How to Get Rid of Error Code 118 on Steam

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The most probable causes for the error code 118 are – internet issue, firewall blocking, or contention with a background app. In this guide, we will cover the effective solutions for this error.

Fix 1. Allow Steam from Windows Firewall:

Windows Firewall might have caused an interference in the Steam’s app connection to its servers. In this case, allowing Steam app from the firewall can fix this issue.

  • Open Start menu and type ‘ Windows Firewall‘, then open it.
  • From the left-pane, click on ‘Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall‘.
  • Click on ‘Change Settings‘, then look for Steam in the list.
  • Check both the ‘Private‘ and ‘Public‘ checkboxes in front of Steam.
  • Click on Apply to save the changes.

Fix 2. Restart your Router:

If there is an issue with your internet connection, simply restarting the router could fix the issue for you.

  • Turn off your router, wait for a few minutes, then turn it back on again.
  • Launch Steam again once the network is reestablished.

Fix 3. Disabling Conflicting Background Apps:

The error could also be caused due to background services of app interfering with Steam. If that’s the case, follow these steps:

  • Press Windows Key + R to open Windows Run. Type ‘msconfig‘ and hit Enter.
  • Go to ‘Services‘ tab, check the ‘Hide all Microsoft Services‘ option.
  • Click on ‘Disable all‘ from the bottom.
  • Now go to ‘Startup‘ tab, and ‘Open Task Manager‘.
  • Select the unnecessary services, and then click on Disable from the bottom. Do this for all the unnecessary services to prevent them from starting up automatically at startup.
  • Reboot your PC and then launch Steam again.

Fix 4. Getting rid of Viruses:

If a virus has infiltrated your PC, it could be the culprit. To get rid of it, perform a full scan via the antivirus.