Steam is Valve’s PC gaming platform: a store, a launcher that installs and updates your games, a friends network and a community with workshops, guides and markets. Valve’s storefront at store.steampowered.com is what the result box measures: an external server opens it and notes the status, the speed and whether the certificate is valid.
Store, community, sign-in and downloads
Steam is several services under one name. The store, the community pages, the sign-in service, friends and chat, and the content servers that deliver game downloads can all fail separately. A reachable result for the store rules out a full outage but not trouble in one of the other parts. A slow or unreachable store is a strong sign that Steam has a wider problem, and nothing local will fix it.
Many games sold on Steam also run on their own publisher servers. If Steam is fine but one game will not connect, the problem is that game, not Steam.
Steam Deck, Big Picture and the mobile app
The Steam Deck uses the same accounts and servers as the desktop client, so a Steam outage shows up there as a failed store, missing friends list or stuck downloads. Games already installed on the Deck can usually still be played offline if the device has been online before. Big Picture mode on a TV is just another view of the desktop client and fails in the same ways.
The Steam Mobile app handles Steam Guard approvals, trade confirmations and chat. When it cannot reach Steam, sign-in approvals stall on every device. If the app works on mobile data but not over your home Wi-Fi, the router or a network filter is the cause, not Valve.
Errors the Steam client shows
| What you see | Likely cause | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Error code -105 on a store page | Could not reach the server: Steam, DNS or a firewall | Check the result above, try another DNS server |
| Error code -118 | The page request timed out | Restart the client, turn off VPN |
| Could not connect to the Steam network | Sign-in service problem or blocked connection | Wait out maintenance, check the firewall |
| Download stuck at 0 bytes | Content server or download cache problem | Change download region, clear download cache |
| Game shows as needing an update every launch | Damaged local files | Verify the game files |
Tuesday maintenance and big sales
Valve’s weekly maintenance on Tuesdays is the most predictable reason for short Steam trouble. It usually lasts only a short time, and it is not announced every week because it is routine. Seasonal sales, the start of free weekends and launches of very popular games bring the other peaks: the store slows down, carts fail and downloads crawl as millions of people act at once.
Trade holds and the Community Market
Not every Steam restriction is an outage. Trades are held for up to 15 days when your account has not had the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator active for at least seven days, and the items show as on hold in the inventory. A password reset or a change to Steam Guard can also bring temporary trade and market restrictions. These are security rules applied to your account alone, and they do not lift faster when the store returns to normal. Steam Support explains the specific reason when you look up the restriction from your account.
The Community Market slows down at the same moments as the store. During a big sale or the release of a popular case or skin, listings can take longer to appear and purchases may fail and need another attempt. Check your inventory history before buying again, so you do not end up with two of the same item. Prices move quickly in those hours as well, so the listing you saw a minute ago may already be gone.
Error code -105 is often a name-lookup problem on your own machine. Clearing stale entries with the guide to flushing the DNS cache is one of the quickest fixes when the store loads for everyone else.
Fixes for the Steam client
- Restart Steam fully
Use Exit in the Steam menu, not the window’s close button, so the background process ends too.
- Clear the download cache
In Settings under Downloads, clearing the cache fixes stuck downloads and some update loops. You sign in again afterwards.
- Change the download region
A nearby but different region often delivers updates faster during busy hours.
- Verify the game files
Right-click the game in the library, open Properties, then Installed Files, and verify integrity.
- Allow Steam through the firewall
Security tools sometimes block the client after an update.
- Turn on offline mode in advance
If you know your connection will be poor, switch Steam to offline mode while it is still online so your single-player games keep launching.
Official Steam help
- Steam Supporthelp.steampowered.com
- Steam on X@Steam
Questions about Steam
Why is Steam down on Tuesdays?
Valve runs routine maintenance on Steam every Tuesday, usually in the afternoon or evening Pacific time. During that window, the store, community pages, inventories and sign-in can be slow or unavailable for a short time. It normally passes within minutes to an hour without any action on your side.
What does Steam error code -105 or -118 mean?
Both appear when the Steam client's built-in browser cannot load a store or community page. Code -105 means it could not resolve or reach the server, and -118 means the request timed out. They can come from a Steam outage, but a DNS problem, a firewall or a VPN on your side is just as common.
Can I play my games when Steam is down?
Most single-player games run in offline mode, which you must switch on from the Steam menu while the client is still online. After that, Steam can start without a connection. Online games, multiplayer and anything that needs a server will still fail.
Why are my Steam downloads so slow?
Download speed depends on the content server Steam picks for your region and on load from big releases or sales. In the Steam settings under Downloads, choose a different download region nearby, clear the download cache and check that bandwidth is not limited.
Why does Steam Guard keep asking for a code?
Steam Guard asks for a code when you sign in on a new device or after clearing data. If codes never arrive by email, check the spam folder; with the Steam Mobile app, approve the sign-in there. A wrong clock on the phone can make codes fail.
Is a game down or is it Steam?
Steam only delivers and launches most games; their multiplayer servers belong to each publisher. If the Steam store and library work but one game cannot connect, check that game's own status channel rather than Steam's.