Steam Service Error, The Steam Service error requires some maintenance

Several users have reported that they are unable to launch Steam on their Windows computers. When doing the same, they encountered Steam Service Error, The Steam Service error requires some maintenance.  Following is the exact error message you may have seen when this error appears.

Steam Service Error
The Steam Service on your machine requires some maintenance.
This service helps Steam install or update games, enables anti-cheat detection in some titles and assists with other system level tasks.
Reinstalling the Steam service required administrator privileges.

In this post, we will find a remedy to this solution.

Fix Steam Service Error, The Steam Service error requires some maintenance

If you encountered Steam Service Error, The Steam Service error requires some maintenance, follow the solutions to resolve the issue.

1. Reboot Steam
2. Click on the INSTALL SERVICE button
3. Check Steam Client Service Status
4. Run Steam as an administrator
5. Allow Steam through antivirus or Windows Firewall
6. Repair Steam Client App
7. Reinstall Steam Client App

Let us talk about them in detail.

1] Reboot Steam

The first thing you should do upon receiving this error message is to click on the close button of the dialog box, close Steam entirely, which includes opening Task Manager and end all the related tasks, and then restart Steam. This will allow Steam to inspect all its services, and if one of them was closed the last time it launched, it will open this time.

2] Click on the INSTALL SERVICE button

If, after rebooting Steam, you still received the same error message, click on the INSTALL SERVICE button and allow Steam to install all services again. It may take a little time, but once the services are reinstalled, open the app and check if the issue is resolved. Hopefully, this will do the trick for you.

3] Check Steam Client Service Status

You need to make sure that the Steam Client Status is enabled and working. The service should be enabled and the Startup type must be set to Automatic. This service is used by Steam to load some of its features. In order to check and enable the service, follow the prescribed steps.

1. Open the Services app from the Start Menu.
2. Look for the Steam Client Service from the list.
3. Right-click on the service and click Edit.
4. Change the Startup type to Automatic and click on the Start button.

After making the adjustments, open Steam, and when asked to install services, do that and see if the issue is resolved. Hopefully, this will do the trick for you.

4] Run Steam as an administrator

Next up, let us launch Steam as an administrator and install the missing services. To do the same, right-click on the Steam client app and select Run as administrator. You will see a UAC prompt, click Yes to continue. If this worked and you want Steam to always open with administrative privileges, follow the prescribed steps.

1. Right-click on Steam and select Properties.
2. Go to the Compatibility tab and tick Run this program as an administrator.
3. Click Apply > Ok.

Hopefully, your issue will be resolved pretty easily.

5] Allow Steam through antivirus or Windows Firewall

There are instances reported when Steam services are stopped by a third-party antivirus. Maybe that’s what’s happening in your case as well. We won’t recommend you disable the antivirus or firewall as that will make your computer vulnerable to attacks. What you can do instead is allow the Steam Client through Firewall or whitelist it in the antivirus. Hopefully, that will do the trick for you.

6] Repair Steam Client App

You will encounter this error message if the Steam Client app on your system is corrupted. You can very easily repair the Steam Client app using a cmd command. In this solution, we are going to do the same, follow the prescribed steps to repair the Steam Client app.

1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Paste the following command.

   "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe” /repair

3. Hit Enter.

After the command is executed, you will see Steam Client Service “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam” repair completed message.

Note: If you have installed Steam in a custom location, go there and copy the path of the SteamService.exe file.

7] Reinstall Steam Client App

If the Steam App is not repaired after running the command mentioned above, your last resort is to uninstall the app completely and then reinstall it. Reinstalling the app will allow Steam to install the services that it lacks; we are also going to install the app with administrative privileges. However, first of all, uninstall Steam from your device.

1. Open Windows Settings.
2. Navigate to Apps > Apps & features.
3. Look for “Steam”.
   • Windows 11: Click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.
   • Windows 10: Click on the app and select Uninstall.
4. Click on the Uninstall button to confirm your actions.

Once you have uninstalled the app, go to store.steampowered.com and click on the Install Service button. Go to the Download folder, right-click on the Steam installation package and click on Run as administrator. Hopefully, this time, all services will be installed.

That’s it!

Read: Fix Steam Missing File Privileges error on Windows PC

How do I fix Steam installation service?

To fix Steam installation Service, you need to run the repair command. To do the same, scroll up and read the sixth solution. We have mentioned a command that when you run in the elevated mode Command Prompt will repair the app. If the issue still persists, execute some other solutions mentioned in this post.

Why is my Steam client not working?

There could be several reasons why your Steam client is not working. If Steam won’t go online and just stays in the offline mode, you should first check if your Internet is working. You can pull out some other app that works online, and if they are connecting to the Internet, there is something wrong with it. If the Internet was not the cause, check our guide on what to do when Steam won’t go online.

Also Read: Fix Steam needs to be online to update error on Windows PC.