How to Fix Steam Download Keeps Pausing Issues

You can’t download any games from your Steam Client as the download keeps stopping every few seconds or minutes. How to fix this annoying issue? Not to worry. Following are the possible solutions you can try.

To fix the Steam download keeps pausing issue, try the six methods below one by one:

Method 1: Try another download region
Method 2: Clear download cache
Method 3: Reconnect Steam client to the internet
Method 4: Check the bandwidth restrictions of Steam
Method 5: Perform a clean boot
Method 6: Reinstall Steam Client

Method 1: Try another download region

Steam offers various regions for you to choose to connect in case some regions may stop working at a specific time and cause the Steam download stopping issues. So try another download region and see if the issue can be fixed.

You can follow the steps below to change the download region:

1) Start Steam.

2) Click Steam at the upper left corner and then select Settings.

3) Click on Downloads and then under Download Region, select another download region.

4) Click OK to save the changes.

Once done, restart Steam and check to see if the download issue is fixed.

Tip: Try various regions in your country first. Start from the one that’s closest to you. If the regions in your country don’t work, try those which are not in your country. Try as many regions as you can until you find the one that works.

Method 2: Clear download cache

Too much download cache can cause Steam downloads to stop frequently. To fix the issue, you can try clearing the download cache created by the Steam Client. Here’s how to do it:

1) Launch Steam.

2) Go to Steam > Settings.

3) Click on Downloads and then click on CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE.

4) The process may take a few minutes to complete. Once done, click OK to save the changes.

5) Restart your computer and launch Steam again to check to see if the issue still occurs.

Method 3: Reconnect Steam client to the internet

To fix the Steam download frequently stopping issue, you can try reconnecting your Steam client to the internet. Follow these steps:

1) Launch Steam.

2) Click on Steam in the upper left corner and then select Go Offline.

3) Click on RESTART IN OFFLINE MODE. After that, Steam will restart automatically.

4) Once Steam restarts, click on Steam and then select Go Online.

5) Click on RESTART AND GO ONLINE.

6) Check to see if you’re still facing the download keeps pausing issue.

Method 4: Check the bandwidth restrictions of Steam

Steam downloads require some amount of bandwidth. When the Steam download keeps pausing, it’s possible that the download bandwidth of Steam is limited. So check the bandwidth restrictions of Steam and ensure the download bandwidth is set to No Limit. To do so:

1) Start Steam.

2) Click Steam at the upper left corner and then select Settings.

3) Click on Downloads and then under Download Restrictions, check if Limit bandwidth to is set as No Limit. If not, untick the box next to Limit bandwidth to then it’ll be set to No limit. After that, click APPLY and then OK to save the changes.

Method 5: Perform a clean boot

Some third-party services or programs, especially anti-virus software, can interfere with Steam downloads. You can perform a clean boot to figure out if any third-party service or program is the cause. Follow these steps:

1) On your keyboard, press Win+R together to invoke the Run box.

2) Type “msconfig” into the Run box and click OK. Then the System Configuration window will open.

3) At the System Configuration window, go to the Services tab, tick Hide all Microsoft services and click Disable all. Then all non-microsoft services will be disabled.

4) Go to the Startup tab, click on Open Task Manager.

5) In the Task Manager, select the program that’s enabled at startup (you can tell from the Status column) and then click the Disable button. Repeat this step until you disable all startup items.

Note: Some anti-virus software may not be disabled in this way. If you have any anti-virus software installed, check if it’s disabled. If not, you’ll need to go to the software’s settings to disable it.

6) Go back to the System Configuration window.

7) Click Apply -> OK to save the changes.

8) Check to see if you’re still facing the Steam download keeps pausing issue.

If the issue is resolved, third-party services or programs are probably the cause. Then you can follow below steps to find out the specific services or programs that are causing the issue.

1) Open the System Configuration window again.

2) Click the Services tab.

3) Enable several non-Microsoft services at a time (for example, five services as a group).

4) Check to see if the problem occurs. If the problem occurs, that group contains the services causing the issue.

5) Repeat Step 3) and Step 4) until you find a group of services, which are causing the issue. Then check one by one until you find the one that is causing the issue.

If none of the services is the cause, perform the same steps for the Startup programs and find out what startup program is causing the issue.

Method 6: Reinstall Steam Client

If none of the above methods works, the last resort you can try is to reinstall Steam Client.

Warning: Reinstalling Steam requires you to uninstall Steam first and uninstalling Steam will cause all game content to be deleted. Before you uninstall Steam, you may want to back up the games so you can restore the games quickly.

How to reinstall Steam

1) Right-click on the Start menu button at the bottom left corner of desktop and then select Apps and Features.

2) In the right pane, scroll down and click on Steam. Then click on Uninstall and follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall Steam from your computer.

uninstall steam

3) Restart your computer.

4) Go to Steam’s website and download the latest version of Steam again.

How to back up the games on Steam

1) Go to Steam -> Backup and Restore Games……

2) Select Backup currently installed programs, then click NEXT.

3) Select the games you wish to back up, then click NEXT.

4) Select a location you want to save the backup to, then click NEXT.

5) Configure your backup file name and size settings, then click NEXT.

How to restore the games on Steam

1) Go to Steam -> Backup and Restore Games……

2) Select Restore a previous backup, then click Next.

3) Follow the on-screen instructions to browse and select the games you wish to restore.

Hopefully you find the article helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment below. I’ll get back to you ASAP.

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