How to fix the “steam friends network unreachable” error? When you sign into Steam, it tries to connect with your friend’s network but fails. Then you will encounter the following error message “This failure may indicate that your local network is offline or that the Steam Friends servers are currently offline.” No worries, this kind of error is pretty common on Steam, and you can easily fix it. This blog will help you in fixing the issue.
Steam is an online video gaming digital distribution platform famous among modern-day gamers and is used worldwide by millions of users. The platform focuses on offering a user-friendly experience to anyone looking to install and play games with just a few taps. But, if your steam friend network shows an error and displays an error, you lose out on a major part of the steam experience, especially if you mainly play games for social interactions.
But do not fret; the good news is that the problem is very usual and can be easily fixed. Read on further to know the most common solutions. But first, let’s discuss why this issue occurs.
Why Does “Steam Friends network Unreachable” Occurs?
Steam is a popular trendy platform to allow you to connect with other gamers and friends. Sometimes as a gamer, you may experience a friend’s network unreachable error on your windows. There are multiple aspects of these errors that don’t allow you to access your friend’s network. The most common reasons are:
- Steam server problem
- Incompatible driver
- Steam properties
- Weak internet connection
- Cached data
- VPN or DNS issues
- Beta Updates
Whatever the reason, try out the fixes mentioned below without wasting time to help yourself eliminate the error.
Top 8 Fixes to Solve the “Steam Friends Network Unreachable” Error
However, this error shows poor network connectivity from your or your friend’s network, a glitch, or an issue with the steam server. So it’s suggested that you and your friend try these solutions to resolve the error.
Note: Before applying the solutions, you can try some easy fixes, such as checking your internet connection, restart your PC, and restart Steam. After restarting your program, try to access Steam again and check if the error is resolved. If not, then check other solutions.
Clean Steam Cache & Cookies
Steam saves data & files so that next time similar information can load more quickly. This data sometimes goes corrupt or obsolete, which can cause this error. No worries, you can clean all browser cookies, caches, and corrupt files to fix the issue by applying the below steps.
- Go to Steam and open your account.
- Tap on Steam and expand settings.
- Then, choose web browser, then tap on the Delete web browser cache option & delete all browser cookies.
- Once done, tap on okay and close Steam.
Now, open Steam again and check if your friends list loads up properly. If yes, then good; if not, try the next solution.
Change Steam’s Properties
Many players confirmed that modifying Steam’s properties works for them to fix friends’ networks unreachable on Steam. Follow the below instructions to change the steam properties.
- On your PC, right-tap on the steam shortcut on your desktop, then from the context menu, choose properties.
- After that, on the target window, add –nofriendsui to the target & click apply to save it.
- Now check if the issue resolves or not.
But, if this solution won’t work for you, you can enter another code –nofriendsui –nochatui into the targeted field.
Exit from the Steam Beta Programs
If you are using the steam beta version, you may encounter some errors in these versions, like the error steam friends network unreachable. Fortunately, Steam offers users the option to exit the beta mode. If you are using beta steam, apply the steps to turn off this feature.
- Launch the steam client app on your system.
- Tap on the steam menu from the menu bar.
- On the account tab, tap on change under the beta participation.
- After that, tap on the option under beta participation and alter it to none- opt out of all beta programs.
Now, check the issue is resolved by opening Steam. If you still persist, the same issue applies to the next solution.
Update Network Adapter Driver
Using old drivers for any PC component is a common issue and can impact performance. To make the most of your hardware, you always make that all of your drivers are updated. However, users claim that updating your network drivers can resolve the issue. To do it manually, apply the below steps.
- Open the windows taskbar, enter “Device manager,” and tap on it.
- Inside the device manager section, left-tap the “network adapters” tab. The menu will automatically expand, and you can choose the adapter you wish to update the driver for.
- Now, right-tap the adapter and choose “update driver.”
However, if you don’t want to risk updating the wrong driver, we recommend using an advanced driver updater. This will automatically carry out the latest driver updates. Also, the tool takes a whole backup and lets scheduling driver scanning. Apply the below instructions to use the advanced driver updater.
- First, install the advanced driver updater and open it for windows PC to update the driver.
- Second, tap on start scan now to scan the computer for old drivers.
- Now, check the scan results; if you are a free user, tap on update driver next to the network adapter driver. Although, if you are a registered user, tap on update all drivers, including the network adapter driver.
- Last, restart your system to save changes.
Power Cycle your Router and Modem
The friends network unreachable error may occur due to an over-flooded router and modem in your local network. So to wipe out the old memory, you can perform a power cycle for your modem router. Power cycling, which includes the turn-off/turn-on tricks, lets your network devices cool off and get a new IP. The steps are quite simple:
- First, you have to unplug your modem and router, if it’s a separate device, and wait a minute for your modem to cool off.
- Now, plug the network device in again and wait until the lights return to normal.
- Restart your system and open Steam.
- Check if the error is resolved or not.
Run Steam as an Administrator
We suggest you try this method, as it is simple and doesn’t take much time but can fix the issue for other users.
- Just right-tap the steam shortcut & select the “Run as Administrator” option, then sign in to your account.
- Some users noted that a lack of administrator rights could cause Steam to behave weirdly. Sometimes resulting in issues like the “could not connect to steam network” error.
Hopefully, this will work for you, as it has worked for many users.
Update DNS
Modify the default router DNS to Google DNS, which is IPv4: 8.8 and/0r 8.8. 4.4. To update your router DNS apply the below steps.
- First, launch the control panel and go to “change adapter settings” under network & internet.
- Then, select your internet type (Ethernet or wireless) then tap on properties.
- Now, choose networking and select the IP type.
- Last, type your Google DNS and then restart your computer.
Reinstall Steam
If the above solutions didn’t work for you, you could finally try uninstalling & reinstalling the steam client on the system to fix the issue. Well, there may be a problem with the installed steam files, any system glitch, or even the cache data of the device, which is somehow causing issues with the program directly. So, it’s always better to download the steam client freshly.
- Press the Windows + I keys to launch windows settings.
- Then, tap on apps> from the apps & features, and move down the list of downloaded programs.
- Choose a steam game and tap on uninstall.
- Once done, ensure to restart your system to change effects instantly.
- Now, go to the official steam website and grab the newest desktop client version for your windows computer.
- Reinstall the steam client like other programs and log into the existing account.
- Check for the problem again, and this should be resolved entirely.
Still, Persist “Steam Friends network Unreachable” Error?
If you tried out all the above solutions and still encountering the issue, it may be possible that the steam service is down or having an outage in some regions without warning. So it’s always better to check the steam service status as the last option if nothing seems to be working for you.
However, to check the server status, you can visit the unofficial steam status twitter handle, unofficial steam status site, or even the other-party down detector website in the meantime.
Wrapping Up
We know that it is frustrating to experience errors; however, you don’t have to worry about it, as it is a very common issue among the steam community. We have already mentioned all the possible solutions to fix the issue. Hope the article will be helpful for you. If none of the methods work, then the issue may be on Steam’s end, so contact the steam support team for further assistance.