Valve’s SteamVR BETA notes say the VIRTUAL KEYBOARD bug in Skyrim VR is FIXED. TWO owners posting in Valve’s OWN bug forum say it is NOT, at least not in the case that MATTERS most: naming a NEW character. In both Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR, they report, the keyboard NEVER appears at the name screen and the game simply SOFT-LOCKS.
What Valve Actually Shipped
The SteamVR beta 2.18.1 notes, posted September 23 at 23:05 UTC, include a SINGLE line on the issue: “Fix for keyboard not showing up when summoned in some scenarios (Skyrim VR).” The same build made “Aurora” the default environment and added TETHERED Quest support over USB. According to MIXED, SteamOS 0.4.1 for Steam Frame followed THREE days later with a note that it had “Fixed the keyboard not appearing while streaming.”
The WORDING is NARROWER than a headline fix. “Some scenarios” is not EVERY scenario, and the Steam Frame line is about STREAMING, not TEXT ENTRY inside a game. NEITHER note claims the fault is GONE. The follow-up SteamVR beta, 2.18.2 on OCTOBER 1, focused on Error 17 STREAMING fixes, EYE-OPENNESS data over OSC, and a Linux green-screen hotfix. It carries NO further keyboard entry.
Two Reports, Same Dead Screen
Both complaints sit in the SteamVR Bug Report forum, the channel Valve TELLS beta users to use. The first is SHORT. Its author says the keyboard “would not show up when it was time to name my character and the game would just soft lock,” and adds that the games WORK under OpenComposite, “so I know it’s a steam vr problem.” That is the owner’s INFERENCE, not an ESTABLISHED diagnosis.
The second is a FULL reproduction with LOGS, from an owner streaming to a STEAM FRAME over VR Link from a LINUX host. “The virtual keyboard never appears,” it says. The headset’s controller models then “appear frozen in space” while the REAL controllers keep TRACKING. The SteamVR dashboard still opens, and its keyboard can be called up by HAND, but “that keyboard belongs to the Steam UI and does not enter text into the game’s name field.” A PHYSICAL keyboard on the HOST does not get text through EITHER.
The Test Chain Is Long
The DETAILED report MATTERS because of the setup it describes. BOTH Bethesda titles are WINDOWS builds, running on Linux through PROTON, then streamed WIRELESSLY to a headset. The owner lists a GMKtec EVO-X2 with an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 on CachyOS, Steam launched with a VR Link flag, and SteamVR on the beta channel. “Because the issue occurs in both Bethesda VR titles, it does not appear to be specific to one game,” the report concludes. Nothing PUBLISHED says which LAYER drops the keyboard request: the GAMES, Proton, SteamVR, or the STREAM.
Most Owners Are Not on the Fix Yet
BOTH fixes are STILL on BETA branches. Valve’s most RECENT non-beta SteamVR release is the 2.17.10 hotfix from September 18, so 2.18.1 ONLY reaches owners who OPT INTO the SteamVR beta. MIXED reports that SteamOS 0.4.1, which carries SteamVR 2.18.1 inside the headset, is ALSO a beta-channel release.
Valve has NOT REPLIED in either thread, and NO ONE else has posted in them. Two owners is a SMALL sample, and “some scenarios” may simply EXCLUDE these two. But for anyone starting a FRESH playthrough of Skyrim VR or Fallout 4 VR on a Steam Frame, the PRACTICAL advice is the same until Valve says MORE: expect the character-name screen to be a RISK, and keep a FALLBACK runtime such as OpenComposite in mind.
Sources: SteamVR news and beta notes (Valve); SteamVR Bug Report forum; MIXED, October 6, 2026.