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Steam is a digital distribution platform that hosts various games and applications. Steam is known as a pioneer in the gaming industry and has revolutionized the online gaming category. Users can add friends and play multiplayer games together as “groups.
However, there are times when you cannot add someone as a friend. Instead, you will see an error message “Error when adding a friend”. Communication between you and that user is blocked or nothing happens at all. This problem has existed on the platform for some time and has also been officially acknowledged by Steam representatives. It could be a temporary bug in the app or an incompatibility in your account. Follow the workarounds below, starting with the first case and gradually decreasing.
Someone has reached the maximum number of friends
If one player has reached the maximum number of friends, new invitations will not be received and sent.
Note that the friends counter includes not only players on your friends list, but all pending invitations you have sent. Canceling pending invitations will make room for more friends.
Pending invitations will not be accepted
After you send an invitation, another player receives a pending invitation in his or her own friend list. You must check with the other user to make sure they understand this. You must also make sure that you are sending the invitation to the correct player.
Check the blocklist
Steam has a blocking mechanism that allows you to prevent multiple people from contacting you or viewing your activities. The opposing account will either be invisible to you, or it will have no information (only the profile image will be displayed). If you try to add a friend who is on your blacklist, you will not be able to do so. No one on your blacklist is allowed to communicate with you (including adding friends). We’ll go to your Steam blacklist and check it.
- Launch the Steam client on your desktop.
- Now click your username on the top navigation bar and select “Friends”.
- Select the Blocked option on the left navigation bar. This displays all of the currently blocked users in your account. Remove the blocked person you can’t add a friend to (if there is one).
- Save your changes and exit. Properly restart Steam and check if the error is fixed.
Use the command steam: // flushconfig
According to users, you can easily fix this problem by using the steam: // flushconfig command. To do this, proceed as follows:
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- Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box.
- In the Run dialog box, type steam: // flushconfig and press OK or Enter.
- Steam will reset its configuration and you can add friends again.
Disable Family Access
Steam has added a useful feature called Family Sharing that allows you to share your games with family members or friends.
This feature is convenient in that your friends or family members can play your Steam games on their computer without buying them.
Of course, this feature has its limitations, and you can’t use your account or play games while your family members are playing them.
This feature can also cause problems when adding friends. Therefore, you may want to disable it permanently. To disable family access, follow these steps:
- Start Steam.
- Go to the settings screen and open the Family tab.
- Click the “Manage Other Computers” button and turn off all computers.
You can also do this through your Steam profile by following these steps:
- Open your Steam profile.
- In the upper right corner, click on the little arrow next to your Steam username and select the “Account Details” option.
- Scroll down to the “Family Settings” section and click on “Manage Family Library Access.
- You will now see a list of all authorized computers. Click on the Remove link. Be sure to remove all computers from the Family Share list.
- After that, restart Steam and try adding friends again.
One of the best features is the ability to play games on Steam with friends. If for some reason you get an error message when adding a friend post to Steam, try all the solutions described in this article.
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