Troubles with Steam Purchases are quite common. The good news is those troubles have easy fixes too. Something as small as disabling the VPN can fix a purchase issue. And, even if you are facing trouble trying to troubleshoot a purchase error, Steam Support is here for you. They will provide you with customized solutions for your problem.
So, your transactions on Steam are not updating. To be precise, an error comes up which says, “There seems to have been an error initializing or updating your transaction.” So, you aren’t able to buy any titles. And, no matter what payment option you use, you are still getting the same error. We know this is very frustrating for users. Don’t worry, as we will help you troubleshoot this issue.
Steam error initializing or updating transaction: Fixes?
This error may appear for a variety of reasons. We will list out all the possible reasons and fixes to troubleshoot the issue according to what you may think the reason is.
- Opt-out of Steam’s Beta Program. It is noticed that many users who have been using the Beta version faced this purchase issue. Hence, it is advised to opt-out of the Beta program to solve the issue. Here’s how to do so:
Go to Steam Menu > Settings > Account. Under Beta Participation, select CHANGE. Then from the drop-down menu, choose Opt-out of all Beta programs. Then, click on OK. Restart Steam. - Clear Download Cache. If there are any problems due to incomplete downloads, this method will fix those. Many users facing the purchase issue have reported solving the issue by deleting the download cache. Here’s how you can delete the download cache.
Go to Steam Menu> Settings > Downloads. Then click on CLEAR DOWNLOAD CACHE. Then OK. Restart Steam. - Use Web Browser instead of Steam’s PC client. Many users have been able to solve this error by trying this basic and simple trick. Instead of the PC application, visit Steam’s official page and sign in using your account details. Search for the title you want in-store, and go ahead with the purchase.
The above techniques are supposed to solve the issue. But, if they are still persistent for you, you may contact Steam Support. Ensure you send them detailed information like your account name and the exact error message (with code, if any) you are getting.
Hope your Steam purchase goes through smoothly soon!