After installing macOS Big Sur updates, some Mac owners have been running into an error when attempting to install Steam: "Steam needs to be online to update. Please confirm your network connection and try again."

steam apple logo
Unfortunately, this is a long-running Steam issue that Mac users have been experiencing for at least 10 years now, and there's no single centralized fix, and it's not entirely clear what causes the bug. It appears to be an issue on the Steam servers that occasionally resurfaces.

Though Valve has not provided an official fix, there are a number of solutions that appear to have worked for people who have run into this issue, so if you have this bug, the suggestions below may work to solve the problem.

Turn Off iCloud Private Relay

If you're using Apple's iCloud Private Relay feature that was implemented in macOS Monterey, you might want to try temporarily disabling it to get Steam to install. Here's how:

  1. Open up System Preferences.
  2. Click on Apple ID in the upper right corner.
  3. Toggle off "Private Relay."
  4. Try installing Steam again.

If Steam installs as expected, you can re-enable ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay once it's finished. Note that some games will need ‌iCloud‌ Private Relay to remain off to use their online features.

Try Your Phone's Hotspot

Connecting to your smartphone's hotspot instead of home WiFi to download Steam seems to be one of the quickest and simplest solutions that people have used to successfully fix the bug.

This is as simple as swapping over to a smartphone hotspot, downloading the software, and then swapping back to your standard WiFi connection. Steam should open normally once the update has been installed.

The solution unfortunately does require a solid hotspot connection, so if you don't have one available, there are a couple other fixes available.

Change Your Default DNS Server

Steam's error may be related to DNS, so some users have seen results changing their DNS server to Google's public DNS address, which is 8.8.8.8. DNS settings on Mac can be accessed by opening up System Preferences, selecting Network, clicking on Advanced and choosing the DNS tab.

Use a VPN

Some Steam users have been able to skirt the error message by using a VPN to change their IP addresses before installing the update.

Redownload and Reinstall Steam

There have been a handful of reports that suggest redownloading Steam and reattempting the install successfully solve the issue, but most people have had to use other methods to get the installation to work.

Feedback

Did these fixes work? Find a better fix? Send us an email here and let us know.

Tag: Steam

Popular Stories

election results 2024 live activities

Track 2024 U.S. Election Results Live on Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday November 5, 2024 5:02 am PST by
Apple News is providing Live Activities support for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, allowing iPhone and iPad users to track electoral results in real time directly from their Lock Screen. The feature is rolling out for U.S. users over the course of Election Day, November 5, providing continuous updates of the electoral count. So if you're interested, you don't need to repeatedly check...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2

Monday November 4, 2024 12:34 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 updates to developers, and Apple is continuing to refine the Apple Intelligence capabilities. There are also a handful of smaller features that are worth knowing about. Find My Find My has a new option to Share Item Location with an "airline or trusted person" that can help you locate something that you've misplaced....
ios 18 2 chatgpt plus

iOS 18.2 Beta 2 Shows Siri ChatGPT Limit, Offers 'Plus' Upgrade Option

Monday November 4, 2024 10:54 am PST by
With the second beta of iOS 18.2 that's available for developers today, Apple has further fleshed out the ChatGPT integration that's available with Siri. In the Settings app, there's now a section that shows the ChatGPT daily limit, and offers an option to upgrade to the paid ChatGPT Plus plan. The beta includes an Advanced Capabilities section with a "Daily Limit" reading that shows up as...
iCloud General Feature

Here's What's New in Apple's Updated iCloud Terms and Conditions Taking Effect Next Week

Friday September 13, 2024 7:39 am PDT by
Apple has started notifying users about an upcoming revision to its iCloud Terms and Conditions, which takes effect on Monday, September 16. We compared the text of the upcoming iCloud Terms and Conditions with the current U.S. version from September 18, 2023 and identified four key changes: "Apple ID" references have been changed to "Apple Account" throughout. iCloud users must agree to ...
ipads early bf deals

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Tuesday November 5, 2024 7:02 am PST by
Black Friday is still a few weeks away, but you can already find great prices on numerous iPads, including the 9th generation iPad, 10th generation iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Of course, there is a chance that ...
M4 M4 Pro vs M4 Max Feature

When to Expect New M4 MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro Models

Monday November 4, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Apple's fall 2024 Mac announcements have included new iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro models, all of which debuted with variants of Apple's M4 chip. Apple intends to update the rest of its Mac lineup with M4 series processors over the next 12 months, which will make it the first time that Apple has used the same chip generation across all of its Macs. This means we can expect new M4...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

10 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Thursday October 31, 2024 9:42 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well. ...