Steam is now automatically updating without asking me?

[Terran]

This is terrible for people with slow internet or limited data connections. Normally I would reserve a steam update at night, but if you view in the image below, you'll see that it just pops up and starts downloading WITHOUT ASKING!
I selected NOTHING!
Is there a way to disable this??
This is a TERRIBLE update!

https://imgur.com/a/GSZKvNe

[Ogami]

Steam client updates get automatically downloaded at the start of Steam.
If the update hits while Steam is running you get a popup window with a option to restart and install the update.
That has not changed and is not automated.
So this was either a fresh start of Steam or you accidentally pressed ENTER and confirmed the update when the window popped up.


In general the Steam client updates cant be timed to a certain time like game updates and will 100% happen if you start or restart your client.

[Terran]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Steam client updates get automatically downloaded at the start of Steam.
If the update hits while Steam is running you get a popup window with a option to restart and install the update.
That has not changed and is not automated.
So this was either a fresh start of Steam or you accidentally pressed ENTER and confirmed the update when the window popped up.


In general the Steam client updates cant be timed to a certain time like game updates and will 100% happen if you start or restart your client.

Steam never really closes for me, I just put my computer into sleep. I woke it up this morning and steam popped up with the update dialogue and was just downloading. That's never happened to me before. I've delayed steam updates for weeks, and once several months because I didn't want my downloads page to change.
I definitely didn't click anything or restart it. Now I'm just confused, but thanks for the answer.
The update should be done at the users' choice - not whenever they open steam.

[Mad Scientist]

The amount of data that it needs is so small that you likely didn't notice an impact so much as the popup. The client will need the updates, and many of them can often fix bugs or severe but specific problems. You did actually allow it to do this by installing it, using it, making purchases etc.

Many clients need updates, others wont even let you sign into your account unless you install an update. MMOs often wont let people into the game without the latest update. Not a new concept, stuff needs to be updated for clients to keep everything running properly.

[Terran]

Originally posted by Mr. Gentlebot:

The amount of data that it needs is so small that you likely didn't notice an impact so much as the popup. The client will need the updates, and many of them can often fix bugs or severe but specific problems. You did actually allow it to do this by installing it, using it, making purchases etc.

Many clients need updates, others wont even let you sign into your account unless you install an update. MMOs often wont let people into the game without the latest update. Not a new concept, stuff needs to be updated for clients to keep everything running properly.

I used to have internet that limited me to 200Mb/day. This update would have broken me. I just don't like an update being forced on me when I could choose to download it at a later date.
But thanks for the response.

[Joke]

Originally posted by Terran:

I used to have internet that limited me to 200Mb/day. This update would have broken me. I just don't like an update being forced on me when I could choose to download it at a later date.
But thanks for the response.

What download limit do you have today?

My experience is also the same as Ogami, i.e. Steam always checks for update when started, and that's how it's been since 10+ years.

[Zefar]

Originally posted by Terran:

I used to have internet that limited me to 200Mb/day. This update would have broken me. I just don't like an update being forced on me when I could choose to download it at a later date.
But thanks for the response.

Hang on, 200 Mb limit? No, surely that can't be right. That's absolutely nothing in terms of download limit. You break through that with one single youtube video.

How are you not capping it out daily?

You're in Canada too. Surely there must be a better alternative for you.

[Terran]

Originally posted by Zefar:

Originally posted by Terran:

I used to have internet that limited me to 200Mb/day. This update would have broken me. I just don't like an update being forced on me when I could choose to download it at a later date.
But thanks for the response.

Hang on, 200 Mb limit? No, surely that can't be right. That's absolutely nothing in terms of download limit. You break through that with one single youtube video.

How are you not capping it out daily?

You're in Canada too. Surely there must be a better alternative for you.

No, I don't have that anymore. I -used- to have that. I used to live on a ranch and the internet we had was satellite, Hughes-something. You got 200Mb/day and ping was about ~3000. From 1AM to 6AM was "free time" and there were no caps.
Not to be rude but It does say "I used to have..." there. It was pretty crap, but it was either that or dial-up.

Right now I pay $80/month for 10/1 internet, its pretty slow. Best I can get but better than back then. Humorously, their term for going over the daily limit was violating the "FAP", also known as "Fair Access Policy". You'd be "Fapped" if you did, and the internet slowed down to about dial-up. I lived with that for years.
I just feel bad if there are people with data limits, and there most certainly will be.

Originally posted by Joke:

Originally posted by Terran:

I used to have internet that limited me to 200Mb/day. This update would have broken me. I just don't like an update being forced on me when I could choose to download it at a later date.
But thanks for the response.

What download limit do you have today?

My experience is also the same as Ogami, i.e. Steam always checks for update when started, and that's how it's been since 10+ years.

No download limit now, I just don't like having things forcibly download without my permission. It stresses me out. If there's a serious bug or something, I can accept that, but otherwise I prefer to have the "control".

[Poobah Gorg]

Steam is a gaming and trading platform. Allowing users to run whatever version they want wouldn't just be wonky, it'd be downright risky.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Steam client updates get automatically downloaded at the start of Steam.
If the update hits while Steam is running you get a popup window with a option to restart and install the update.
That has not changed and is not automated.
So this was either a fresh start of Steam or you accidentally pressed ENTER and confirmed the update when the window popped up.

By the time that pop-up appears, the update has already been downloaded, which means internet data transfer has already been used. There's no way in Steam to tell Steam to wait on downloading the update to itself.

Originally posted by Ogami:

In general the Steam client updates cant be timed to a certain time like game updates and will 100% happen if you start or restart your client.

Given that game updates can be scheduled like that, it would make sense for Steam client updates to be similarly schedulable. Unfortunately this is not (yet?) the case.

Originally posted by Mr. Gentlebot:

The amount of data that it needs is so small that you likely didn't notice an impact so much as the popup. The client will need the updates, and many of them can often fix bugs or severe but specific problems. You did actually allow it to do this by installing it, using it, making purchases etc.

Many clients need updates, others wont even let you sign into your account unless you install an update. MMOs often wont let people into the game without the latest update. Not a new concept, stuff needs to be updated for clients to keep everything running properly.

The amount of data we're talking about is like 100 MB a pop, from what I learned while I was also on a limited data connection. I quickly learned that I should never, ever open Steam while using that limited data connection, because it can't be told to control itself and will just eat through my data allowance.

Originally posted by Zefar:

Originally posted by Terran:

I used to have internet that limited me to 200Mb/day. This update would have broken me. I just don't like an update being forced on me when I could choose to download it at a later date.
But thanks for the response.

Hang on, 200 Mb limit? No, surely that can't be right. That's absolutely nothing in terms of download limit. You break through that with one single youtube video.

How are you not capping it out daily?

You're in Canada too. Surely there must be a better alternative for you.

For what it's worth, my mobile plan right now has 2 GB of fast internet (after which it gets throttled to something only about twice the speed of dial-up).

Even a 100 MB download, eating that up in a flash, makes a noticeable dent. (And it's actually pretty fast if it's not throttled, so I don't even have much time to discover and react and stop it.)

Meanwhile, you might be surprised at how efficiently YouTube compresses its videos. Go and try to youtube-dl a video.