Steam Friends Network Unreachable? Here’s How to Fix It

Sometimes when you’re browsing Steam to play some games, you might be having trouble when you try to open your friendslist. And no matter what you do, you can’t access the Friends & Chat feature.

Most of the time, this issue is caused when you have a bad internet connection, and clicking on the retry button will fix this issue right away. However, it can also occur if there is an issue with your Steam as well.

In this article, we have listed all the possible fixes for this error. 

How to Fix Steam Friends Network Unreachable?

The first thing you can do when you face this error is to check your internet connection and make sure that everything is working fine. If everything seems to be fine, then you can try these proven methods to get around the problem.

Opt-Out from the Steam Beta Participation

Those who have participated in Beta programs will receive new features and updates that the developers are testing. If you have opted in for Beta features, you might have received an update that is interfering with your friends network. So, turning off the beta participation might fix this issue.

 To turn off this feature:

1. Open the Steam client app on your PC.
2. Click on the Steam menu from the menu bar.
   
3. On the Account tab, click on CHANGE under the Beta participation.
   
4. Now, click on the option under Beta participation and change it to NONE – Opt out of all beta programs.
   

Now, relaunch Steam and see if this issue is resolved. If you’re still having the same problem, you can try the next method.

Delete Web Browser Data From Steam

Sometimes when you’ve participated in Beta programs, Steam switches storage locations when the Beta updates roll out. During such times, the app requests cookies and cache files from locations where they’re not stored. So, Steam cannot verify your cookies for your friendslist. 

If that is the case, then deleting the web cache data might be able to solve your issue. To clear your web browser data from Steam: 

1. Launch the Steam app from your desktop.
2. Click on Steam from the menu bar.
3. Then, select Settings from the options.
   
4. Now, once the Settings window appears, click on the Web Browser tab.
5. Click on DELETE WEB BROWSER DATA.
   
6. On the next popup window, click OK to clear all steam web browser data.

Now, restart Steam and click on Friends & Chat to see if you can access it without error. If you’re still experiencing the problem, you can move on to the next method.

Delete Steam Folder from /Local Directory

Steam stores its cached files inside a folder named ‘Steam’ inside your C: drive. If, for some reason, the cached files inside the folder are corrupted, it might cause Steam to misbehave. Deleting this folder will make sure that all cached files are cleared, and no such files are interfering with the friends network.

To access the Steam folder from File Explorer:

1. Exit Steam and open File Explorer and go to This PC > Local Disc (C:) > Users > Username > AppData > Local.
2. Locate a folder named Steam, then delete it.

Or alternatively, you can also do this via Run Command Box. To do that:

1. Press Windows + R keys together to open the Run Command Box.
2. Now, type %localappdata% in the search bar and hit Enter.
   
3. This will bring open the Local folder in your File Explorer.
4. Find the folder named Steam and open it.
5. Now, delete a folder named ‘htmlcache.’
   

Now, launch Steam and try to access the Friends & Chat feature. Check if you see your friendlist and everything is working perfectly. If you’re still facing errors, try this next method.

Append ‘-steamos’ on Steam Launch Option

Steam launch options are used to change settings and enable certain features in Steam. Setting this launch option will make sure that Steam doesn’t use the new UI of Friends & Chat feature.

1. Close Steam and right-click on the Steam icon on your desktop.
2. Select the Properties option to view the Properties window.
3. On the Target section, add ‘-steamos’ at the end of the input box.
   
4. Now, click Apply. 
5. You’ll now see a popup saying you need administrator access to perform the action. Click on Continue to proceed to complete the process.
   

Now, restart Steam and see if you can open the Friends & Chat feature without any issue.

Update Your Network Certificate

Updating your ISRG ROOT X1 network certificate can solve this issue as well. Your programs can misbehave if you are using an outdated network certificate as well. However, there isn’t a setting that can automatically update your certificate, so you’ll have to do that manually.

To do that:

1. Open your web browser and navigate to this website.
2. Once the website loads, scroll-down till you see the Root Certificates section. From there, click on the ‘der’ under the ISRG ROOT X1 to download the latest ISRG ROOT X1 certificate.
   
3. After downloading the file, close your web browser and open Run Command Box by pressing the Windows key + R at the same time.
4. Type ‘inetcpl.cpl’ in the search box, and hit Enter.
5. This will bring up the Internet Properties Settings. Now, click on the Content tab to change the certificates.
   
6. In the Content tab, click on Certificates to view the installed certificates on your PC. From there, click on the Trusted Root Certification Authorities tab.
    
7. Now, click on Import > Next.
   
8. After that, click on Browse and find the Root certificate you downloaded earlier. 
9. If you can’t locate the file on the downloaded folder, you may need to change the selection to All Files.
10. After you’ve located the file, double-click on it to import it.
11. Now, click on Next > Next > Finish.
12. After the import has been completed, close this window and click on Clear SSL state, then OK.