When I opened steam to prepare for the game yesterday, steam reported me error code 118. I took the time to solve this problem and told you how to avoid similar problems in the future.
Steam is the world's largest gaming platform. You can never miss games that you like on it. Users recently reported that they encountered error code-118 when they started it, indicating that they are offline or unable to connect to the Internet.
The following are tips that you can use to solve steam error code 118. They also apply to error code 105 and error code 138.
1. Start Steam by Bypassing the Firewall
It is the responsibility of the Windows Firewall to block unauthorized access to your computer. It does so by blocking unnecessary network ports, thus preventing communication between your computer and other unauthorized networks.
Unfortunately, your Firewall can block the steam network from loading. In that case, you can solve steam error code-118 by adding steam to the exceptions list. Here is a guide on how to do it.
Step 1: Go to the start button on your computer.
Step 2: Open control panel.
Step 3: Select the “System and security” option.
Step 4: Go to “Allow an app through Windows Firewall” and click. You will see a page like the one shown below.
Step 5: Identify Steam and tick the box before it. Go to the bottom of the page and click the “Ok” button.
2. Restart the Router
One of the reasons why you see Steam error-118 could be that the network isn’t working. You can solve the problem by restarting the router. That way, your router can flush out all issues that could be slowing it and even cool off if you had overworked it.
Here is a systematic guide on how to restart/reboot your router. Please note that rebooting or restarting isn’t the same as resetting it.
Step 1: Disconnect the router, modem and other managed hardware from power. You should also unplug them from each other.
Step 2: Wait for at least one minute so that the router and modem can indicate in your computers that they’re offline. This also gives the router time to cool down if it had heated up.
Step 3: Now plug in the modem and press the power button if it doesn’t power on automatically after a few seconds.
Step 4: Wait for 1 minute so that the modem completes the authentication process.
Step 5: Now you can plug in the router and press the power button if it doesn’t power on automatically.
Step 6: Wait for 2 minutes so that the router can restart up and establish a private IP address with devices attached to it.
Step 7: Power on switches and other network hardware and wait for about 1-2 minutes.
Step 8: Once the router and modem have completed restarting, you can now try reloading steam to see if the problem has been solved.
3. Disable Third-Party Applications
Sometimes third-party applications running on your computer could be the cause of random error messages. Therefore, you can solve Steam Error-118 by disabling third-party applications and clean booting your windows.
Here is a detailed guide on how to disable third-party applications so that steam can run smoothly.
Step 1: Click on the “Start button” or Press the Win + R command to bring up the Run dialog box.
Step 2: Type “msconfig” without quotes on the Run dialog box as shown below.
Step 3: Once the system configuration page opens, move to the “services tab” . Tick the box behind “Hide all Microsoft services”, move to the right, and click the “Disable all” button.
Step 4: Now go to the “Startup” tab (still under the system configuration page) and click the “Disable all” button as shown below.
Step 5: Now scroll down, click the “ok” button and re-boot your computer.
4. Scan for Viruses
Sometimes the presence of viruses in your computer could be the reason why you’re getting Steam error -118. In that case, you need to scan your computer using an antivirus to eliminate viruses and solve the problem. I recommend that you use Windows Security, previously known as Windows Defender, to scan for viruses. This is a built-in antivirusin Windows 10 and 11. The following is a procedure on how to use Window Security to scan for viruses in your computer.
Step 1: Go to the “Start” button and click it.
Step 2: Scroll to “Settings” and open it.
Step 3: Select “Update & security” and then “Virus & threat protection”.
Step 4: Go to “Current threats” and click the “Quick scan” button to scan your computer.
Step 5: If a quick scan doesn't work, click the “Scan options” button and run a full scan by clicking the “Full Scan” button.
Step 6: The “Current threats“ screen will appear once the scan is complete. Click the “Threat history” button to check their details.
5. Reinstall Steam
You’re likely to experience startup failure when launching steam if any of its files are missing. If you experience steam error-118, you can solve the problem by uninstalling the steam app and reinstalling it. Here is a simple guide on how to do it without losing your games.
The first step is to back up the games to make sure you don't lose the after installing Steam. That way, you can easily restore your games without having to re-download them.
Method 1: Use the Backup and Restore Feature on Steam
Step 1: Start the steam app and go to “steam” tab and then select “backup and restore games” options
Step 2: On the page that opens, select “Back up currently installed games” and click the “Next” button.
Step 3: Choose games that you wanna back up and click “Next.”
Step 4: Choose the location where you wanna backup your games and click the “Next” button.
Step 5: Configure the backup file name and its settings. Click next to back up your games.
Note: You can follow the same procedure to restore your game after reinstalling Steam. Select the “Restore a previous backup” option
Method 2: Make a Copy of the Steamapps Folder
For those who don’t want to back up games using the steam platform, you can still do it manually.
Step 1: Copy the Steamapps folder. For valve created games go to
Step 2: Save the folder to a safe place.
Step 3: Once you re-install steam, you can move the content of Steamapps backup to your new Steamapps folder.
Now that you have saved your games, you can uninstall Steam
6. Uninstalling Steam
Step 1: Go to the folder that hosts Steam client on your computer.
Step 2: Identify the file named “Uninstall” and double-click it.
Step 3: The program will start uninstalling after a few seconds. Click the “Delete” option to confirm that you wanna get rid of the Steam client.
Step 4: Wait for the program to delete completely and don’t try to close it while the process is ongoing
Step 5: Once the process is complete, you will get a notification saying, “Deleting the program has been successfully completed”.
7. Installing the Steam App
Now that you have deleted steam client files from your computer, you can now download another steam and re-install it.
Step 1: Go to official site Valve: http://steampowered.com and click the download option.
Step 2: Go to the page that appears and click “Set Steam.”
Step 3: Double click the saved file and click “next.”
Step 4: Click the “Agree with a license button” and choose the language that you wanna use on steam.
Step 5: Choose the program installation path and wait for the installation to take place.
Step 6: Steam will start automatically once the download is complete. You can now login and restore games that you had backed up.
8. Refresh the local DNS
You’re likely to get steam error-118 when trying to open steam if your files in the DNS cache have corrupted. In that case, you can resolve the problem by refreshing the local DNS. The following are tips on how to do it on a Windows computer.
Step 1: Press the Win+X shortcut command to load the WinXMenu. Load it as an administrator.
Step 2: Once the command prompt window opens, type this “ipconfig /flushdns” (without quotes) and press Enter x.
Step 3: Once the cache completes refreshing (after a few seconds), you will get a confirmation message as shown below.
9. Modify the Host File
Another approach that you can use to resolve steam error-118 is to modify the host file. The method is a bit technical but it can help avoid getting an error message every time you try to launch steam.
Please note that you must have administrative access to your local computer to modify the host file. The following is a step-by-step guide on how to do it.
Step 1: Press the “Window button” on the keyboard of your computer.
Step 2: Go to the search field on the bottom left of your screen, type “Notepad”, and press enter.
Step 3: Right-click on the search results (notepad app) and choose the “Run as administrator” option.
Step 4: Now use “Notepad” to open this file
Below is an example of how the page should look like
Step 5: Make necessary modifications and save the file.
Except for: # 127.0.0.1 localhost, delete all the rest and save.
10. Wait for the Network to be Repaired
Sometimes Steam may fail to launch because its network is down. In other words, it may be a problem from the service provider's side. In that case, you can’t do much to solve the steam error code -118 problem.
Just be patient and service provider will repair the network so that you can continue enjoying your favorite game. If you learn that they are overhauling the network, the only thing you can do is to wait at home for the staff to complete the repair.
Final Words
Well, if you open steam and receive error code-118, you don’t have to panic. You can solve this problem by performing one or several hacks listed above. I recommend that you start by using the easiest approach to solve the problem.
The good thing is that you don’t pay even a dime to solve steam error code-118 and you don’t have to be a tech guru. If the problem persists, try to contact Steam’s support team because they could be a problem from their side.
