[Solved] Could Not Connect To Steam Network

Let’s talk about one of the most annoying situations out there:

You are home after a hectic day at work, and you want to spend some time playing your favorite games. So, as usual, you turn on your computer and open Steam. But you face the doom: could not connect to Steam network error. Only a few things can be more disappointing for a passionate gamer. Well, you do not have to let it take you down. You can solve this Steam network connection error through a few methods. And we have covered them all in this guide.

About the Could Not Connect to Steam Network Error

This error appears when the Steam client cannot connect to the Steam network. On the dialog box, you can see two options. One, you can retry the connection. Two, you can start Steam in offline mode.

Of course, if you think the error happened randomly, you can click on the first button. After that, Steam will try to reconnect, and you can access your games if the connection is successful. Alternatively, if you launch Steam in offline mode, you can access games already downloaded. If you do not want the second thing, you need to immediately fix the could not connect to the Steam network error.

Here are the potential reasons for not connecting to the Steam network error on Steam.

• Issues with your internet connection
• Problems with your hardware drivers
• Complications with the internet protocol
• Problems with Steam

You can take the last factor out of the question by checking whether the Steam servers are online. If they’re working fine, you have to fix the problem from your end itself. Don’t worry, though; the steps you need to follow are simple enough.

We have picked five solutions that we believe are the best to solve could not connect to the Steam network error.

5 Best Possible Fixes to Could Not Connect To Steam Network Error

Solution #1 Check If Your Internet Connection is Working

Before we start fixing things under the hood, you must confirm that your internet connection is functioning correctly. There are a few things you have to check in this section.

1. See if you can access other websites using the same connection. If you can access other websites but keep seeing could not connect to the Steam network error on Steam, it means your network does not allow access to the Steam network. This situation may be temporary or permanent. So, you can get in touch with your ISP and get things right.
2. If you cannot access the internet, it could be another issue. In this case, you have to confirm that the WiFi router or the modem is working correctly. You can disconnect the power adaptor, wait seconds, and reconnect the power to reset the router. It should be able to solve the error within just a few minutes.

Once you find out that your internet connection is working fine, you can move to the following solutions. Here is the idea: you do not have to follow the solutions given below for an internet connection issue.

Solution #2 Check If the Steam Client Works with Administrative Access

Sometimes, you may see could not connect to the Steam network error because the Steam client does not have access to all the resources. Therefore, to fix the situation, you can consider opening the Steam client with admin privileges. Here is what you can do.

1. Search for Steam from the start menu
2. Right-click on Steam and select the option to ‘Run as administrator.’
3. When prompted, allow the option

Alternatively, you can go to the folder where Steam is stored and find the Steam.exe file. You can right-click on the file and choose the option to run it as an administrator. If you saw the Steam network issue due to the unavailability of resource access, this step should solve the problem. In most cases, this step is a great way to solve the problem.

Solution #3 Update Network Drivers

Incompatible or problematic network drivers can also cause Steam to show a network error in the first place. Therefore, you should try updating the drivers to the latest version possible. Fortunately, it is not a tedious task, thanks to the Device Management utility on Windows.

1. Open Start Search and find Device Manager
2. On the window, you can see a list of devices connected to your PC
3. From the subsection named ‘Network adaptors,’ choose the Ethernet connection adaptor.
4. Right-click on the entry and choose the option to ‘Update driver.’

You have to wait while the Windows OS finds the up-to-date driver software and installs the same on your PC. Alternatively, you can download the latest software drivers from the official website and get things done quickly.

By the way, sometimes, running updated drivers may cause a network error. For instance, if you started seeing the error after you upgraded the network drivers, it could be the reason. In this instance, we suggest that you roll back the drivers to a previous version. You can do the same from the Device Manager utility.

Solution #4 Update Windows

Some internal errors with the Windows OS may be responsible for could not connect to the Steam network error on the Steam client. So, you have to make sure that you are running the latest version of Windows. It can be done through the Windows Update utility.

Did you know that Windows Update takes care of drivers as well? So, if your PC was facing some errors with software drivers, you can solve them through a clean Windows Update.

Solution #5 Reinstall Steam

If the solutions mentioned above do not solve your problem, your best bet is to reinstall the Steam client. If an internal problem with the Steam client is responsible for the error, a fresh install should be the ultimate solution.

To uninstall Steam, you can go to Control Panel and use the Uninstall button. Then, you can download the official installation package from the Steam website. The entire process will not take more than a few. But you may have to download all the games you have already downloaded.

Rest assured, you should be able to access the Steam network after a fresh installation.

Some Other Solutions You Can Try

Here are some miscellaneous solutions that may help you.

• If you cannot fix could not connect to the Steam network error even after reinstalling Steam, you can try resetting your PC. This process does not cause data loss but brings all settings back to normalcy.
• You should also check whether Steam servers are working properly. You can do this by visiting the official website.
• Also, make sure that antivirus/firewall programs are not stopping Steam from connecting to the web. In particular, you should add Steam to the exemption list.

This way, you can ensure that the Steam won’t connect error is no longer bothering you on your PC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

We believe this guide has taught you how to eliminate Steam network connection errors with ease. None of these methods cause data loss, per se. However, when you reinstall Steam, you may have to download the games you want again.