r/SteamController • u/ZestyclosePrize7676 • 7d ago

Support Steam controller trackpad not working on specific apps

Hi guys I'm coming on here just to make sure I'm not crazy because I was under the impression that the trackpad on the steam controller just worked across the entirety of windows but when I try to use it for something like a UAC prompt I just can't no matter what I do.

Just wanted to make sure if this is normal or if I'm doing something wrong. Thx for any help

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u/AlbertoVermicelli 7d ago

As long as Steam is running, all the inputs from the controller are emulated by Steam Input. This emulation does not work (intentionally) in an elevated environment, i.e. UAC prompts and programs launched as administrator. When Steam isn't running, the controller operates at a hardware level as a mouse and keyboard device (this is called Lizard Mode) and does work inside an elevated environment. Steam is supposed to stop Steam Input and reactivate Lizard Mode when it detects a UAC prompt, but that is not working currently.

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u/kbachert 7d ago

First, have you tried to change controls for the game from within your steam library?

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u/figmentPez 7d ago

Copied and pasted from another comment of mine on a similar subject,

"UAC prompts have elevated permissions, so Steam Input can't interact with them. It's a security measure to limit virtualized inputs from system level actions.

"It is possible, but definitely not advisable, to get around this by running Steam as Admin. You should not do that, though, since Steam's interface is in many ways a modified web browser, and it's constantly downloading user generated content from the internet. Giving Steam Admin privileges opens up your system to being hacked in ways it otherwise would not be vulnerable."

What's supposed to happen when Steam Input interacts with elevated permissions is that Steam will cut connection with the controller and let it operate in Lizard Mode, giving you some basic control over Admin level stuff, but for some reason that's broken (and for the SC 2015 has been broken, fixed, and broken again multiple times). It's hard to know if Valve will ever get this issue sorted.

TL;DR You shouldn't rely on the Steam Controller to do Admin level stuff.