Steam browser not working? Here's how to fix it

Publish date: 2024-07-27

If you’re a PC gamer, you’ve most likely used Steam at least once to play video games.
The Steam browser sometimes fails to load, so in today’s article, we’ll show you how to fix that.
Are you having additional problems? If so, be sure to go to our Gaming articles for more useful guides.
A web browser is a crucial component of your PC, and to learn more about it, visit our Browsers Hub.

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Steam is the most popular gaming platform on desktop, but many users reported that the Steam browser isn’t working for them.

This can be a problem and prevent you from browsing the Steam store, but you might be able to fix that using one of our solutions.

What do I do if the Steam browser isn’t working?

1. Access Steam from an alternative browser

All features available in the Steam Browser can be accessed from Steam’s website. You can use any browser for this purpose, but for the best results, we recommend using Opera GX.

Created for gamers especially, the browser has its own ad blocker that will block ads and tracking scripts and make pages load faster. For an extra layer of protection, there’s a free VPN with unlimited bandwidth.

The GX Control lets you set limits on how much RAM, CPU, and network usage your browser takes up.

This way you allow the browser to distribute your system’s resources evenly so that you don’t have to close any processes while playing a heavy-resource game.

And for sure you’ll find the GX Corner extremely useful to stay in touch with the gaming community and keep an eye on all the news and updates in the industry.

Opera GX

If you're an avid gamer, Opera has created this browser especially for you. Try it and get involved in the development process!

2. Restart Steam or stop using the Beta client

Close Steam once the problem appears.

Start it again and check if the issue is still there.

Users reported that this problem appears only in the Steam Beta client, so you might want to switch to the regular client in order to avoid this issue.

3. Remove HTML cache

Open File Explorer and navigate to:

C:Usersyour_usernameAppDataLocalSteamhtmlcache

Note: Go to View tab in File Explorer and check Hidden items if you can’t find the AppData directory.

hidden items show steam browser not working

Delete the contents of the htmlcache folder.

Now press Windows Key + R and run the steam://flushconfig command.

You can also delete the browser cache right from the Steam client by doing the following:

Go to Steam, then Settings.

Navigate to Web Browser and select Delete Web Browser Cache.

Now restart Steam.

After doing that, check if the problem is still there.

4. Disable DirectWrite feature

Open Steam.

Go to Steam, then Settings, and choose Interface.

Now disable DirectWrite and press OK.

Restart Steam and check if the problem is resolved.

5. Use –no-cef-sandbox parameter

Locate your Steam shortcut, right-click it and choose Properties.

In the Target field add the following after the quotes:

-no-cef-sandbox

Now click on Apply and OK.

steam shortcut properties steam browser not working

Start Steam and check if the problem is resolved.

Steam browser is a crucial component of Steam, but if the browser isn’t working, be sure to try all of our solutions.

If you’ve used another solution that worked, share it with us in the comments and we’ll take a look.

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