r/Steam_Link • u/Embarrassed_Action31 • Jan 28 '26
Discussion Steam link has saved my night shifts
I work as a security guard for years doing night shifts, it was getting so boring, that i could not stay awake and was near to losing my job for it, I started looking for things to do, see movies, etc, until I found steamlink, i didnt even knew it existed but once i started using it i finally managed to put my sleep in line, now that i play during my night shifts im able to sleep in the day (Hours that I used to game, now I game at work) and train while being able to play games, thanks valve, thanks gabe newell, it has never given me any problems and I couldn't be more satisfied with the service.
Edit 1: I have seen a lot of people call this irresponsible, the fact that I play doesn't affect my work since I do regular checks on the place and don't use high volume, instead it's just a thing that helps me stay awake more than scrolling on TikTok endlessly, also the place I work at it's closed during nights and we only attend patients that come badly Ill or injured, I am right in front of the main door at all times, the town I live in is pretty small and I have been called 'The only guard that doesn't sleep', I also seen people say I'm lazy for having problems to stay awake when I'm being paid to, and I get it, but sadly I take care of my little brother during the days, he is six years old and its tiring too, I still do my work properly, thanks.
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u/Head_Panda6986 Jan 28 '26
Have you heard of moonlight?
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u/CharlesCSchnieder Jan 28 '26
I tried and even locally it still had too much lag for me
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u/Dankleberry1 Jan 28 '26
Me too. Only hard wired connections on both end made it slightly playable.
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u/imbannedanyway69 Feb 01 '26
Totally opposite experience for me. Steam link had crazy lag even with wired connections on both sides. With sunshine and moonlight I can play 25 miles away over a tailscale connection on wireless and my gaming PC on Ethernet at home and barely notice any lag
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u/ViciousXUSMC Jan 28 '26
TLDR:
I'm a security guard that was going to get fired for sleeping on the job.
Now I'm good and won't get fired because I'm playing video games on the job.
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u/Embarrassed_Action31 Feb 06 '26
I still do my job, I do my rounds and I live in a pretty small town so it doesn't matter, if I didn't have the games I would probably watch YouTube but instead gaming help me stay awake, I too take care of my little brother during the days, so no, I'm not lazy, just tired.
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u/neg_ziro Jan 28 '26
Get a good retro device that supports moonlight and you too can stream all kinds of stuffs. I do at work on occassion
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u/cuberhino Jan 28 '26
What device would you recommend?
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u/R0B0t1C_Cucumber Jan 28 '26
I'm not the guy who posted this, but, I've tried a few different odd ball devices i had laying around, nintendo switch (running android), ipad, xbox one and a macbook air. The ipad with an xbox controller connected is by far my favorite though for couch gaming.
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u/Kscroll Jan 29 '26
I use a hardwired chrome cast with google tv in the living room, an Amazon tv in the bedroom natively, a pixel 7 (work phone) and iPhone 16 pm (personal) and they all work well. Oh, and my steam deck on occasion when I don’t want to free up space.
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u/imbannedanyway69 Feb 01 '26
Any Anbernic device running android works a charm. I have an RG557 that works perfectly alongside tailscale and moonlight
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u/Landy0451 Jan 28 '26
Then it means you play from your PC at home remotely with SteamLink ?
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u/PBEmz Jan 28 '26
Yeah but make sure you hook up your remote device locally to your host device first before you decide to go out.
Without that initial local link, the remote device won't have the credentials or the "address" needed to find your host device over the open internet.
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u/ViciousXUSMC Jan 28 '26
Don't send anything over the open Internet is the much better solution.
Use a VPN
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u/Major-Ad3831 Jan 30 '26
No, dont use a VPN for somethinng like Steam Link.... wtf
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u/imbannedanyway69 Feb 01 '26
Uh you should definitely use a VPN for connecting devices that you own together over the open Internet
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u/Major-Ad3831 Feb 01 '26
The increase in latency will make it prob unusable
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u/imbannedanyway69 Feb 01 '26
How are you gonna say what it probably will do if you've never even done it? There's thousands of people that use it exactly in the way I'm describing with no issues, whatever notion you have, you're misinformed
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u/Reasonable-Song-4681 Jan 28 '26
Automation electrician working overnights here. Thrilled when I discovered I could use Steam Link through my zFold 6. Even more so when I found a decent cheap Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to go with it. Only game giving me issues is SOMA. I got the audio to work once and never again. Everything else I play works perfectly.
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u/Dairy__Cow Jan 29 '26
Virtual display option with Apollo "sunshine apparently got that update too so pick your poison". Steam link has always given me issues.
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u/MugiwaraJF Feb 20 '26
So it works on different networks? The PC can be at home and you at work and it still works? Or how do you do it?
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u/Embarrassed_Action31 Feb 28 '26
Yes, basically you download the steam app, pair it trough the same wifi and then you can play anywhere else with a good connection and play in other WiFi's,I live like 5 minutes from work so idk how that might affect performance,maybe it helps maybe it doesn't idk.
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u/cat-in-the-keyboard Jan 28 '26
Just for the sake of common sense... Aren't they paying you to watch out for security? Yes, it can be boring but they are paying you to do it. And you accepted the responsibility.
What if something happens and you are distracted playing video games? Or too tired due to lack of sleep.
I'm not saying you cannot play games at all... Just do it in your spare time, not affecting your sleep time.
Otherwise you are just calling for a reason to be fired, or worse... to be liable for something happening in your watch and not reacting on time.
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Jan 28 '26
Video games are better at keeping you up than coffee. I been working nights for over 10 years.
Do you want your guard falling asleep or be awake and alert?
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u/Ok_Attitude_2476 Jan 31 '26
Much of night shift security work is reactive, not proactive. Buildings are secured during the day, but during the evenings it’s largely CCTV observation outside of a few patrols (depending on role and company). You can only stare at CCTV for so long, or else you literally go blind to it - you are staring at the screen, but not taking anything in after a while, so it’s counterproductive. Best course of action is to do something to keep you awake, whilst turning your head to the cameras briefly every so often (once every couple minutes for me). It’s okay to be jealous of someone who gets lots of downtime for their job, but most security work relies on “putting in a presence” to deter crime. Just the act of having security on site is enough to deter a lot of issues. The reality is not that much happens on night shifts 🤷🏻♂️ and many companies only hire a guard as they get massively reduced insurance premiums by having in-house security staff. Weighted against the workload provided by security staff (patrols, monitoring, securing, fire alarm response, etc…) it makes it very worthwhile to hire security, even with them having significant downtime. Hope this helps!
(Security officer of 3 years)
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u/Embarrassed_Action31 Feb 06 '26
This!!! For real, nights are so boring that it's easy to fall asleep, so gaming has really helped me stay awake.
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u/Embarrassed_Action31 Feb 06 '26
Well I actually do regularly circles around the installation, the place is closed during nights so I only have to check the entrances every now and then, I also help the people who come to us with emergency since my post is right in front of the main door, I don't use headphones, I play mostly arcade games to keep my brain entertained, I also take care of my little brother during the day, so that's why it was hard to stay awake, it's not like I don't do my job, instead most of my colleagues at night sleep, i stay at attention at all times and have radio to communicate with my supervisor which we do every hour.
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u/BrodoLaggins Jan 28 '26
I think you mean Steam Deck? Steam Link is the device that plugs into your TV to stream from your PC. At any rate, glad you’re enjoying it, friend!
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u/PoorBoy2285 Jan 28 '26
First used Steam Link when I was a night auditor during covid. The hotel had maybe 3-5 guests a night. Best year of work ever.