How to Fix the Steam Remote Play Feature Not Working on Windows

Steam’s Remote Play is a useful feature for playing your favorite Steam titles from any modern handheld and other devices. You can use the Steam Link app on your phone or another computer to stream games that you have installed on your main computer.

While a useful feature, Steam Remote Play is unpredictable and can suddenly stop working. If the speed of your Internet connection is not an issue, your Steam client on Windows may be crashing. Here’s how to fix it.

What causes Steam Remote Play to stop working on Windows?

To fix the problem, check if you have properly configured Steam Remote Play on your host system. Also, make sure you have the latest version of Steam Link installed on your guest and host system. You can then proceed to check your firewall settings and more to fix the problem.

Here is how to do each step in detail.

1. Re-enable remote play on Steam

You can access the Remote Play feature in Steam from your Settings. To fix any temporary failure with the connection, try disabling and re-enabling Remote Play in Steam.

To disable Remote Play on Steam:

1. throw the Steam client and make sure you are not in family view.
2. Then click Steam in the upper left corner and select settings.
3. In it settings dialog box, open the remote playback tab in the left panel.
4. Uncheck the enable remote playback option and click OK to disable remote playback.
5. Then restart the Steam customer.
6. goto Settings > Remote Play and check the enable remote playback option.
7. Click OK to apply the changes.
8. Relaunch the Steam client and check if there are any improvements.

2. Unpair the guest Steam Link device

If the issue is with your guest device, try unbinding the device from your Steam client. You can then pair the device again to see if that helps you fix the problem.

To unpair your Remote Play device in Steam:

1. throw the Steam client on your PC.
2. Click on Steam and select settings.
3. In it settings dialog box, open the remote playback tab in the left panel.
4. Make sure that enable remote playback option is selected.
5. Next, select your remote device under Device Name and select Unpair devices.
6. Click OK to confirm the action and unpair your device.
7. Click OK to save changes and close Steam.
8. Then, to pair the device again, start the Steam Link app on your guest device.
9. Tap on Start to play to see the authorization code.
10. On your host machine, type the given PIN and click on OK to authorize the device.

3. Disable IPv6 for your network adapter

If your host system connection uses both IPv6 and IPv4 addresses, try disabling the latest version of the Internet Protocol to see if that helps resolve the issue.

To disable IPv6 for your connection:

1. Press Win + R open Rush.
2. Writes control and click OK to open the Control Panel.
3. Then click Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center.
4. In the left pane, click Change adapter settings to see your network adapters.
5. Right-click on your network connection (Ethernet/Wi-Fi) and select Properties.
6. In it Properties dialog box, scroll down and locate Internet Protocol version 6 (TCP/IPv6).
7. Uncheck the TCP/IPv6 option and click OK to save the changes.
8. Close Control Panel and check if Remote Play is working. If the problem persists, enable the IPv6 option in the connection properties and continue with the next steps.

4. Enable large image mode on your guest device

Big Picture Mode on Steam allows you to view your games in a full screen user interface. If you’re trying to use Remote Play on another computer or TV, enter Big Picture Mode and then start streaming. It is a tried and tested solution that seems to fix Remote Play issues.

To use large image mode on Steam:

1. throw the Steam customer.
2. Click big picture mode (full screen icon) in the upper right corner.
3. Steam will now display in full screen mode on your guest device. Browse the library and start streaming.
4. To exit large picture mode, press Alt+F4 on your keyboard.

This is not a permanent solution, but a practical solution. However, it should help you fix the problem temporarily.

5. Disable and configure your antivirus and firewall

Your antivirus or firewall may block genuine outgoing connections and cause Remote Play to stop working. You can temporarily disable your firewall to determine if it is blocking a port or program.

If you’re using a third-party antivirus, you probably have your own firewall. Open the antivirus app settings and disable the firewall option. If not, follow these steps to disable Windows Defender Firewall:

1. Press win + me open settings.
2. Open the Privacy & Security eyelash.
3. Then click Firewall and network protection.
4. Choose your active network in Firewall and network protection.
5. Move the switch down Microsoft Defender Firewall to turn it off.

Then try streaming using Remote Play to see if the connection goes through. If yes, then you will need to learn how to allow apps through Windows Defender Firewall. Be sure to re-enable your firewall, regardless of the outcome.

6. Enable Steam Overlay

Another solution to make Remote Play work is to enable Steam Overlay. This is an overlay that allows you to access Steam Community features while in-game.

Follow these steps to enable Steam Overlay:

1. throw the Steam client on your guest device.
2. Click on Steam in the upper right corner and select settings.
3. Then open the In the game tab in the left panel.
4. Here, check the Enable Steam Overlay while in-game option.
5. Then set the overlay hotkeys if you want. Otherwise, leave it as default.
6. Click OK to save the changes.
7. Next, launch the game you want to stream and then open steam overlay using the Shift + Tab key or your custom key.
8. The game should now stream smoothly on remote playback.

7. Disable hardware encryption

You can enable hardware encoding in Steam to improve streaming performance on your computer. While this is a useful feature, it can also cause problems with Remote Play. To fix the problem, try disabling hardware encoding to see if that helps resolve the error.

To disable hardware encryption on Steam:

1. Launch the Steam client on your PC.
2. Click on Steam and select settings.
3. In the left pane, open the remote playback eyelash.
4. Then click Advanced client options.
5. In the popup dialog, uncheck the Enable hardware encryption option.
6. Click OK to save the changes and disable hardware encryption.

8. Reinstall the Steam client

As a last resort, try uninstalling and reinstalling the Steam client to fix any issues that may be occurring due to issues with the client itself. You can reinstall the Steam client without deleting your existing games.

To uninstall the Steam client:

1. Quit Steam if it is running in the background.
2. Then press win + E to open File Explorer.
3. Then navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam and move the steamapps folder to a different directory.
4. Once this is done, press win + me open settings.
5. Then open the Applications eyelash.
6. Click on installed applications and search Steam.
7. Click on the three-dot menu next to the app name and click on uninstall.
8. Click Yes to confirm the action.
9. Click uninstall again and click Yes if prompted by UAC.
10. Then go to the steam download page and download the installer to install the app.
11. Once Steam is installed, move the steamapps folder return to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam so that the client can recognize your installed games.

Fix Remote Play and start streaming Steam games

An easy way to troubleshoot Remote Play is to install the Steam Link app on your guest and host system. If not, try to re-enable Remote Play or unpair your paired devices to fix the problem. Also, check your firewall and IPv4 settings to troubleshoot network related issues.