It turns out wired Steam Deck-to-PC file transfer are actually easy

It’s common knowledge that you can’t just plug your Steam Deck into your PC with a USB cable and transfer files between the two machines. In fact, it’s possible, with the right software. Just install Decky Loader and change a few options in the Deck BIOS.

How to enable DRD on Steam Deck

To enjoy plug-and-play USB file transfers between your PC and your Steam Deck, you need to do two things: enable the DRD (dual role device) option in the BIOS and install a certain Decky Loader plugin.

Enabling DRD allows your Deck to act as both a host and a client when its USB port is in use. The Steam Deck acts as a host when you plug something into its USB-C port: a mouse, keyboard, or portable docking station. But when you connect it to a PC via USB, the Deck behaves like a client.

Credit: Anker

Usually, the Steam Deck only works as a host because the xHCI (eXtensible Host Controller Interface) option is enabled by default in the Deck’s BIOS. xHCI is a framework that tells a computer’s USB controller how to operate as a host, but not as a client.

But you can’t just switch from xHCI to DRD and be done with it; you also need to install a certain Decky Loader plugin that enables MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) on your Steam Deck, allowing it to behave like a client (a storage device) when connected to a PC via USB.

Here’s how to configure everything.

First, switch to desktop mode, open your browser and visit the Decky Loader website. Download the installer file, locate the “decky_installer.desktop” file, double-click it and follow the instructions to complete the installation.

You will need to provide your sudo password during installation. If you haven’t set the password before, open Konsole, type “passwd” and enter it.

You can now return to Game mode. Once there, press the “…” button to the right of the Steam Deck below the trackpad to open the quick access menu. Scroll down to the Decky Loader tab, as shown below, and open Decky Marketplace.

Once you open the Marketplace, type “DeckMTP” in the search box, or simply scroll down until you find the DeckMTP plugin. Install the plugin.

Now open the plugin; it should tell you that DRD is disabled. This is expected. To enable DRD (Dual Role Device) and MTP, you need to enable DRD in BIOS. If for some reason DRD is already enabled on your Deck, you need to enable MTP from the start.

Turn off your Deck, then press and hold “Volume Up” and Power keys until you hear a beep. Let them go and you should see the BIOS welcome screen.

The first step is to access the “Setup Utility” menu.

Next, select the “Advanced” tab, then the “USB Configuration” menu and open it.

Now you can go to the “USB Dual Role Device” menu and switch from “XHCI” to “DRD”. Exit the BIOS, save the changes with the Select key and boot into Game mode.

Now open the DeckMTP plugin, enable MTP and you are good to go.

All you have to do is plug your Deck into your PC with a USB cable, and that’s it. You don’t need to exit game mode, turn off the screen or anything.

Simply connect the two machines with a USB cable and you should see your Deck in Windows Explorer, or your browser of choice if you’re using Linux. The Deck will behave like a USB key or external SSD; you can freely navigate its file system, transfer files to and from it, and all that jazz. To disconnect it, simply unplug the USB cable.

Transfer speeds via USB outperform any wireless method

In theory, you can achieve transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps, the maximum bandwidth of the Deck’s USB-C port. In practice, transfer speeds are much slower.

I managed to transfer the five GB Gran Turismo 4 ROM from my PC to my Deck in 28 seconds. This translates to an average transfer speed of 178 megabytes per second, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Credit: Zachary Cimaglio / How-To Geek

In comparison, wireless transfer methods reach around 85 Mbps. Not bad, but twice as slow as MTP wired transfer.

To achieve the maximum transfer speed, you must use at least one USB 3.2 Gen1 port on the PC side, which reaches 5 Gbps. You will also need a suitable USB data cable. For my testing, I used a USB-C data cable that came with my external SSD enclosure, rated at 20Gbps.

This plug-and-play USB transfer method isn’t just convenient for moving large files from your PC to your Deck. I also like it because I can quickly transfer screenshots I’ve captured on my Deck to my PC without having to navigate the Deck’s file system with the trackpads; I can do everything on my PC using a regular mouse.

There are other ways to transfer files between your Deck and your PC

If you prefer to transfer files between your Deck and PC wirelessly, there are a multitude of options available. Just be aware that transfer speeds won’t be as fast as those achieved with a wired USB connection.

You’re looking at a maximum of around 85 Mbps, if you have a decent Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E router and an OLED Steam Deck, which supports Wi-Fi 6E. I own the LCD model, which only supports Wi-Fi 5, and I’ve managed to hit speeds up to around 60 Mbps.

Credit: Goran Damnjanovic/How-To Geek

I use Warpinator (Steam Deck/Linux version, download it from the Discover Store) and Winpinator (Windows version) to transfer files between my Deck and my PC, but I don’t plan to use them anymore because the USB method is much faster.

Despite using Warpinator and Winpinator, I actually recommend using LocalSend as it’s hands down the easiest wireless transfer method I’ve used so far. All you have to do is install the app on your Deck and PC, open them both and send files.

KDE Connect is another great app for transferring files wirelessly between your PC and Steam Deck.

If you’re willing to get your hands dirty, you can set up an SSH connection with SSHFS, a network file system client that uses Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). It’s very simple to use once you have everything set up. The Steam Deck will be displayed as a standard storage drive in your file manager and you can drag and drop files into it at any time.

If you want to try SSHFS, I recommend following this extremely detailed video tutorial offered by the MonroeWorld YouTube channel.

Being able to quickly and easily transfer files to your Deck via USB can be very handy if you like emulation, as the Steam Deck is arguably the best portable emulator.

Adding ROMs to its library is simple, and the handheld is powerful enough to emulate most retro consoles, including the Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation 2.

If you want to use your Deck for something other than gaming, you can get a portable dock and turn it into a true Linux desktop.