What to do When Steam Overlay not working – Steam Guides

Steam Overlay not working: Steam is one of the most famous gaming platform used by several users throughout the globe. It is known for offering exciting features and exceptional quality of services. One of such impeccable features is Steam Overlay. 

Using this feature can assist you to find the appropriate guides for the game, send messages, invite friends, reply to messages, and so many others. 

It allows the users to access the Steam within the game instead of changing the window. But nowadays, several users experience an issue where the Steam Overlay stops working and they are left with a dilemma, how to fix the issue?

There are various solutions for this issue depending on the software and hardware configuration of the system. We have listed down the simple hacks you can try in order to get rid of this issue. 

How to Fix Steam Overlay Not Working? [A Step-by-Step Guide]

You can perform the below described hacks in a descending order to mitigate the problem at the earliest. 

Fix 1: Disable and Re-enable the Steam Overlay

Let’s start with the simplest solution. First, you can disable the Steam Overlay and then re-enable it to get rid of this issue. Here are the steps you can perform: 

1. First and foremost, open the Steam application.
2. Go to the Steam tab and choose the Settings option from the list.
3. Click on the ‘In-game’ option by going to the left pane of the screen. 
4. Now, check the box that prompts ‘Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game’ and confirm the changes. 
5. Next, go to the Library tab. Here you will see a list that contains the name of the games that are installed on the system. 
6. Right-click on the particular game in which the Steam Overlay is not working and choose ‘Properties’ option from the list.  
7. Here you will get the same option that prompts ‘Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game’. Make sure that it is checked. 
8. Afterward, you can restart Steam and then try to start the game again. 

If you see that the issue is still there, then you can move on to further ways described below. why you are Facing a steam downloading slow issue ?Fixed

Fix 2: Running as an Administrator

This problem may arise if the program doesn’t have admin access. In most of the systems, this is the default option for installing the Steam program. 

Here you will learn the steps through which you can go to the executable files to give them admin access. 

Step 1: 

Launch the Steam directory. To open this, you can go to the location “C:\Program Files (x86)\ Steam”. It is the default location of all the newly installed programs. Else, you can go to the folder if you save it in another directory.   

Step 2: 

Search for the ‘Steam.exe’ file. Right-click on this file and click on the ‘Properties’ option from the list. Navigate to the Compatibility tab. 

At the bottom of the Compatibility tab, you will see the ‘Run this program as an administrator’ box. Make sure that it is checked. Afterward, click on the Apply button and then the OK button to save the changes. 

Step 3: 

Afterward, search for the ‘GameOverlayUI.ece’ file and right-click on it. Choose the ‘Properties’ option from the list. Navigate to the Compatibility tab. 

Now, make sure that the ‘Run this program as an administrator’ box is ticked. Now, tap on the Apply button and then the OK button to apply the changes. 

Afterward, you can exit from the Steam. Restart Steam to check if the Steam Overlay is started to work normally. Otherwise, continue with the next solution described below.

Fix 3: End the Steam Overlay Process

If there are any corruption issues with the Steam Overlay, then it can lead to an abrupt problem. You can end this process by forcing it to perform a restart. 

How to End the Steam Overlay Process? 

• First of all, run a game on Steam. 
• Afterward, hit the Esc, Shift, and Ctrl key simultaneously from the keyboard to launch the Task Manager. 
• Navigate to the Details tab and right-click on the ‘GameOverlayUI.exe’ option. 
• Choose the ‘End task’ option from the list. As a result, it will close the Steam Overlay process. After a few seconds, it will restart the process automatically. 
• Exit from the Task Manager and go back to the game. 

Now, the Steam Overlay will start to run. But if it does not, then you need to disable the third-party applications that are installed on your computer. 

Fix 4: Disable the Third-party Application

If the third-party application conflicts with the Steam program, then it can lead to this issue. The primary cause behind this problem is these apps which require control of the system overlay while running. 

Hence, the system overlay is shared by the third-party apps and by the game as well. Therefore, when other Steam Overlay tries to access it, it is denied. So, it’s better to disable such third-party apps and then try to open the Steam Overlay again while playing any game. 

How to Disable the Third-party Apps? 

1. Hit the R and Win key both at the same time from the keyboard to launch the Run Dialog box.
2. Then, type “taskmgr” in the Run box and hit the Enter key from the keyboard. (Else, you can also tap on the OK button to proceed). 
3. It will open a list of all the processes. Select all the third-party apps that are currently running on the system. Right-click on them and choose the ‘Close’ option from the list. 

Afterward, launch the Steam again to check if the Steam Overlay starts to work. Else, you can go to the next solution provided below. 

Fix 5: Check the Library Files and Local Game Files

Sometimes, the game files may be damaged or if the files are missing, then you can also face this issue. This error also may arise due to the misconfiguration of library files. Hence, you can check the local game files and the library files to get rid of this issue. 

Here’s how to do this: 

Step 1: 

First and foremost, launch the Steam client and navigate to the Library tab. Now, you will see all the installed games are listed here. Choose that game in which the Steam Overlay failed to work. 

Step 2:

Afterward, right-click on the problematic game and choose the ‘Properties’ option from the list. Go to the Local Files tab and tap on the ‘Verify Integrity of Game Files’ option. Now, it will start to verify all the files present there. 

If it detects any file is corrupted or missing, then it will download that again or replace them with the older one. 

Step 3: 

Now, tap on the Steam. Thereafter, click on the Settings (gear-shaped) icon to open the Settings. Next, go to the Downloads tab. Here, you will see the box that prompts ‘Steam Library Folders’, click on it.

Now, you will see all the Steam content information are listed here. Right-click on them and choose the ‘Repair Library Files’ option from the list. 

At last, restart the Steam and then open it with administrator privileges by following the procedure mentioned above. Now, you can check if the issue is resolved.     

Concluding Remarks 

These are the probable solution that can help you to fix the “Steam Overlay not working” state. Hopefully, the hacks will help you to get rid of this issue. Additionally, you can share your valuable feedback in the comment section given at the end of this post.