Steam Deck: On-screen keyboard fails to open after resume from sleep (PrismLauncher / external apps)

[itsuky13]

Your system information

• Steam client version: Latest (as of [date of testing])
• SteamOS version: Stable channel (latest)
• Opted into Steam client beta?: No
• Opted into SteamOS beta?: No
• Have you checked for updates in Settings > System?: Yes

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

On Steam Deck (LCD / 64GB), when playing Minecraft via PrismLauncher (AppImage) in Game Mode, the SteamOS virtual keyboard cannot be summoned after resuming from sleep.

• The “Keyboard” menu entry is still visible when pressing the Steam button.
• However, tapping it only causes the keyboard to flash briefly and then disappear.
• The keyboard remains unusable until the entire SteamOS is restarted.

This behavior did not occur in earlier SteamOS versions — previously the keyboard appeared reliably after sleep.
I tested multiple launch options and workarounds, but the issue persists.
Temporary workaround: reloading SteamUI (killall steam && systemctl --user restart steam) restores the keyboard only temporarily, not permanently.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

1. Launch PrismLauncher (AppImage version) as a non-Steam game from Steam and play Minecraft.
2. Put the Steam Deck into sleep mode.
3. Resume from sleep and try to open the on-screen keyboard (Steam button → Keyboard, or controller binding).

Troubleshooting / Workarounds attempted:

• Tried both Flatpak and AppImage builds of PrismLauncher.
• Tested multiple launch options:
  • env ALSOFT_DRIVERS=pulse %command%
  • env ALSOFT_DRIVERS=pulse GTK_IM_MODULE=ibus QT_IM_MODULE=ibus XMODIFIERS=@im=ibus %command%
  • Additionally tested with --disable-gpu-sandbox, steam-run, QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland, SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland.
• Forced Wayland (--force-wayland) and explicitly forced X11 (QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11).
• Tried launching via gamescope.
• Verified on Stable channel (not Beta/Preview).
• Temporary workaround: reloading SteamUI with killall steam && systemctl --user restart steam.

Result:

Even after the above, the SteamOS virtual keyboard consistently fails to appear after sleep in external apps such as PrismLauncher.

Additional notes:

I am not fluent in English and not very familiar with Linux, so I relied on ChatGPT to help structure this report. Apologies if there are inaccuracies.

Additionally, I encountered a separate issue where Minecraft had no audio output in Game Mode when launched through PrismLauncher.
That issue was resolved by explicitly adding the launch option: env ALSOFT_DRIVERS=pulse %command%

thankyou!

[hcook95]

I will add that I have also experienced this bug with Google Chrome in game mode. A few things to add to this bug report:

• The issue persists when updating to the beta channel (I have not tried the preview channel).
• The issue persists on a fresh install.
• The issue only seems to occur when there are two apps open in Game Mode, even if the other app is a steam game.
• Even when the issue doesn't work in Chrome, it still works in the steam game (in my tests I was using Hollow Knight).
• If the steam deck is awakened with Chrome in the foreground, the keyboard shortcut will work until I switch to the second application.
• A workaround is using the keyboard icon in the "..." menu.