Steam is one of the best platforms to get a digital copy of your favorite PC games. Instead of going to a store to buy a physical copy of the game you can just download it to your computer which is quite convenient for most people. Although this is a stable platform there are instances when you can experience certain issues with it, such as when it gets auto updates. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we show you how to disable Steam auto updates.
How To Disable Steam Auto Updates
To disable game auto updates
- Open your Steam client.
- Head over to the Library tab present at the top of the screen. You will see all your games will be listed in the left column of the screen.
- Right click on the game you want to change the settings of and select Properties.
- Go to the Updates tab located on the top of the window. You will see an option regarding automatic updates. After you click Automatic Updates, a drop down menu will appear and you will be able to choose from three options available. 1.) Always keep this game up-to date: This is the default option and in this, Steam will update your game whenever it has a network connection. 2.) Only update this game when I launch it: This option disables all the automatic updates of the game and forces the game to update only when you want to play it. 3.) High Priority: Always auto-update this game before others: This option will automatically give your game priority as compared to others when updating. This is a useful option when you play a game very frequently. Choose the option you prefer.
Setting auto-update time restrictions
You can specify a certain time of the day that Steam can download updates so that you can better manage your internet bandwidth.
- Open your Steam client.
- On the top left corner, you will find an option named Steam. Click it and from the drop down box, select Settings.
- Go to the Downloads tab on the left side. In the Downloads settings, you will see an area which states “Download Restrictions”. Here you can set the time when you want Steam to update itself. Steam will pause the download if the time window you have runs up and will queue the download again when the time comes.
Limit the bandwidth
If your other applications are suffering because Steam is getting all of the bandwidth then you can set a certain limit on the bandwidth that Steam can use.
- Open your Steam client.
- On the top left corner, you will find an option named Steam. Click it and from the drop down box, select Settings.
- Go to the Downloads tab present on the left side. In the section of Download Restrictions, you will see an option of Limit Bandwidth. Click it and you will be able to access a drop-down menu consisting of different speeds. Choose the one that suits your internet connection. Save changes and exit.
Disable Steam from automatically starting when Windows starts
- Open your Steam client.
- Go to Settings after clicking Steam present on the top right corner of the window.
- Now click on the Interface tab present in the left column of the Settings and uncheck the box which says “Run Steam when my computer starts”. Save changes and exit.
The above listed methods are how to disable Steam auto updates.