The Steam Deck is often rated for its simplicity and ease of use compared to other handhelds, but it's not immune to bugs. Valve's latest bug fix for the device has fixed a particularly pesky "loading throbber" problem.
According to the latest Steam Deck client update notes, the new client has "fixed a rare case where the UI could get stuck showing a loading throbber at startup while in Offline Mode".
Nobody likes a loading throbber at the best of times, but getting stuck being shown one at startup doesn't sound fun.
However, loading throbbers, while sometimes the bane of our existence, are in fact useful for letting us know our device is actually doing something and not just twiddling its thumbs. For that reason, love them or hate them, loading throbbers are here to stay.
It's particularly egregious that there were loading throbber problems with Offline Mode, though. Considering the Steam Deck's often used in places with spotty signal such as long-haul flights, being able to use it without an active internet connection can be quite important.
I've had all kinds of loading throbber problems over the years, from Windows hourglasses to seemingly never-ending in-game spinners. When it persists for too long, probably the most annoying loading throbber is, in my opinion and despite it being relatively small and unobtrusive, the little blue Windows circle. Just the fact the little throbber's there irks me.
But I've never experienced the Steam Deck's loading throbber. If I had, I might think that to be the most annoying of the bunch. Offline Mode, after all, is meant to resolve annoyances, not create more.
Valve does say that, prior to the fix, this persistent loading throbber condition was a "rare" one. I'm not sure how many people were previously stuck looking at Valve's throbber upon an offline boot, but "zero" is better than "some" in this case, so we can be grateful that this throbber's been fixed.
