Cloud synch re-enabling itself (repeatedly) after being disabled

[KonekoKagai]

I've already submitted this to support itself. As they pointed out, posting about the problem here could help them get an idea of how many people are having the same problem (or at least help others know they're not alone with having the problem). They've also said they don't currently HAVE a fix for this problem.

As it says on the label, I keep disabling Cloud synch - which I really wish was opt-in rather than opt-out - and it keeps re-enabling itself. My best guess is that some Steam updates are resetting that decision without my consent, but I have no real way to pinpoint it since I usually play offline.

I keep finding out the hard way that it's happened - since it doesn't tell me when it's turning it back on - when I do go online with Steam and my saves end up mangled or outright broken (the most recent time corrupted my quick and auto saves in Skyrim, for example). There wasn't even a file conflict window to ask about if I wanted to overwrite...and I've only ever gotten that screen once, despite the multiple instances across multiple games.

[KonekoKagai]

In case anyone has ideas for fixes or improvements, I've also posted in Suggestions/Ideas here: https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/1850323802572279660/

[Si-Fi]

There is an option to disable it globally which i assume thats the path you went but there is also an option to disable it in every properties menu of all the games that support it.

I haven't been able to replicate the issue although what i explained can be experimented with to get a temporary result until Valve has come to a conclusion.

[KonekoKagai]

Si-Fi - I've done both, disabling it for each game, as well as disabling it globally. Both have reset themselves. Repeatedly.

[Si-Fi]

Just do yourself a favor for now and make a backup of the Steam\userdata folder so in anticipation of a file overwrite, you can avoid losing your save files even at their current stage.

[KonekoKagai]

...that doesn't solve the problem, and I shouldn't have to do that obsessively to avoid damage from something that shouldn't be happening at all.

[Si-Fi]

Originally posted by KonekoKagai:

...that doesn't solve the problem, and I shouldn't have to do that obsessively to avoid damage from something that shouldn't be happening at all.

I understand it does not solve a problem although it is only considered as a temporary solution until Valve can come to an amicable conclusion especially when a issue doesn'f effect all but some users.

[KonekoKagai]

Fair, but - at least for me - it's easier to just keep playing my games offline, since I don't have to do anything special when Steam's not *able* to connect to the Cloud if it becomes so-inclined.

For others with this problem that play online more often, or have more frequent cause to have Steam online generally, that's likely a helpful tip. Also something for me to keep in mind in advance of my letting Steam BE online again in the future.

[Si-Fi]

Originally posted by KonekoKagai:

Fair, but - at least for me - it's easier to just keep playing my games offline, since I don't have to do anything special when Steam's not *able* to connect to the Cloud if it becomes so-inclined.

For others with this problem that play online more often, or have more frequent cause to have Steam online generally, that's likely a helpful tip. Also some thing for me to keep in mind in advance of my letting Steam BE online again in the future.

Hopefully it can be solved.

[Wayrest]

I've had the same problem since upgrading Windows 10 to 20H2 last month, though maybe that was just coincidence. I use offline mode almost exclusively in Windows. For me the setting changes not only when I start Steam but also during a session, though not every time Also, the 'start page' under settings -> interface keeps changing from Library to Store. Other settings could be changing but I haven't noticed because there's no visible impact.

Like the OP I opened a support ticket and one of their suggestions was that I post the issue on the forums. They can't reproduce the problem and don't have a solution.

Anyway, unless there are other threads on this it looks as though only 2 of us have the problem =/

[Muppet among Puppets]

Did you tell them it started with 10 20h2?

[Wayrest]

Hi Muppet among Puppets. Yes, I did.

There are more subsequent messages, but the first one was:

"A few days ago I upgraded from Windows 10 1909 to 2004. I had problems with slow booting so I followed a series of fixes that lead to me removing non-essential start-up programs. The only non-essential was from Steam, so I removed it. This cured the slow booting. When I ran Steam I immediately got a pop-up telling me that the Steam service needed repair. I was offline so I pressed cancel and Steam continued as normal in offline mode.

It continued like this using offline mode, sometimes giving me the "Steam service needs maintenance" pop-up at odd times. Then I went online to download a game. When it finished - after about 1.5 hours iirc - I tried to restart Steam in offline mode but was told it was syncing data, please wait. I also noticed then that my router was being spammed with data transfer. I had never used cloud synchronisation so hadn't enabled it myself, but in settings it was now enabled. I disabled it but Steam still didn't want to shut down until it had finished syncing. I waited a while but then had to re-boot into Linux to get on with some work.

Now, every time I run Steam, cloud sync is enabled. I disable it and it's re-enabled next time Steam is launched. I let the Steam service 'repair' itself, though nothing obvious happened. I rely solely on locally-saved files and am worried after seeing that these can be damaged by cloud synchronisation."

[Muppet among Puppets]

Just set steam to not start with pc.
Dont remove that manually.

[Wayrest]

Sorry, "so I removed it" was confusing. I only removed it from startup, not completely.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Do the setting with steam.

[Jonius7]

Originally posted by Wayrest:

Also, the 'start page' under settings -> interface keeps changing from Library to Store. Other settings could be changing but I haven't noticed because there's no visible impact.

I find that this setting won't save, unless Steam exits cleanly (eg: using the Exit option in menu).