How To Easily Fix Steam Error "Could Not Connect to Network"

Reason behind "Could Not Connect to Network" Steam Error

The first and main reason why you may be getting this Steam error is due to a bad or missing Internet connection. Steam won't be able to properly connect to your router, thus resulting in the "Could Not Connect to Network" error. There are more reasons why there can be problems with your Internet connection, from issues with your router to difficulties with the PC WiFi module.

Another reason for the "Could Not Connect to Network" error can be caused by Valve or the Steam client itself. Even Valve can often cause issues on the Steam servers, or your PC may have had a bad installation of the client.

Knowing why you're getting this error, or any other one such as errors trying to log in, is important to how to fix it. It's an easy and straightforward error, and below, you can see how to fix the "Could Not Connect to Network" error on Steam!

How to Fix "Could Not Connect to Network" Error on Steam

Check Internet Speed or Contact Internet Provider

The first thing you can do to fix the "Could Not Connect to Network" is to check whether your Internet speed is fast enough. The Steam client usually requires a minimum of around 10 Mbps of speed. You can see your Internet speed on Speedtest.

If the Internet speed was great up to the point you got the Steam error, you may want to check your PC and router. But if they're in great condition, you can also call your Internet provider and see if anything's wrong on their side. Whether the Internet speed issue is a problem with your provider, you'll have to wait until they fix it since a simple Steam restart just won't fix it!

Check if the Valve Steam Servers are Up

Sometimes the Steam error "Could Not Connect to Network" doesn't need fixing because a server issue may be happening. In this situation, you can check whether the Steam servers are up here.

If you see lots of red numbers, low graphs, or anything indicating that the Steam servers are down, then that may very well be why you're getting the "Could Not Connect to Network" error. Well if that's the case, all you can do is wait until they're back on to start getting free Steam games again! 

Clear the Steam Client Cache Files

Cache files are used by the Steam client to have faster access and run smoother. Often these cache files tend to slow down devices, especially older PCs, which causes errors like the "Could Not Connect to Network" one. That's why you can try clearing the Steam cache files to fix the error!

Here's how you can clear the Steam cache files step-by-step:

1. Close the Steam client completely
2. Open up This PC or My Computer on your device
3. Get into the C disk and follow this folder path: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam"
4. Go into the "appcache" folder and delete all the files within it
5. Get back to the previous folder, enter the "depotcache" folder, and delete all the files in here as well

Afterward, you can try launching the Steam client to play their best games and see if the error persists. The cache files will be created again, and that's a good thing since they'll be used anew to fix the "Could Not Connect to Network" issue! 

Change the Client to Run on TCP Protocol

Another more specific solution to Steam's "Could Not Connect to Network" error is to change the client's UDP to TCP Internet protocol. These are both Internet protocols, and Steam uses the UDP one which is designed for fast and real-time communication.

The TCP Internet protocol though is used to make sure all data is sent successfully, regardless of time. So here's how you can change Steam to run on the TCP Internet protocol:

1. Find the Steam client shortcut on your desktop
2. Right-click the shortcut and pick the "Properties" option
3. On the top of the Properties menu select the "Shortcut" tab
4. Leave a blank space and type "-tcp" at the end of the Target option which is the file path to the Steam client
5. Select Apply and you're good to go

If you don't have a Steam client desktop shortcut, you can create one by going to the file path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam", right-clicking the "steam" file app, and selecting "Create shortcut". It'll make a shortcut in that same folder, which you'll have to move to the desktop for easier access. Once you do the steps on the shortcut from above, try opening the Steam client from it and see if it fixed the "Could Not Connect to Network" error.

Restart your PC and Router

If you haven't restarted your PC and router in a while, then that may be why you're getting this Steam error. Restarting them will clear old collected cache files, which can make your PC and router run faster fixing this network Steam problem.

Restart your PC manually, and restart your router by removing its power outlet for a few minutes, then plug it back on. Connect your device to your Internet router again, and try opening up the Steam client. A simple restart though won't always clear all the cache, and you'll have to do it manually.

Flush PC DNS Cache

The DNS cache on your PC is used for faster access to online content and websites. And corrupt DNS cache can cause the "Could Not Connect to Network" error on Steam. So here's how you can flush and clear the DNS cache:

1. In the Search bar below, type in "cmd"
2. Right-click the "Command Prompt" app and select "Run as administrator"
3. Type in "ipconfig /flushdns" and press Enter

This can often help you fix Internet speeds if Steam games aren't downloading fast enough. But if the Steam error appears again, then there's one more last resort you can try to fix it.

Reinstall the Steam Client

Lastly to fix the "Could Not Connect to Network" Steam error you can try reinstalling the Steam client. First, you'll have to uninstall the Steam Client completely on your device. Then, you'll have to reinstall the Steam downloader, open it, and run it. Once it's finished, the "Could Not Connect to Network" Steam error should be fixed by now with all the previous solutions!