There is a common problem where you get an error prompting “Your connection to matchmaking server is not reliable”. This prevents you from playing online multiplayer games. Sometimes this issue traced back to Steam and there is a problem with their servers. You can always check the status of the servers online. If everything seems fine, it means there is some problem on your end.
We have listed down a number of remedies which are known to work in solving this error. Follow them starting with the first one.
Solution 1: Using Ipconfig
IPconfig (internet protocol configuration) is a console application which displays all the current IP/TCP configurations on your screen. You can also modify DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and DNS (Domain Name System) settings using it. Another feature that ipconfig does is forcefully refresh the DHCP IP address of the host computer to request a different IP address. This is done in three stages. Follow the steps listed below.
Solution 2: Granting Steam administrator access
Steam is a platform which requires read and write permission on disks and its folders. Sometimes it also needs to change the system files so it can run in the most optimized way possible. If Steam doesn’t have administrator access, it can act bizarre and produce unexpected errors. By default, Steam doesn’t have administrative rights when it is installed. You can grant it the privileges by following the steps mentioned below.
Solution 3: Verifying integrity of game cache
It may be the case that your game files may be corrupted or may have some missing game files. Because of this Steam may not be able to perform matchmaking correctly. Your library files can also be in the incorrect configuration which may lead to a bugged Steam overlay.
Solution 4: Ending all Steam processes
It may be the case where Steam downloaded and installed an update. After every update, it requires that you restart the client properly.
Solution 5: Running Steamservice.exe
Steamservice handles all the install-scrips (installing DirectX, Visual Studio redistributables etc). It manages how all the additional software gets installed and it also modifies your hard drive. If you by any case declined it from running, this may be the problem.We can try running it from the Steam directory and check if this solves our problem.
Solution 6: Changing user/ logging in again
There a bug where only a certain account can’t play multiplayer games. We can try relogging/logging in with a different account to check if this is the case. Do note that in this solution, you will be required to know your Steam credentials. Don’t follow it if you don’t have the account details at hand.
Solution 7: Opting out of beta
There is a case where your beta participations may cause Steam to act unusual/out of order. Using the beta participations, you gain game content before they are released. The content is rather unstable and the developer launches frequent updates time to time addressing the bugs. There is no harm in disabling beta participations. The beta content will be gone along with the content that was stored about your progress according to it. Follow the steps listed below:
Solution 8: Disabling third-party programs
If you are using a proxy tunnel or VPN services, you should disable them and try again. Steam has anti-Ddos guard active in all of their servers. When you use VPN or tunneling, the guard may flag you as a potential threat and deny you downloading items for your Steam game client. It is a common procedure the guard flags all the IP’s and addresses which are new/suspicious and deny them access.
Solution 9: Disabling firewall/antivirus
It is a well-known fact that Steam conflicts a lot with many Antivirus software. Steam has a lot of processes going on at once at the same time. This consumes a lot of memory and CPU usage. Because of this, many antivirus software adds Steam as a potential threat and doesn’t let it run as expected. We have put together a guide on how to put steam as an exception in antivirus. Follow the steps here. For disabling the Windows Firewall, follow the steps listed below.
Final Solution
Now there is nothing left except to reinstall Steam and see if that does the trick. You can follow how to refresh/reinstall your Steam files through this guide. Note: If you are having a connection error where your entire Steam client refuses to connect to the internet, refer to this guide. Note: Even after following all the methods listed above, your Steam client doesn’t let you matchmake online, it means there is a problem on Steam’s end. Normally, these issues get fixed in around 2-3 days. Steam will roll out an update and within that update, there will be a fix present.
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