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Steam support mail. Steam technical support: how to contact, where to write

A huge number of users are aware of the popular Steam playground. Here you can find a lot of famous PC games and game consoles. You can play free games, or you can use paid ones. Free products have shops that sell items for heroes, interface design, and more. Quite often, users have various questions, in such cases Steam support comes to the rescue. The reasons for contacting specialists may be different. In today's post, we'll take a closer look at the Steam support department and learn how to use it.

Can I contact the Steam department without registration?

If you are a regular user of the service, then by default you can use the support service, you do not need to register specifically for this. As soon as a person has an account on the site on Steam, he automatically gets the right to contact the technical department, ask questions of interest.

The registration process is simple here. First of all, you download the platform launcher, it weighs only about two megabytes. After that, activate the download and installation of the entire application from it, which should then be launched. Next, select the registration point and enter the required information. Once your account has been verified by email, you can start using it.

Steam support

If you need to ask something, or write something to specialists, just find the button "Contact support" in the open program. You can also follow these links: https://support.steampowered.com or https://help.steampowered.com/ru/... The system itself will offer to choose the topic of the appeal, to clarify the data on the issue with which there are difficulties. Here it is necessary to enter the information correctly so that the technical support representatives can immediately process them and answer you correctly.

There is also a special field where you explain your problem in detail and clearly, it is best to attach, if possible, purchase receipts, screenshots.

Where to write?

In order to quickly get the correct answer to your question, you should log in to the resource, find the "Support" item and enter the information into the proposed form. There you indicate a topic, select a product and a category with a problem of interest. In the field "Your question" enter the details of what happened and ask for specific help.

The instruction is simple, but it should be noted that some beginners cannot use the option - first they will need to spend at least $ 5 in their account.

How to contact by phone or Skype?

In the interface of the site, mobile numbers or Skype address are not indicated. Most likely, there is simply no such opportunity. Maybe there are some American phone numbers where you can call, but you will have to speak English.

Support groups and communities Steam

Today, each major service has its own page on social networks. Steam is no exception - there is an official group even in In contact with... Before contacting here, you need to correctly compose a message and send it to one of the addresses indicated on the admin page. You can also describe the problem in some open thread of user discussions, often administrators drop in here too.

How long to wait for an answer?

If you sent everything, how long to wait for a response? Russian support for Steam can be called extremely unpredictable, one cannot even say an approximate timeframe. You may be answered in twenty minutes, or it may take several days. Everything will depend on the priority of your appeal, the correctness of the compilation and the urgency of the problem.

When does Steam support return items?

If you have become a victim of circumstances and lost items in your game account, you can hope to get them back. But only in some cases:

You were deceived. If you have taken possession of your items by fraudulent means, you must promptly contact Steam's technical support and tell about everything, confirm what happened with a screen or some other fact. If the moderators believe and check, then things will be returned, and the fraudster is blocked.
There was no payment. If a gamer had to pay for something in order to get access to additional content, after a delay in payment, its functionality will be cut. In this case, you will have to pay faster for the game and everything will be fine.
Hacking a profile. When a person's account is hacked, he appeals to support Steam. After that, it will certainly be restored, all the things stored there will be returned.

A huge number of scammers try to lure free items from Steam admins every day, telling stories of theft and deception. Naturally, they are immediately "bit by", but they do not get what they want. In addition, if something was really stolen from the profile, but there is no evidence of this, attempts to return may not lead to anything.

All about VAC protection

VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) is a proprietary development of the company, which was invented to combat dishonest players on Steam. The protection was announced in 2002 and is regularly updated. If a person cheats in a game with VAC protection, then they will definitely be found, and the profile will be permanently blocked. The owners of the service are very strict about scammers. If there is even a slight suspicion that the account is being banned without the possibility of recovery.

This is how Steam support works. So if problems arise, feel free to contact the specialists. They will definitely help you solve everything.

In the event of insoluble problems with the operation of a Steam account or games purchased through this service, many users prefer not to waste time searching for information on the Internet, but immediately contact the technical support service. This is primarily due to the theft of accounts, items and other situations in which a number of actions should be taken immediately. In this article, we'll show you an affordable way to contact Steam support.

It used to be much easier to write a letter to the specialists of this service than it is now. In recent years, the service has significantly revised its help section, and now, instead of the available buttons, it is suggested to first read a number of information that can help in fixing the problem. However, from time to time this is not enough, and users decide to personally contact support by sending them an email. Let's consider the available ways of addressing.

Method 1: Login to your account is possible

When you have the opportunity to log into your profile, it significantly improves the situation and facilitates the further way of contacting Steam representatives.

Steam client

Using the program running on your PC, you can easily get access to all sections of the service's help, where, among other things, you can start a correspondence with the support service.

The text of the question need not be translated into English, since the company also has representatives of Russian-speaking support. However, according to the statements of some users, the Russian-speaking department processes requests more slowly.

Browser

If you need to access through a web browser (for example, in situations where the client cannot be launched), all actions will be exactly the same, with a few exceptions. To go to support, you need to go to any Steam page and click on "Support".

A page similar to the one that can be launched through the Steam client will open. Further actions are no different from those described above.

Method 2: Login is not possible

Due to hacking, forgotten password, problems with the mobile authenticator and other difficulties, the user cannot even log into his account. In such a situation, the circle of solving problems for him is greatly narrowed, which, however, is obvious: it is unlikely that any other problems will be of interest to a player who cannot even enter his profile. If the web browser window "Support" all the time it will transfer you to the authorization form, through the same window, opened with the help of the client, the list of available solutions to problems is reduced in advance.

Additional Information

Users who have previously made calls to technical support may remember that in the service it was possible to create a special support account through which a dialogue with a Steam help representative was conducted. Now this function is not available, and the possibilities of communication with the support have been significantly curtailed. Nevertheless, you can still contact us with help on various questions, and the answer will come to the page of your request and will be duplicated to the contact email.

Now you know how to contact Steam Support to resolve issues related to games, payments, or an account on this gaming system.

Users of many devices dislike technical support. Basically, because instead of answering a question, we are often transferred from section to section or from one specialist to another. But sometimes it happens that you still need to go there. For example, if purchased games disappeared on Steam, or money was withdrawn from the account by itself. In such cases, it is simply a must to write to the support service.

Support work in Steam

Let's take a closer look at this section on Steam.

Thus, contacting technical support is not always required. It should be understood that there are millions of users on Steam. Due to this, the answer to your request can take much longer than if you just tried to look for a solution to the problem in the sections. The service is constantly being improved and automated, it is quite possible that you will find either detailed instructions for fixing problems, or an automatic method. In short, take your time.

If you still need to write

However, there will always be problems in which it is imperative to write a letter to Steam Support.

Material loss. Money is withdrawn from your account or the account that is linked to it. Purchased games have disappeared from the library and will not be returned there. An error occurred while trading with players and your inventory is empty.
Account problems. Even if you change your password or take other actions, you cannot return access to your account or content on it.

Let's figure out what questions a player may have when contacting the service, and how it is written.

From the list of problems in the technical support window, select the one that worries us.
We pass on clarifying questions or sections until we find the button "Contact support" or "Write a letter".
Then we will be transferred to a window where they will offer to enter a technical support account or create one. This account is different from the standard one, so you will have to create it if you have never registered with the support service. Everything is done quickly and easily: we enter the name, password, e-mail and captcha. Then we confirm the data through the mailbox.
After authorization, a form for sending a letter appears. We select the category of our question, then the subcategory, all this is displayed when answering additional questions.
In the "Subject" field, briefly describe the reason for the request. In the field "Your question" we fully describe what is wrong with your account. You can also attach files, such as screenshots, which will display Steam errors. We type the text in Russian - there are support services in Russia as well.
We press the button "Send".

As you can see, contacting Steam support is quite simple. It remains only to wait for an answer. He usually arrives within a few hours.

What is Steam. What you need to know before buying a game.

An Internet connection is required for the Steam environment to work - to install it, register your copy of the game in it, and update it. An update is required - without this, the game will not start. For all games except Counter Strike: Source, its size is negligible. The size of updates for Counter Strike: Source is currently about 130 Mb. If the size of what is being downloaded from the Internet is much larger than this figure, install the game from the disc.

Steam is a system for delivering content to a user's computer via the Internet, created by Valve Software. Subscribers to this online service can download games from the Half-Life series, the entire line of the popular online shooter Counter-Strike and many others to their computer, as well as timely download the latest updates and modifications.

Steam provides:
- free access to already purchased and activated games, as well as demos and free games such as Codename Gordon,
- free updates for games immediately after their release,
- news about upcoming game updates, new releases and other important events,
- the ability to search for servers you are interested in with certain games, settings, rules, etc. using the appropriate filters,
- the ability to download game modifications for free, as well as write them yourself using the Source SDK, also distributed free through Steam, etc.

The key, pasted into the disc box, is Steam's confirmation of the purchase of the game. Be sure to check right in the store for the availability of the key!

You can download the Steam client from here - http://steampowered.com/download/SteamInstall.msi. Those who bought a disc with the game do not need to download anything. The client installation file is located on the game disc.

All games from Valve, including collections published by Buka:
Audiosurf ()

Counter-Strike: Source ()
Half-Life 1 Anthology ()
Counter-Strike 1 Anthology ()
Half-Life 2 New Year's Edition ()
Half-Life 2. Best Game of the Year. Collector's Edition ()
Half-Life 2: Episode One ()
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box ()
Half-Life 2: Episode Two ()
Portal ()
Portal 2 ()
Team Fortress 2 ()
Saints Row 2 ()
Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War II ()
R.U.S.E. ()
Darksiders ()
Red Faction: Armageddon ()
Warhammer® 40,000®: Dawn of War II® - Retribution ™ ()
Sniper Elite V2 ()% 0A
Warhammer% C2% AE% 2040,000% C2% AE:% 20% D0% 9A% D0% BE% D0% BB% D0% BB% D0% B5% D0% BA% D1% 86% D0% B8% D0 % BE% D0% BD% D0% BD% D0% BE% D0% B5% 20% D0% B8% D0% B7% D0% B4% D0% B0% D0% BD% D0% B8% D0% B5% 20 (% D1% 82% D0% BE% D0% BB% D1% 8C% D0% BA% D0% BE% 20Warhammer% C2% AE% 2040,000% C2% AE:% 20Dawn% 20of% 20War% 20II% C2 % AE, Warhammer% C2% AE% 2040,000% C2% AE:% 20Dawn% 20of% 20War% 20II% C2% AE% 20-% 20Chaos% 20Rising% E2% 84% A2% 20% D0% B8% 20Warhammer % C2% AE% 2040,000% C2% AE:% 20Dawn% 20of% 20War% 20II% C2% AE% 20-% 20 Retribution% E2% 84% A2% 20 ( http: //site/cgi-bin/show.pl? id = 539)
require activation via Steam. Without Steam, these games are not distributed or work. This is Valve's policy, which the company strictly adheres to.

Make sure Steam will work on your computer before purchasing. Through a regular dial-up connection (ie via a modem), Steam works without problems, but you may have to spend a lot of time downloading updates. In addition, it is useless to try to play over the network via a modem - the network latency will be too high.

Also, a connection via ADSL and a dedicated line with a dedicated external ip-address should not cause problems. Connections via GPRS-modem, wireless networks or using shared access or proxy (which is typical for corporate networks, ie "from work") can cause errors.

Steam VPN usually works fine, but steampowered.com warns that Steam VPN is not suitable.
We've noticed problems with displaying the list of servers, but that's probably all. In any case, it is very easy to check if Steam will work for you (http://steampowered.com/download/SteamInstall.msi) - - download the Steam client (1.6 Mb). If you can install it, run it, and register, you're good to go. You can play one of the free games or demos.

How to start playing.

2. Insert a disc. The Steam installation will start. If the installation does not start, open "My Computer", then find there the drive in which the disc with the game is installed, right-click on it and click "Autorun".

3. Click next, next, next until Steam is installed. Along the way, you can choose a place to install (the Games will be installed in the same place where the steam itself is installed), etc. To agree with the license agreement, you need to scroll through it to the end, then the "I agree ..." checkbox will become active.

4. After installing Steam, it will either start itself, or you will start it. It will update its files for a while. If the update is stuck for a long time, it is better to contact your network administrator or Internet provider, because it is connected with your connection (see point 1).

5. After the update, Steam will start and prompt you to either create an account (account), or use an existing one. Answer the questions of the account creation wizard, everything is extremely simple there. Attention - you need to come up with a "password" yourself, and the key pasted on the box of your disk has nothing to do with it. You will need it further. It is strongly recommended that you provide the correct answer to the security question, because if you forget your password, then, without remembering the answer to the security question, you will not be able to recover your password and play the games you purchased.

6. Then log into the Steam system under your account (enter your username and password).

7. Run Disk Autorun again, click Install again.

8. Steam will prompt you to enter the key. The key is written on a piece of paper pasted into the box. When activating the key, a disc must be inserted. When the key is activated, all games associated with it will appear in the "my games" list on Steam.

9. Wait until the installation is complete and do not disconnect your computer from the Internet, otherwise steam will try to download the entire game.

10. To run the game, you need to update it to 100%. This will take a while, especially if you have a slow connection. For more details, see the corresponding section of this FAQ.

Insert the disk, click install from disk autorun, wait for the installation to finish, wait for the update to complete.

Also, the following may help:
1. Log into Steam under your account and delete the game files that were downloaded from the Internet (right-click on the name of the game in the "Library" tab and select "Delete content").
2. Insert the first installation disc into the drive.
3. Close Steam (Steam> Exit).
4. Press Windows Key + R to bring up the Start window
5. In the window, enter the line:

for 32-bit systems:

"C: \ Program Files \ Steam \ Steam.exe" -install E:

for 64-bit systems:

"C: \ Program Files (86) \ Steam \ Steam.exe" -install E:
Replace E: with your DVD drive letter
Replace the path C: \ Program Files \ Steam with another if you installed Steam in a different folder.
6. Click OK. Steam will launch and immediately begin installing from disk.

Disconnecting Steam from the Internet or transferring it to offline mode can also help.

Try using the "Activate via Steam" button in the "Games" menu

Accounts (accounts) and keys Steam. Recovery of accounting information.

To run the Steam client, you need to create an account. Steam identifies you by this it as the user and the owner of the licensed copy of the game. If you do not have an account, you will be prompted to create one. Information about your account, along with all the keys that you activated for it, lies on the Valve server - so you cannot spoil or destroy it in any way.
When registering, be careful and write down all the information somewhere - login, password, e-mail and the answer to the secret question. Once you enter the key, it will be permanently associated with this account. After that, you no longer need the key itself - it is already activated. You only need to remember the username and password for your account.

No, just the first time. Once you enter the key, it will be associated with your current Steam account. In theory, you don't even need a disk. if you have a fast and cheap internet, you can download the Steam client (http://steampowered.com/download/SteamInstall.msi) and then download games through it by going to Steam under the account for which you entered the key.

Attention- the key can be activated only for one account and only once! In addition, carefully check whether you entered the key correctly - if you enter it incorrectly, this error is also sometimes issued. Note that some numbers and letters, such as 0 and O, are similar and can be easily confused.
If this is not your case, then you must contact Valve within 90 days to reset the key. To do this, you need a photo of the key and receipt. How to write in support of Valve read here:
http://supportwiki.steampowered.com/ru/Contacting_VALVe_Billing_and_Support
Unfortunately, we cannot do this procedure, because we do not have the right to take personal data from you (login, password), and we also do not have access to the database of accounts and keys

Unfortunately, almost all Valve game discs in Ukraine are defective. Therefore, we can recommend returning the disc back to the store.

The game can also be bought in Russia or directly through Steam from Valve on the website www.steampowered.com

As you know, our versions of games from Valve are not intended for sale outside the CIS. Steam has a regional control system that will not allow the launch of a game registered with our key outside of Russia and the CIS.

On Steam, there is a mechanism such as Regional Protection, which prevents the activation of our Russian games outside our country. This is necessary for the impossibility of using our - cheap games abroad.

Sometimes, when the provider changes the ranges of IP addresses to former foreign ones, Steam may mistake you for a resident of the country to which they belonged. If this happens, you will see a message in the "My Games" menu that the games are not installed, and when you try to start, a window with an error will appear:
"This game has been activated with a product code that is only valid for a specific geographic region."

In this case, you need to send the following information:

Your Steam login.
The name of the collection with which you have problems.
Your IP address as shown on http://www.whatismyip.com.
Country and city where you live, name and website of your provider.
Screenshot of the error (press PrintScreen, open any image editor, for example Paint: Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Paint; press "paste", save in jpg / jpeg format) or its exact text.

Updates and play without internet. Backups.

No way. The game will not start until it is updated. Wait for the update to finish. Also check which language is displayed in the game properties, on the Language tab.

This means that from the moment the disc was printed, updates for the game were released. Connect to the internet and wait for the game to update to the end. This procedure is mandatory, in order to start the game, you need its status on Steam to be "100% - Ready".

An internet connection is required to install Valve games (see above). In the future, you can play without being connected.
In the "file" menu, click on the "Go to offline mode ..." button, Steam will ask whether to go offline, click "Restart offline", then disconnect the Internet connection.

Most likely, the last time the game ended incorrectly. Steam now checks the integrity of the cache before launching the game. To do this, he needs a connection. Connect to the Internet, restart Steam, find the game you want in the list, open its properties and check the integrity of the cache. Or just start the game - Steam will check it automatically. You can then launch Steam offline again and play.

Can. To do this, you need to use the "backup" function in the context menu (right-click) of any Steam application. Backups are executable files; to restore from them, you just need to start them (Steam must be turned off). The files are quite large, because all content of the game is copied, but Steam can cut them into pieces corresponding to CD (670 MB) and single-layer DVD (4.7 GB)

Each game has its own set of updates that required for installation, game developers are releasing updates to ensure that users receive the maximum product quality. Popular online games receive more updates. Moreover, the user himself pays for the spent Internet traffic to download the update. These are the Steam Terms of Service. Estimated number of updates in megabytes for the following games:

Team Fortress 2 - over 500 megabytes

Portal - 90 MB

Half-Life: Episode 2 - 30 MB

Counter-Strike: Source - 270 MB

It is possible to force the installation from disk via steam:
In the properties of the shortcut, write the value "-install E:"(Separated by a space, without quotes. E:- the letter of your dvd-rom).
Example: D: \ Games \ steam.exe -install E:

First, deploy the Steam client to full mode. To do this, click on the yellow arrow in the upper right corner, under the window title. Now you can see the status of all updates as a percentage. To pause / resume updating a game or to perform any other operations with it (delete, backup, etc.), right-click on the name of the game and select the corresponding item in the context menu.

Connect to the internet. Start steam. Select the game you want. Click on it with the right mouse button. Select properties, go to the Local Files tab. Check the integrity of the cache.

FAQ.

Perhaps Steam is at startup and was unable to connect to the server during OS boot due to the lack of an Internet connection. Open Task Manager by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL, go to the Processes tab and end the steam.exe process. Connect to the internet and restart Steam.
To disable the launch of Steam on Windows startup, uncheck the corresponding checkbox in Steam -> File -> Settings -> Interface

This technique helps many:
while playing, press Alt + Tab to switch to the desktop, then invoke the task manager (Ctrl + Alt + Delete), right-click on the name of the running game, select "go to processes". For the selected process (for example, hl2.exe) set the lowest priority ("low" or "low").

Alternatively, you can configure Steam to always start at low priority.
To do this, turn off Steam, open the shortcut properties, DELETE everything that is written in the "object" field, and write there:

C: \ WINDOWS \ System32 \ cmd.exe / c start "Steam" / low "C: \ Program Files \ Valve \ Steam \ Steam.exe"
Of course, if you have Windows installed in a folder other than C: \ WINDOWS, or Steam is not installed in C: \ Program Files \ Vlve \ Steam \, you need to register the correct paths to the Windows folder and the Steam folder in this line.

Quite a lot - a few megabytes per hour, depending on your settings. If you have paid traffic, consider this.

You need to start the game with the -console parameter. Launch parameters are set in the game properties in the Steam client. Another way: in the game, press "settings", then "keyboard", "advanced" and enable the "developer console".

This can be done during game creation by ticking the "Add computer opponents" option.

To change the number and behavior of bots during the game, use the console commands:
bot_add - add a bot to an arbitrary command
bot_add_t - add a terrorist bot
bot_add_ct - add a special forces bot
bot_difficulty 0 - bot difficulty level (from 0 to 3)
mp_limitteams 20 - limit the difference in team sizes (0 - no limit, default 2)
mp_autoteambalance 0 - teams auto-balancing (1 - enabled, 0 - disabled)

Start Steam. Go to the "My Games" tab. Choose the game you are interested in.
Right-click on it - properties and go to the "Language" tab. Choose a language from the list.
Most often, there is only Russian voice acting on the disk, the other will have to be downloaded from the Internet (~ 300-700 mb).

To the folder \ Steam \ SteamApps \ your login \ counter-strike source \ cstrike \ maps

Try to diagnose the problem yourself using the instructions from the site steampowered.com

Check the connection

First of all, make sure your microphone is plugged into the correct port. Usually the color of the microphone plug and the desired port on the audio device is pink.

Try changing ports. If you are using the USB port on the front of the system unit, switch to one of those on the back. If you are using a USB hub, try bypassing the hub and see if there is any difference.

Update your drivers

Drivers for your microphone can be found on the headset manufacturer's website. It is also necessary to update the drivers for the sound card.

Select from the menu Start / Start(1) (on Windows Vista / 7 keystrokes) item Run / Run(2) and write the name of the program in the window that opens: dxdiag(3) -> Ok.

On the "Sound" tab, you can find out sound card name(1) and driver release date (2).

Links to drivers for the most popular sound card manufacturers:
Creative: http://ru.europe.creative.com/support/downloads/
Realtek: http://www.realtek.com.tw/default.aspx

Microphone configuration in Windows

Click the button Start and then select Control Panel... In Control Panel select Sounds and audio devices
Click the tab Speech
In the "Speech Recorder" section, make sure your sound card is selected as the default device
Click Volume
Check the volume of the microphone (the slider must be set at least a serine).
Use the hardware test to make sure the microphone is working correctly

Sound card software conflicts

Many audio driver packages include programs that are designed to make operating your audio systems easier. Sometimes these programs conflict with the software built into Windows. For example, Creative Mix Console and RealTek HD Audio Manager programs. Typically, these applications are displayed in the tray (in the lower right corner, next to the clock).

Check the settings in these programs, disable all unnecessary enhancements

If you suspect that the problem is in additional software, check the website of your sound card manufacturer for a "clean" driver, without any additional software. Then you will need to uninstall the current audio device driver via Add / Remove Programs and install a new driver.

Checking the microphone settings in the game

You have now verified that your microphone is properly connected and configured properly in Windows. The next thing to look out for is the in-game microphone settings. Below is an example of a configuration menu:
You can also test the functionality by clicking Microphone Test. If it works, you will hear your own voice (as well as echo if you are not using headphones!)

If the microphone isn't working, then the problem might be that the microphone switches when you start the game. To resolve this issue, please see the separate article and use the startup options specified therein.

Applications such as CD recorder software can change the Wave-In source from microphone to CD player, so when a player tries to use their microphone in a game, it doesn't work.

For this reason, the Half-life engine at startup tries to determine whether the mixer settings are set correctly, but not all sound cards support these actions, especially for modern sound cards like the Audigy 2ZS Pro.

To prevent the HL engine from trying to set the Mic Input on its own, you need to register these console variables in your userconfig.cfg file or in the game launch parameters:

Add the following line to userconfig.cfg:

voice_forcemicrecord 0

or to the launch options for each of your games:

Voice_forcemicrecord 0

(one of them is enough)

This will prevent the engine from adjusting the mixer on its own.

Just in case, check for the following parameters:

voice_enable "1"
sv_voiceenable "1"
voice_scale "0.75"
voice_enable "1"
voice_modenable "1"
voice_dsound "1"
voice_modenable "1"

Please note that the server settings may not allow the use of a microphone.

It is also necessary to update the codecs: http://li.ru/go?www.3dnews.ru/files/pub/soft/multimedia/codec/klcodec520m.exe

Conflicting Applications

Programs such as TeamSpeak, Skype, Ventrilo and others can sometimes interfere with the microon's work. Try disabling these apps before starting Steam.

We cannot guarantee that the microphone will work correctly if you use third-party sound control software.

Feedback / echo
This kind of noise often occurs when the speakers are on while using the microphone. We recommend that you use a headset with headphones. Some low-grade microphones are omnidirectional, which means they will pick up sounds from all directions - including your speakers. Mute your audio devices and see if your voice quality improves.

Low volume
Some microphones require amplification. This can be configured by checking the Windows microphone settings. Follow these steps:

Click the button Start and then select Control Panel. In Control Panel select Sounds and audio devices;
Click the tab Volume;
Click the button additionally
In the "General volume" window that opens, in the top menu, select "options", Further "properties"... Find a microphone (Mic Volume) in the list that opens, put a checkmark in front of it. Close the list box. Go back to "options" and choose "Extra options"... As a result, we have a microphone volume setting, as shown in picture No. 1
Click on the button "customization" in the microphone column and put a tick in front of microphone gain(picture No. 2)

Crackle / Distortion

The most common cause of this interference is a faulty cable or poor connection.

Also make sure the microphone is not too close to your mouth. If it touches your face or lips when you use it, move it back so that it is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from your mouth. If the microphone itself does not have a visor, try moving it further away.

Instructions from steampowered.com:
If the sound quality of your microphone is low and crackling is heard, check and adjust the volume, sensitivity, setting the speed of your Internet connection (it is responsible for how quickly data is sent from the server to the client and vice versa, and can affect the quality of the transmitted speech) and the cl_cmdrate parameter ...

Users of 56K modems are always experiencing problems with voice quality.

The cl_cmdrate variable controls how often the client sends updated data to the server, including speech from the microphone.

The standard value of this parameter is 20. Anything less than 13 negatively affects the quality of the game and, of course, speech. Values above 40 are mostly suitable only when playing on a LAN.

Adjust the volume and activate the increased microphone sensitivity in the game settings menu, under the "Voice" tab.

Another way to improve the sound quality is to set the value of the cl_cmdrate parameter to the average FPS (Frames per Second) that you observe in the game (cl_showfps 1 turns on the FPS display, cl_showfps 0 turns it off. Do not leave this parameter enabled, as this may increase latency).

Unfortunately, most servers running AdminMod change your speed and cl_cmdrate to balance the load. For this reason, it may happen that your microphone works normally for a while and then the sound quality suddenly drops.

Most players have 2500 baud rates, but DSL / Cable can support 7500 and even 9999.

The speed value also affects how quickly cards and other resources will be downloaded, so it is VERY IMPORTANT to set the value corresponding to the real bandwidth of your channel!

You can set the connection speed in two ways - through the Steam settings, or through the game console.

While on Steam, go to the File menu, select Settings, then go to the Internet tab and select the setting appropriate for your connection.

When choosing a speed, be guided not by what is the highest in the list, but what your connection is in reality capable of. Setting it too fast can lead to other problems.

Another way is to call the console and type "rate 7500" (for example). Knowing how to use the console is very important as it allows you to quickly and easily set up your microphone (bypassing the Steam menu).

To change cl_cmdrate, you need to use the console.

Console: If you cannot open the console (the "~" key by default), add the line "-console" to the launch parameters of your game or mod.

Steam> My Games> Right Click on Game> Properties> Set Launch Options

Most servers set an upper limit between 5000 and 7500, no matter what speed you specify, and 9999 as the maximum value (standard value, T1) for an internet connection (20,000 is the maximum allowed speed).

Test your channel: It would also not hurt to check the bandwidth of your connection in order to make sure that the real speed is not lower than what was promised by the provider. To do this, visit http://speedtest.dslreports.com

Now check your microphone.

First, enter "voice_loopback 1" in the console so you can hear your voice.

When finished, enter "voice_loopback 0".

Then, while you are talking to the microphone, type:

rate 2500
rate 3500
rate 4500 and so on up to 9999

until the voice quality is acceptable. It is not necessary to check the subsequent values.

Note: Some servers still use the "Miles" audio system. Despite the fact that the quality of its sound is a little hoarse, unlike the new system "Speex", nevertheless, problems often arise with Speex and the sound deteriorates noticeably under heavy load on the server subnet.

Test your microphone on multiple servers to see if the problem is with your hardware and not the server.

Server Settings: Servers have quite a few settings, including those for voice communication. Here's a quick overview of some of them:

The codec to be used by the client is determined by the server. Use the following command on your server to migrate to the new system:

sv_voicecodec voice_speex

Then these commands to switch between different quality levels of the audio stream (also on the server):

sv_voicequality 1: 2400 bps (bits per second), lowest quality
sv_voicequality 2: 6000 bps
sv_voicequality 3: 8000 bps
sv_voicequality 4: 11200 bps
sv_voicequality 5: 15200 bps, highest quality

If you want to use the original Miles compression system, add the following option:

sv_voicecodec voice_miles

This information, supplemented by more detailed information about the Speex codec and its optimization, was taken from this topic:

Here is an article from the mailing list archive about the Speex audio compression codec detailing how to enable this new and greatly improved speech compression method in Half-life. It will soon completely replace the current audio compression. But until that happens, this codec is not the default compression method, but it is available to all Steam servers. In general, when the bandwidth allocated for speech is reduced to 6000 bps (quality level 2), the sound quality is better than with the current codec, while when using the highest compression level (2400 bps), the quality is as low as and the current compression, but different in its manifestation.

As a small comparison, Speex consumes between 7.5% and 47.5% of the bandwidth, like the current codec, and when using a channel share of less than 25%, the speech quality is generally better than the current codec. This actually consumes more server processor resources, but in most of my tests it is only 1-2%.

And one more note: 56K modems usually have a free channel width of about 20,000 bps for outgoing traffic and about 40,000 bps for incoming traffic, taking into account the TCP / IP and PPP headers and everything else. So this new codec is MUCH more tolerant of modem users.

Unfortunately, this codec is only available on Steam-compatible servers. Anyway, for those who do not want to read the newsletter, the basic information is given below:

First, switch your server to Speex mode:

sv_voicecodec voice_speex

So, you have Speex mode running. The next step will be to select the channel resources allocated for Speex, which directly affects the quality of voice communication.

sv_voicequality 1 = 2,400 bps, 7.5% of all bandwidth
sv_voicequality 2 = 6,000 bps, 18.75% of all bandwidth
sv_voicequality 3 = 8,000 bps, 25% of total bandwidth
sv_voicequality 4 = 11,200 bps, 35% of all bandwidth

Wrong example:

Correct example:

4) Make sure the hard drive you installed Steam on is using the NTFS file system.

Answer: Disable antiviruses, firewalls, windows firewall.

Move Steam to a folder without Russian symbols.
Wrong example: D: \ Games \ Steam
Correct example: D: \ Games \ Steam
And wait until the game is updated.

If you have Nod32 antivirus installed, install the latest version, or uninstall it altogether.

Check the integrity of the cache.

Online game. Servers. Connection. Steam issues.

This error is related to your internet connection. First of all, make sure you are connected. Steam can work without a connection, but if this error occurs, then a connection is needed. If you connected but the problem persists, see the next question. If you access the Internet via a dial-up modem, try reinstalling Steam in a DIFFERENT folder, without Russian symbols.
Wrong example: D: \ Games \ Steam
Correct example: D: \ Games \ Steam

1. Virus or Trojan. It is necessary to check the system with an antivirus and some anti-Trojan program.

2. Firewall. If you have a firewall, you need to teach it to skip Steam. ZoneAlarm does not work correctly with Steam, the setting will not help here, it, or any other firewall / antivirus, must be disabled.

3. Please note that Steam executable files change frequently due to updates, and some firewalls may interpret this as an attempt by a virus or Trojan to impersonate Steam - usually this behavior can also be configured and / or disabled in the firewall.

4. Built-in Windows firewall or antivirus. Both should be disabled. Antivirus can usually be disabled by right-clicking on its tray icon (next to the clock) and choosing something like "disable real-time protection". Windows Firewall is turned off in the connection properties, on the "advanced" tab. Network programs running on your computer such as: P2P clients, all sorts of servers (Web, ftp, and so on), "Internet accelerators", "anonymizers", separation programs (ie ICS) and restrictions (for example , NetLimiter) access.

5. Connection through a proxy server or topology with double NAT translation (with one NAT everything works fine).

6. Blocking ports on the side of the provider.

No. Everyone needs their own account, and, accordingly, their own key.

Most likely, you simply do not have all the necessary ports open (see the list in the relevant part of this FAQ. But using the server list is optional: all you need to know is the IP address and port of the server. After that you can add the servers to " Favorites "or connect using the connect console command. For example, like this: connect 217.199.212.12:27016
The latter case, by the way, is the most reliable - if you can't connect to the server, the first thing to try is to connect via the console.
Where can I get server addresses?
Many fan sites run their own servers for different games. In addition, the addresses of many "fast" servers, that is, those with a minimum ping for residents of Russia, are in a special thread of our forum:

You can also try the following method:
1. Turn off Steam completely, through the file menu - exit.
2. Download the file:
3. Unpack the archive. Place the resulting file "MasterServers.vdf" in the ... \ Steam \ Config folder (see where you have installed Steam itself). Replace the existing file there with the new one.
4. Right-click on the "MasterServers.vdf" file, select "properties", check the "read-only" checkbox. Click apply.
5. Start Steam.