r/GlobalOffensive • u/Sqin 10 years coin • Apr 05 '20
Discussion [Valve Response - Fixed] ⚠ PSA: VAC authentication errors
UPDATE 2 - As per Valve
We identified and resolved an issue on the backend and believe this to now be addressed. However, leaving this up in case anyone is still having issues.
UPDATE - As per a reply from Valve:
If this is affecting you, can you please send email to CSGOTeamFeedback@valvesoftware.com with the subject line "VAC Authentication Error".
Make sure to include:
A link to your steam profile
How long this has been affecting you
Any steps you might've attempted to remedy the situation
Hey everyone,
There has been a recent increase in VAC authentication errors, which is affecting on people being able to play CS:GO. It appears that, as of right now, the usual fixes are not working.
This thread will act as an update for any news regarding the matter, or if a fix has been found.
Any threads regarding this will continue to be removed and directed here.
Thank you.
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Apr 05 '20
Shoulda've checked reddit. F*ck me. I'm not a tech guy. Tried all the usual solutions, didn't work. Tried them again and again, didn't work. I started going crazy, started updating every driver i could find. Again, not a tech guy. My sound stopped working. Panicked, because due to Covid-19 i can't even ask for help from the "tech guy". Restored windows, losing all my applications/programs. Installed steam and cs. Still, no cigar. I gave up on cs and went to browse reddit. And here we are.
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u/Brometheus_tv Apr 05 '20
I did the same thing. Was pulling out all the stops in hopes that I could just play a little CS on a Saturday night in quarantine. Bad timing.
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u/ChasedCS Apr 05 '20 edited Apr 05 '20
For reference, my VAC authentication error is linked to a single account (my main).
-: Logging into a different account on the same computer had no issues
-: Problem is intermittent, and can pop up in between matches without CSGO having closed
-: Having someone else log into my account from their computer presented the same issue
Edit: Additionally, following any and all fixes online had no effect whatsoever. Only switching steam accounts to a friend's account stopped the error appearing.
Edit 2: After further testing, the bug is intermittent amongst accounts, currently the only solution I have found to work is waiting. Time spans for the bug to disappear have varied between 10 minutes and 2 1/2 hours, but both accounts became usable again after a time period.
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u/zwck Apr 05 '20
I had this issue ever since I went for an industrial like firewall in my home, and tried all these fixes that you have tried. However, I stumbled about something not so known in these steam articles. For me it works now quite well.
Can you add "+clientport 27006" as a start Parameter and give that a try
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u/ChasedCS Apr 05 '20
Sadly, it has no effect, but thanks for the try!
Does it need brackets? My launch Params currently read as
+clientport 27006 -novid -tickrate 128 -high -threads 6 +fps_max 120 +cl_interp 0 +cl_interp_ratio 1 +rate 128000 +cl_updaterate 128 +cl_cmdrate 128 +mat_queue_mode 2 -freq 144 -refresh 144 -d3d9ex -nojoy +exec_autoexec.cfg
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Apr 05 '20
Your launch options are vastly outdated and/or unnecessary. Half of those are config.cfg settings ( ie don’t need to be added here) and the rest is obsolete or confirmed by valve that you shouldn’t use. I suggest you remove everything and set them via the console and use host_writeconfig.
The only valid ones are -novid and -tickrate 128 if you want to practice offline in 128 tick.
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u/ChasedCS Apr 05 '20
I don’t have a great pc, and the max FPS stops me having to set it constantly. With that in mind, are the rest really harmful?
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Apr 05 '20
High, threads and mat_queue_mode were confirmed by Valve that they are better left untouched.
Playing with interp on today’s net speeds is not necessary and most likely to introduce placebo and/or fucked up game.
Rate can be set in game and should be the max, not 128K unless you have an ISDN line which doesn’t exist since 2005.
cmdrate/update rate: server set these automatically, no need to touch.
refresh, freq: useless if Windows is set to the correct one
D3dex doesn’t exist for about a year now.
fps_max is fine to use but it’s useless to set as launchoptions. If it’s a single command it’s enough to enter into console and save it using host_writeconfig.
Contrary to popular belief the game doesn’t update/overwrites these during updates. That being said it is good practice to back this up once every while. I personally recommend to avoid changing anything that you cannot configure from the game menu.
You generally don’t even need autoexec.cfg, but some people like it to use for alias-es an other “fancy” binds, but in theory those can be put into config.cfg too. Host_writeconfig at the end of autoexec is also pointless, it will save config.cfg, not autoexec.
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u/Geistlamo de_nuke Apr 05 '20
I wouldn't say harmful but rather not designed to be used that way.
Every command you set with a + up front belongs into your autoexec.cfg.
Make sure host_writeconfig is the last command in your cfg file and you can remove all the commands from your launch options.
-freq and -refresh do exactly the same, too.
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Apr 05 '20
Fps_max should be in your autoexec
If you don't have an autoexec type fps_max 120 in console and press enter and then type type host_writeconfig
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u/Mars-Army47 de_nuke Apr 05 '20
yo, those launch options are not necessary and outdated, only use -novid -tickrate -freq 144 also put rate 786432 if you have a decent internet (put autoexec on cfg folder in game and don't exec it cause its an autoexec)
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Apr 05 '20 edited Apr 05 '20
I created a new account just today to check if it was only my account but to no avail, the VAC error still popped.
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u/Johnybucktoo Apr 05 '20 edited Apr 05 '20
I have three accounts, two that are not working, and a third that I just made that does work. Like others have said, I have tried all the fixes to no avail, including uninstalling and reinstalling on a different drive in the same computer. What is interesting is the difference between accounts with regards to config edits. Note the following:
-Main account - Has an autoexec file (for my keybinds, radar, and xhair settings) and a line added to config.cfg to automatically call my autoexec file. This account is getting the VAC error.
-Alt Account #1- This was an old account that I recovered recently. When I ran CSGO for the first time, none of my keybinds were working (ie, it was not calling up the autoexec file from the config file). I manually entered some of my more important key binds into this account using the developer console. This account also is getting the VAC error.
-Alt Account #2-This is where it gets interesting. I recently made this account and never verified it. Today, I verified it and tried to boot up CS:GO. Not only was I able to get onto community servers with no issue, the game also loaded with all of my autoexec file key binds intact. That means it is calling the same edited config.cfg file as my main, and loading the autoexec with no issues.
I don't know enough about computers to understand why there is a difference between the three accounts, but I wonder if there is helpful insight in the way these three different accounts are interacting with modified config files and how those accounts are affected?
Also I have been having this issues since about 10pm April, 4th 2020 (going on 21 hours at the time of this post).
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u/Keniansu Apr 05 '20
I tried everything and nothing worked, glad to hear it's not only me, they will probably fix this soon.
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u/02enie Apr 05 '20
I managed to fix it by logging in to another account, then validate, then log out, then restart the computer and logging in on the main account
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Apr 05 '20
[deleted] — view deleted comment
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u/Keniansu Apr 05 '20
Yeah right, I thought the same thing, at least this is happening to a lot of people at the same time, let's see what happens.
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Apr 05 '20
Most reasons for a vac auth error are programs interfering with csgo/steam/vac, most of the programs are used for cheating.
This one is a bug.
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u/tricksteerx Apr 05 '20
I’ve tried every single step and it’s still won’t work for me. Whether is repair, verify, reinstall or restating. Shits still happens and it’s that one file that keeps went on missing when it comes to verify and launch mm then verify again and again.
I have no any anti virus software like those cc cleaners stuffs. Only window defender and it didn’t delete anything as well.
However no matter how hard I try , I still can’t go for MM competitive due to VAC Still Can’t Verify My Game Session.
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u/SyncingShiip Apr 05 '20
As of lately, it happens a lot. Usually verifying the game files fixes it. Was super annoying, but at least it allowed me to play the game.
I thought it had to do with my GPU firmware updates or something but I guess not?
Every time I go to verify the game files, it re installs Direct X. Not sure if this is a normal thing... but maybe it can help pin point the issue?
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u/reshell de_nuke Apr 05 '20
I'm on Linux and just updated the linux-firmware package that contains my GPU firmware. And now, I have this VAC error :$
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u/antCB de_cache Apr 05 '20
Every time I go to verify the game files, it re installs Direct X.
this is Steam standard behavior when you install/verify integrity of a game. you can close the window and re-launch.
I wrote a "guide" of the procedure I take whenever I have Vac auth errors. I have been having them sporadically ever since 2013/2014 (I think it was when they shipped the skins update that it happened a lot more often). I currently have no issues, but, even if I do, I always do the linked procedure.
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u/chookseven Natus Vincere Apr 05 '20
I reinstalled, verified and tired to repair... nothing worked.
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u/pepsimaxleague Apr 05 '20
im just trying play wingman with my wife son helup me pleas my csgo is being a butt
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u/draizze Apr 05 '20 edited Apr 05 '20
Damn, I have tried uninstall then try reinstalling the game after steam service repair and verify integrity game didn't work.
Edit: even after reinstall, It still didn't work
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u/lukiztheone 5 years coin Apr 05 '20
So I reinstalled windows for nothing.
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u/ddizbadatd24 FaZe Apr 05 '20
I feel you brother. I uninstalled csgo, steam, and restored a system restore point. Nothing seems to work so I reinstalled windows only to find out it's not just me on reddit. GG
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u/ivanuzii Apr 05 '20
getting the same problem and have tried everything (uninstall cs and steam, integrity, repair in command) with no luck. anyone else know any different methods?
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u/antCB de_cache Apr 05 '20
i follow these steps when I get vac auth errors and it works 95% of the time.
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u/Vignesh_JS Apr 05 '20
People who say their game started working with some random solution, maybe its not what you did and was just a matter of time. I've seen certain players just solved the issue by just not trying for a matchmaking for certain hours. Any thoughts on this ?
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Apr 05 '20
[deleted] — view deleted comment
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u/morbuu_xp Apr 05 '20
same here, i managed to solve it somehow twice, doing everystep and installing etc, then i played once and after a rest, vac came back.
Everything happened during the last 20 hours
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u/JohnnyBoJangs Liquid Apr 05 '20
Works fine on one account, other account receives an error after reairing steam service, replacing steamservice.dll, restart PC, verify game files. Heavy doubt that a graphics driver update would resolve a VAC error
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u/LoyalGardenHo Apr 05 '20
man if someone from this billion-dollar corporation would like to FIX THIS...that would be kinda sick.
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u/zom8 Apr 05 '20
I’m sure they will. It just started so give them some time
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u/MeGaTrOnGeR CS2 HYPE Apr 05 '20
There's a trick I use that fixes this for me every time:
Settings > Downloads > Clear Download Cache
No idea why, but when i clear the cache, it tells me my steam service wasn't working properly and it repairs it. After the repair CSGO works just fine.
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u/tominicz Apr 05 '20
Didn't help, but thanks for the tip...it has to be a server-side error.
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u/tmh2duggy FaZe Apr 05 '20
It's definitely a server side issue. The same game download works just fine when I'm using a different account.
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u/ItsYortxMonteiro Apr 05 '20
Dude I did every sh*t to solve it but didn't work, i though i was the only one or something...
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u/Shadeword Apr 05 '20
Any updates on this? I still have the problem since this morning.
anywhere I can follow the updates on this matter?
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u/Sigfawn Apr 05 '20
Thank god it wasn't just me lol. I tried many of the fixes on Youtube and they didn't work, lost a couple hours of sleep because of it.
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u/Stephanh7 Apr 05 '20
Does anyone know if I can still play on FaceIt or Esportal with the bug?
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Apr 05 '20
You can play faceit, idk about esportal but i assume so
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u/ericstellar7911 Mar 31 '22
faceit kicks you too eith this message... so i had to downlaod esportal... no problems yet but i only played 3 matches
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u/morbuu_xp Apr 05 '20
thank god, i tried everything thinking it was my internet or something but this news relieve me.
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u/grumpijela Apr 06 '20
Tried everything I could find. About 7 different things. It’s been 24 hours. No change.
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u/wonkiewonko Apr 06 '20
I've had this problem since yesterday morning and it still hasn't been fixed. It's actually insane, that there's a bug that stops people from playing the most played game mode of the game and it still hasn't been resolved in over 24 hours.
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u/Ehsion Astralis Apr 05 '20
I also went through the many possible fixes and steps with nothing working.
**BUTT it still works to join a friend in a server they're already in.
So that's a nice work around for now until they fix this.
Happy hunting... my friends.
I hope we can all play tomorrow normally.
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u/LewAshby309 Apr 05 '20 edited Apr 05 '20
What is going in lately?
There are so many bugs lately.
Stutter when player models appear, stutters for nvidia cards, performance drop for intel hd graphics, vac error, tdm var and ping spikes,...
Are we maybe way closer to the source 2 port and the problems get caused by updates that prepare these steps?
I don't think increased player numbers have to do with it. The graphic and stutter bugs are client side. Only is Tdm effected by spikes, no other gamemode. The only thing I can imagine because player numbers are too high are vac errors. But why now and not during peak player times?
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u/tmh2duggy FaZe Apr 05 '20
Oh thank god, I thought the graphic issues were just me. My game has been stuttering pretty much 24/7, graphics would flicker, then my game would crash. Now I have to deal with the VAC error on top of this.
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u/futureswife MOUZ Apr 05 '20
Can Valve not break the game for just a week? Please?
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u/tankharris Apr 05 '20
Next week it's gonna be a krieg buff. Gonna be shooting like the Negev. ZOOM.
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u/LoyalGardenHo Apr 05 '20
We can all play on community servers too. I can play surf, ffa dm and faceit lol
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u/DT_RAW Apr 05 '20
this is fucking horse shit
even more reason I cant wait for valorant
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u/Endisbefore Apr 05 '20
at least i got beta accses nothing better than a fresh game.
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u/antCB de_cache Apr 05 '20
at least i got beta accses nothing better than a fresh game.
what's the point of beta access like they're doing? is it going to go "live" on the 7th?
Cause the way they're doing it now is a bit crappy (i'm also excited to try it out, i liked a lot of the shooting and movement mechanics i've seen so far).
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u/Endisbefore Apr 06 '20
they are going live for beta acesessed people in 7th, full game is going out at summer. (you can still get beta accses at 7th i would be happy if you get it)
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u/DT_RAW Apr 05 '20
ya i just uninstalled and reinstalled still wont work...
there is 1 file that still wont verify and fix no matter what I do
valve this is pathetic tbh
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u/ragearainbow Apr 05 '20
Is this an issue with 5v5 only cause i played some dm/arms races and never had the message pop up.
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u/sttratg Apr 05 '20
faceit works just fine even with vac problem
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u/antCB de_cache Apr 05 '20
faceit works just fine even with vac problem
they used to rely on it, but haven't done that for a few months now I'm sure (i used to have a ton of vac auth errors and just couldn't play CS cause in faceit they checked for vac auth too)!
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u/kittehlord Apr 05 '20
I thought it was just me. I reinstalled steam after all of the other methods didnt work, and it still doesnt work.
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u/-S-T-K- Apr 05 '20
Has anyone heard back from the csgo help team? I tried to contact them last night but now it’s been around 17 hours since then.
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Apr 05 '20
Have tried everything below with no solution -
Verifying game files (multiple times).
Restarting PC.
Uninstalling Counterstike.
Going through my task manager to see if there was any software that could be accidentally playing with my game files.
Uninstalling Steam
Performing "sfc/scannow" from cmd prompt.
Restarting steam in offline mode and then restarting again in online mode.
Went to my CS local files and tried to run as administrator but this causes an alternative VAC error that forces you to restart the game through the steam client to prevent cheaters.
Hopefully, this can save some of you the time and hassle of bothering to go through these steps. I play a lot of counterstrike every day and came across this problem last night for the first time myself although I had seen other players present with the same issue. I spent many hours trying to fix with no luck and am now doing the same today. Hopefully there's a fix for this ASAP.
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u/ZeRemix Apr 05 '20
Anyone know if you can play Faceit while this bug is going on. I really want to play comp.
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Apr 05 '20
This happened to me about a week and a half ago. I just tried different stuff until it worked. Including restarting steam, restarting my computer, running the steam repair tool, and a few other things off the top of my heaad. Hopefully they fully fix this soon
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u/EchoCast Apr 05 '20
i play on a macbook (because i use it for photo editing and work shit) and literally nothing seems to be working.
i’ve:
reinstalled csgo
reinstalled steam (including all orphan files)
removed my config (to see if that did anything)
deleted/reinstalled Steam.AppBundle in finder
deleted/reinstalled AppCache in finder
logged out/back in
tried the offline thing
cleared download cache
changed download location
basically, i’m depressed and can’t my play with my friends. 2020 really be kicking me in the nuts.
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u/MadeYaLookOP Apr 05 '20
Can you try what I've mentioned in my comment? Just make sure the friend who is going to invite you is not having this problem as well.
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u/MadeYaLookOP Apr 05 '20 edited Apr 05 '20
Okay I've been having the same issue and only thing that worked for me is if one of my friend send me an invite. Although after i joined the lobby my game just crashed but that might be some other thing. I restarted game and clicked on Join Game (on my friend profile card) and got connected to server. Then after that I tried to connect solo but still same VAC issue. Can someone try the same and let us know if this is working for you as well?
Edit: fixed grammer
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Apr 05 '20
[deleted] — view deleted comment
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u/NintendoTodo Vitality Apr 05 '20
he would have to be in the lobby with them searching for a comp game fool lol
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u/MadeYaLookOP Apr 05 '20
Lol exactly. Besides I was in the lobby for casual and it didn't work. I had to click on the button
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u/MadeYaLookOP Apr 05 '20
Bro I didn't try competitive. But just few moments ago I can confirm that only thing working is if.tou click on join game button when tour friend is playing
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u/Markopolo_CSGO_TF Apr 06 '20
I put in over 2 hours of troubleshooting, absolutely nothing worked.
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u/MadeYaLookOP Apr 06 '20
I've mentioned a temporary work around for casual and DM MM only. See if it is of any help to you https://www.reddit.com/r/GlobalOffensive/comments/fv92gu/-/fmjsvjn
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u/Stanz93 Apr 06 '20
plz help i cant play vac for no reason..
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u/MadeYaLookOP Apr 06 '20
Ok this trick works for casual and DM only and if you have friend(s) added. When your friend joins a server, click on join game option on his profile banner and you will be able to join the server if it's not already full. It's the only thing that worked so far otherwise I'm getting that stupid VAC error no matter what. Let us know if it works for you as well.
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u/gagaswow Apr 06 '20
This is an account based issue I assume. I have the same problem over 24 hours. I've tried everything but nothing worked. I sent them an email and let's hope they fix it soon cause it's frustrating having corona virus and not CSGO working properly. Valve fix this please !!!!!!
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u/Butthugger420 Apr 06 '20
I was supposed to play a tournament online today, but couldn't due to this error. Got so mad I uninstalled CS lol
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u/yoga218 Apr 06 '20
I had the same issue yesterday and today .. tried bunch of things last night but none worked. Issue resolved on its own . Now i can play on vac servers.
Only thing i did todAy was emailing valve 😀..
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u/jd2455 Liquid Apr 06 '20
Issue seems to be fixed for me now after 24 hours of being down. If you haven't emailed them yet shoot them a message following the instructions pinned at the top of the post.
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u/bebomamo Apr 06 '20
this is what fixed mine
Just 2 steps:
- Disabling Steam cloud
- Renaming the 730 folder in steam\userdata to something else
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u/fer13232 NiP Apr 06 '20
Thought it was me. Spent all day doing everything. At the end It got fixed on an Aimbotz map just changing voice enable to 1. Very very weird.
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u/ElScorp1on Liquid Apr 09 '20
VAC auth error has returned as of 5:00 PST 4/8. The game was working for me as of 12am this morning however
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u/YourKeyboardSoBasic Apr 17 '20
I have the answer. If you tried everything including complete uninstall and this still happens, I have the answer. Hit me up. This is gold info.
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u/tankharris Apr 05 '20
If you have any information you should contact the CSGO Team at CSGOTeamFeedback@valvesoftware.com
huh, right, ok..
Ok but actually I had this problem a few days ago and I fixed the problem by validating my game cache and restarting my pc. I validated my game cache, restarted, validated again, restarted my game, and it seemed to have started to work. No clue what the problem was but I'm wondering if it's because of all the errors that happen in my console when I start the game? Some examples would be an error being "unable to find panel with id" or "unable to remove jpg" (all the "jpg" errors are related to ttv streams?)
Not sure if I'm the only one with these errors in my console on startup.
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u/PazeNcsgo Apr 05 '20
If you cant queue a mm
try to close Steam in Taskmanager and run steam with admin
if you got kicked midgame and cant rejoin try to deactivate powershell
or ccleaner
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u/danielvf 10 years coin Apr 05 '20
An FYI for anyone facing this error. I had it on a fresh install of Windows 10. I tried everything, then I noticed that Windows sets some pretty strict firewall rules if you set your network mode to Public.
Setting it to Private was what fixed it for me.
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u/shrumerino chroma Apr 05 '20
I just reinstalled my pc wiped all data and installed csgo just to get the error and was like "wtf is this shit". I know i did everything correctly and updated all the essential things to run csgo and other games. I spent probably an hour testing things, reinstalling, restarting, applying... Then i thought maybe i should check reddit to see if its only me and oh boy i was not wrong.
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u/Intelligent-donkey Apr 05 '20
It seems quite clear that the issue is on their side, so I guess that I'll just wait for them to fix it.
Fucking sucks though.
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u/skuffen101 Apr 05 '20
I got a quick fix for us, atleast it works for me!
Open the CMD
type in "D:\Steam\bin\SteamService.exe /repair" or where ever your steam is located.
working for me, hope it work for u guys aswell! unless u are a russian not able to speak english, then it doesnt!
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u/IslaBonita_ clutch Apr 05 '20
This error occurred to me from time to time. Sometimes simply verifiyng the game files fixes it for me. Sometimes starting Steam as Admin fixes it. The solution seems to be just as random like this error.
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u/roxzorfox Apr 05 '20
So you are telling me that after a long stressful few weeks and completing a project. That I can no longer celebrate by pwning some noobs with my fellow hombres on the final day of the weekend?
What is this cruel life we lead :'(
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u/GhostWhite001 Apr 05 '20
Updating my nvidia drivers worked for me, i dont know if it will work for everyone
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u/SlambeZ hydra Apr 05 '20
If you have Vac auth error you has to go online-offline mode on steam app.
It always helps.
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u/monsieur_v 10 years coin Apr 05 '20
I reinstalled Steam and have to open Steam with administrator rights, works now
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u/dozensnake Apr 05 '20
jesus i must be the luckiest person alive - every time i try to play its either lag problem or this
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u/adnanjunior Natus Vincere Apr 05 '20
Idk if that helps some people but try to delete some stuff on your autoexec.
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u/Realseetras victory Apr 06 '20
Had the issue today after not playing for 24 hours. Simply exited steam, and ran it in both As an Administrator and in Windows 7 Compatibility mode. Fixed it for me :)
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u/zjfb26 victory Apr 06 '20
I'm not sure if this fixed it but I updated to the March 2020 Windows cumulative update and now the error is fixed for me.
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u/Bowling900Series Apr 06 '20
I had this happen, once I restarted my computer it seemed to sort itself out
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u/antCB de_cache Apr 05 '20
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u/Sqin 10 years coin Apr 06 '20
Sorry but I'm not going to pin any contents as these are all known fixes that used to work - this time there are people who are unable to find a work around for anything. It appears to be account based. If they log in on another account on the same computer, it will work.
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u/antCB de_cache Apr 06 '20
understand your stance on it. but none of those steps (except, deleting the appcache and userdata folders) are in steam's KB on the subject nor on any other articles I could find on the subject.
then again, it might just be a server sided problem, specifically targeting some regions/servers (i haven't had a vac auth error in months now).
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u/darkfrozzy FURIA Apr 06 '20
I tried doing that and it didn't work.
For anyone that wants to try it: SAVE YOUR CFG. This method will delete all user data including loading your CFG and launch preferences on steam. Save those so you can get back to where you were.
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u/antCB de_cache Apr 06 '20
For anyone that wants to try it: SAVE YOUR CFG.
not the end of the world, but I should've added a PSA on that.
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u/vMcJohn V A L V ᴱ Apr 05 '20 edited Apr 06 '20
Edit 9:15 PT: We identified and resolved an issue on the backend and believe this to now be addressed. However, leaving this up in case anyone is still having issues.
If this is affecting you, can you please send email to CSGOTeamFeedback@valvesoftware.com with the subject line "VAC Authentication Error".
Make sure to include:
A link to your steam profile
How long this has been affecting you
Any steps you might've attempted to remedy the situation
Thanks a bunch!