protonscr

[Gamepad UI][ARM64] Quick Access Menu freezes the Steam UI while games keep running

steamclosed
ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#13544 · opened 2026-08-24 by mydanyi · updated 2026-08-24 · 2 comments · github
Mmydanyi 2026-08-24 github

Your system information

  • Steam client version (build number or date): 1785799196 (Aug 3 2026 19:41:25)
  • Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): ArmadaOS stable 20260817.8b49045 (Fedora 44 base)
  • Opted into Steam client beta?: No. The installed channel is steamdeck_stable.
  • Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
  • Steam Logs: Relevant excerpts are included below. I also have a privacy-scrubbed log bundle and the coredump metadata.
  • GPU: Qualcomm Adreno (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3), Mesa 26.2.0-1.fc44.armada.aarch64

I am using a KONKR Pocket FIT with the native ARM64 Steam client (steamrtarm64). The installed manifest is steam_client_steamdeck_stable_linuxarm64.manifest; both steam and steamwebhelper are ELF AArch64 binaries, not x86 binaries running through FEX. ArmadaOS downloads the Linux ARM64 client from Valve's client-update.steamstatic.com CDN and the ARM64 runtime from repo.steampowered.com in its Steam bootstrap script. The kernel is 7.2.0-rc7 and gamescope is 3.16.19-137-g5a103fa+.

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible

This happens in every game I have tested, not only one specific game.

While a game is running in the foreground, I open the Quick Access Menu. Sometimes the right-side QAM icon bar appears but the menu content does not finish opening. After that, QAM, the Steam button, the main menu and Big Picture stop responding. The game itself continues running.

I also captured a photo while it was stuck. The game was still visible and running, but QAM only showed the right-side icon bar and did not respond. I can provide the original photo if needed.

I originally suspected Decky, so I also reproduced the problem with Decky removed from the test path. I stopped plugin_loader.service, confirmed that no PluginLoader or plugin backend process remained, and restarted Steam WebUI to remove the injected frontend. The same freeze still occurred.

During that Decky-free reproduction, Steam's CDP target list was still available, but JavaScript evaluation timed out in all Steam UI pages:

SharedJSContext: timeout after 3.024 s
QuickAccess:     timeout after 3.017 s
MainMenu:        timeout after 3.011 s

At the same time, webhelper_js.txt repeatedly logged:

SteamUI: INFO: Trying to change focus to already selected tab

There were 8,149 matching lines between 02:26:02 and 02:29:59.

In another reproduction, Steam eventually killed the unresponsive QAM browser:

[2026-08-25 02:14:02] src/webhelper/clienthandler.cpp (6318) : Assertion Failed: killing unresponsive browser for URL about:blank?browserviewpopup=1&requestid=2&parentpopup=2
[2026-08-25 02:14:06] QuickAccess_uid2-'QuickAcces': Applying safe browser shutdown workaround
[2026-08-25 02:14:09] Error: AcquirePixmap: failed to create glx pixmap for window: 0x1600022
[2026-08-25 02:14:09] X Error of failed request: GLXBadPixmap
[2026-08-25 02:14:09] Invalid browser dimensions: 0 x 0

The resulting coredump was from the native ARM64 Steam client:

Process: steamwebhelper
Signal: 5 (TRAP)
Executable: $HOME/.local/share/Steam/steamrtarm64/steamwebhelper
ELF architecture: AARCH64

This looks related to #12314. The same visible QAM/Home-menu freeze has also been reported on another Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 ArmadaOS device in armada-os/armada#313.

Steps for reproducing this issue

  1. Start any game and keep it in the foreground.
  2. Open and close QAM several times.
  3. QAM eventually stops opening correctly. The right-side icon bar may remain on screen while the menu content is missing.
  4. The game keeps running, but QAM, the Steam button and the main Steam UI no longer respond.
Kkisak-valve maintainer 2026-08-24 github

Hello @mydanyi, the Steam for Linux client is currently not supported on ARM based hardware (#4061).

Mmydanyi 2026-08-24 github

@kisak-valve Thanks for taking a look. I understand that general Steam for Linux support on ARM is still tracked in #4061, but this is not the normal x86 Linux client being run on an unsupported ARM system.

The Steam client installed on my device is a native Valve ARM64 build:

channel: steamdeck_stable
manifest: steam_client_steamdeck_stable_linuxarm64.manifest
steam: ELF 64-bit ARM aarch64
steamwebhelper: ELF 64-bit ARM aarch64
Steam client BuildID: 1785799196

ArmadaOS downloads the linuxarm64 client manifest and packages directly from Valve's client-update.steamstatic.com CDN, and downloads the ARM64 Steam runtime from repo.steampowered.com. The relevant bootstrap code is here:

https://github.com/armada-os/armada/blob/main/build_files/generate-steam-bootstrap.sh#L12-L25

I realize this ARM64 client may not be publicly supported as a general desktop Linux release. Valve's Steamworks documentation now describes Steam Frame as a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 ARM64 device running SteamOS, so this build may be related to that work, although I cannot confirm its internal purpose:

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/steamhardware/steamframe/compatibility

My KONKR Pocket FIT also uses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (SM8650). In other words, this is not just an arbitrary ARM desktop configuration: its CPU architecture and SoC generation closely match the hardware class Valve documents for Steam Frame. I understand that the complete devices and software images are not identical, but the relevant ARM64 platform is essentially the same class of hardware.

This QAM bug is also not unique to ARM64. #12314 reports the same behavior on x86 SteamOS devices: the game keeps running, QAM and the Steam buttons stop responding, steamwebhelper eventually fails, and the log repeatedly prints the same line:

SteamUI: INFO: Trying to change focus to already selected tab

My native ARM64 client reproduces that same failure and log signature, including with Decky fully stopped. Could you please reconsider closing this only on the basis of #4061, or forward it to the team responsible for the native ARM64 / Steam Frame client? I can provide the privacy-scrubbed logs, the photo taken while the game was still in the foreground with QAM stuck, and the AArch64 coredump metadata. I can also provide the full coredump privately if Valve needs it.

Nothing extracted yet.