How to Fix the “VAC Was Unable to Verify Your Game Session” Steam Error

Don’t get steamed, this will solve your problem

Are you receiving the “VAC was unable to verify your game session” error every time you attempt to join an online Steam game? Every so often, this glitch reappears and prevents players from joining matchmaking games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. But luckily, it’s usually easy to fix.

In this article, we’ll explain how to fix this error so you can get back to playing online once again.

What Does “VAC Was Unable to Verify Your Game Session” Mean?

VAC, or Valve Anti-Cheat, is a software developed by Valve to prevent cheaters on their popular games. Because of its popularity, this error mostly affects CS:GO players, which prevents them from matchmaking in-game.

The “VAC was unable to verify your game session” error means that the VAC software has been unable to ensure that your game files aren’t tampered with. Since file tampering could indicate that you’re hacking, the game doesn’t let you play.

However, this error is often caused even when you haven’t installed cheats or altered the game files. Often, it occurs after an improperly installed update, corrupted files, or a random glitch.

7 Ways to Fix “VAC Was Unable to Verify Your Game Session”

Here are 7 ways to fix this frustrating glitch.

Often, this error goes away with a simple restart, so before we get into the more complicated solutions, let’s start with the quick fixes:

If Steam can’t access your game files for some reason, you might receive the game session error. You can bypass this glitch by running the Steam client in administrator mode. To do so, right-click the Steam icon and selectRun as administrator.

Then, run the game in administrator mode as well. To do so, you’ll need to find the file path for that game.

If this fixes the problem, you can tell Steam to run as administrator by right-clicking the .exe file and selectingProperties. Here, navigate to theCompatibilitytab and make sure that the checkbox next to “Run this program as administrator” is ticked.

Occasionally, antivirus programs can interfere with Valve’s ability to verify your game session. To rule this out, temporarily disable your antivirus and try to enter a game again.

To disable Windows Defender:

Improper file installation and glitches duringgame downloadscan cause the “VAC was unable to verify your game session” glitch. To check whether this is the issue, you need to verify the integrity of your game files.

To do so:

The next fix to try is repairing the Steam Library. To do so:

You can also try repairing theSteam service. To do so:

If nothing else has worked, the final resort is to reinstall the game that’s causing problems. To reinstall CS:GO, simply right-click your game in Steam and selectUninstall. Then, right-click it again and selectInstall.

If this doesn’t work, you can also try reinstalling Steam itself.

Back to the Game

Hopefully, this troubleshooting guide has helped you fix CS:GO VAC error and you can get back to the game. While the VAC verification error is often easy to fix, sometimes theSteam servers simply won’t let you in. If you keep getting matchmaking failed errors, try to play on a different device or wait for a new update to fix the glitch.

Jake Harfield is an Australian freelance writer whose passion is finding out how different technologies work. He has written for several online publications, focusing on explaining what he has learned to help others with their tech problems. He’s an avid hiker and birder, and in his spare time you’ll find him in the Aussie bush listening to the birdsong.Read Jake’s Full Bio

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