The much-awaited release of Shadow of the Erdtree brought new features, and bugs like the Elden Ring Steam Deck errors. In short, there is a major bug with Elden Ring on Steam Deck systems, preventing players from using any kind of input while in-game, which is quite the oversight from Bandai Namco. Thankfully, there are a few methods to bypass this soft lock and resume playing as usual.
A breakdown of the Elden Ring Steam Deck error can be found below, detailing its origin, nature, and possible fixes.
Note: The solutions mentioned herein are not guaranteed to work for everyone.
Elden Ring Steam Deck error soft locks the game’s controls
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As detailed within the official Twitter/X post, the version 1.12 update for Elden Ring has brought a Steam Deck-specific bug. Leaving the game idle for over five minutes on a Deck will result in it being soft-locked, and unable to accept any inputs from the player.
Developer Bandai Namco is working on a hotfix and will announce a release date for the same sometime soon.
Possible fixes for the Elden Ring Steam Deck error
Until Bandai Namco releases an official fix for the Elden Ring Steam Deck error, readers can refer to the following set of workarounds:
Don't let your Steam Deck sit idle while in-game
The easiest way to deal with the Elden Ring Steam Deck error is to simply not let your game stay idle for over five minutes. Use the controller and menu buttons to interact with the game and register a movement every few minutes.
This should stop the game from softlocking itself.
Restart your game
Assuming your game is soft-locked already, the only way to regain control is to force quit the title and restart it. This should be your last resort, as resetting the game will also wipe over any unsaved progress.
Play in offline mode
Multiple users have reported an “inappropriate activity detected” warning message when trying to play Elden Ring on their Steam Decks. This issue is rather widespread, and the only possible fix (as of the time of writing this article) is to play the game in its offline mode.
Online co-op functionality will remain disabled when offline mode is enabled.
Avoid updating to the newest patch
An alternative to avoid this Steam Deck soft lock is to skip the version 1.12 patch entirely. Earlier versions of the game have no such bugs and are “safe” to play.
However, it should be kept in mind that this method will restrict both online activity and access to the Shadow of Erdtree DLC.
Keep in mind that these fixes are not a permanent solution, and will have varying degrees of success. Stay tuned for more Shadow of the Erdtree guides on Sportskeeda.
