Some Steam Machine users recently noticed a red LED strip lighting up on their devices, causing concern because it reminded many people of the infamous “Red Ring of Death” seen on the Xbox 360. However, this red LED strip is actually a temperature warning that lights up when the Steam Machine’s CPU and/or GPU reaches a certain temperature. Valve has confirmed that a future update will raise the activation threshold, as the warning can currently appear even before those temperatures are actually reached.
Valve is preparing a BIOS update for the Steam Machine, with one of the main fixes focusing on the red LED temperature warning. According to Valve, the LED strip can currently activate before reaching the intended threshold. The update will increase the limit so that the warning appears only when the CPU and/or GPU reaches 100°C. At the moment, the warning is supposed to activate at 95°C for the CPU and 90°C for the GPU.
Valve Fixing Steam Machine Red LED Warning With New BIOS Update
Despite the appearance of the red LEDs, Valve has stressed that the Steam Machine continues to operate within its normal temperature range. The upcoming update only changes when the LED strip turns on and does not affect the system’s normal operation.
With the new update, the red LED strip will light up only when the console begins to reduce performance because of high temperatures. If the Steam Machine continues to heat up beyond that point, it will automatically shut down to protect the hardware.
For now, Valve has not announced a release date for the BIOS update. The company has confirmed that it is working on it and that it will be released soon, but no specific launch date has been provided.
