Issues setting up Steam Family Sharing

Issues setting up Steam Family Sharing - Woman in Gray Sweater Sitting Beside Man in Brown Blazer

I am trying to enable Steam family sharing with my brother. We have followed what little documentation we could find and completed the following steps.

  1. I logged into his computer on my steam account
  2. Opened Settings
  3. Opened Family tab
  4. Pressed Authorize this computer
  5. Checked his account in the Authorized accounts section
  6. When I logged back into my account on my machine, it asked me to set up a pin for "family view"

I am wondering if we inadvertently toggled an option somewhere, because now when I log into my account on my machine, I can only access my Library at first. I can click on Steam in my system tray and nothing will happen. I have to right click the Steam icon in the system tray and select Library to bring Steam up, and it will not let me access anything but Library. I have to press on the Green/Red "Family View" icon in the top right and enter my pin to access everything else on my Steam. This seems backwards to me. Should my machine running Steam not act as "admin" and allow me normal functionality of Steam while his machine require the pin I created to access the other areas of Steam?



Best Answer

If you want to share games , you can log in into your account in your brother's PC and then start downloading a game and then pause the download. Then you can log in into your brother's account and start playing that game (or resuming the download) then steam asks you to send an e-mail to let that PC play your games. When you accept the e-mail , your brother can play your games in his PC and you don't need to set a PIN or Password for it.




Pictures about "Issues setting up Steam Family Sharing"

Issues setting up Steam Family Sharing - Woman Pouring Drink from a Glass Pitcher to a Drinking Glass
Issues setting up Steam Family Sharing - Family Having a Christmas Dinner Together
Issues setting up Steam Family Sharing - Family Celebrating Christmas Dinner



Why is family sharing not working on Steam?

Steam Family Sharing is a feature that allows multiple users to share the same account from different PCs, but it seems like it is sometimes not working. The first thing to do is to de-authorize and authorize the shared Steam library. In order to fix this issue, you can try and verify the integrity of Steam Files.

How long does it take for family sharing to work Steam?

In order to add a new authorization to Family Sharing after having reached the limit, users will have to cancel an existing link and then wait out the 90 day cooldown period. You will need to wait for the cooldown to expire before authorizing another machine.

How do I enable family sharing on Steam 2021?

Share your Steam game library
  • In the top left corner, click Steam.
  • Select Settings (on Windows) or Preferences (on Mac) from the drop-down menu.
  • Select Family in the side menu.
  • Click the box that says Authorize Library Sharing on this computer.


  • How do I set up family sharing on Steam?

    To do this, log into Steam on a friend or family member's PC, click the Steam menu and select Settings. In this window, click Family, and then tick the authorise Library sharing on this computer option. Finally, log out of your Steam account and let your friend or family member log into their own Steam account.



    How To Steam Family Sharing 2021




    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Nicole Michalou, Nicole Michalou, Nicole Michalou, Nicole Michalou