Steam Guard is Steam's second layer of login security, and for years skipping its mobile version meant the items you traded away could sit in a hold for up to 15 days. CS2 items are now exempt from those trade holds, but Steam Guard still decides whether you can trade at all, how you confirm, and how long you're locked out after a security change. Here is what applies in 2026 and how to avoid the waits.
Email codes or the Mobile Authenticator
Steam Guard comes in two forms. The basic one sends a code to your email address whenever someone signs in from a computer Steam doesn't recognise. The Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator lives in the Steam Mobile app on your phone and generates a code that changes every 30 seconds and can be used once. It also lets you approve sign-ins with a push notification or by scanning a QR code.
The difference matters most when items leave your account. Every trade offer has to be confirmed, and Valve says there is no way to opt out. With the authenticator you confirm trades and Market listings in the app. Without it, Steam emails you a confirmation request instead.
Either way, Steam Guard has to be on. Valve requires it to have been enabled for 15 days before an account can trade or use the Community Market, and accounts with Steam Guard turned off can't do either.
Trade holds, before and after July 2025
The general Steam rule hasn't changed. If your account hasn't had the Mobile Authenticator for at least the last seven days, items leaving it are held by Steam for up to 15 days. That applies to trades and to Market listings, which wait before they appear for sale. If you cancel a held trade, Steam assumes you caught a hijacker and blocks trading for seven days.
CS2 is now the exception for trades. Since trade protection launched on July 15, 2025, Valve's FAQ says Counter-Strike 2 items "are not subject to trade holds or trade escrow" and move between accounts immediately, whatever protection the account has. Instead, the items are locked in the receiver's inventory for seven days and the trade can be reversed in that window, which our guide to Steam trade protection explains.
Market listings are a different story. Valve's CS2 exemption only mentions trade holds and escrow, and its Mobile Authenticator page still says Market listings created before the authenticator is added, or in its first seven days, are held for 15 days. If you sell on the Market, the authenticator still saves you real time.
Cooldowns that still block trading
Holds delay single items. Restrictions are different: they stop you from trading or using the Market at all for a set time. Valve's restrictions page lists these, and Steam Support says it can't lift any of them.
| What happened | What you lose | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Steam Guard enabled on an unprotected account | Trading and Market | 15 days |
| Mobile Authenticator removed | Trading and Market | 15 days |
| Authenticator moved to a new phone | Trading and Market | 2 days |
| Signed in on a new device | Trading and Market from that device | 7 days |
| Forgotten password reset | Trading and Market | 5 days (30 if inactive for 2+ months) |
| Cancelled a held trade | Trading | 7 days |
| Reversed protected trades | Trading and Market | 30 days |
The new-device rule catches people out. Clearing browser cookies, using a new browser, reinstalling Steam or reformatting can all make a device look new. If you've had the Mobile Authenticator for at least seven days, Valve waives that restriction, because you confirm trades on the phone anyway. Passwords have a similar trap: changing yours from Steam's settings is fine, and only a reset through the help site triggers the five-day lock.
Two Market-only conditions sit on top. Your account needs a successful purchase older than seven days but not older than a year, and after paying with an unverified payment method you have to wait three days before buying on the Market.
Setting up the authenticator without tripping a cooldown
Install the Steam Mobile app (Valve lists iOS 13 or later and Android 5 or later) and follow the set-up in the Steam Guard tab. A few choices made now save trouble later:
- Add a phone number. It lets you reset your password and move the authenticator by SMS. Valve doesn't accept VoIP numbers.
- Save the recovery code. It's in the app under Steam Guard, behind the gear icon. Valve says that if you lose access to your phone and don't have this code, you'll need Steam Support to remove the authenticator.
- Print backup codes. Account Details, then Manage Steam Guard, then Get Backup Codes. Valve suggests printing them rather than storing them on your computer, and not taking a screenshot.
- Move, don't remove. On a new phone, use Move Authenticator. Moving costs two days of trading; removing it costs fifteen.
Adding the authenticator doesn't shorten holds that already exist, and trades or listings created in its first seven days are still held (for CS2 that now affects Market listings, since CS2 trades skip holds). If your account already used email Steam Guard, adding the app creates no new restriction beyond that week. An account that had no Steam Guard at all goes through the 15-day wait.
Habits that keep you out of holds
Set up the authenticator well before you plan to sell anything on the Market. Avoid clearing cookies or reinstalling right before a trade if you don't yet have a week-old authenticator. And if codes stop working, check that your phone's clock is correct before anything else: the codes are generated from the phone's time.
Treat the authenticator's codes like your password. Valve says Steam Support will never ask for them, and you should never type them into a site that isn't run by Valve.