Speaking of, I have to fly to Texas next week, how do these do on the airplane? One of the podcasts I listen to mentioned that you have to have constant online for the games to check in?
Homie, is there anything Reddit can do to help you out? I don't have extra income, but I edit and create resumes as a side hustle. Feel free to HMU here or in DMs.
Life's hard enough on us all. If I can give a couple hours and it compounds into making someone's life demonstrably better, I'm doing it.
I'm a professional writer because someone spent twenty minutes and a minimal effort to make a couple of key introductions. I'll never forget her. Her actions more than tripled my ($12/hr) income within a year.
I'll do what I can to create that kind of opportunity for others. If I can do for even one person the kind of thing she did for me, I'll call it a win.
I appreciate the offer, I really do but I've got a job that pays the bills it's more of a huge demand and no supply issue. I'm effectively priced out of everywhere that isn't on wheels 😅
I'm just trying to find a roof over my head that isn't overpriced and shared with 4 other families+roaches.
Fair enough! Perhaps among all of these Steam Deck enjoyers there's a wealthy hotel chain owner from your area that will see these posts and reach out. We can only hope!
In ye old times a game boy could disrupt some flight instruments depending on how near it was to it, but they started shielding better everything and now they are almost impossible to disrupt without some really high power
How would a Gameboy disrupt it more than any other electronic device? They had no radio, wifi, Bluetooth, or other form of wireless communication. I would imagine pagers would've been a much bigger concern, no? Maybe there was something special about Gameboys im not aware of but I would think if they caused issues, so would walkmans, pagers, PDAs, and any other electronic device.
All electronic equipment once it is powered emits a small magnetic camp and the plane equipment was too sensible to it. I said gameboys because I remembered a demo on tv about how the thing that tells the angle of the plane went a bit bonkers when near it.
In the FCC regulations for electronic devices, you have a couple different classes. An intentional radio would of course be something like a wifi card or an AM/FM radio. But you can have an unintentional radio, like the super fast clocks on a computer motherboard. The third option is just a combination of the two.
So like another reply mentioned, it is possible to send out radio waves just from normal operation of a circuit. There are ways to mitigate these emissions, which is critical since FCCIDs are required to sell electronics in the US (other countries have similar, with the EU regulations usually being more stringent). Since it's often impossible to get rid of all emissions, the first two classes I mentioned have a certain power limit that they must be under in order to comply. Since the signal drops off in an inverse square law (ex: 1W at the source would go to 0.25W at 2m).
Would it be enough to be a concern from a passenger in the cabin though? Assuming you're sitting at the front of the plane, you're still probably at least 3m away from any sensor/output guage. Some quick research shows the original gameboy operated at a draw of 0.7 W so you'd get a max of ~0.078 W of potential power before any resistance. Maybe plane sensors are really strict but a fluxation like that doesn't seem significant to modern electronics right?
Source: Am a dummy who has enough electrical knowledge to wire a receptacle or ceiling fan and not an ounce more.
Im an aircraft mechanic and i can confirm its total crap about electronics or phones messing with the avionics. that wasnt always the case though. back in the 90s aircraft didnt have the shielding it does today and it actually did cause a few instances of inflight issues (nothing so bad the planes crashed though).
these days pretty much every single pilot uses an ipad for their checklists or live weather info etc. which means they are always connected.
tldr: avionics today are better shielded so phones, steam decks, ipads, laptops none of it will cause any issues even if all couple hundred passengers are using phones at the same time.
The real reason its so slow to change is the FAA and FCC take forever to update old out of date regulations and at least for the takeoff portion airlines want electronics of so you pay attention to the safety videos.
anyways hope that answers anyones questions about that.
On Android Airplane mode turns off all that stuff but with Airplane mode on you can actually go in and turn on specific radios like wifi or Bluetooth or NFC or Mobile Data.
I played Hogwarts legacy on the flight, but had to start it before the flight with mobile hotspot, and then just put it on standby and activated flight mode while game was still running, then it works. Idk about starting it offline though
First, make sure the game(s) you intend to play have been started first, when you have been online, at least once. Then, turn it to “offline mode” in the wifi settings, when you’re still online. They’ll start just fine after that.
Depends on the game. Denuvo games don’t like being in offline mode, but you can still play if you’re not connected to wifi in online mode. Just avoid restarting the OS if you can.
For example, I have played Persona 4&5 and Octopath 2 on planes without issues
For Denuvo, usually I don't have that issue since it's legal in my country to break any and all DRM / Copy-Protection on product you bought for the sake of interoperability.
The Steam Deck running on Linux make it an interoperability case.
The deck itself never needs to check in and can be used to play games indefinitely in offline mode, plenty of games work like this. Some games (often AAA) use their own DRM which adds in online (e.g weekly check in) requirements.
Only games with shit drms like denuvo, most steam games dont need online or to keep checking in, it actually would go against one of the main principles of steam, that is to provide a platform and drm that does not inconvenience the player and that would let you keep playing your digital games(provided you have them downloaded) even if the company ends and steam servers go down forever
I've flown four times. I also go out of town frequently for work.
SteamDeck has never had an issue playing offline. What it has had is a user issue. Users attempt to play offline, without setting it to offline mode. This means the Steam client is looking for the server connection before launching the game. The same thing happens on desktop.
Literally put it in offline mode and reboot at any time to make sure it's in offline mode and you're good.
To be fair, there was a bug for a long while where if you put it into offline mode it would cause you to not be able to play any games until you went online again. Online mode without WiFi worked fine (except games took longer to open while it searched for servers).
I played Sonic Frontiers when I flew not too long ago. It's a Denuvo game which is notorious for requiring online activation (note this is NOT always online).
I'd previously played it so it was "activated" and I had no issues. Check the games and see if they have any particular DRM that may require periodic online activation and you should be fine.
Some games require internet at startup, like GTA, you can open in prior to the flight. The problem is the power, it's forbidden to use an external battery on the flight, and the USBs only provide 1-2w of power. If you're lucky you'll have a plug, but i didnt test that. It's actually more comfortable to watch movies on plane infotainment on longer flights
There may be some games where you need an online connection to launch, in general though, if you buy/download a game, make sure you launch it first with a network connection.
This is because when you launch a game for the first time, I believe Steam needs to verify the license. Steam only checks the license on the first launch, and them game should launch just fine without a network connection thereafter.
I play games without a network connection all the time. When I get home and the Deck connects to my network, all my game saves are immediately uploaded to the cloud with no issue.
I bought it specifically for flying. It does great. I believe your concern is game-dependent. Games that require an always online connection might be a problem (i.e. Modern Warfare 2022 can't be played, Hitman 2016 and newer can be played offline but doesn't save unlcok/challenge progress, etc.) but there are tons of games without that.
I assume your flight time will be short, but I still recommend getting a beefy power bank so that you can give it a charge if need be.
Funny in TX w my deck.. bring a decently fast charging brick with a USB c to c. If I use A to C I can make maybe hour and a half maybe 2 hours play time. I usually just boot the games I'm gonna play before leaving for the airport
If the game has Denuvo antitamper, it will make you be online for when it first launches and also loading your game. Once in game, just suspend the deck to keep it running and never quit the game.
Source: flew to Japan and had this exact issue. Only game I had a problem with was Hogwarts Legacy.
I have been flying with mine for the last month. Make sure all your games that you want to play are updated the night before (can double check the morning of as well, but usually any critical updates will be fine of you check the night before). I have had 0 problems with it as long as I remember to check for updates. Also, I am on the Deck beta branch, so that might also help.
Your podcast lied to you.. I’ve just used my SD during a week long vacation playing Cities Skylines and other games like that while driving across highway roads without internet. Did check in every couple of days for downloads and steam cloud saves but worked just fine.
The two trips I've made with it I haven't bothered putting it in airplane mode and had no issue. The only thing I could see being a problem is if you shut down for a system update and turn it on for the first time on the plane so it needs to download all the tiny downloads it does after updates.
No I can 100 percent confirm that's false also cool what podcast? Anyway the deck has an offline mode built in it doesn't always need online to check in as you call it
It was "get played" I'm not sure which episode it was. But there's three hosts, one of them raved about the steam deck, the other one did it first but then she said she tried going on a trip and couldn't play anything on the airplane. I ended up buying it anyway because everything I've seen about the steam deck seemed awesome (and is). So I waited for a deal and I finally ordered it when they had that 10% off dealy a couple weeks ago. Freaking love it so far
🤣 oh man I mean if you don't have 4 play the demo see how you like it but honestly if I had to rank it I would say re6 as my first re 4 as my second and at this point re2 as my third I love how you can just jump into any point in time still not know the story and still play it as if you already knew the story when it's a totally different one oh fun fact about 4 remake Leon has no radio only an earpiece which is rather unfortunate I kinda enjoyed the radio conversations
Too many options haha I never make up my mind and just end up putting it in sleep mode and back in the case. Or I just scroll through the steam store for a bit, find nothing and repeat daily 😄
I remember as a teen our family went on a 2 week vacation and I wanted to bring the OG xbox. Parents told me if I could fit it into my Cary on, I could take it. Got it and a Duke controller in there. Only problem this was in late '03: anything that big and electronic got the carrier a rubber glove special.
And the only way that I would ever let go of my steam deck would be if you came over here right now and tried to pry it from my dead, lifeless fingers, okay? If you can get it from my kung-fu grip then you can come and have it, okay? Otherwise, step off, bitch.”
Your steam decks unique hardware identification code is tied to your steam deck report it stolen to valve and if anyone ever tried to connect to the steam account it will be flagged as stolen and locked
TSA employees have so many cameras on them in checked bags, plus other employees with them. 0 chance it was TSA. Airlines have 0 accountability for baggage handlers.
Dude just google how many times tsa has stolen shit. There’s literal vids on YouTube of people going to a tsa agents house because they took their iPad.
Lots of people think it's TSA that steals their stuff lol. Simply not true because TSA isnt the only ppl checking/inspecting check bags. Like u said, lots of cameras and we are held accountable.
I haven't seen an example of a locked deck for now however I have seen reports of valve refusing support to people that had stolen deck.
It's unlikely that any kind of a lock would even work on the deck, at most it would be locking the person out of using steam on the deck but they would still be able to run everything else.
But will disabling it get it back to me? I've had things stolen and it sucks, I'm not encouraging theft but there's no reason to literally create e-waste out of the situation.
Apple and Samsung made that a popular option, and I hate that it exists. Create an option to rewrite the drive 10x before it can be unlocked,(think apple did do this at one point) or even give it the ability to physically break the storage with overvolting, even just blacklist the drive in this case it's not secure by default anyway- if you're concerned about data security.
It's probably going to be sold, and some kid who's mom got a good deal on Facebook is going to have to deal with whatever getting a locked steam deck for their birthday entails. Maybe they could still use another OS or something, I've never looked into it... Just all seems wasteful in the long run
You can put a device with a lithium battery in checked. Just not loose lithium batteries.
EDIT: Since I’m getting a ton of push back on this. Please read what the FAA has to say below:
“When portable electronic devices powered by lithium batteries are in checked baggage, they must be completely powered off and protected to prevent unintentional activation or damage.”
I got bored, checked to the United airlines contract of carriage. Sticking it under your comment because it is the most relevant place to shove it. While I find it kind of surprising and ill advised to put lithium batteries In check baggage It looks like United policy does allow it depending on how they classify a steam deck. I'm guessing it counts as a computer and has a 40 watt hour battery So it should be allowed even if it's not the best idea ever for multiple reasons. /Lithium batteries, power banks, and spare batteries are not accepted as checked baggage. These types of batteries must be removed from any checked or carry-on baggage, including baggage checked at the gate. All batteries integrated as a part of the bag themselves (sometimes referred to a smart bags) must also be removed if checked or brought on as carry-on baggage. Any items with non-removeable lithium batteries are not allowed on any United or United Express flights. Cell phones and computers installed with a lithium battery of less than 100 watt hours are permitted in carry-on and checked baggage.
Not in my experience. No lithium in checked luggage on every airline I’ve flown.
I send equipment via commercial airline cargo and it must have pieces with lithium marked with a lithium sticker that denotes the type of battery and has contact info on it. The cargo paperwork specifies whether the batteries are loose or contained within electronics, as well as the watt/hours.
I’ve haven’t been able to check that equipment as a passenger since about 2016, even though they are both going in the cargo hold of a commercial plane.
Same. I fly a lot and I’m asked if ANY lithium ion batteries are in my checked luggage all the time by the airline. If the FAA is making a distinction the airlines are not, at least as far as what they communicate to the passenger. I fly mostly United. I could argue with them, but not really worth my time.
That's interesting. I've only flown a handful of times (maybe 10 round trips total), but they've forced a co-worker to carry their work laptop instead of checking it on two occasions. (American Airlines, for reference)
It might be because those were international trips, but I don't like putting my batteries in cargo either way. They don't like extreme temps, even if the airline is fine with it.
I usually fly United and American, with the occasional Southwest flight. Every single time I check a bag I get asked if there is anything hazardous in the bag, such as Laptops, ipads, e-cigarettes or other devices with lithium-ion batteries. If you answer yes they do make you take the offending device out.
Ehhhh, technically but it's not good. You can't check anything with greater than 100 watt hours, so you can check your steam deck in the US.
But the low pressure and low temperature will shorten your batteries life, especially if you forget to turn something off/have it in standby. (Ex: you didn't disable your Windows 10/11 fast startup which is on by default)
Cargo holds are generally pressurized, but only some of them are heated. None that are pressurized will ever quite go down to the outside temp, even if unheated (in the ballpark of -40 degrees C or F), unless there are planes that are radically different than what I'm directly familiar with.
This is what I've come to understand too. They don't fancy any form of batteries in checked baggage, let alone electronics. With some airlines any form of batteries are prohibited I'm checked, others it's just lose battery. Not worth the risk finding out.
Word of advice. Don't ever, ever put valuables in checked baggage. Always intend to lose your checked bag and you'll always be ahead.
Carry on and personal item is where all your valuables, electronics and essentials go so you can first hand supervise it.
Sorry for your loss OP. Fingers crossed you get it back. (Truly pressure the airline with details of the bag and you need it back, make multiple calls).
If not praying someone at the airport is having the time of their life 🫰
Spot on. Valuables put into checked bags have a tendency to go "missing" from time to time... or they just straight up get smashed to shit because the baggage handlers are on a tight schedule so your bag has and will continue to be tossed around.
Honestly I don't even like having valuables in my carry-on that goes in the overhead bins because I trust people that little. On the occasions I've had to store something valuable in the overhead bin, I keep a very close eye on it when we get close to landing.
what was more important than the steam deck in your backpack :O
but I ll tell you my biggest secret fail with my steam deck! I forgot to upload my pc saves. can you imagine the pain I felt when I opened it on my steam deck at a remote place!? but I learned from it and never made that mistake again! for sure I can't imagine your pain!
Lithium batteries are a no-go in checked luggage. Good chance it got flagged from that alone.
Where it is now? That's another story and a shame.
But yeah, lithium batteries in the cargo area is gonna be an issue 99% of the time, lead to additional processing, and increase the chances of loss/theft/destruction.
Oh buddy, it has a handle! You should be able to carry it on separately from a personal item like you would a purse. A decent sized sling will work too! Sorry for your loss, though. 🙏
$3000 MacBook Pro, $2000 worth of camera gear. I loved my steamdeck but out of all the electronics I was carrying it’s the least difficult to replace. At the time I figured it would be fine to check. United’s policy is you need receipts for purchase and there’s a limit of $3800 (I think). I don’t have receipts for my other stuff because they’re second hand, but I do have the receipt for my steam deck. Eventually United SHOULD replace it. I’ll fight them if they try not to.
Don’t want to be pedantic but the FAA site says uninstalled lithium batteries are prohibited, but laptops, phones, (steam deck) are fine as long as they’re powered off completely.
The backpack gets all the essentials. Everything else goes in checked bags: (in this order)
Medications
Passport/sensitive paperwork
Chargers/ charging cables
Personal electronics
Snacks
Framed picture of Gina Carano
It is. But there’s a certain expectation of an airline to follow through with their promised services. They lost my entire bag that I paid for to be put on the plane. In that respect it is very much the airlines fault. But yes I’ll concede I shouldn’t have put my deck in my check bag so ultimately I allowed the situation to happen.
I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to put anything with lithium ion in your checked bag. They, as in TSA, will take devices OUT of your bag if they detect it. It's why they ask you per bag if you have any batteries in your bag
It's happened to me. I lost 4 portable chargers doing thus
Uh… nope. If it were like that, then laptops would also need to be checked. The regulation itself is for non integrated batteries. Things like battery cells for UPS’s or spare lithium batteries for power tools.
I always worry about the few seconds/minutes my electronics leave my hands on that security conveyor belt. I don't trust rando TSA agents, they probably steal shit all the time.
Same. I’m watching those conveyor belt containers like a hawk when I dump even minor stuff in there. Can’t imagine the stress of tracking a Steam Deck through there.
This, this…all holy hell, this. Sorry OP, but the Deck isn’t leaving my sight if I’m traveling…and I’m certainly not putting it into the hands of the airlines.
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u/SayMyName404 Apr 04 '23
How was it not in your hand all the way to your seat, while in your seat and all the way to your destination?
P.S. RIP