I find Steam frustrating at times

[craig234]

I'm trying to help a relative use Steam. A while ago I got them set up and some games, then they stopped playing for several months. They got a new computer and re-installed Steam, and set up a new account (mistake) and then contacted me. Here are some of the problems trying to help them:

- Steam doesn't recognize their old account. It still is listed on my friends list, but when they try to do password recovery, it says the account doesn't exist.

- I wondered if it had merged the old account into the new one that used the same e-mail, but the new account library is empty, so it didn't.

- I tried to have them open a help ticket, and it demanded they open yet another new account for support - but then they try, it says an account with that e-mail already exists.

So they can't even open a ticket - and this is supposed to be a friendly experience?

And even trying to get help - it seems it takes days to get a response from Steam. You can only get help by opening a ticket. And even then, I'm trying to think of a worse interface for any company - I opened a ticked for this from my account, and it doesn't let me view my open ticket, it puts me in a list of all the dozens of tickets I've had, with the new one not on the first page, so I have to scroll through them to find it.

Nevermind even the technical problems, like how she couldn't start Steam, and I had to have her kill Steam from task manager in order to get it to restart.

Just way more frustrating than it should be for someone to try to use Steam.

[Black Blade]

so you follow these steps to get the password?:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4988-DHXV-7272

Also you cant merge the old and new account and why did you make a new account i did not get it

You can reset the password for the Steam support account with easy here: https://support.steampowered.com/newticket.php
Just put the email on the button

Also its really hard to read what you say its not really clear

[craig234]

Not helpful responses.

To the first: it's very simple. When clicking 'retrieve lost password', it says to enter the account name. Entering the account gets an error that the account doesn't exist.

It seem ironic you say the post wasn't clear - I think it was, but that your post isn't. I explained in the first post that she created a new account and shouldn't have.

To the second: It won't log in the first account. To repeat, steam thinks it doesn't exist.

Also to repeat, she can't creat a support account - it says an account already exists using that e-mail. She could make another account with another e-mail, but that doesn't solve things.

Also to repeat, it was a mistake for hew to make a new account. It doesn't change anything that she did.

The problems dealing with Steam on this neither should need to be address 'in a forum' nor would they be (as the responses make clear).

Steam needs to address the issues.

[craig234]

By the way - 20 hours later, no response from Steam to the ticket.

[WhereIsBusmin]

Escrito originalmente por craig2345:

By the way - 20 hours later, no response from Steam to the ticket.

It can sometimes take up to ten or more business days to get an initial response from Steam Support, depending on their workload and the nature of the ticket. It's worth mentionion that Steam Support is currently experiencing a high ticket volume.

[Black Blade]

Escrito originalmente por craig2345:

Not helpful responses.

To the first: it's very simple. When clicking 'retrieve lost password', it says to enter the account name. Entering the account gets an error that the account doesn't exist.

It seem ironic you say the post wasn't clear - I think it was, but that your post isn't. I explained in the first post that she created a new account and shouldn't have.

All i can replay is what? were do you put to retrieve the account? is these the support account or Steam account as Steam account you cant get like that you need to connect support for it

[craig234]

Log in with the 'display name' as opposed to what? That's how I log in fine.

Make a support account with the same email as opposed to what? I think I did.

I don't see any helpful suggestions there.

And now it's 4 days without a response. That's a ridiculously bad level of customer service.

[Fox]

Escrito originalmente por craig2345:

Log in with the 'display name' as opposed to what? That's how I log in fine.

Make a support account with the same email as opposed to what? I think I did.

I don't see any helpful suggestions there.

And now it's 4 days without a response. That's a ridiculously bad level of customer service.

When you log in, you DON'T put your display name, but your account name, on the top right of your Steam client window. If both are the same, logging with the display name will work, as it's also the account name.

Steam prevents creation of Support account with the same e-mail, in the case your account e-mail is compromised. Better safe than sorry, in that case.

EDIT : The average wait time is one week, unless I'm mistaken. Thank the huge number of tickets swarming a small team for that.

[craig234]

Thanks on the support account.

On the other, it's kind of catch 22 - to see your 'account name' you need to be logged in?

I'll have her look at her old e-mail to see if there's info on that.

I don't know any other company with this kind of response time.

[☯UrKungFuNoGood☯]

Back in the early days of Steam they jumbled my PW. I know it's one of half a dozen passwords but none of them worked. I've still never forgiven them for it completely even though I prefer to use this platform for my gaming.
Interestingly, last year I decided for fun to try to log back into that old account and had no problem. There were no games listed. I didn't have much on that account. Just Orange Box iirc. But still I think Steam does some shady things to accounts that go unused for X amount of time.

[crunchyfrog]

Escrito originalmente por ☯UrKungFuNoGood☯:

Back in the early days of Steam they jumbled my PW. I know it's one of half a dozen passwords but none of them worked. I've still never forgiven them for it completely even though I prefer to use this platform for my gaming.
Interestingly, last year I decided for fun to try to log back into that old account and had no problem. There were no games listed. I didn't have much on that account. Just Orange Box iirc. But still I think Steam does some shady things to accounts that go unused for X amount of time.

I'm sorry but this is nonsense. They do not mess around with old accounts.

What is extremely likely here is your memory is at fault.

There are often posts on these forums from people with old unused account who will swear blind that they're trying to log in correctly and when asked "do you have more than one account?" will be adamant they haven't - and of course, it turns out they'd forgotten.

How hard is it to WRITE DOWN details in a diary or notebook? It's not liable to get stolen and who's likely to read it?


Back on the OP's topic, I can only reiterate what has been said already - he's obviously not doing something correctly. Steam doesn't appear to be at fault.

It sounds to me that he hasn't used his correct login details (as already stated), and he's most likely created a Support account in the past, used that email address, and again, forgotten he'd done so.

In which case, the fault is entirely in your friend's ballpark. Steam cannot be held responsible for other's memories. I know this is frustrating, but perhaps in future you could remind him of the merits of a simple pen and paper.

[☯UrKungFuNoGood☯]

Listen to everyone who likes to just point a finger. I use two passwords. Sometimes I use them separately, sometimes I use them in combination. Steam corrupted my pw and gave me hell trying to recover it.
It is also a fact that my games are missing from that account.
Stick your condescending lectures where the sun don't shine.

[crunchyfrog]

Escrito originalmente por ☯UrKungFuNoGood☯:

Listen to everyone who likes to just point a finger. I use two passwords. Sometimes I use them separately, sometimes I use them in combination. Steam corrupted my pw and gave me hell trying to recover it.
It is also a fact that my games are missing from that account.
Stick your condescending lectures where the sun don't shine.

It is not a fact, and as you cannot demonstrate evidence here, we can only go on past experience.

And that experience is that there have been many cases like yours over the years and in EVERY one it has been a mistake on the customer's part, down to faulty memory or similar.

It's this sort of conspiratorial nonsense that only serves to confuse. Do you realise what sort of hot water Valve would land in if they simply stole games (because it IS theft)? They can't do this anyway, as it would involve wilful and deliberate physical removal from your account.

[☯UrKungFuNoGood☯]

Gotta love people who get off on speaking as an authority on things of which they know nothing...

[crunchyfrog]

Escrito originalmente por ☯UrKungFuNoGood☯:

Gotta love people who get off on speaking as an authority on things of which they know nothing...

Please don't make crass statements like this. You made a claim, which had no evidence to clarify or back up said claim.

As what you're claiming is EXTREMELY unlikely, what we have suggested here is what USUALLY happens. I've already stated to you that in every case I've been aware of on my years here, it has been down to faulty memory.

You cannot say I'm speaking of "things I know nothing about" because there is plenty of evidence of what I'm saying - on these discussions and the old forums you can readily search for such threads as "can't access my old account" and you'll see. You'll also see comment from Valve staff themselves which categorically state they do NOT delete accounts.

So, stop making nonsense accusations please. We've advised you as best we can, but you seem unwilling to listen. I hope you get your issue sorted out, but if you continue to be unhelpful yourself, I have no interest in reciprocating.

[☯UrKungFuNoGood☯]

Look. I use passwords that I don't forget. For every site. ergo, if I had forgotten my passwords, I wouldn't have been able to log in to anything else. Comprende? Not sure why that is so hard to figure out for some of you.
After logging in for six or seven years after the account had gone unused, the games are missing from that account. Neither of those issues was a result of error on my part. I don't care how many threads you've read.