Steam Deck is Valve’s trump card when it comes to the handheld gaming market. The mini PC can play a huge selection of games and provides exceptional performance for its price and form factor. However, as good as Valve has tried to make the Steam Deck, it isn’t perfect and runs into the occasional bug or glitch from time to time.
In this article, we’re talking about the Steam Deck cloud sync error, the reasons behind it and what you can do to fix the problem.
What causes the Steam Deck cloud sync error?
There are numerous reasons why your Steam Deck won’t be able to sync your game progress with the Steam cloud. Common factors include:
- Internet connectivity issues
- Active VPNs or proxies
- Steam servers are down or otherwise facing issues
- A third-party antivirus or firewall is blocking Steam’s connection
Also read: Steam Deck error pulling from repo: 4 Fixes
How to fix Steam Deck cloud sync error?
Here are six fixes you can try out.
Restart your Steam Deck
Restarting is an age-old trick that often resolves situations like these. Restart the Steam Deck, the Discover app and the Desktop Mode by exiting it and then entering it again.
Check internet connection
Now’s also a good time to check whether or not you have an active internet connection. If you’re on WiFi, make sure you’ve got an active link and that there are no signal issues. On cellular data, ensure that it’s enabled and that you’re getting good network coverage.
Restarting your router can help get rid of a bunch of seemingly random internet and connectivity issues that may be hindering your connection to Steam’s servers.
Check Steam servers
Another thing you should do is check whether or not the service itself is working or not. Steam is used by millions across the globe, and the occasional outage here and there isn’t anything surprising.
You can use this page to check Steam’s server status
Check if Steam Cloud Sync is enabled
Another thing to do is to check if Cloud Sync is actually enabled. Here’s how.
Step 1: Open Steam, click the Steam menu in the top left and select Settings.
Step 2: Head over to the Cloud tab and ensure that the Enable Steam Cloud Syncronisation for applications that support it checkbox is checked.
Restart Steam and that should resolve the error.
Repair Steam library
Repairing your entire Steam library can also often resolve sync issues.
Step 1: Open Steam, click the Steam menu in the top left and select Settings.
Step 2: Head over to the Download tab and click the Steam Library Folders button.
Step 3: Select the drive with your Steam library on it, click the three horizontal dots to the right and select Repair Folder.
Wait for Steam to finish the process, restart it and that should fix the error.
Check the Windows Firewall
If you’re running Windows on your Steam Deck, it’s also a good idea to check whether your Windows Firewall is blocking Steam’s connection to its servers. If your firewall is improperly set up or has blocked Steam, it won’t be able to connect giving you this error.
Check out our detailed guide to know how to unblock programs from the Windows Firewall
Also read: How to fix Steam Deck error formatting SD card?
