Steam Cloud Unable to Sync All Games [Causes & Fixes]

Larissa updated on Nov 25, 2024 to Backup and Recovery | How-to Articles

If the Steam cloud unable to sync all games to the cloud, you can potentially lose the game progress. The articles provide solutions to fix Steam Cloud sync errors and introduce a backup tool to protect your game progress on Steam.

If your Steam is throwing the "Steam Cloud Sync error," you should be careful. If you click "Launch anyway," you will lose the game progress since the last sync. The Steam Cloud sync error is primarily due to server-related issues. So, close the game and wait a few hours to see if the error is resolved. If that doesn't solve the problem, let's see how to fix the Steam Cloud unable to sync all games issue.

An Overview of Steam Cloud

Steam is a game hosting platform for game creators. It helps distribute games and servers for gamers on the Steam cloud. Game developers leverage the Cloud to store data, settings, and saved game files. 

Additionally, Steam helps developers maintain and update the game. The cloud facility improves accessibility and login details. Users must log in and play any game from the same level they left off.

Apart from the server-related issues, the Steam issue occurs when a single Steam account is used across multiple devices. Playing games on various devices using the same account leads to a sync error due to discrepancies. 

Another possible culprit for Steam cloud errors is corrupt data, config, and files. If you have harmful files, they may cause the server to malfunction. Even if you choose "Launch Anyway", it does not help in sync. Since the synchronization is off, the software only keeps the data from the last sync, and any progress made without sync is discarded.

🚀Warm Tip
As you can see above, Steam may suffer various issues while syncing game files to the Cloud. If you want a safer and more reliable way to save your game data to Cloud or other locations, EaseUS Todo Backup is an excellent way to do it. It is a professional backup and sync tool that allows you to back up all Steam game saves to the Cloud(OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc), local drives, external drives, NAS, etc. It will keep your game data safe and sound. When required, you can restore the backups easily with simple clicks, and it also supports backing up Steam Cloud saves easily. We will tell you how to back up game saves with it in the following part

Solutions to Fix Steam Unable to Sync All Games to Cloud 

Now, let us see what we can do to fix the Steam cloud sync error. 

Fix 1. Restart Steam and Retry Synchronization

If the Steam cloud is unable to sync all the games, restart Steam. Server-related issues with Steam are quite common; if the error is from their end, it may be resolved. You can also head to Take Manage, terminate Steam-related processes, and relaunch the app.

If that didn't stop us from synchronizing the games to the Steam cloud, let us manually enable the Steam cloud synchronization. 

Step 1. Open Stream software. Now, click on Steam at the top-left to open the Steam menu. 

Step 2. Click on Settings and select Cloud from the left panel.

Step 3. Check the Enable Steam Cloud synchronization check for applications that support it option and click OK.

This works if you have manually disabled the cloud sync or if it malfunctions. But if you face sync errors on some games, they do not support Steam cloud sync. If you face sync issues for individual games, try the following steps.

Step 1. Launch Steam and open the game you are having sync issues with. Find the Cloud Status option beside the Play button, and click Out of sync.

Step 2. Click on Retry Sync, and wait for the cloud status to change to Up to date.

Fix 2. Verify the Integrity of Game Files

Cloud sync issues can also occur due to corrupted game files while updating or uploading. If so, Steam cannot sync the game save files to the Cloud. Fortunately, Steam offers a function to verify the game files for erroneous games. This feature replaces all the corrupted files with original files, resolving the issue. Find out how to run this function to check the game file's integrity.

Step 1. Open Steam and navigate to the Library section.

Step 2. Select the Games tab and right-click on the game whose files cannot be synced to the Cloud.

Step 3. From the left pane, select Properties and click Local Files or Installed Files.

Step 4. Press the Verify integrity of game files option and let the software check for file integrity. Once the process is complete, try to play the game to see if sync works. 

📚You may be interested: How to Backup Steam Games to Another Computer

Fix 3. Repair Steam Library Folder

All of the downloaded data from games and saved files are stored in the Steam Library folder. If the folder is corrupted, it gets really difficult for Steam to sync the files to the Cloud, resulting in a Steam cloud sync error.

Steam has built-in repair features to fix corrupted files in the library folder. Let's see how to run the feature.

Step 1. Open the Steam client.

Step 2. Navigate to Steam > Settings > Storage.

Step 3. Click on the three dots next to the storage graph and click Repair Library Folder.

Step 4. Click Yes if any prompt appears and wait for the process to complete before clicking the close button.

Is the post helpful? Share it on your social platforms to help other players solve the issue effectively.

 

Fix 4. Run Steam as an Administrator

Insufficient admin rights may halt an application's functions. If Steam cannot sync data properly because of admin privileges, we should run Steam as an administrator.

Search for the Steam app on your PC and select Run as administrator instead of directly opening it.

Fix 5. Check and Enable Network Connection

If none of the above solutions were able to sync files on the Steam cloud, the issue may not be with Steam. Some users reported that the reason could be related to how the Steam Client handles IPv6 to IPv4 fallback. If the fallback fails, the Steam cloud sync does not work.

If you are still getting the Steam cloud sync errors even after trying all the fixes, you should try to disable the IPv6 protocol. Find the steps below:

Step 1. Open the Control Panel, and change the View By to Category.

Step 2. Navigate to Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter Settings.

Step 3. From the Network Connections, right-click on your network connection and select Properties.

Step 4. Uncheck the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) connection and press OK to save changes. 

Restart the computer and try using Steam to see if the cloud sync error disappears.

Is the post helpful? Share it on your social platforms to help other players solve the issue effectively.

 

Safer Way to Save Steam Game Files to Cloud

If the Steam Cloud is unable to sync all game files, you may lose your game progress. Even if you clear levels, you cannot save the data due to sync issues. To deal with this scenario, you should back up all your game save data. With EaseUS Todo Backup, the game saves backup, and syncs are just a click away. 

With backup solutions like incremental and differential backups, you can automate the backup and sync for your Steam games. EaseUS offers multiple storage locations for game saves, such as cloud options, hard drives, and networks. Download EaseUS Todo Backup and back up all your Steam game data.

Step 1. Start game data backup by clicking "Create Backup" and then clicking "Apps data".

Step 2. Once navigate to the apps data backup section, you can find the Game Saves section. Locate the game that you want to back up and select the game saves and configuration and click "OK".

Step 3. Next you need to choose a backup location to store the game data saves, which you can use both internal or external drives to keep the backup, but for security reason, we highly recommend keep one more backup copy on EaseUS cloud or NAS devices.

Final Words

The Steam servers can be erroneous due to the load they must manage while hosting thousands of games. If the issue persists, the fixes above will solve the Steam Cloud inability to sync all games issues. Meanwhile, you can use EaseUS Todo Backup to back up all your game save data in case Steam cannot save your game progress. Additionally, you can backup files, folders, and hard drives for complete data security with Todo Backup.

FAQs About Steam Cloud Unable to Sync All Games

1. How do I force Steam games to cloud sync?

To force the Steam Games to cloud sync, you must manually enable the synchronization. Open Steam, and go to Settings. From the cloud options, allow the Steam Cloud sync. 

2. How do I reset my Steam Cloud for games?

The first step to reset the Steam Cloud is to disable the synchronization. Later, find the local files for each game and delete them to clean your Steam Cloud.

3. How do I restore my Steam Cloud Progress?

If you have stored game progress on Steam Cloud, you can restore it with Steam Cloud itself. Visit Steam Cloud and log into your account. Find the list of games stored in the Steam cloud, click Show files, and download them.