r/SteamOS • u/amey2smith • 2d ago

help wanted Terribly Broken After Update 3.8.28 + 3.9.2 Beta ?

DEVICE : Legion Go S Steam OS Variant Z1 Extreme 2025.

Updated from stable 3.8.16 to 3.28.28

Further,

Like a pandora box this update has been.

Terrible Frame Times for games , 16.7 ms frametime but never 16.6 ms ,

Most games are stuttering terrible you can feel it ..

My device has gone from amazing to absolutely shite after update

Even My Home Screen feels stuttery, especially on low power while it was flawless before.

VRR doesn't seem to be working in some games screen just jerks sometimes.

Updated to 3.9.2 beta something after a lot of research and it's just getting worse by each update I have never experienced any issues ever but after this 3.8.28 update suddenly it feels like something in background is stuck.

What I have tried till date since sept 25 2026

  1. Updated to 3.8.28 stable issue start 25 sept 2026

  2. Factory reset at 3.8.28

  3. Changed UMA buffer never even touched it since buying device new in May 2026 changed UMA buffer to 8gb from Auto.

  4. Nothing worked to fix the problems still inconsistent frame time tested games no fix.

  5. Went back to 3.8.28 stable factory reset after update.

  6. No fix issues still persist terrible microstutter making games feel stuttery

  7. Went back to 3.9.2 beta and have updated everyday everything available hoping something magical to take it back to previous days.

  8. most recent update I think something released on 11th October on beta channel.

  9. As of today 13th October my device has fallen to a new low with stuttering on. Home Menu on Low Power as well as balanced mode.

How did things go from masterclass to such a huge pile of shut!

I am truly troubled as if I made the biggest most of my life updating in 25 Sept 2026. I have no clue what to do anymore and dying inside day by day.

PLEASE HELP IS THERE ANY SOLUTION ?

5 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

3

u/Vargyl 2d ago

You can downgrade by using this in Konsole (desktop mode) “sudo atomupd-manager custom-update 3.7.25”.

I use this version on my go s Z1E after i noticed worse performance after 3.8.x updates

3

u/amey2smith 2d ago

Worried about using the konsole at all .. a little noob here .. can mange windows but never touched command line forget linux 😅

3

u/amey2smith 2d ago

Can I move back to the previous 3.8.16 ? Or is 3.7.25 better ? I got my device in may 2026 new been on 3.8.16 stable since I think ? Never had any single issue back then. Everything just worked including the lights and tdp and everything I had out of box.

3

u/Vargyl 2d ago

Yup, just replace the version number i suggested with the one you prefer.

3

u/amey2smith 1d ago

Okay brother. I appreciate your help. Many thanks Man. So I will just write " sudo atomupd-manager custom update 3.8.16 " ? You have had issues with the 3.8.x series entirely is it ? I got my device in may 2026 , I don't thinki have seen what 3.7.25 was and how good it was compared to what I had experienced before 3.8.28 ? Also what about updates you don't update at all then ??

2

u/SeaSoftware3220 2d ago

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/SteamOS/issues/2841

you getting this like me?

2

u/amey2smith 2d ago

Are you the og issue poster in that page ?

3

u/SeaSoftware3220 1d ago

Yes I am. And yes this new 3.8.28 ruined my rog ally z1 extreme before the update my performance was perfect and vrr worked.

2

u/amey2smith 1d ago edited 1d ago

I think you are one of the first to even report this ... I have been following this from update launchday ... Is there anything that's fixed ? Many people suggested updating to 3.9.2 beta but I feel it's just worsening the frametime fluctuations and it's troubling coz the gameplay shows. What did you do ? Give up and wait for valve to fix this ? Because I am seeing that's the only unfortunate solution other than rollback and it's depressing that I can't trust my own device. SAD!

3

u/SeaSoftware3220 1d ago

yep i was i noticed it right away 3.8.28 is no good.,

2

u/Kooky-Dog-9037 2d ago

Do you have the 16gb model?

2

u/amey2smith 2d ago

No I have the steam os Z1EXTREME 32GB Nebula Purple device.

2

u/Kooky-Dog-9037 2d ago

An 8gb frame buffer is too low, try setting it to 16gb. Might not help, but worth a try

2

u/Distinct_Highway_127 1d ago

Strange, maybe you can share a video or some logs, but I would go for a clean install (bootable USB). I also don't recommend if you have a Z1 Extreme handheld to change to any of the Beta channels OS or Steam Client. That's mostly for people using newer hardware or unspotted hardware. The Z1 Extreme is from 2023 so you should be good with OS stable channel. I have a Rog Ally X Z1 Extreme and I used Beta OS, but that's because I use a 7600M XT eGPU.

2

u/amey2smith 22h ago

How do I share logs .. yes man I am on the stable os 3.8.28 which is where the problem started in the first place ... Looked for solutions found 3.9.2 beta could help so moved to that did factory reset solved nothing ... Mine is the z1e steam os official variant ... So you propose a clean install everytime steam os updates ? Like clean everything everytime steam updates ? When do I actually play then ?

I would love the stable os forever since I am not at all a fan of beta updates but that stable itself causing me issues which is why beta.

Many people reporting issues many people reporting working fine .. wtf

1

u/Distinct_Highway_127 12h ago

First, go to desktop mode and check if you don't have any updates in the discovery software center. Many people miss those and some times those are very critical. If that doesn't work, perform a clean install, and don't worry, I have used SteamOS for long now and while broken Steam Client updates are very common, OS updates are not. So probably it will only happen this time.