If you like playing retro games on your Steam Deck with an emulator, there’s an exciting feature for you to explore. By using Emu Achievements, you can track every achievement that you complete in these games. However, for multiple Steam Deck users, this tool just hasn’t been working. The problem has expanded so much that players have started to wonder if this plugin from Decky Loader is even legit. Players keep searching for workarounds and fixes that will let them use Emu Achievements normally but to no avail. Well, if you’re one of them, you’re in luck. In this guide, we’ve shared all the possible fixes for the Emu Achievements not working on the Steam Deck issue. Keep reading to find out!
Gaming is always more fun when there are different quests and achievements that you can complete. This explains the popularity of Emu Achievements as a plugin that lets you track your achievements on Steam Deck through RetroAchievements. What it does is connect to your RetroAchievements account, which keeps track of the achievements for classic titles. This sounds all good and fun, but it hasn’t worked for most players like that. People keep finding it impossible to actually use Emu Achievements, making the situation downright frustrating. So, what can you do if you encounter the Emu Achievements not working issue on Steam Deck? Let’s find out!
Emu Achievements for Steam Deck Not Working: How to Fix?
For most users, Emu Achievements is a plugin that’s been perennially broken. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are a few workarounds that you can try to enable Emu Achievements on your Deck. However, there’s a catch.
RetroAchievements Disabled the API
As Reddit user Beginning-Screen5687 shared, Emu Achievements depends on the API of RetroAchievements. However, the latter has disabled the API for an indefinite period. The measure was taken back in June 2023, as the API was impacting the reliability of the RetroAchievements website. Until the API is turned back on, Emu Achievements cannot work. Based on the information available, it seems that the API still hasn’t come back online. Once it does, you should be able to use Emu Achievements normally. We’ll update you when RetroAchievements does indeed enable the API.
That said, you can surely try the given workarounds if you are adamant about getting the achievements work:
Use Testing Plugins Mode in Decky Loader
Reddit user Beginning-Screen5687 also shared that you can run Emu Achievements by turning on the Testing mode in Decky Loader. Enable Testing Plugins and download the latest build of Emu Achievements. Then, turn your WiFi off. Now, go to the Settings of your Decky Loader and navigate to Plugins. Locate Emu Achievements and tap on the three-dots button corresponding to it. Then, hit Reload. After this, launch Emu Achievements and put in your username and API key. Now, if you try logging in, you’ll get a no-internet error. Close the Decky Loader and turn your WiFi back on. Launch Emu Achievements again, and you should be able to use it normally from now on.
Enter Your Credentials in the .json File
Reddit user Rookie2907 shared that you can get Emu Achievements to work by updating the .json file with your credentials. Switch to Desktop mode on your Deck and go to the following path – “/home/deck/homebrew“. Now, find the JSON configuration file that contains your username and API key. Open the file with a text editor and enter the right credentials if either the username or the API key is incorrect. These should be matched with the username and API key that you have in RetroAchievements. This should fix the Emu Achievements not working issue.
Update or Reinstall Emu Achievements
You need to ensure that you have the latest build of Emu Achievements installed from Decky Loader. If it doesn’t work, you can try uninstalling and reinstalling the plugin to see if that works.
Well, that’s all that you can do if Emu Achievements isn’t working for you on the Steam Deck. Hopefully, we were able to help you fix the problem. If you found this guide insightful, keep visiting DigiStatement for more such gaming content and guides!
