Steam Download Stopping? Here’s The Fix

Is Steam prone to starting downloads only for them to stop dead in their tracks at random intervals? Or seemingly get stuck in a start/stop loop ad infinitum?

We’ve got the fixes that will confine this pesky hitch to the past.

In specific instances, it can happen that none of these fixes will resolve the issue. This is the case if the problem comes from the ISP caused by peak traffic, hardware issues at the exchange, or momentarily connectivity issues.

Waiting it out is the only realistic option, short of contacting your ISP directly and battling with supercilious and generally dismissive customer service reps.

Let’s start with the first fix.

Change Download Region

1. Open up Steam.
2. Click on Steam among the options that run horizontally along the top of the Steam client.
3. Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
4. In settings, click on “Downloads” from the list on the left-hand side.
5. From the “Download Region” drop-down menu, select an alternative region. Ideally, this will be one that isn’t too far from your current location but in a foreign country.

Try switching to a server further afield if the first switch doesn’t resolve the issue.

Clear Steam Client Download Cache

1. Load up Steam.
2. Click on “Steam” among the options that run horizontally along the top of the Steam client.
3. Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
4. In settings, click on “Downloads” from the list on the left-hand side.
5. Scroll down to the bottom and click on the “CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE” button.
6. Click “Ok”.
7. After completing the wipe, Steam will restart, and you’ll need to log back in.

Change Steam Download Restrictions

1. Make sure Steam is open.
2. Click on “Steam” among the options that run horizontally along the top of the Steam client.
3. Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
4. In settings, click on “Downloads” from the list on the left-hand side.
5. Under “Download Restrictions”, make sure the “Only auto-update games between:” option is unchecked and set the “Limit bandwidth to” to “No Limit”.

Update Steam

Valve is continually improving the Steam client, so the latest update may very well provide the panacea for your specific problem. With that in mind, keeping the client up to date can do wonders to ward off potential download headaches.

1. Load up Steam.
2. Click on “Steam” among the options that run horizontally along the top of the Steam client.
3. Click on “Check for Steam Client Updates”.
4. If an update is available, confirm to download and install.

Turn Off Other Bandwidth-Hungry Applications

Ensure Steam isn’t competing with other programs for bandwidth, notably web browsers, torrent clients, Windows updates, antivirus software, or other game clients such as Origin downloading the latest patch.

Turning these off can free up a significant amount of bandwidth, resolving the stopping issue in Steam as well as globally speeding up download rates.

Reset Router

If you haven’t reset your router/modem in a while, we highly recommend a reset/restart.

Doing so effectively flushes out the entire network of any packet loss and connectivity problems giving Steam a clean slate to download games and updates.

Reinstall Steam/Reconnect The Steam Client

If all of the above fails to fix the problem, try reinstalling Steam. Short of reinstalling Steam, disconnect the client from the internet, then reconnect it.

1. Open up Steam.
2. Click on “Steam” among the options that run horizontally along the top of the Steam client.
3. Select “Go Offline” from the drop-down menu.
4. Click on “Restart In Offline Mode” when prompted.
5. Once Steam has restarted in offline mode, click once again on “Steam” from the horizontal menu.
6. Click on “Go Online” and then on “Restart and Go Online” when prompted.
7. Steam will restart.
8. Start downloading and check if this has solved the issue.