STEAM wont work when I have my VPN enabled. Is this normal?

[Smelvis_Deathly]

i dont know if this is the right forum for this? im fairly new to steam and ive been having a really frustrating problem, STEAM wont load while my VPN is active, it just gives me an Error code and i have to disable my VPN to access STEAM's servers, i can play the games in my library, but im not connected to STEAM unless i sacrifice my network's security and disable my VPN? is there a way to make all of these things live together in my computer harmoniously? ie how the heck do i make STEAM not trip out when i use NORD VPN? again, im sorry if this is the wrong forum, i just wondered if anybody else has this issue and if there are any remedies, and if not, maybe there could be?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

First can I ask, what country are you really in and what country do you have Nord set to? As that is usually why Steam won't load or work properly

[[☥] - CJ -]

Unless you are in a country where VPNs are a Must for certain reasons turning off the VPN to access Steam should not be that big of an issue.

Steam blocks these type of things for a reason, best thing you could do is contact Steam support, they would know a lot more than us about it.

[Smelvis_Deathly]

@Bad Motha, im currently in the USA and have it set to USA.

@CJ, that makes sense, thank you. I'm fairly new to modern PC gaming as I just upgraded from console, so I'm still learning as I go. Generally if I disable my VPN and log in to STEAM, and then re-activate my VPN then things are fine for the most part. But I was questioning the necessity and practicality of using my VPN while gaming on STEAM if its such a pain in the ass and seems to cause more issues than it fixes? I have an issue with a potential stalker that is quite computer savvy.. So I'm just trying to keep everything secure, but not have to basically hide, and not game, just because some weirdo is weird? I just don't know a ton about network security so my instincts tell me to build a f-$%&#&-g "fortress" around my computer, so to speak..

[Bad 💀 Motha]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/73iop4/usage_of_vpn_is_not_strictly_prohibited/

[Aliquis Freedom & Ethnopluralism]

Originally posted by ☥ - CJ -:

Unless you are in a country where VPNs are a Must for certain reasons turning off the VPN to access Steam should not be that big of an issue.

Steam blocks these type of things for a reason, best thing you could do is contact Steam support, they would know a lot more than us about it.

You may run other applications where you want them on or just have Steam running while having your browser open or while watching videos or whatever.

There may be some software or hardware which let you choose outgoing network per application I guess.

[Supafly]

Complaint to Nord and ask them when they will implement split tunnelling. That way you could have Steam not use the VPN. Everytime I've asked nord they always say they'd consider it if enough people want it.

Personally I've never had a issue with Nord or any other VPN provided it's set to my country, uk. As your US set it to your state to see if that helps. Could also contact Nord support and see if one of their live chat agents can help. At the very least it'll give them something to investigate.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

I live in US and have tried Nord set it
to UK and AU and it works fine. Just do not do any checking out in Steam store while on VPN. Dont even add items to cart because the price might be wrong due to detected region.

[Smelvis_Deathly]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

I live in US and have tried Nord set it
to UK and AU and it works fine. Just do not do any checking out in Steam store while on VPN. Dont even add items to cart because the price might be wrong due to detected region.

thank you for that advice, ill definitely keep that in mind.. i didnt even consider that initially and ive bought quite a few games on steam while my VPN was active, it was always set to my are more or less though, so i should be good. but i will be a bit more mindful of that.

[Smelvis_Deathly]

thank you guys for your help, i appreciate all the feedback as im kinda new to this, and i just want to be smart about things, but not to go overboard and take unnecessary security measures that will end up causing more harm than good for me, thanks everybody.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

It should never be an issue if where you are located and where you have the VPN set to are the same country. But if these differ, then never attempt to purchase anything on steam, period.

If you have problems further with Steam or other game client while VPN is enabled, I would cancel Nord and look for another good VPN that allows dual tunneling as this will allow you to set certain apps to never use the vpn connection/routing and thus avoid issues with specific apps, such as a game client for example.