Steam Verification Code Not Received? 8 Fixes That Work

Steam code not arriving? Steam Guard codes come by email or in the Steam Mobile app, not by text. Check the right place, then try these 8 fixes.

Most Steam codes are Steam Guard codes. They come by email or appear in the Steam Mobile app, depending on how your account is set up. Text messages are only used when you add a phone number or recover the account. Knowing which one Steam expects solves most missing-code problems.

Check these first (30 seconds)

• Email or app. If you use the Steam Mobile app, the code is in the app. Otherwise it is in your email.
• Spam folder. Steam emails come from steampowered.com and can land in spam or promotions.
• Which email. The code goes to the email on the Steam account, which may be an old address.
• Text codes. A text only comes when you add or change a phone number or recover the account.

What Steam's message means

8 fixes, in order

1. Look in the right place. Email or the Steam Mobile app; the login screen tells you which.
2. Search your email. Search for "Steam" in all folders, including spam and promotions.
3. Add Steam to safe senders. Mark [email protected] as not spam.
4. Check the time on your phone. App codes depend on the clock; set the phone to automatic time.
5. Resend the text once. When adding a phone number, wait and ask once for a new code.
6. Use your recovery code. The R-code you saved when you added the authenticator removes it.
7. Wait out a limit. After "too many attempts", wait a few hours.
8. Contact Steam Support. Use help.steampowered.com if you lost the email or phone.

When Steam needs a phone number

A phone number is needed for the Steam Mobile Authenticator and is used for account recovery. Steam may refuse some numbers, including internet-based (VoIP) ones.

Without the mobile authenticator, trades and Market listings can be held for several days, which is why many players add a number.

When your own number just won't work

If Steam refuses your number or the text never arrives, a different mobile number can work.

In that case a non-VoIP number is the practical fix. These are real mobile-carrier numbers, which is what Steam expects. On SMS Pin Verify you can pick a USA number for Steam and the code appears on screen in your account:

• One-time number: held for you for 15 minutes to receive one code. If no code arrives, you are not charged. Good for a single sign-up.
• Rental number: the same number for several days or longer. Pick a rental, because the number stays on the account for recovery and the mobile authenticator.

Two honest limits: a code is never guaranteed, because Steam decides whether to send it; and a number may have been used on Steam before you, so start a fresh account rather than trying to recover an old one.

Keep your account after you get in

• Use the Steam Mobile Authenticator and save the recovery code.
• Keep your account email current and secure.
• Keep a phone number you control on the account.
• Never share Steam Guard codes. Friends asking you to "verify" with a code are scammers.

FAQ

Why am I not getting my Steam Guard code?

It is in your email (check spam) or in the Steam Mobile app, depending on your setting.

Does Steam send codes by text?

Only when you add a phone number or recover the account.

Does Steam accept VoIP numbers?

Steam may refuse internet-based numbers; a mobile number works more often.

What if I lost my phone with the authenticator?

Use the recovery code, or Steam Support's recovery steps.

Related: when Steam needs a phone number · Discord code not received.

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