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Display recovery

When the console is running but the TV shows nothing (a wrong mode, or a mode the TV doesn't accept), you can still reach it and change the mode.

The commands below that mention Game Mode, gamescopectl or the ps5 user are for PS5 Bazzite Deck (default user and password: ps5 / ps5). The rest works on any image.

1. Get a shell​

With a keyboard on the PS5 (TTY): press Ctrl+Alt+F3 for a text login. To get back to the picture, press Ctrl+Alt+F1 or F2. If the TV shows nothing at all, the text console won't show either; use SSH instead.

Over the network (SSH): from a PC on the same network (Windows: PowerShell; macOS/Linux: a terminal):

ssh <user>@<console-ip>

The console's IP address is in your router's list of devices (on Bazzite it is often named bazzite). See SSH and getting help for more.

Quick fix to try first: switching TTYs back and forth can bring the picture back. With a keyboard: Ctrl+Alt+F2, wait 2–3 seconds, then Ctrl+Alt+F1. Over SSH:

sudo chvt 2; sleep 3; sudo chvt 1

2. Game Mode (Bazzite Deck)​

Turn VRR off or on:

export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/$(id -u) GAMESCOPE_WAYLAND_DISPLAY=gamescope-0
gamescopectl adaptive_sync 0      # off (1 = on)

The picture comes back within a few seconds.

Resolution: Game Mode takes its resolution from Steam's settings, which have no command. If it remembered a mode the TV can't show, take that mode away for one boot so Game Mode falls back to one that works:

E=$(for d in /boot/efi /efi; do sudo test -f $d/cmdline.txt && echo $d && break; done)
sudo sed -i 's/[[:space:]]*$/ amdgpu.force_1080p=1/' $E/cmdline.txt && sudo systemctl poweroff

Start with the loader: Game Mode comes up at 1080p60. Set the mode you want under Settings → Display, then remove the option again and power off:

E=$(for d in /boot/efi /efi; do sudo test -f $d/cmdline.txt && echo $d && break; done)
sudo sed -i 's/ *amdgpu\.force_1080p=1//' $E/cmdline.txt && sudo systemctl poweroff

For 4K120 only: add hdmi.frl_4k120=0 instead of amdgpu.force_1080p=1; that takes away only that mode.

Switch to the desktop instead: steamos-session-select plasma (and back with steamos-session-select gamescope).

3. KDE desktop​

KDE's kscreen-doctor changes the mode directly. Over SSH, run this first:

export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/$(id -u) DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/$(id -u)/bus

Then:

kscreen-doctor -o                                   # outputs and their modes (the HDMI output is DP-1)
kscreen-doctor output.DP-1.mode.3840x2160@60        # resolution@refresh rate
kscreen-doctor output.DP-1.hdr.disable              # HDR off (enable = on)
kscreen-doctor output.DP-1.vrrpolicy.never          # VRR off (automatic = only full-screen apps, always)

Unlike System Settings, kscreen-doctor applies the change straight away, without a "keep this mode?" question. Check the TV after each change; to undo, run it again with the previous mode.

4. The TV itself​

After a failed 4K120 attempt, some TVs stay dark at every mode. Unplug the TV's power for a minute (standby isn't enough), then start the console again.

Reporting a display problem​

For a black screen, a picture that blinks or reconnects, VRR that doesn't work, or a missing mode, send this information. It shows which modes your display offers (its EDID), what the console offered and chose, and what the HDMI chip did.

  1. Get in as described above.

  2. Make it happen: choose the mode or turn on the setting that fails (VRR, HDR, 4K120…), wait about 15 seconds, then run this single line on a Bazzite Deck console:

    F=~/display-log-$(date +%H%M).txt; { echo "== version"; cat /etc/ps5-bazzite-deck-version; uname -v; cat /proc/cmdline; echo "== EDID (base64)"; sudo cat /sys/class/drm/card0-DP-1/edid | base64 -w0; echo; echo "== modes offered"; cat /sys/class/drm/card0-DP-1/modes | sort | uniq -c; echo "== current mode and VRR"; sudo grep -E "crtc\[|enable=|active=|mode:|vrr_enabled" /sys/kernel/debug/dri/0/state 2>/dev/null | head -20; echo "== HDMI chip"; sudo dmesg | grep -i -e "hdmi" -e "VRR" -e "FRL" -e "re-arm" | tail -60; echo "== Game Mode"; journalctl --user -b --no-pager -o cat 2>/dev/null | grep -i -e "drm:" -e "modeset" -e "vrr" -e "adaptive" -e "edid" | tail -40; } > $F 2>&1; E=$(for d in /boot/efi /efi; do sudo test -f $d/cmdline.txt && echo $d && break; done); sudo cp $F $E/ 2>/dev/null; echo "saved $F"

    It only reads. It saves display-log-<time>.txt in your home folder, plus a copy on the drive's small FAT32 partition, so without a network you can take it from there on a PC. On other images, use the general log dump.

  3. Get the picture back (see the sections above).

  4. Post it on Discord with the file attached, and include:

    • the exact TV or monitor model, and which HDMI port and cable you use,
    • what you chose (resolution, refresh rate, VRR on/off, HDR on/off) and what you saw (black, blinking, reconnecting, wrong colours),
    • the display's own settings: VRR/FreeSync/Adaptive-Sync, HDMI enhanced format/Deep Colour, game mode,
    • whether it worked on an earlier version, and which one.