How to Fix Steam Error Code 105: Unable to Connect to Server

You open Steam to check the weekend sale or browse the store — and instead of games you get a blank page: "Error Code: 105 — Unable to connect to server. Server may be offline or you may not be connected to the internet." Your internet works fine, every website loads, but Steam refuses to load its own pages. In plain English, error 105 means the Steam client cannot reach or resolve Steam's servers for that page. It is not a ban, your games are not gone, and your account is fine. More often than not, it is a DNS problem: your PC is failing to look up Steam's server addresses, even while the rest of the internet works perfectly.

That is also why error 105 can be confusing. Your library may still launch games, your friends list may still work, and yet the store sits blank. Steam's pages run on an internal web browser with its own cache and its own DNS lookups, so a problem that touches only that path leaves everything else looking healthy. The 8 fixes below run from the 30-second checks to the full reinstall, with the DNS fixes — the ones that actually cure most error 105 cases — right up front where they belong. Start at the top and work down.

What causes Steam error code 105?

Something on the path between your PC and Steam's page servers is failing to resolve, load, or connect. The usual suspects:

• Stale or broken DNS — the number one cause of error 105. Your DNS cache or your ISP's DNS servers return bad or outdated addresses for Steam's domains while normal websites still resolve.
• Corrupted Steam web browser cache — Steam's store, library, and community pages run on an embedded browser, and its cache corrupts just like Chrome's.
• Steam's servers are down or overloaded — maintenance windows, sale launches, and outages cause error 105 spikes that no PC setting can fix.
• VPN or proxy interference — VPN exit nodes and misconfigured proxies reroute Steam's page traffic into dead ends.
• Firewall or antivirus blocking Steam — Windows Firewall or third-party security software silently blocking steam.exe after an update.
• Hosts file entries blocking Steam — leftover lines redirecting store.steampowered.com or steamcommunity.com to nowhere, often from old "Steam fixer" tools.
• Router or network session glitch — a frozen router or stale IP lease that breaks only certain connections.
• Corrupted Steam client config — broken cached settings inside Steam itself that survive restarts.

1Confirm Steam's servers are actually up

Error 105 spikes during Steam maintenance windows (usually Tuesday evenings US time), major sale launches, and outages. Open steamstat.us in your browser and check for outages or heavy load in your region. If servers are down, the fix is patience — no DNS change on your PC will reconnect you to a server that is not answering. If everything is green and you still see error 105, the problem is on your side and the fixes below apply. This 30-second check saves you from reinstalling Steam over a server outage.

2Restart Steam — then reboot your PC and router

Fully exit Steam: right-click the Steam icon in the system tray and choose Exit Steam (do not just close the window). Then power your router completely off for a full 60 seconds — not a quick flick, a real minute — and restart your PC. This clears hung Steam processes, stale network sessions, and renews your IP address. A surprising number of error 105 cases die right here, caused by nothing more than a frozen router or a stuck background Steam process. Relaunch Steam and check whether the store loads.

3Flush your DNS and switch to a public DNS server

This is the fix that cures most error 105 cases, so do not skip it. Your ISP's DNS servers or your router's DNS cache can return stale or wrong addresses for Steam's domains while normal websites still resolve — that is exactly the signature of error 105. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run: ipconfig /flushdns. You should see a confirmation that the DNS resolver cache was flushed. Then switch to a reliable public DNS: in your network adapter settings, set your DNS servers to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare). Restart Steam and retry the store. If error 105 disappears, your ISP's DNS was the culprit — you can leave the public DNS in place permanently, and it usually makes browsing a little faster too.

4Clear Steam's web browser cache

Steam's store, library, and community pages are web pages rendered by an internal browser, and that browser's cache corrupts just like any other. In Steam, go to Settings → In Game and click Delete next to "Web browser data" to wipe it. This clears cached pages and cookies for Steam's embedded browser without touching your games or your account. Relaunch Steam and open the store again. If a corrupted cached page was causing error 105, the store loads fresh and clean now. If the error survives, the cache was innocent and the problem lies deeper in the network path.

5Turn off your VPN and proxy — allow Steam through the firewall

Disconnect your VPN completely (not just pause it) and retry Steam before doing anything else — VPN exit nodes are a frequent cause of error 105 because Steam's page servers sometimes reject or throttle that traffic, and a half-connected VPN can leave Steam's DNS lookups stranded. Also check Windows Settings → Network → Proxy and turn off any manual proxy. Next, check your firewall: open Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Allow an app through firewall, find Steam, and make sure it is allowed on both private and public networks. If you run a third-party antivirus with its own firewall, allow steam.exe there too. Steam updates sometimes lose their firewall permissions silently, so re-check even if it worked before.

6Check the hosts file — disable conflicting network software

Old "Steam fixer" tools and some malware leave entries in your hosts file that redirect Steam's domains into nowhere. Open Notepad as administrator, open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts, and look for any lines mentioning steamcommunity.com, steampowered.com, or store.steampowered.com. Delete those lines (or comment them out with a #), save, and restart Steam. While you are here, close network-filtering tools like PeerBlock, NetLimiter, or third-party firewalls — they are known to silently filter Steam's traffic and cause exactly this error. Retry Steam with them closed.

7Reset Steam's network config with steam://flushconfig

If error 105 survives the DNS flush, the cache clear, and the firewall check, Steam's own stored network configuration may be corrupted. Fully exit Steam, press Win + R, type steam://flushconfig, and press Enter. This resets Steam's network configuration and cached login state to factory defaults, clearing corrupted settings that cause error 105. One warning: you will be logged out, so have your password and Steam Guard access ready before running it. Log back in and check the store.

8Reinstall Steam clean (your games survive)

Still seeing error 105 after every network fix? The Steam client itself is probably corrupted. Back up your games first: copy the steamapps folder from your Steam directory to a safe location. Then uninstall Steam from Windows Settings → Apps, and delete any leftover Steam folder. Download a fresh installer from the official site, install it, and move your steamapps folder back into the new install — Steam detects your games instantly. Your saves live in Steam Cloud or your user folder and are untouched. A clean install wipes out any corrupted client files that survived every fix above.

Quick checklist to keep error 105 away

• Use a reliable public DNS (Google or Cloudflare) if your ISP's DNS misbehaves — this alone prevents most error 105 returns.
• Always disconnect your VPN before troubleshooting Steam connection errors.
• Keep steam.exe permanently allowed in Windows Firewall and your antivirus.
• Do not run "Steam fixer" utilities or edit the hosts file for Steam — they cause this error more often than they fix it.
• Clear Steam's web browser cache occasionally, especially after failed store loads.
• If error 105 returns during a Steam sale or maintenance window, check steamstat.us first — it is almost always Valve's side.

Frequently asked questions

For most players, error 105 dies at Fix 3 — a DNS flush and a switch to a public DNS server brings the store back in minutes. Work through the list in order and your pages will load again. And while Steam sorts itself out, the free browser games here on GameAdda need no client, no login, and no DNS luck — just pick one and play. 🎮