Yes: If “Steam Online Services are not responding” appears immediately after the automatic restart due to mismatched mods, this is a bug in Conan Exiles Enhanced documented by Funcom. The restart can happen too quickly, causing the login to the Live Services to fail. Funcom recommends fully closing the game and starting it again.

Is it really a bug?

In the official Known Issues, Funcom describes exactly this sequence: After “Connect on Mod Mismatch”, Conan Exiles Enhanced can restart so quickly that the login to the Live Services fails. Funcom names another game restart as the workaround. That officially confirms this specific chain of errors.

That does not mean every identical message has the same cause. If Steam is actually offline, the internet connection is disrupted, or there is a general service outage, the login can fail as well. The connection is especially strong if this order occurs:

  1. The server requires a different or differently sorted mod list.
  2. Conan Exiles offers to restart with the server mods.
  3. Immediately after this automatic restart, “Login failed! Steam Online Services are not responding.” appears.
  4. In the Mods menu, the game then reports a temporary mod list.

An anonymized live check on August 11, 2026 also showed that the affected Conan server was running stably and accepted the client connection. Only the pre-login was rejected because of the required server mods. After that, the client showed the Steam/Live Services message described by Funcom. In this sequence, that argues against a crashed game server.

How to fix “Steam Online Services are not responding”

1. Fully close Conan Exiles

Close the game instead of using the automatic mod restart again. Check Windows Task Manager to make sure no Conan Exiles process is still running. Wait a few seconds so the running session can end cleanly.

2. Check Steam’s online status

Steam must be online. In Steam Offline Mode, online-dependent features are unavailable; game and client updates are not downloaded there either. If Steam itself shows connection problems, fully close Steam and restart the client. Log in again if needed.

3. Start Conan Exiles from the Steam library

Start the game fresh through Steam and wait briefly in the main menu until the online services are connected. Then connect to the server again. This is the core workaround documented by Funcom.

4. If the mod mismatch returns, check the list

If another mod mismatch appears, compare client and server. These must match:

  • the number of mods,
  • every Steam Workshop ID,
  • the installed version of each mod,
  • the load order.

Even one extra local mod or a different order can prevent pre-login. The mod names listed in a PreLogin failure line in the server log are usually the list expected by the server. They do not prove which mods were actually active on the client.

5. Reset the temporary mod list only if the state persists

The message about a temporary mod list after a server-controlled mod selection is not initially proof of a server error. Normally, the state disappears after a full restart.

If it still remains after several clean restarts, there is a community workaround: Close Conan Exiles and Steam, back up the file

ConanSandbox\Saved\ModControllerCache.json

and rename it, for example to ModControllerCache.json.bak. Then restart Steam and the game. Conan will recreate the cache. This step comes from the Funcom community and is not documented as an official Funcom fix. Do not delete the file without a backup.

Avoid the error completely (preload)

After the first successful connection, the error can be avoided permanently. During the mod check, the client stores the server’s mod list as a file itself, and you can use exactly that file as your local mod list. After that, Conan Exiles loads the server mods when the game starts: no automatic restart, no error dialog.

  1. Connect to the server once as usual and let the mod check complete fully (including the second attempt described above).
  2. Open the file <Steam>\steamapps\common\<Conan-Exiles-Installation>\ConanSandbox\servermodlist.txt and copy its full contents.
  3. In the same ConanSandbox folder, open the Mods\ subfolder (create it if it does not exist). Create the file modlist.txt there, or open it, and replace its contents with the copied text — do not append it.
  4. Restart the game. The mods now load when the game starts — no auto-restart, no Steam error dialog.

About the format: The file contains one line per mod, each starting with *; the line order is the load order and must exactly match the server order. So do not type the lines by hand — the client already writes them to servermodlist.txt with the correct local paths.

Maintenance: If the server’s mod list changes (new mod, removed mod, different order), copy the contents of servermodlist.txt into Mods\modlist.txt again after the next connection.

Workshop subscriptions: Not strictly required — the server delivers the mod files via direct download. The subscriptions are still recommended because Steam then keeps the mods updated automatically.

For game-serverhosting customers: You can find the current mod list for your own server, including Workshop links and ready-to-share text for your players, in the server panel under the “Mods” tab.

Why does single-player still work?

A local game can start without issues even though joining the server fails. In single-player, Conan Exiles uses your locally selected mod configuration and does not need to pass a server-side pre-login with an exact mod list. A successful local start therefore only proves that the client can run in general, not that its mods match the target server.

Does the game server need to be restarted?

Usually not for the error described by Funcom. The faulty state is created by the too-fast client restart and the following login to the Live Services. Restarting the server does not repair this client session.

Server intervention only makes sense if the logs show other symptoms, for example:

  • the server process is not reachable or restarts repeatedly,
  • mods could not be loaded during server startup,
  • server and client builds differ,
  • the configured server mod list is incomplete or incorrectly sorted.

Diagnosis for server operators

A few log indicators can narrow down the cause:

Observation Likely classification
No incoming connection in the server log Check the client, Steam, network, or wrong target
Connection arrives, then PreLogin failure with mods Compare the client and server mod lists exactly
Server runs stably, client only shows the error after the mod restart Check the client restart bug documented by Funcom
Multiple players report Steam problems at the same time Also check for a broader Steam outage

For a support request, note the time of the attempt, the client build, the server build, and a screenshot of the message. This makes it possible to find the matching connection attempt in the server log without prematurely reinstalling the server.

What is known about a permanent fix?

Funcom listed the issue in the official Known Issues for Conan Exiles Enhanced. In the patch notes for 1.2.0, 1.3.0, and 2.0.0 that we checked up to August 11, 2026, we found no explicit note that this exact mod restart/Live Services error chain had been fixed. That is not proof that every current login error remains unfixed. Together with a current occurrence on build 370197, however, it shows that the guide is still relevant.

FAQ

Is the Conan Exiles server broken?

Not necessarily. If the server accepts the connection and only rejects it at PreLogin because of mods, it is running. The Steam/Live Services message after the automatic restart then affects the client path.

Is it enough to click “Confirm” in the message window?

Not always with the known bug. Funcom recommends another restart. Fully close Conan Exiles and start it fresh from Steam.

Why do I see a temporary mod list afterward?

Conan Exiles loaded a server-related mod configuration for the connection attempt. While this temporary state is active, the Mods menu requires a restart before you can manage your normal list.

Do I have to download all mods again?

Not as the first step. First check the clean restart, then compare IDs, versions, and order. A complete re-download takes time and does not help if only one extra mod or the order is wrong.

When should I contact support?

If the message returns after a full Steam and game restart, or if the server continues to report PreLogin failure. Send the time, a screenshot, and preferably your active mod list. Customers of game-serverhosting can then have the connection attempt checked specifically in the server log.

Planning your own modded server? On the page Rent a Conan Exiles Server, you will find suitable plans and the most important server features.

Sources and Test Setup

Test setup: August 13, 2026. Product and patch states can change; after a later Funcom update, the status should be checked again.