Steam chat window keeps closing? Here's how to fix it

If you rely on Steam’s chat functions in Windows, there’s a possibility you’ve run into a glitch that causes a chat window to vanish the moment you open it or receive a message. That renders Steam chat useless, naturally, so if you run into the bug, here’s how you can get back to arranging those PUBG and Call of Duty sessions with friends.

Why is my Steam chat window closing?

As we mentioned in the intro, this is a known glitch with the Steam client software. It first surfaced around January 2023, and as of July the same year, the issue appears to be ongoing. Valve is presumably working on the problem, but there’s no official timeline for when the glitch will be fully resolved. It may even be gone by the time you read this, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get it in the first place.

How to fix the Steam chat window closing

Before trying anything else, make sure you’re running the latest version of Steam, since at some point Valve should have a permanent solution. In the main Steam window, click Steam in the menu bar, then Check for Steam Client Updates.

There is a handful of unofficial fixes, which we’ve listed below. If one doesn’t work, simply move on to another. You’ll probably have to repeat one or more of these occasionally, too, since while some people have claimed permanent results, the bug seems to inevitably return for most gamers.

• Close Steam Client WebHelper in the Windows Task Manager. You’ll probably find several instances under Background processes.
• Close and restart Steam. You might want to try ending all processes through Task Manager instead of using the regular quitting method.
• Take Steam offline by selecting Steam > Go Offline, then reconnecting.
• Go to Steam > Settings > Friends and Chat and toggle on Dock chats to the friends list.
• Disable the Steam Overlay via Steam > Settings > In Game. We’d recommend trying this as a last resort, since losing the Overlay removes some of Steam’s convenience.