Valve's Steam Frame support guide says full support for SteamVR and streaming through the wireless adapter is currently limited to Windows, according to MIXED's report. Steam Machine and desktop Linux buyers face a setup that Valve still describes as incompletely supported.
MIXED read the wording on October 1 at 14:42 UTC. The guide has no publication or revision date, so the report establishes what it said then, rather than when Valve introduced the restriction.
Linux requirements and workarounds
The guide lists SteamOS 3.9 or later, or Linux kernel 7.2 or later, as a requirement for using the dongle with a Linux PC. MIXED says the latest SteamOS release in that line was 3.9.2 Beta, while 3.8 remained the stable release. For Steam Machine owners, meeting the stated SteamOS requirement therefore involves a beta channel.
For testing on Steam Machine, Valve recommends Steam's Desktop Mode, the SteamVR Beta, and starting SteamVR manually before launching a VR game.
Owner reports on Valve's Linux tracker show why those steps matter. MIXED describes one owner whose adapter connected after moving to kernel 7.2.6, and another who encountered a Half-Life: Alyx runtime failure unless they entered SteamVR first. It also reports successful adapter use on CachyOS. These accounts show Linux can work, with results that depend on the setup.
Valve says it plans expanded support after Steam Frame's launch. The guide gives no date or release number for that work.
