Is Steam having issues?
Is Steam having issues?
Initially I received an email informing me that Steam Guard had been added. Following that, another email came about my password being changed. These messages came from Steam or someone pretending to be them, as the headers and details matched legitimate ones. When I attempted to change my password, I was prompted with an error stating it was invalid, directing me to the reset password page with two fields: new password and confirm new password. After several attempts, I successfully set a new password. Then I tried removing Steam Guard from my account, requiring a code sent via SMS that started with many spaces followed by two digits. I entered the same two numbers, but it still failed. I repeated the process with different spacing, but it was unsuccessful. I requested a new code, and when I provided the same code with all the spaces but a new number, it worked again. This situation seems incorrect.
I have never managed to reach steam, it always responds with a pre-recorded scripted message no matter the problems.
Well first of all, have you signed up for Steam Guard? You should assign it a unique MSISDN and remove the old one if you wish to switch devices later—it’s quite frustrating with Steam. If you haven’t done that, it seems like your password might have been compromised by someone else. If this is the case, consider checking other places where you used the same password and see how recently you changed it. It could be time to update it elsewhere as well.
Only the fact that you can’t deactivate Steam Guard and your password has changed stands out to me. Steam Guard allows changing account details without further verification, or as an extra layer of security (as far as I remember). Removing the SG is already difficult enough, even with a registered MSISDN, so I recommend reaching out to Steam to resolve this if you believe someone accessed your account without authorization.
I modified the password a few times in May and it was created using LastPass. I've already linked Steam Guard to the account, so now it feels unnecessary if you can log in without it (as it seems). I think I'll reach out to them, but I haven't had any success before.
Have you adjusted any numbers recently? I also had my SG number before and then switched it, which led to a lot of trouble for me when I needed it to post something on the Steam market. Even now, I haven’t managed to update my MSISDN on my account to the new one. The main issue seems to be the overly complicated process for changing the Steam Guard MSISDN. With Steam Guard, I believe you can adjust what needs SG authentication to modify. As far as I remember. You might want to check the settings in Steam and see if that helps.
I don't have a unlisted number that's been with me for years, so it shouldn't be a problem.
I would really prefer to use standard two-factor authentication, as I already have about five other apps that created their own 2FA methods instead of relying on the most common one.
2FA is definitely a real pain. The only advice I can give is to change your password, verify that SG is set up correctly on your device and PC, try removing the device through the Steam phone app, then disable SG, enable it again, and see how things work from there. Alternatively, reach out to Steam support and wait for their update, or handle both steps together. Their account security support can be tricky—sometimes it helps, other times it doesn’t.
I managed to delete it, finally. But now I can't restore it, even though I think it's unnecessary if you can log in without it anymore.
I also posted about it on Reddit’s r/steam.
I reached out to Steam now, not expecting much, but at least I took the step.
@Joveice I wonder if there is a cool-down period between adding authenticators? Just a theory. I think thus far you have done all you can do and taken all precautions to save those precious games!