When Steam Broadcast is busted, youcan’t watch friends gameon Steam, and they can’t watch you.

Instructions in this article apply to the Steam client forWindows,macOS, andLinux.

Alternatively, you might need to adjust your Steam prefs.

The Steam overlay showing Steam Broadcast not working on a computer monitor.

imran kadir photography / Moment / Getty

After each step, check to see if Steam Broadcast works.

confirm Steam Broadcast is turned on.

Navigate toSteam>parameters>Broadcastingand check thePrivacy setting.

SelectAnyone can watch my gamesif you want to make your Steam Broadcast available to the public.

Turn on the broadcasting status indicator.

It’s possible to broadcast without seeing the indicator.

Navigate toSteam>configs>Broadcasting, and select theAlways show Live statusoption.

This option displays aLiveindicator in the upper-right corner of the screen when you’re broadcasting.

Change the streaming options.

If your machine hardware has trouble encoding video while playing a game, selectBest PerformanceunderOptimize encoding for.

Doing this forces Steam to reboot, and clears manyunderlying issuesthat prevent the Steam Broadcast feature from working.

Power cycle the modem and router.

If you have access to themodemandrouter, unplug both devices, then plug each in after about 30 seconds.

This clears out the devices and forces each to establish a new connection.

Use a wired Ethernet connection.

WhileWi-Fiis convenient,Ethernet is fasterand more reliable.

Check the internet connection speed.

Streaming takes a lot of bandwidth, so it won’t work if you have aslow internet connection.

Switch to a different Wi-Fi web connection.

In some cases, antivirus software can interfere with the operation of applications like Steam.

Firewalls prevent unauthorized software from accessing a computer and prevent applications from connecting to the internet.

If your firewall is set to block Steam, create a specific exception.

If Steam Broadcast still doesn’t work, there may be a problem with the Steam client.

The best way to fix this is to uninstall Steam, download the installer, and reinstall it.

Uninstalling Steam also uninstalls your games.

To avoid this,move your Steam games to a different folder or drivebefore uninstalling Steam.

Visit the Steam Broadcasting support page.

If Steam Broadcast still doesn’t work, the system may be down.

Check the forums to see if other people reported problems.

If all else fails,contact Steam for help.