Error Code E20 Steam | Problem Communicating With Steam

Error E20 is almost never a server-wide outage; it is a “handshake” failure between your PC and Steam’s authentication servers. Basically, your Steam client has “forgotten” how to talk to the server, or cached data has become corrupted.

Here are the three ways to fix it, ranked from easiest to most effective.

Fix 1: The “Time Sync” (Most Common Cause)

If your computer’s clock is even slightly out of sync with the real time, Steam’s security certificates will fail, causing Error E20.

1. Right-click the Time/Date in your taskbar.

2. Select Adjust date/time.

3. Toggle “Set time automatically” OFF and then back ON.

4. Click “Sync now” (if available).

5. Restart Steam and try to log in.

Fix 2: Delete the “AppCache” (The Gold Standard Fix)

This forces Steam to redownload its configuration files without uninstalling your games.

1. Close Steam completely. (Check your taskbar/system tray to ensure it’s not running in the background).

2. Right-click your Steam shortcut and choose “Open File Location” (or browse to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam).

3. Find the folder named appcache.

4. Delete it. (Don’t worry, Steam will create a fresh one when you launch it).

5. Relaunch Steam and log in.

Also Read : ChatGPT | Gateway Time-Out the Web Server Reported a Gateway Time-Out Error

Fix 3: Change DNS (If the above fail)

Sometimes your internet provider (ISP) is struggling to route traffic to Steam’s specific login servers.

1. Press Win + R, type ncpa.cpl, and hit Enter.

2. Right-click your active network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) > Properties.

3. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) > Properties.

4. Select “Use the following DNS server addresses”:

   • Preferred: 8.8.8.8

   • Alternate: 8.8.4.4

5. Click OK, then disconnect and reconnect to your Wi-Fi/Ethernet.