If you're a Virgin Media user experiencing "Steam needs to be online to update", try changing DNS servers

[andrewj720]

I've been trying to solve a "Steam needs to be online to update" which cropped up for me today, and that many others seem to have faced. I tried many marked solutions, but none were working for me.

These are the error messages in my user's Steam folder:

Verifying installation...
Unable to read and verify install manifest /home/username/.steam/debian-installation/package/steam_client_ubuntu12.installed
Verification complete
Downloading Update...
Checking for available update...
Downloading manifest: client-download.steampowered.com/client/steam_client_ubuntu12
failed to load manifest from buffer.
Failed to load manifest
Error: Download failed: http error 200
Error: Steam needs to be online to update.	 Please confirm your network connection and try again.
Shutdown

After much head-scratching I thought I should check my DNS settings. I turns out I'd forgotten to change my DNS server from the default Virgin Media servers to A.N.Other (I prefer to use Cloudflare). After changing DNS to Cloudflare (1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1) the problem was resolved and Steam continues through its start and update process.

If you need to know how to do that on Ubuntu 20.04 or any Linux distro using netplan (check /etc/netplan, to see if there is a .yaml file there for an indication), edit the yaml file in the /etc/netplan folder (mine is "01-network-manager-all.yaml") to look like:

# Let NetworkManager manage all devices on this system
network:
  version: 2
  renderer: NetworkManager
  ethernets:
       enp1s0:
          dhcp4: false
          addresses: [192.168.0.15/24]
          gateway4: 192.168.0.1
          nameservers:
             addresses: [1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1]

You'll need to change the network name, addresses, and gateway, in bold above, to match your own settings.

I hope this helps someone else, as I spent hours looking for a solution.

[Iceira]

maybe at linux group , most windows user dont have a server, all that is handle by router with NAT DHCP scope with DNS from ISP.

ps.
people with server , well most dont get a nice feedback then you make own mistake.
gl with it. ( i think its here normal user and other goes in diffrent reply on the subject. )
linux group will have more use for such msg. imo.

[Levi]

Google DNS is also worthwhile.

A lot of default ISP DNS get problematic.

[andrewj720]

Originally posted by Iceira:

maybe at linux group , most windows user dont have a server, all that is handle by router with NAT DHCP scope with DNS from ISP.

ps.
people with server , well most dont get a nice feedback then you make own mistake.
gl with it. ( i think its here normal user and other goes in diffrent reply on the subject. )
linux group will have more use for such msg. imo.

This advice is intended for desktop PC users - the OS is irrelevant.

There are many guides how to do this in Windows10; here's one: https://support.opendns.com/hc/en-us/articles/228007207-Windows-10-Configuration

It has nothing to do with running a server, and everything to do with desktop Steam client failing to start, with a "Steam needs to be online to update" error message and http error 200.