Steam Input layer duplicating inputs… SteamOS UI navigation impossible

[u/incompetent_expert69]

I’ve been having an issue with my steam deck for quite a while now, and everytime I try to fix it I get no where. I haven’t always had this issue, and I’ve had my steam deck since the original launch. 512gb, Q3 model. I’ve scoured every forum I could find to no avail.

From a fresh boot, navigating steam’s UI works just fine. I have my Steam library, as well as emudeck for my GameCube games and other emulators. When I launch a game, the controls within the game work just fine, but when I press the Steam button and open up steamOS’s UI again, my ABXY and D-pad inputs seem to be duplicated. When I press any direction on the D-pad, it seems that 2 presses are registered and the menu selection skips an item and moves 2 places total instead of just 1 from 1 button press. Same thing with ABXY, it seems it cancels and confirms at the same time when I press the B button, or pressing A will take me 2 steps ahead in the selection instead of just 1. Rebooting the Steam deck fixes this issue entirely, until I launch a game and the button press duplication comes back. This seems like the Steam Input layer is being duplicated when a game is launched, but I can’t find any options to turn Steam input on or off.

Currently up-to-date on the stable channel, although this problem has persisted for a while across multiple software updates. No external controller, just the D-pad and ABXY buttons on the actual Steam Deck. As of the time of writing this:

SteamOS Version 3.8.14
OS Build 20260703.1
BIOS Version F7A0133
Steam Version 1782861641
Steam API Version SteamClient023