Within the mainline Linux kernel already is the SteelSeries HID driver for supporting basic battery monitoring on the Arctis 1 and Arctis 9 gaming headsets. But a new patch series posted this morning to the Linux kernel mailing list overhaul this SteelSeries HID driver support. The patches take the support to 25+ different Arctis headset models and provide more comprehensive driver support.
Open-source developer Sriman Achanta posted the set of patches to greatly expand the supported Arctis headset line-up for the upstream hid-steelseries driver.
Achanta explained in the patch cover letter:
“This patch series adds comprehensive support for the SteelSeries Arctis wireless gaming headset lineup to the hid-steelseries driver.
The current driver provides only basic battery monitoring for Arctis 1 and Arctis 9. This series extends support to 25+ Arctis models with full feature control including sidetone, auto-sleep, microphone controls, volume limiting, and Bluetooth settings.
The driver restructure uses a capability-based device info system to cleanly handle the varying feature sets across different Arctis generations while maintaining support for the legacy SRW-S1 racing wheel.”
This sadly wasn’t backed/initiated by SteelSeries themselves but rather done via reverse engineering:
“Tested on Arctis Nova 7 (0x2202). All other implementation details are based on the reverse engineering done in the HeadsetControl library (abe3ac8).”
Those interested can find the new SteelSeries Actis gaming headset patches on the LKML where they now await code review. Great seeing these improvements come to help enhance the Linux gaming experience as we roll into 2026 and with Valve having big plans in store for the year ahead.