What shipped, and when
vrOS 3.0.0 arrived on November 2, 2026. Two follow-up patches have landed since:
- 3.0.1, November 3: It added foveated streaming for HEVC. It also fixed lag in video panels next to HEVC games and frame drops caused by animated Twitch emotes.
- 3.0.2, November 5: It reworked the Frame's welcome and PC-pairing screens. It also fixed startup behavior, uninstall cleanup and tracker-alignment problems.
This is not a Valve update. vrOS is a separate paid Steam application, not a Valve update bundled with Steam Frame. The developer's Steam Community page labels it Early Access and listed it at $7.98 when the page was captured. Prices can change.
What "without Steam Link" means
The phrase is a distinction about the connection method. It is not a claim that SteamVR is gone. The developer says the new connection works "without Steam Link," although the PC VR mode still uses SteamVR on the computer.
The two modes work differently:
- Desktop panels: Connecting opens the PC's main display as a panel over the Frame home environment without starting SteamVR on the PC, according to the developer. Users can add other displays or single windows from an ADD list, with displays listed first. Each one becomes its own panel to grab, move and resize, and the layout returns at the next connection.
- PC VR games: For a PC VR game, vrOS uses a headset driver in the computer's SteamVR installation. The Frame and its controllers show up in SteamVR as themselves, finger tracking included. vrOS panels can stay on top of the game.
The app also has START, EXIT and RESTART STEAMVR controls, and each asks for confirmation first. USE STEAM LINK switches back to Valve's method with one confirmed SteamVR restart. So Steam Link remains a fallback inside vrOS.
Setup and requirements
The developer's notes describe the flow like this:
- On the Frame, open the vrOS PC tab.
- Press Connect to link to vrOS running on your Windows PC. The link can use the Frame's dongle or your home Wi-Fi.
- Optionally turn on "Connect automatically when your PC is available." It is off by default.
- Use the Frame's controllers to point and click. The PC cursor shows on the panel. A VR keyboard opens by itself when you click a text box.
Streaming needs a Steam Frame and a Windows PC. Linux PCs and other headsets are listed as coming later. The vrOS documentation says its desktop app supports Windows 10 (1903 or later) and Windows 11. That is general app support, and the Frame streaming notes don't repeat a minimum Windows version. Check the current Steam listing before buying.
That Windows-only limit matches Valve's own position. MIXED reported separately that Valve's support guide says full support for SteamVR and Steam Frame streaming via the wireless adapter is currently available on Windows only. Valve says expanded support will follow, but gave no date.
Streaming settings worth testing
The picture options are:
- Frame-rate shortcuts.
- A bitrate slider whose maximum follows the frame rate.
- Resolution per eye.
- A game codec choice between HEVC and PyroWave.
HEVC is the default. A PC whose graphics card can't encode HEVC streams PyroWave instead. A codec change applies the next time PC VR starts, and there is no Auto option yet.
Foveated streaming has Off, Gentle and Strong settings, with Strong as the default. It uses the Frame's eye tracking to put image detail where you're looking. There is a hardware catch. On a graphics card that cannot foveate HEVC, HEVC games stream with even detail, while PyroWave still foveates. With HEVC, a blink holds detail at the previous gaze point for up to half a second so the picture doesn't visibly shift.
For desktop windows, the developer says it uses PyroWave in full 4:4:4 colour with a wavelet tuned for text. It also sends one extra-sharp image when a panel stops changing. That is the developer's own claim. The notes don't include independent image-quality or latency measurements, so test it on your own PC and network.
Eye tracking and privacy
The "Share eye tracking with PC apps" setting is off by default. When enabled, it sends gaze and eyelid data to PC applications while you stream. The developer's example is VRChat face tracking. Turn it on only if you want PC software to receive those signals.
The vrOS documentation says that, on the desktop app, nothing vrOS sees leaves the computer. It says network traffic comes only from extensions you enable, such as Twitch or OBS Control. That is the developer's description, not an audit.
Audio and known limits
- Audio: PC sound and the headset microphone use Steam Streaming Speakers and Microphone if installed. Otherwise sound goes to the PC's default output, and the mic uses the Mic feed in Audio Settings. A signed vrOS audio driver is planned for a later 3.x update, once the developer's EV code-signing certificate arrives.
- Dashboard glyphs: If you rebind the PC dashboard chord but keep one of its default buttons, the on-screen glyphs still show the default chord.
- Uninstalling: Before 3.0.2, uninstalling on the Frame left its SteamVR driver and startup entries installed and enabled. 3.0.2 fixes that. Uninstalling on a PC now also turns streaming off in SteamVR, so a reinstall doesn't start with streaming already on.
Analysis
For Windows users, the main point is the desktop mode. A Windows desktop with several displays or individual app windows can be placed in a Frame and used with controllers and a VR keyboard. That could suit people who want a floating multi-monitor setup without starting SteamVR. The game-streaming mode is more of a competitor to Valve's route than a replacement for it. It still relies on SteamVR and adds its own driver, so Steam Link is still available if something breaks.
Reviews of the Frame have noted that PC streaming connection quality is largely solved by the dongle, with some wonkiness in actual use. Road to VR's review, for example, found end-to-end sessions less reliable than Steam Link on a Quest 3. A third-party layer adds another variable on top of that.
The software is Early Access, and the developer says some planned v3 items still needed patching. Treat it as promising rather than settled. Check the Steam listing for current requirements, then test codec, bitrate, resolution and foveation on your own hardware.