Steam Deck “Compatibility Tool Failed” error: How to fix, possible reasons, and more

Steam Deck users seem to be running into a fair bit of performance issues with the device, with many in the community encountering “Compatibility Tool Failed” and “Compatibility Tool Configuration Failed” errors. Both of these problems stem from the Proton application, making them some of the most problematic issues to deal with in the handheld gaming device.

Proton-based issues usually do not have a permanent solution unless Valve comes up with a patch to fix the problem. However, there are a few workarounds that players can try to deal with it temporarily.

Hence, today’s guide will go over some of the things you can do to tackle the “Compatibility Tool Failed” and “Compatibility Tool Configuration Failed” errors on your Steam Deck.

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Fixing the “Compatibility Tool Failed” error on the Steam Deck

To fix the “Compatibility Tool Failed” error on the Steam Deck, you will need to:

• Search for the Proton 8.0 and Proton 7.0 software applications on the device. From there, press the Gear Icon located on the Proton screen, which will then automatically take you to Properties.
• Here you will be required to search for the “Installed Files” and then select it and click on Verify Integrity. Upon doing so, the device will automatically update the two Proton applications.
• You can look to uninstall and then re-install Proton again, which might just fix most of the performance issues stemming from it.

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Fixing the “Compatibility Tool Configuration Failed” error on the Steam Deck

While the Configuration Failed and the Tool error are pretty similar, the former might not always be caused by Proton for all users. Some in the community have noted that when it comes to particular software configurations, the major issue they seem to be facing is with Steam Runtime or Steam Runtime Soldier in particular instances.

This issue is even harder to fix as apart from re-installing Proton from scratch and ensuring that the two applications are running correctly, there is no other solution to opt into.

The Steam Deck’s Linux system is run by Steam Runtime, so you can try resetting your device, or restarting it a couple of times, to check if that fixes the problem.

If everything fails, the next best option will be to contact Steam Support. They can help you with all the performance issues that your device is facing.