How To Fix Steam Won’t Go Online and Stuck Offline

A lot of users have complained about Steam being stuck in offline mode or not being able to go online. Here's the solution.

tayiba
Jun 5, 2022

While starting steam, Users complained that steam won’t go online and they cannot connect to the steam network. They get the option to either start in offline mode or exit.

This issue can occur for many reasons so if you are experiencing the same issue where Steam won’t go online or are stuck in offline mode then this article is for you.

This article will guide you about the easiest fixes that you can apply to get rid of steam connection issues.

Why Steam Won’t Go Online Or Stuck In Offline Mode?

Various reasons cause this issue. But we have researched various forums to find the most common reasons that cause this issue.

Random app or software bug
Steam server outage
PC internet connection issue
Network devices not working
Steam files are corrupted
Download cache isn’t clear

How To Fix Steam Won’t Go Online Or Stuck In Offline Mode?

You don’t need to apply all these fixes. Just work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick

Fix 1. Adding –tcp to your Steam shortcut

Many gamers suggested that adding TCP to your steam shortcut can fix this issue. By manipulating the shortcut of Steam, a command line parameter is added to its properties. Here’s how you can do this:

Locate your Steam client. The default location is C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam\
Create a shortcut of Steam in the same directory
Click ‘Properties’ and head over to the ‘General’ tab
In the ‘Target’ dialogue box, add ‘-tcp’ at the end. The final result looks like this “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe”-tcp
Open task manager and end all Steam processes
Open Steam using the shortcut

Now check if the problem mitigate, otherwise try the next fix below

Fix 2. Clearing download cache

Clearing the download cache can also solve the problem that results in a not responding/connecting client. It will not affect your game you just need to re-login. If you don’t have the correct login credentials then don’t go with this fix.

Open your Steam client and navigate to Settings. This is located in the top left menu
Locate Downloads in the Settings panel
Click Clear Download Cache. Click OK to confirm your choice and after a while, Steam will ask for your login credentials

After logging in again, Steam will start as expected

Fix 3. Changing Internet Settings

Computers may sometimes flag Steam won’t go online or connections as an unsafe issue. So you need to disable the protective mode using the explorer. Below are the listed steps you can follow to apply this fix.

Open ‘Network and Sharing Center’ by right-clicking on your connection on the sidebar or through the control panel.
Click on ‘Internet Options’ located in the bottom left corner of the window
Choose the ‘Advanced’ tab and scroll down the ‘Security’ listings.
Uncheck ‘Enable Enhanced Protected Mode.

Restart your PC and launch Steam. If Windows was blocking Steam’s access to the internet through this feature, you will be good to go

Fix 4. Starting Steam in Safe mode with networking

You can try running your Pc in safe mode with networking and try to start steam.

Get your computer to safe mode by selecting from various different options available. Select ‘Enable Safe Mode with Networking.
You can learn how to get your PC to safe mode from here. If you are running Windows 7, press F8 upon the startup of your PC and you will be directed to a similar window where you can select the required option
Open Steam and try updating/installing it again. This method should remove all obstacles (if any) which your Steam may be experiencing while starting

Now check if the issue is sorted out, if not then try the next fix below

Fix 5. Deleting the Temp folder from Windows

Sometimes steam won’t go online if there’s any pending update and the disk has not enough space to proceed. So you just need to delete the Temp folder from your hard device that contains unnecessary files.

Use the search bar on your Windows Start menu and type in ‘%temp%’. Click the folder that comes in the search.
Delete all the files. Please note that Windows won’t let you delete the files and folders which are still in use. Not to worry. Now enough space would have been freed in order for Steam to start. If the problem persists, try deleting unwanted files and folders from your desktop and try again

Fix 6. Resetting Winsock

Before reinstalling the steam, you should do a resetting Winsock to fix this issue.

On your search bar in your start menu, type ‘cmd‘
Open the command application and type ‘netsh winsock reset catalog’. Execute
Type ‘netsh int ip reset reset.log’. Execute the command

Restart your PC and try starting Steam again

Fix 7. Renaming ClientRegistry.blob

If the above fixes do not work to mitigate the steam connection issue, then this fix will fix steam getting stuck in offline mode.

Completely exit Steam and end all tasks as mentioned in the solution above
Browse to your Steam directory. The default one isC:\Program Files\Steam
Locate ‘ClientRegistry.blob’
Rename the file to ‘ClientRegistry.blob’

Restart Steam and allow the file to be recreated

Reinstalling Steam

If all the above fixes do not work for you, then reinstall the steam it will surely mitigate this issue. However, deleting the steam client from your computer will also delete the installed games so you’ll have to reinstall them as well.