'Last Online' counter reset - why and how???

[mroowsou™]

Hello!
I have a question that's been puzzling me for a while already and I can't seem to sort this out.

WHY Steam shows I have been online if I do not login to my friends automatically?
Sometimes, I just like the quiet and no one bothering me and me gaming all alone in the dark corner of my room. And then people see that apparently I've been online when I haven't.
I'm not sure what is this, does this happen whenever I attempt to enter any online service in a game or does something else cause this?

Or when I login via web it resets my status as last online: now?
Would be great to know, thank you! :)

[mroowsou™]

No one, really :<
And just to make things clear - I do not start Steam in Offline Mode (so sorry for the misleading subject), I'm starting Steam with myself logged off from Friends.

[ReBoot]

If people see you as been online, I fail to see the problem. Or do they see you as currently online?

[eddiepc]

i think the "last online" thing in the friends list is bugged. for me it always says that all my friends were "last online 8 hours ago" or "last online 30 mins ago" like they all logged out at the same time.

[mroowsou™]

spoodge původně napsal:

i think the "last online" thing in the friends list is bugged. for me it always says that all my friends were "last online 8 hours ago" or "last online 30 mins ago" like they all logged out at the same time.

Yeah that's the thing I was wondering about.
Last night I logged in via web to Steam but I was Offline in my friends and it said on my profile that I last logged in 6 minutes ago, lol :x

ReBoot původně napsal:

If people see you as been online, I fail to see the problem. Or do they see you as currently online?

They see me as 'last logged in' pretty recently when I haven't come online in Friends tab for over 24 hours.

[ReBoot]

Well. Now the question is, what exactly is the problem.

[mroowsou™]

ReBoot původně napsal:

Well. Now the question is, what exactly is the problem.

1. Launch Steam with the option to 'Sign in to friends automatically' DISABLED.
2. Launch any title and play for couple of hours.
3. Attempt to enter any online features in the game. If not - ohwel.
4. Login to Steam via www.
5. Check your Profile's Status "Last Logged In: XXXX"

Result:
The Last Online status does the work all by itself regarding seeing you as last online.
If I want to be Offline for 152 days I won't be - because the status somehow updates by itself and resets the counter at various points of havnig Steam open.
So far, the most big occurence when this happens is when I'm launching a game, editing my profile or logging in via www to Steam.

I don't want the counter to reset. I was offline for 21hours, booted up some game, played for 10h, quit, did some other stuff and Steam showed I was offline for 6 minutes.

That is the problem, it resets when were you last online despite the fact that I haven't been online per se - at least not in the friends tab OR on www.
Steam runs online to sync achievements and cloud and all.
Friends tab runs offline because I want it to stay offline for as long as I want it to.

But the counter still resets, depending on user's actions.
Dear Valve, please fix or explain why does the counter reset, when it should not.

[ReBoot]

How exactly is that a problem?

[mroowsou™]

That is not of relevance here.
The last online status is bugged and I wondered what causes this :)

[Dapper_Kitty]

it's happening for me too. Every time my pc goes into sleep mode. When I wake it up it shows ALL my friends online, then they go offline and the timer resets back to 0.

[Ongjming]

.MeØw~ původně napsal:

ReBoot původně napsal:

Well. Now the question is, what exactly is the problem.

...
The Last Online status does the work all by itself regarding seeing you as last online.
If I want to be Offline for 152 days I won't be - because the status somehow updates by itself and resets the counter at various points of having Steam open.
So far, the most big occurence when this happens is when I'm launching a game, editing my profile or logging in via www to Steam.

I don't want the counter to reset. I was offline for 21hours, booted up some game, played for 10h, quit, did some other stuff and Steam showed I was offline for 6 minutes.

That is the problem...

Another Necro by the year, I searched by typing last online counter and this one came up at the top, so just to spread awareness, that it is still happening almost 2 years on after OP's first post.
When entering steam with default friend's list offline, it will show your last online as that single point of logging in, afterwhich (around say 2 to 5 seconds) you then enter the offline mode. I did not test it extensively like OP, this is just natural observation after seeing friends popping on and then gone when I refreshed the friend's list. I appear the same to them too when I login (with offline friend's list default).

[Chance]

Ongjming původně napsal:

Another Necro by the year, I searched by typing last online counter and this one came up at the top, so just to spread awareness, that it is still happening almost 2 years on after OP's first post.
When entering steam with default friend's list offline, it will show your last online as that single point of logging in, afterwhich (around say 2 to 5 seconds) you then enter the offline mode. I did not test it extensively like OP, this is just natural observation after seeing friends popping on and then gone when I refreshed the friend's list. I appear the same to them too when I login (with offline friend's list default).

Yes, it also happens when you quit steam or shutdown your computer. It's annoying.

[76561198264865939]

Can anybody tell if the issue has been fixed with the recent update on the GUI?

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Hoji původně napsal:

Can anybody tell if the issue has been fixed with the recent update on the GUI?

Connection loss is why it happens. There is no fix for that.

[Si-Fi]

Ever since the friends and chat overhaul, i've noticed in most instances, my status shows i've been offline partly due to being invisible but due to the usage of my phone, i'm technially always online so it makes a huge difference.

[Chance]

yes, it seems to be fixed now that they updated chat