Do you want to play your Steam games on your phone? To be able to enjoy a round of Dota in the bathroom, or take your game of Civilization 6 to your bed for one more turn? Well, Steam got you covered with it´s Steam Link app.
Steam Link lets you stream your games from your computer to another device, like a Smart TV or your phone. It requires a fairly potent internet connection, but you can stream any game from your Steam library to any compatible device.
You are not stuck using the device´s natural controls to play either. While the touch screen can leave a lot to be desired when it comes to controlling a game, you can also pair a gamepad to your phone to have the complete, if downscaled, PC gaming experience.
So, how do you go about playing with the Steam Link on your Android phone, advice like the Nvidia Shield, or even an iPhone? It is quite easy, but we made a step by step infographic to make it even simpler.
How to use Steam Link on your smartphone
And that´s it, you don´t need to do anything else to be able to use Steam Link on your phone. The steps are identical wherever you are using an android or iOS phone.
However, you might experience some issues when connecting...
Troubleshooting using the Steam Link with your phone.
My game isn´t working right! It keeps stuttering!
If you are experiencing choppy gameplay, then the most likely culprit is lag. The amount of data that needs to be sent and received varies between games, but it requires a 3Mbps connection at a minimum.
This can be a lot to ask for a home Wi-fi network, so make sure yours is up to snuff. An "easy" way to improve your connection is to make sure your computer is connected to your router with an ethernet cable and not via wi-fi.
The app can´t find my computer!
For the app to automatically find your computer, it needs to be on the same internet network and Steam must be launched. If you can´t find your computer the most likely explanation is that your phone isn´t connected to the same network as your PC.
You can check if your phone is currently paired to your Steam account by going into its settings and opening the Steam Link tab. Your phone should appear on the list of paired devices:
If you can´t find a way to connect automatically, you can try manually. If the app doesn´t find a compatible computer after it´s scan, it gives you the option to add another computer. If you select this option, the app will generate a PIN.
With this four-digit PIN, you can open the above-pictured menu, select "Pair Steam Link" and enter the code to connect your phone to your computer.
This sucks! My phone can´t register my inputs.
Well, yeah. Counter-Strike wasn´t made to be played on a touch screen after all. To better enjoy your games and avoid finger cramps, you can connect a controller to your phone before using the Steam Link. Any Bluetooth gamepad should do, but if you want, check out our list of controllers compatible with the Steam Link.
Connecting a controller to your phone is quite simple, and we already briefly explained how to do so in the infographic. If you want a more detailed explanation, check out this article, where we explain step-by-step how to connect a gamepad to your phone.