Steam is a very popular gaming platform with a large userbase. Due to its large userbase, the platform undergoes regular maintenance. This prevents Steam from experiencing issues for the most part. If Steam does experience issues, it may undergo maintenance.
These issues are usually fixed within a short time-frame. Steam’s routine maintenance sessions are scheduled to occur every Tuesday. Such routine maintenance sessions work in preventing any major issues from occurring within Steam.
When does Steam maintenance end?
Steam’s regularly scheduled maintenances usually start any time from 1pm to 4pm (Pacific Time Zone). GMT, the time that’s used in the UK, is seven hours ahead of PT, so it’ll be any time between 8pm and 11pm in the UK. These maintenances often last for less than 10 minutes, or half an hour at most.
If Steam encounters any issues during scheduled maintenance, the maintenance time may extend past their usual length.
Steam chose to start their regular maintenances during the afternoon because they have the most staff members present at these times. This means that Steam can carry out their maintenances with utmost efficiency.
The quicker the maintenance ends, the better. Steam wishes to avoid affecting its users as best they can. As a result, Steam also tries to choose a maintenance time where the user count isn’t too high.
However, not all of Steam’s maintenances are scheduled. Sometimes, when Steam experiences issues outside of their regular maintenance timeframes, they’ll have to undergo a sudden maintenance. These can be harder to predict.
How to know when Steam is undergoing maintenance
If Steam is undergoing maintenance, you may be struggling to access Steam properly. However, the issue could just be on your end. Bear in mind you won’t be able to certain things whilst the Steam servers ar down, like resetting your Steam password.
Fortunately, there are ways to discern whether Steam is likely going through maintenance. This could be simply that you can’t access the app, or you get some form of error message when trying to speak to friends.
See Also: Steam Friends Network Unreachable Error
Outside of their regularly scheduled maintenances, here are some ways to determine whether Steam is currently undergoing maintenance.
Check Steam’s Website/App
Check Steam’s community forums for any news regarding planned or expected maintenances. Users sometimes discuss maintenance news if they’re aware of any.
Go to https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/ to access Steam’s community forums. You can search for specific discussion topics using the search bar.
On the other hand, you could try to connect to Steam Network by going on the Steam app. If you’re unable to use any online features, it’s likely that you’re failing to connect to Steam Network.
In such cases, it’s possible that Steam’s servers are currently down. Steam’s servers are usually only down when maintenance is occurring, and at most other times, it continues to run smoothly.
Check Steam’s Server Status
You can check the status of Steam’s servers by going to https://www.issteamdown.com/. Steam server status should be displayed at the top. You can also scroll down to view some information about Steam’s maintenances.
If the site states that Steam’s servers are up, it means that Steam is unlikely to be undergoing maintenance. If you’re still struggling to access Steam properly, the issue probably lies elsewhere.
Read More: Steam Won’t Download Updates
If you wish to get a second statement regarding the status of Steam’s servers, you can go to https://steamstat.us/. The site will tell you how many users are currently online, as well as the status of Steam’s different services.
If all of Steam’s services are stated as being ‘normal’, it means that they should be working correctly. Steam servers generally vary in speed, and there’s no “fastest Steam server”. At peak time, they could begin to run a little slower, though most PC players find that Steam typically runs smoothly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Steam maintenances usually don’t last long, and it shouldn’t be more than an hour before the app is working properly again. The maintenance schedule tends to be accurate, and it’s not long before the servers are back up again.
In most cases, they often last for around 10 minutes or less, but can end up taking a bit longer depending on the maintenance. Steam maintenances can also be extended if they meet any delays during the process.
