Changing your Steam account's email and password
Changing the email address is what really makes the account yours, because the email is what Steam uses to recover it.
Takes about 10 minutes.
Changing the email or password does not void our warranty. You can do it as soon as you receive the account. The full warranty terms are in the Terms of Service.
Before you start
- You can already sign in to Steam (see Signing in to Steam for the first time)
- Remove the old Steam Guard Mobile first if your order page has that button (see the removal guide) — otherwise Steam sends the confirmation request to the previous owner's app, not yours
- Have your own working email address ready
- Keep the order page open (you will need the OTP button)
Steps
Follow this order exactly — change the email first, then the password. If you change the password first and then hit a problem with the email, you can no longer verify yourself through the old address.
Step 1 — Open account details
Go to store.steampowered.com/account/, or click your profile picture in the top right and choose Account details.
Step 2 — Change the email address
- Under Contact info, click Change my email address
- Steam sends a verification code to the account's current email
- Back on the order page, click Get OTP from email and paste the code
- Enter your own new email address
- Open your own inbox and confirm through the link Steam sends
Step 3 — Change the password
Back on the account details page, choose Change my password.
Steam now sends the verification code to your new address — you no longer need the OTP button on the order page.
Pick a password you use nowhere else, and never the same one as your email account.
Step 4 — Verify it worked
Sign out everywhere (Account details → Sign out of all devices), then sign back in with the new password. If you get in and the verification code arrives at your address, you are done.
What to watch out for
- Do not spend the remaining Steam Wallet balance on the account. That balance belongs to the previous owner, and spending it can get the account flagged and locked.
- Do not try to change the account name (username) — it cannot be changed anyway. What you can change is the display name.
- Always leave Steam Guard on. Never turn it off.
If you get stuck
Steam says you must wait 5 days before changing the email
This happens when the account had a recent security change. Wait the period out and try again. You can play normally in the meantime.
You clicked Get OTP but no code appeared
Steam sometimes sends a confirmation link instead of a numeric code, which the OTP button cannot pick up. Open the mailbox in full and click the link there.
You changed the email but the order page still shows the old one
That is normal. The order page shows the credentials as delivered; it does not follow the changes you make at Steam. What counts is the value in the Steam account itself.