SteamVR 2.18 Adds Wired USB Streaming for Quest and Makes 'Aurora' the Default Home

Valve released SteamVR 2.18 on October 21, 2026, and the headline change is for Quest owners: the Steam Link app can now stream PC VR games to a Meta Quest 3, Quest 3S or older Quest over a USB cable instead of Wi-Fi. Wired streaming had been in public beta since early September; it is now part of the stable release. It needs the latest version of the Steam Link app on the headset.

Streaming fixes

Much of the update targets streaming reliability, which matters for both Quest and Valve's own Steam Frame. Valve lists additional fixes for the common "Error 17", an end to 300 ms gaps in frame delivery during packet loss, corrected colors on AMD GPUs, less video corruption and checkerboarding, and better automatic bitrate selection. Streamers can now also read eye openness data over OSC.

Aurora and a friendlier dashboard

The Aurora environment is now the default space you see in SteamVR, though it can be turned off in settings. The system UI supports gamepad navigation, an Additional Options menu gathers lesser-used controls, a new toggle stops the dashboard from dimming the game behind it, and the virtual keyboard looks right in more games, such as Skyrim VR.

Steam Frame and Linux changes

• Steam Frame controllers now default to gamepad input in non-VR games, with a per-game setting to change it.
• On Linux, async reprojection works on AMD GPUs again, GPU selection on hybrid laptops is fixed, the systemd dependency is gone and older graphics drivers are supported again, GamingOnLinux reports.
• Controller bindings load correctly again in games including Google Earth VR and Thumper.

What it means for players

Quest owners who want a stable, low-latency PC VR connection no longer need a good router or a third-party app: a USB 3 cable and Steam Link are enough. Everyone streaming to a headset, including Steam Frame buyers, should see fewer dropouts. The update installs automatically through SteamVR.