Steam gaming service rarely gives any errors. Therefore, the user who encounters them is always in a panic due to the fact that he has no idea what is the reason for this phenomenon. This material is devoted to the reasons for the appearance of error code 118 on Steam, as well as how to fix it.
Why is that?
This error most often shows a message that it is not possible to connect to the server. The following reasons are indicated:
- The server you are looking for is down.
- The computer you are using does not have internet access.
If you encounter an error with Steam with code 118, your range of available options is quite reduced. For example:
- Community features become inaccessible
- there is no way to use the game store.
At the same time, the entire library remains available. You can safely download previously purchased games from it.
At the moment, two main reasons have been identified, due to which the user can deal with an error with code 118:
- Due to the visit of the service by a large number of users for a certain period of time, the servers simply fell from overload. Most often this happens with various sales and during discounts.
- Another option is already in your computer - in its connection to the global Internet. Probably, the settings of the latter have changed, resulting in error 118.
What are the main ways to correct this situation?
Reconnecting
The cause of this error is a network connection problem. In this case, it is worth trying to reconnect the computer to the Internet:
- Enter the phrase "Control Panel" in the search bar and go to the standard application.
- Here you need to run the network and sharing management section. Next, find the paragraph of your connection. Next to it will be a status bar in which you need to select the shutdown function.
- After that, diagnose the problem by pressing the appropriate key. She will have to reconnect the computer to the Internet.
Region replacement
Another way to resolve error 118 may be to change the client download region. You can run this algorithm as follows:
- Go to the Steam Settings section.
- Select the download section there and from there proceed to the parameters of the download region.
- In the event that the Steam error code 118 continues to occur, change a few more options for the region. If this does not help, try the next option.
To make exceptions
Sometimes it may happen that the Windows Firewall considered the Steam client a malicious application and started the process of blocking all connections to it. The fastest and least difficult option is to try to fix the problem by simply turning off the function that protects your computer in real time. After that, go to the service store and check the actions. If everything is available, the problem is solved. Otherwise, you must add the Steam client to the exceptions:
- Using the search bar, launch the standard Control Panel application.
- Find the Windows Firewall section there and go to the settings for expanding interaction with the application.
- There is a list of excluded programs. If Steam is not among them, then simply activate the parameter change function and add the desired service.
This should help resolve error 118.
Check for Reliability
Alternatively, the cause of this situation may be an unreliable network connection, or rather, its speed. It is likely that the resulting figure is practically not enough to launch the client.
In order to find out whether this is so, you can use the Speedtest program.
Public address
Another way to fix error 118: you can resort to installing public DNS addresses on your computer. To complete this task, repeat this algorithm:
- Having opened the standard application "Control Panel" through the search bar, proceed to the network control center and again to the section of your connection.
- Run the parameter called "Properties", open Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP / IPv4) and again - in the properties.
- Then simply enable the use of such DNS servers as: 8.8.8.8. or 8.8.4.4.
Scan
In the event that all the above methods did not give any result, it is worth trying to scan the system in order to detect various virus files or programs. To do this, you can use the standard Windows Defender, which is installed on the Windows 10 operating system. Or you can use one of the well-known antivirus programs. It is worth noting that many of them do not notice the virus software, but are engaged in blocking "suspicious" data types.
Everything is bad, you need a new one
If nothing helped at all, then only the most serious option remains - uninstalling and then reinstalling the Steam client. Very often, users report that this particular step helped to fix the ill-fated mistake.