Steam Download Stopping? Here’s 8 Quick Ways To Fix It

• Owned by Valve Corporation, Steam is the world’s largest game distribution platform.
• Steam has over 100 million active users. It reached the 1 billion mark on 29th April 2019.
• Over 50% of the world’s PC game download happens through Steam. 

Steam is among the most popular destinations for video games. It offers thousands of games from different genres. Steam is not just limited to games, but over time it has evolved as a terminal for interacting with other gamers too.

While users can download and enjoy games after subscribing or paying for a game, the download process itself can take hours since games nowadays span from a few GB to 100 GB.

Hence, large Steam downloads have become a slave to multiple factors governing a computer system and its global stature.

The mere fact that Steam is accessible across all major time zones sometimes faces huge backlash, when it stops suddenly. This situation doesn’t translate to a frequent event, but at some point, one can face download issues.

Checking your internet connectivity is not enough to fix your Steam download stopping issue.

There are a ton of settings, which can help resolve the issue of sudden downloads stopping.

Steam Download Stopping: Common Issues and How to Fix

It is always difficult to fix something which you have little to no idea about. Steam download stopping has become a very frequent issue across its 95 million active user base.

Since Steam is a cloud-based service, it does get affected by little things from the server proximity to your PC timing and service downtime.

Let us discuss in detail the most common issues and their quick solutions. 

How to Fix Steam Download Stopping

1. Close Other RAM Heavy Ops

One of the simplest and common things to consider while using Steam or any other downloading software is to shut down all other software and applications, most commonly any browser.

The reason for this step is to avoid any third-party software conflict, as that can severely clog the system. It is especially a case when other software has priority over Steam.

The process of killing other applications is pretty simple, viz. –

• You can use the shortcut of Alt + Ctrl + Delete, choose Task Manager from the menu, or press Windows + X and select Task Manager.

• Close all downloads related apps with high RAM usage by selecting the apps or background processes and clicking on the End task option.

Steam downloads can take up a substantial chunk of the RAM.

This can be the simplest of solutions to Steam download stopping and commonly helpful for individuals about to add more than 8 GB RAM to their PCs.

2. Change Download Region

Steam download service can get stuck because of an overload at the server end or server maintenance run.

You can resolve it by selecting a different server location. Access the download region section in settings.

It will allow you to use the Steam service from a different server location.

Your default server location setting may be too far off your geographical location, hence choosing one closest to you can resolve issues related to your Steam not downloading.

Alternatively, server location change might be required in case of a new game leading to a long download request queue which can clog the server end, severely affecting download speeds or the entire process.

Make sure to choose the closest geographical server location.

3. Sync PC Time with Server Time

Since Steam has multiple servers, there is a direct relation between your PC and server timings. The delay in sequencing could be a reason why your Steam downloads are stopping or downloading intermittently at low speeds.

All you need to do is make some changes to the Date and Time. Note that if you are affected by this issue, you will surely get the error code 9403 on Windows 10 and Windows 7 on Steam.

Here’s how you can sync your PC time with Steam’s server time –

• Access the Date and Time from the settings menu or using the search option in Windows.
• Turn on Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically.
• After turning on these settings, click on Synchronize your clock for instant updates.

If Steam automatically stops download and follows up with the error code mentioned above, syncing the server times can potentially resolve the issue.

4. Clear Steam Download Cache

Multiple failed downloads and force closing downloads can create cache files. It can potentially confuse the software from downloading new data.

Clearing cache will effectively get rid of any corrupted files and cookies. While you will have to re-login with your Steam account after clearing the cache, it is worth a shot.

5. Steam Update

Downloads and installation of any files over Steam can be affected if it’s updating on your system, or you are using an older Steam version with no support from Steam developers.

In case, the Steam itself is under maintenance or updating, it is better to wait for some time.

Alternatively, your download can stop if the application is updating while an active download is going on.

It is better to check for updates before downloading a game, especially if you’re looking at large file size.

You can check the same by clicking the Steam option on the left-hand corner and clicking over Check for Steam Client Updates.

6. Check Download Restrictions

The Steam application comes with manual restriction settings for allowing bandwidth for other applications.

The download restriction settings in Steam come with a time duration so that downloads happen only at night or at a time when the internet is not in use by other apps or devices. 

In case Steam automatically stops download when there is substantial bandwidth pressure from other devices on your network, recheck restriction settings first.

These settings can be changed at any time. Simply uncheck the option to stop downloads during gameplay.

In rare situations, when all these factors come under effect, your download files will get stuck and prolong the download time from a few minutes to hours at times.

These features were added so that a Steam user doesn’t face quality issues while streaming or lags while online gaming.

This is a common issue faced by Steam users, especially streamers. Unchecking the restriction settings can get the job done.

7. Allow Communication through WD firewall

Steam is a third-party software. Your antivirus or even Windows defender can consider it to be a potential threat to system security.

You could end up potentially spend hours trying different settings while figuring out why your Steam download is stopping or why Steam is unable to connect to the internet.

Just head to the search bar and type firewall. Select the option of Allow an app through the Windows Firewall.

This setting will divert you to a settings page on the System and Security tab. Find Steam by scrolling down and mark both Private and Public networks and click change settings.

We recommend doing this only when you are downloading a large game file.

We also recommend not to completely deactivate Windows Defender or your antivirus for Steam. Only make sure to add Steam or Steam Client as an exception.

8. Uninstall and Reinstall Steam

When all fails, the conventional method of troubleshooting should do the trick. Uninstalling and re-installing Steam will cause no harm to your system or your Steam library.

Just open the control panel or type uninstall in the Windows Search bar. From the Apps & features dialog box, choose Steam and uninstall the application.

After the application has been uninstalled, restart your Windows before installing it again. After installation, recheck all the previous settings in the application and try downloading the game.

Conclusion

There are no issues without a solution. All it takes is some time to find and identify the possible solution to the issue. The same is the case with Steam download stopping and starting.

The fact that it has a large user base is an advantage. In case you find any issues related to downloads after all these steps, which is highly unlikely, you can always refer to the Steam community, and try different fixes to resolve your downloads stopping issues.

The community can even help you resolve a lot of other Steam-related issues. You can learn about a lot of different settings and develop your understanding of the features offered by Steam. 

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