protonscr

[BUG] Steam Link VR error 451

steamvrclosed bug
ValveSoftware/SteamVR-for-Linux#858 · opened 2026-01-13 by varig203 · updated 2026-06-05 · 14 comments · github
Vvarig203 2026-01-13 github

Describe the bug
Whenever I connect my Quest 3S to my Linux PC and once I open a game the stream crashes with error 451 and SteamVR closes. However, sometimes I see the error -203 pop up on SteamVR itself too.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

  1. Connect via steam link
  2. Open any VR game
  3. Wait either instantly or play the game a little (inconsistent)
  4. See error

Expected behavior
Error not to pop up and let me play my game.

System Information (please complete the following information):

Additional context
I have tried the beta and stable Steam Link client on the Quest 3S. I use a dedicated router to connect the headset to PC

Aaddiesh 2026-01-15 github

I experienced this recently. I think it's a bug in a recent-ish NVIDIA driver? Post your driver version and hardware specs if you want more help. Are you on a hybrid laptop or a desktop? etc.

Vvarig203 2026-01-16 github

I experienced this recently. I think it's a bug in a recent-ish NVIDIA driver? Post your driver version and hardware specs if you want more help. Are you on a hybrid laptop or a desktop? etc.

I am on a desktop.
CPU: Ryzen 9 7900x
RAM: 64GB 6400MHz
GPU: RTX 4070 FE
GPU Driver: nvidia-580.105.08_1

Aaddiesh 2026-01-16 github

If Void has a newer version of the NVIDIA drivers, try updating. I'm hovering on 580.119 and it works for me. What desktop environment/window manager are you using?

Oogrady 2026-01-26 github

I encountered this issue as well as a follow-up of #835.
I could briefly overcome this by running:

QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb \
SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11 \
VR_DISABLE_OPENVR_OVERLAY=1 \
steam

Most of these settings I had to use in the context of #835, but VR_DISABLE_OPENVR_OVERLAY=1 seemed to help with error 451. I was able to start and play Blade and Sorcery for a minute or two, before the game froze (no error).

Maybe you can check if setting VR_DISABLE_OPENVR_OVERLAY=1 before running steam from the same terminal helps in your case. Make sure steam is completely closed before. I ran killall -9 steam ; killall -9 steamwebhelper ; killall -9 vrwebhelper; killall -9 vrcomposer ; killall -9 vrserver to be sure, but restarting your computer should do as well.

RReelix 2026-01-27 github

I can confirm that these launch parameters fix Dungeons of Eternity when previously SteamVR was hard-crashing.

Woot! \o/

For reference, I'm using SteamVR Beta, with NVidia Drivers 580.126.09 on Kubuntu 25.10

JJipFr 2026-01-30 github

It's interesting how inconsistent these errors appear for me. Sometimes launching it with those parameters works to fix the IPC error, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the games start without the -203 error, sometimes they don't. Some launches work, some don't -- for the same game! I'm not really sure what could be causing that inconsistency.

Oogrady 2026-01-31 github

While googling around, one thing that sometimes came up in discussions was Wayland vs X11. I am indeed on Wayland and facing these issues. Are you too?

JJipFr 2026-01-31 github

I am, yes.

While it's not a fix for the SteamVR issue itself, I was able to get VR as a whole working by doing it through WiVRn as opposed to SteamVR.

Ttoqu 2026-02-02 github

Getting the same issue in the following environment:

  • SteamVR Beta 2.15.3
  • Headset: Oculus Quest 3
  • CPU: Intel i9-12900K
  • NVIDIA RTX 4080 - GPU Driver: NVIDIA 590.48.01-9
  • GNOME Version: 49
  • Windowing System: Wayland

Interestingly this issue is not occurring every other time. Every tenth time the game connects.

I've not had any success with the parameters, which were proposed in https://github.com/ValveSoftware/SteamVR-for-Linux/issues/858#issuecomment-3801751197, but disabling vrwebhelper (chmod -x ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/SteamVR/bin/vrwebhelper/linux64/vrwebhelper), (see: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/SteamVR-for-Linux/issues/828#issue-3623463993) somewhat improves the situation.

Not having any connection issues with WiVRn, but that one is unusable for me due to controller jitter.

UUMCEKO 2026-02-24 github

Experiencing the same issue.

  • SteamVR Beta 2.15.4
  • Headset: Meta Quest 3 (wireless via Steam Link)
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
  • GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4090 - Driver: 590.48.01 (open kernel module)
  • KDE Plasma 6 / Wayland
  • OS: CachyOS (Arch-based), kernel 6.19.3

Crash details:
vrserver segfaults inside driver_vrlink.so during frame presentation. Two different crash paths
observed:

  1. SVLHMDDriverVulkan::GetTextureSize() called from SVLHMDDriver::Present()
    CDriverDirectSubmitFrameThread::Run()
  2. SVLHMDDriverVulkan::CreateSwapTextureSet() failing to allocate a Vulkan texture, then crashing

Both preceded by repeated HandleUnrecoverableError events: "Timed out waiting for another
accepted video packet, trying to force the stream reset". The compositor never receives VSync
(TimeSinceLastVSync climbs indefinitely) and eventually hits a watchdog timeout.

Workarounds tried (none helped):

  • Disabling vrwebhelper (chmod -x)
  • QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11 VR_DISABLE_OPENVR_OVERLAY=1 on both Steam and SteamVR
    launch options
  • SteamVR stable (2.14.5) and beta (2.15.4)

This appears to be a bug in driver_vrlink.so's Vulkan path on Wayland + NVIDIA.

PPacketdancer 2026-04-29 github

I think this has been fixed in 2.16, so if anyone can confirm whether you still see it on 2.16.3 (current beta), I'd appreciate it.

Aaddiesh 2026-04-30 github

I think this has been fixed in 2.16, so if anyone can confirm whether you still see it on 2.16.3 (current beta), I'd appreciate it.

On the current Steam & SteamVR beta it works for me now, out of the box! Excited for the steam frame :3. Having trouble closing SteamVR from within the Steam client, but otherwise the experience on Gnome is great.

Tested my Quest 2 on my desktop, working:

  • CachyOS (upstream kernel 6.18-25-1-lts)
  • Gnome 50.1 (wayland)
  • Intel i7-9700k
  • NVIDIA 595.71.05 (Desktop 1660 Ti)

Had connection issues with my laptop (got error code 716) but that's a separate issue (specs listed for posterity)

  • CachyOS (upstream kernel 6.19.14-arch1-1)
  • Gnome 50.1 (wayland)
  • Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (laptop)
  • Intel Arc Graphics 130V / 140V (iGPU)
Aaddiesh 2026-04-30 github

Ok, upon further testing, it mostly works on the desktop but can be pretty finicky. Trying to change the refresh rate from 90 to 120 in SteamVR breaks everything (kept getting errors 716 and 450) and had to nuke my SteamVR config files. But no more error 451!

PPacketdancer 2026-06-05 github

Having trouble closing SteamVR from within the Steam client, but otherwise the experience on Gnome is great.

@addiesh - This should also be fixed in the newer versions of the Quest Steam Link client.

(Also, since this is seemingly fixed for folks, I'm going to go ahead and close this out.)

Launch options