Steam can't login, "having trouble connecting to the Steam servers"

[sylbru]

At first launch, Steam displays an error message saying something like "Fatal error: Steam needs to be online to [...]", yet it does download the files without any issues after clicking Ok. I'm not sure this is related to the real issue, that is:
When it is fully downloaded and I try to login, it fails: "Steam is having trouble connecting to the servers." Retrying doesn't help.
The internet is perfectly working, and Steam for Windows logs in without any issues.
I already tried a full reinstall, including rm -r .steam/ .steampid .steampath .local/share/Steam/

I'm using Arch Linux, with NetworkManager.
Someone suggested the bug has something to do with launching NetworkManager through dbus, or so.

[gdrewb-valve]

Steam just uses regular networking things like sockets and doesn't manipulate your network settings or such. Do browsers work properly on your Linux install?

[sylbru]

Yes, browsers, torrents, IRC and everything else works on the Linux install.

[gdrewb-valve]

I'm not sure why Steam would not be able to make network connections, then. We'll have to see if we can find a repro here, which usually means a long delay unfortunately.

[sylbru]

Yes I guess so, considering that I didn't find anyone experiencing the same problem…
Let me know if you need more details concerning my Linux setup.

[sylbru]

I didn't mention there is a warning during launch that might be related to this problem:

[0305/104640:WARNING:proxy_service.cc(646)] PAC support disabled because there is no system implementation

[MrSchism]

Many of us get that warning, but I don't see anyone having the issue. Do you have a firewall installed by chance? Any antivirus software?

[sylbru]

No, I have none of those.

[MrSchism]

Are you connecting through a proxy server, wireless access point, or anything?

[sylbru]

No, I don't think so, it's a true and complete Internet connection at home.

[MrSchism]

Do you have any Windows machines on the home internet connection with Steam on them? If so, do they connect to the servers correctly?

I ask because some routers (and rarely, some modems) block some ports. I had an issue with a Comcast cable modem blocking ports I was using a couple years back, so I'm trying to figure out some of your network.

@gdrewb-valve, what ports does the Steam client use (besides the ephemeral ports, of course)? I mean, I could find out, but I don't want to screw up and miss any... (or violate the Subscriber Agreement by monitoring the packets).

[sylbru]

No other computers with Steam, but the same computer on Windows (dual-boot) connects to the Steam servers without any issue.

[MrSchism]

Just trying to gather info here: what method are you using to install it?

[sylbru]

I used the Arch Linux x64 steam package: https://www.archlinux.org/packages/multilib/x86_64/steam/

[gdrewb-valve]

Here's a page that covers the ports Steam uses: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8571-GLVN-8711

[willrandship]

I have a nearly identical issue, with a few differences.

Similar details

• I use the Arch Linux 64-bit package
• I get the same error
• Updates download successfully no matter what.

Differing details

• This installation worked for about 4 months before this issue started.
• Replacing the entirety of the steam install fixes it temporarily.
• Offline mode works if I manage to log in after a fresh reinstall.

I think it might have something to do with network timeouts, since it takes about 2 minutes for updates to start, but the error message shows nearly instantly.

-tcp does nothing
--reset doesn't fix the problem

Any help is appreciated

I stuck this here since git repos generally don't want duplicate bug reports.

[gdrewb-valve]

This page

http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/applications/485929-fatal-error-steam-needs-online-update-please-confirm-your-network-connect.html

has a user that solved the problem by diagnosing an issue with DNS resolution. Does any of that help?

[willrandship]

Well, his problem was quite a bit different from mine. Specifically, there is no issue with downloads or updates, and both of the IPs he mentions ping just fine. The fact that completely removing and reinstalling Steam tell me that this probably isn't a networking problem.

[gdrewb-valve]

It could definitely be unrelated, but it was an interesting bit of info. It may be a networking problem that results in Steam remembering that you appear to be offline. Removing Steam would clear that and let you try again.

[willrandship]

That sounds more likely. I do wish that steam --reset actually reset everything, though. If I just had to run the reset option every once in a while it wouldn't be that big a deal.

Here, I'll post my terminal output from launching steam. Maybe there's something helpful there.

Note: I trimmed a bunch of warnings that aren't the issue, mostly relating to GTK and/or fonts.

Running Steam on arch 64-bit
STEAM_RUNTIME is enabled automatically
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1367621987_client)
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1367621987_client)
unlinked 0 orphaned pipes

Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1367621987_client)

[0605/150241:ERROR:object_proxy.cc(239)] Failed to call method: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.NetworkManager was not provided by any .service files
[0605/150241:WARNING:proxy_service.cc(646)] PAC support disabled because there is no system implementation
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1367621987_client)
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1367621987_client)
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1367621987_client)

** (steam:918): WARNING **: Could not initialize NMClient /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager: The name org.freedesktop.NetworkManager was not provided by any .service files
PulseAudio connect failed (used only for Mic Volume Control) with error: Access denied
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1367621987_client)
Generating new string page texture 12: 48x256, total string texture memory is 49.15 KB
Generating new string page texture 13: 256x256, total string texture memory is 311.30 KB
Generating new string page texture 14: 128x256, total string texture memory is 442.37 KB
Generating new string page texture 15: 384x256, total string texture memory is 835.58 KB
Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1367621987_client)

Generating new string page texture 18: 24x256, total string texture memory is 860.16 KB

All but the last line show before clicking "Log into an account"

Also, the networkmanager errors show up even when it's working.

[gdrewb-valve]

There isn't anything unusual in that output, so I guess we're no closer on this one, sorry.

[willrandship]

For curiosity's sake, I edited the starter script so I could run it as root. Mostly because it's easier than creating a new account, and allows me to have both a working and nonworking setup to compare with. It's updating as we speak. (Installing to /root/.steam, rather than my home folder)

[willrandship]

Well, that's interesting.

Upon installing it as the root user via sudo (which I verified is installing it into /root) it gives me the "could not connect to network" error, without any successes.

This would imply (to me) that it would be an issue developing somewhere in the global files, like /usr/lib/steam, since the problem appears to span users.

The odd part of that is, reinstalling the package via pacman does not fix the problem, while removing all the user directory files does.

New theory: I think it may be caused by interrupting an in-progress download or update. I frequently turn off my computer while steam is still running, and I wouldn't be surprised if it just gets a term signal from the OS sometimes.

[gdrewb-valve]

Steam shouldn't get confused by shutting down, but I guess it's possible. We'll put that in our repro mix.

[willrandship]

Is there a particular server used for login authentication, as opposed to content downloading? It might be that my setup occasionally fails at accessing that server.

[gdrewb-valve]

There are a number of servers and distribution mechanisms, so it's fairly complicated. I'm not sure you're hitting a real communication problem if it's related to stopping Steam in the middle of a download.

[willrandship]

The most frustrating thing:

I'm now having trouble to get it to respond at all, but I'm fully capable of creating new accounts and changing the password for my own account, from within the application.

[gdrewb-valve]

Unfortunately this is not likely to get addressed quickly. I know this greatly interferes with your usage of Steam but I don't have a better answer for you, sorry.

[willrandship]

That's OK. My distro isn't technically supported anyway.

I'll let you know if I find anything else out.

[willrandship]

New theory.

I frequently disconnect my computer's router from the internet, mostly during the night. I often forget to reconnect it before turning on my computer.

This causes Steam to enter Offline Mode when it starts, and even after I reconnect the internet it does not let me log in. Not even reboots will change this, nor steam -reset.

[ghost]

I'm also getting this error. Using Arch here, too. Except, I forgot I had Peerguardian Linux up, and it was blocking Valve's IPs. Make sure to exclude their IPs/ports if you're running Peerguardian. Same if you're running other firewall software/hardware. Also, it couldn't hurt to try to open up some of your ports as suggested before and see if that works. It didn't for me, but still.

[willrandship]

At your comment I remembered I had some old filtering systems installed, that I thought I had removed. I did a global file search and discovered there were still enough remnants remaining for one of them to still be fully functional! (Dansguardian, to be specific) So, I removed that, and now it appears to be working!

I feel really stupid now, but at least I have Steam!

On a side note, steam really ought to say in the console exactly what's failing. The fact that only some of the servers were functioning was really confusing.

[ghost]

That's exactly the news I was hoping for! Haha

Glad to hear you got it fixed. I remember I had this same problem a while ago when I was using Ubuntu. Pesky, pesky firewalls.

[eloj]

Apparently this is, as I just learned, also exactly what it will say if you are using the wrong user name (or password likely).

[willrandship]

I completely forgot to mention my solution.

At least in my case, (where it could not access the servers and whatnot) it was a bug relating to the fact that I had both dhclient and dhcpcd installed on my system. I'm not sure if dhclient alone will get along with steam, but once I switched back to dhcpcd everything started working again.

Not really a huge issue, since most distros I've seen default to dhcpcd or some other system. Dhclient is not that common.

[MrSchism]

So @willrandship and @RecTec, you both have the problem solved, I presume?

@NiavlysB, if you could let us know if you'e found a solution, we can continue to search for a result or close the issue report.

[sylbru]

I've been following the discussion here. But as far as I'm concerned, I had to reinstall a Linux distribution after my hard drive died, so of course it works now for me. I should have given some news, but since other people had the same kind of issue, I'm glad they found a solution through this thread.

[ghost]

@MrSchism, yes, I think we're all OK now. Thanks. And @NiavlysB, glad to hear it works now. Reinstalling the OS or trying a different OS always seem to fix things. Nice chatting with you guys.

[ivan-kolmychek]

It's been a while since issue was closed, but I just fixed the same issue by removing dhclient from the system. Quite strange, actually, but fairly ok. :)

[vboufleur]

@ivan-kolmychek how did you knew you had to remove the dhclient package?

[ivan-kolmychek]

@vboufleur I don't remember exactly, but probably it was a tip from this comment just a bit above on this thread:

At least in my case, (where it could not access the servers and whatnot) it was a bug relating to the fact that I had both dhclient and dhcpcd installed on my system. I'm not sure if dhclient alone will get along with steam, but once I switched back to dhcpcd everything started working again.
(willrandship commented on Sep 22, 2013)

So, I've decided to check it and it so happens to work. I don't really need dhclient and I don't even remember why I had it installed. :)

[Diederikjh]

Had the "could not connect" problem on Ubuntu with working Internet just now. Launching with --reset command line param fixed it for me.