6 Ways to Overcome VAC Was Unable To Verify Your Game Session

 VAC-related errors usually occur due to restrictions, but if you've played your fair share, there is something else you can try.

When you try to do a matchmake in a Steam game, do you receive the error message "VAC was unable to verify your game session"? In most cases, it occurs when you try to enter the game with cheats or hacks enabled. However, Steam sometimes throws up fake alerts when you're just trying to play fair, which results in this error message.

But what exactly is the error message VAC was unable to verify your game session? In this article, we will discuss this error in detail and offer solutions you can use to fix it.

What is VAC Was Unable To Verify Your Game Session?

In order to understand what is causing this error message, you have to understand how VAC works. VAC, which is known as Valve's Anti-Cheat, is a software program developed by the same company, Valve, which owns many popular Steam games, including Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, etc.

This software works with Steam and hunts down players who try to enter game sessions with hack or cheat software enabled. It not only detects unauthorized programs or scripts running with the game, but also detects any changes to the game files. Once the software detects unfair play, it will immediately ban the user.

As a result of this, the error message “VAC was unable to verify your game session” means that VAC, which is an anti-cheat program, cannot verify your game session because it detected some tempers in your game files or detected a third party program or script trying to change game processing.

When you encountered this error, did you run such a program or make unauthorized changes to the game files? If so, make sure the VAC doesn't ban you.

First, Make Sure You Don't Get VAC-Banned

The most common reason for this error message is that you may have received VAC-banned. Therefore, it is better to rule this out first. Follow these steps to confirm:

Make Sure You Don't Get VAC-Banned

1. Log in to your Steam account.

2. In the upper left corner, click Steam and select Settings.

3. On the left sidebar, click the Account tab.

4. On the right pane, check VAC Status.

If it says "No VAC Bans on Account", it means there is no VAC ban on your account. If it says you are banned, go to the VACbanned website, enter your SteamID in the top right search bar, and press Enter. VACbanned engine checker will show you when you received VAC tires.

If the Steam account got VAC banned recently and is sure that you did nothing wrong, it may be automatically deleted after investigation by the Steam support team is complete. Regarding the timeframe for the Steam support investigation, no information was provided on how long it would take.

So, let's wait a few days and see what happens. However, if it has been around for a long time, the investigation may be over. There is no option to appeal the VAC ban, so you only have the option to create a new account.

Now, Do Some Preliminary Checks…

If you don't tire, perform the following initial checks to rule out minor annoyances:

1. Leave your game session, restart the game, and try playing again.

2. Restart the Steam client.

3. Log back into your Steam account after logging out.

4. Restart your Windows device.

5. Disable Windows Defender or other antivirus that you use, or whitelist the client folder and Steam directory.

6. If you have been using a VPN, now is the time to turn it off.

7. Make sure the Steam client and games are updated.

8. Make sure the operating system is updated.

If none of these checks help, it's time to dig deeper into how to fix VAC was unable to verify your game session.

How to Overcome VAC Was Unable To Verify Your Game Session

1. Run Steam As Administrator

Run Steam As Administrator

VAC may not verify your game session because Steam cannot access certain game files. To rule this out, give Steam exclusive access to all system files by running it as administrator. To do so, right-click the Steam shortcut and click Run as administrator. Apply the following fix if you continue to receive the error.

2. Run Game As Administrator

Run Game As Administrator

For the same reason you have to grant administrator privileges to the Steam client, you have to run CS:Go or another game as an administrator to ensure that restricted access doesn't result in the error under discussion. Here are the steps that need to be followed:

1. Paste the path “C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common” in Windows File Explorer.

2. Open the problematic game folder.

3. Find the game executable file.

4. Right click on it and select Properties.

5. Navigate to the Compatibility tab in the Properties window.

6. Check the box for Run this program as an administrator.

3. Overriding Interference From Other Programs

While you may only get banned or get the error in question when you try to enter a game session hosted on a VAC-secured server with a cheat program, this error may occur even when playing single-player or other offline games where cheating is allowed.

So, make sure you don't run cheat programs for any Steam game other than CS:GO. If so, you should temporarily close it. Likewise, you should make sure that there are no apps or background tasks running, which you might not see, but could be causing errors. If the error persists after closing the program, apply the next fix.

4. Game File Integrity Verification

The error “VAC was unable to verify your game session” can occur due to improper installation of game files. This means you may not run any cheat programs or make unauthorized changes to game files, but Steam may consider improper installation of files a violation of VAC guidelines. As a result, you receive this error message.

To rule this possibility out, you'll need to verify the integrity of the game files, which can be done via Steam. Here are the steps you need to follow:

Game File Integrity Verification

1. Log in to your Steam account.

2. Right-click the game that is experiencing an error and select Properties.

3. On the left sidebar, click the Local Files tab.

4. On the right pane, click Verify integrity of game files.

5. Switch To Offline Mode And Back To Online Mode

If verifying game file integrity isn't working, try a somewhat unusual but practical fix by switching between Steam's offline and online modes. Performing this step will ensure that temporary issues with game connectivity are not the cause of the problem. Here are the steps you need to follow:

Switch To Offline Mode And Back To Online Mode

1. Start Steam and log in.

2. In the upper left corner, click the Steam tab.

3. Click Go Offline.

4. Click Enter Offline Mode.

5. Take a few minutes to wait.

6. Go back to the Steam tab, and click Go Online.

7. Click Leave Offline Mode.

6. Repair the Steam Library Folder

Repairing the Steam Library folder also has a good chance of solving the problem. Follow these steps to run the repair as a last resort:

Repair Steam Library Folder

1. Log in to your Steam account.

2. In the upper left corner, click Steam and select Settings.

3. On the left sidebar, click the Downloads tab.

4. On the right pane, click Steam Library Folders.

5. Next to the storage location, click the three horizontal dots icon .

6. Press Repair Folder.

Run Steam again after the folder has been repaired to see if the problem is resolved.

Conclusion

So that's how to deal with VAC was unable to verify your game session. If the problem persists, maybe you need to reinstall the game that is experiencing the error.

If that still doesn't work, you should reinstall Steam. Uninstalling Steam will delete all of your games, including their saves. Therefore, make sure to back up your storage or make sure it's uploaded to the Steam Cloud before proceeding. We hope that the above methods will help you to fix the “VAC was unable to verify your game session” error.