menu, but not in the game

Even though the controller was technically "connected"

Another weird bug I encountered repeatedly was the controller not responding the moment a game was launched. It worked just fine before that, navigating the Steam library and pressing "Play" on a particular title, but soon after that, Steam Link failed to register any input. The only thing I could do was walk to my PC in the other room, and quit the game so I could start using the controller on the TV. I ensured that the "Run as administrator" option was enabled for Steam on my PC, and even the controller settings on the Steam app checked out.

The strange part about all this is that this issue wasn't a permanent one. I was able to use the controller in the game just fine many times, but on some occasions, it decided to give up completely. I thought maybe the game being a non-Steam title had something to do with it, but the problem reared its head even in some of my Steam titles. Restarting both the PC and Apple TV didn't resolve the issue; even unpairing the PC from Steam Link and pairing it again didn't work.

The controller disconnecting every few minutes

A ghostly presence at play

Perhaps the most frustrating issue I ever faced on Steam Link was the controller deciding to disconnect every 3–4 minutes in the middle of a game. Everything seemed to be running smoothly when I spotted the error message showing the controller had been disconnected. I was puzzled since I had done nothing that could have caused it. The moment this error appeared, I saw the controller turn dark, and I had to press the primary button to trigger a reconnection. This annoying behavior led to frequent loss of input, especially during cutscenes when there were short periods of no input.

I've not found any fixes or even temporary workarounds for this one​​​​​​. The only thing I can now think of is to replace the controller with a PS or Xbox model. Maybe one of those would play better with Steam Link, or maybe it won't. At this point, I have little confidence in any of the Steam Link's features working as they should.

Black screen after launching a game

Steam Link heard I like the dark theme

Another common problem that has ruined my Steam Link experience is the dreaded black screen appearing right after launching a game. It's not partial to a particular title, affecting almost all the games I've tried on Steam Link. Whenever this happens, I can hear audio, but there's no video on the screen. I've read online that running games in windowed mode or running Steam as the administrator often fixes this problem, but neither of those worked for me. Other fixes, like disabling hardware encoding on the PC or hardware decoding on the Steam Link app, didn't do anything either.

This "no video" error happens 5 times out of 10, and I haven't been able to pinpoint a specific reason. Uninstalling and reinstalling Steam Link on the Apple TV didn't or tweaking the streaming settings on Steam or the Steam Link app didn't work either. Steam Link seems to have no lack of variety when it comes to streaming and controller problems. It seems I ought to switch to Moonlight + Sunshine and abandon Steam Link till Valve fixes it for good.

Steam Link wins in user experience but disappoints in performance

Steam Link is arguably the most seamless way for beginners to experience remote play, but it has a long way to go in terms of ironing out the kinks. If it isn't a black screen playing spoilsport, it's dropped frames or controller connectivity issues. For Steam Link to be the default remote streaming app it wants to be, it's high time it fixes the basics. Otherwise, alternatives like Parsec and Sunshine + Moonlight will leave it in the dust.