{"id":1002,"date":"2026-09-20T22:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T17:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/example.com\/?p=1002"},"modified":"2026-09-20T23:22:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T17:52:55","slug":"fix-steam-error-code-118-105","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/fix-steam-error-code-118-105\/","title":{"rendered":"Fix Steam Error Code -118 and -105: Unable to Connect to Server"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<div style=\"background-color: #f0f7ff; border-left: 5px solid #2563eb; padding: 18px 22px; border-radius: 6px; margin-bottom: 24px;\"><strong style=\"color: #1e40af; font-size: 1.55em; display: block; margin-bottom: 8px;\">\u26a1 Quick Answer: Fix Steam -118 &amp; -105<\/strong>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0; color: #1e293b; line-height: 1.6;\">Steam error\u00a0 Codes -118 and -105 indicate TCP connection timeouts and DNS resolution failures inside the embedded Chromium browser. To fix them fast:<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0; color: #1e293b; line-height: 1.6;\"><strong>1)<\/strong> Flush your DNS cache using <code>ipconfig \/flushdns<\/code> and reset your socket with <code>netsh winsock reset<\/code>,<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0; color: #1e293b; line-height: 1.6;\"><strong>2)<\/strong> Switch your network DNS to Cloudflare (<code>1.1.1.1<\/code>) or Google (<code>8.8.8.8<\/code>), and<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0; color: #1e293b; line-height: 1.6;\"><strong>3)<\/strong> Clear Steam&#8217;s web storage under <em>Steam Settings &gt; In Game &gt; Delete Web Browser Data<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Opening Steam only to be stopped by a blank screen stating <strong>&#8220;Error Code -118: Unable to connect to server&#8221;<\/strong> or <strong>&#8220;Error Code -105: Unable to resolve server address&#8221;<\/strong> completely disrupts your gaming schedule. While your friends list might still appear active, your ability to access the store, download updates, or sync cloud files stops entirely. Follow this guide to resolve the underlying networking blockages.<\/p>\r\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5045\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/hg8Z42zWWQg\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Fix application was unable to start correctly 0xc000007b Windows gaming error\" width=\"982\" height=\"343\" \/><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"color: #1e3a8a; border-bottom: 2px solid #e2e8f0; padding-bottom: 6px;\">Understanding Steam Errors -118 and -105<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Steam desktop client utilizes an integrated Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) process to handle all dynamic store pages, community forums, and profile screens. When this sub-process encounters network interruption, it displays raw network error codes rather than styled store views.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"overflow-x: auto; margin: 24px 0;\">\r\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; text-align: left; font-size: 15px; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.05);\">\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr style=\"background-color: #1e293b; color: #ffffff;\">\r\n<th style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #334155;\">Error Code<\/th>\r\n<th style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #334155;\">Underlying Technical Condition<\/th>\r\n<th style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #334155;\">Recommended Fix<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr style=\"background-color: #f8fafc;\">\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1; font-weight: 600;\">Error -118<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1;\">Connection Timed Out (ERR_TIMED_OUT)<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1;\">Clear CEF browser cache &amp; disable proxies<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"background-color: #ffffff;\">\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1; font-weight: 600;\">Error -105<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1;\">DNS Name Resolution Failed (ERR_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED)<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1;\">Switch to Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google DNS<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"background-color: #f8fafc;\">\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1; font-weight: 600;\">Network Stalls<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1;\">Corrupted Winsock IP binding<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 12px 16px; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1;\">Execute netsh winsock reset<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"color: #1e3a8a; border-bottom: 2px solid #e2e8f0; padding-bottom: 6px;\">Step-by-Step Solutions<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"color: #0d9488;\">Method 1: Flush DNS Cache and Reset Winsock Catalog<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outdated route records stored by your operating system often cause routing requests to fail. Performing a network flush forces Windows to establish clean socket connections.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Open the Start menu, search for <strong>cmd<\/strong>, right-click <strong>Command Prompt<\/strong>, and select <strong>Run as administrator<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<li>Execute each of the following commands in sequence, pressing Enter after each line:\r\n<pre><code>ipconfig \/flushdns\r\nipconfig \/registerdns\r\nipconfig \/release\r\nipconfig \/renew\r\nnetsh winsock reset<\/code><\/pre>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li>Once the Winsock catalog has been reset, restart your system to reload network drivers.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"color: #0d9488;\">Method 2: Change to Public DNS (Cloudflare or Google)<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Local ISP DNS relays can experience connectivity drops or throttle Valve Content Delivery Networks. For more on how DNS resolution works, review the <a style=\"color: #2563eb; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/developers.cloudflare.com\/1.1.1.1\/setup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 Public DNS Documentation<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Press <strong>Windows Key + R<\/strong>, type <code>ncpa.cpl<\/code>, and press Enter to view Network Connections.<\/li>\r\n<li>Right-click your active connection adapter and choose <strong>Properties<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<li>Double-click <strong>Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP\/IPv4)<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<li>Check <strong>Use the following DNS server addresses<\/strong> and input:\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>Cloudflare DNS:<\/strong> Primary: <code>1.1.1.1<\/code> | Secondary: <code>1.0.0.1<\/code><\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Google DNS:<\/strong> Primary: <code>8.8.8.8<\/code> | Secondary: <code>8.8.4.4<\/code><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<li>Select <strong>Validate settings upon exit<\/strong> and click <strong>OK<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"color: #0d9488;\">Method 3: Clear Steam Web Browser Data and Cookies<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Corrupted cookies and invalid local storage tokens inside Steam&#8217;s embedded browser create infinite redirect loops, resulting in Error -118.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Launch Steam, click <strong>Steam<\/strong> in the upper-left menu, and select <strong>Settings<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<li>Choose the <strong>In Game<\/strong> tab from the navigation sidebar.<\/li>\r\n<li>Locate the <strong>Delete Web Browser Data<\/strong> section and click <strong>Delete<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<li>Confirm deletion of all cached files, cookies, and browsing history, then restart Steam.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"color: #1e3a8a; border-bottom: 2px solid #e2e8f0; padding-bottom: 6px;\">Troubleshooting Related Game Launch Errors<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After resolving Steam connection issues, ensure your downloaded game binaries are not experiencing startup crashes. If games freeze on boot, refer to our troubleshooting guides for the <a style=\"color: #2563eb; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/fix-wardogs-launcher-crash-wd-l014\/\">Wardogs launcher crash error WD-L014<\/a> or check for missing Visual C++ dependencies in our guide to <a style=\"color: #2563eb; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/fix-error-0xc000007b-games\/\">resolving Windows application error 0xc000007b<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to fix Steam Error Code -118 and Error -105 with tested solutions including DNS flushing, cache clearing, and network socket repairs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[37,36,35,34],"class_list":["post-1002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-troubleshooting","tag-network-troubleshooting","tag-steam-error-105","tag-steam-error-118","tag-steam-errors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1002"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5051,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1002\/revisions\/5051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/gamefix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}