Steam Error Code e502 l3 Explained

Steam error code e502 l3 tends to appear from time to time, keeping users from purchasing games or even accessing certain portions of Valve’s storefront, such as your shopping cart. Most recently, it cropped up during the release of the survival horror simulation game, Sons of the Forest, which hit a whopping 260,000 players at launch. If you’re here, you’ve run into the issue now or in the past, and you’re wondering how to fix it – or if there even is a solution to the pesky problem. 

What is Steam Error Code e502 l3? – Answered

Steam error code e502 l3 is a server issue with Valve’s storefront. It appears when Valve's Steam servers have been overloaded with too much traffic, which tends to happen with a big new release like Sons of the Forest, when there’s a large sale, or when there’s another event happening like Steam Fest or Mystery Fest. 

Unlike certain network error codes like 105  and 118, which are client-side network problems linked to router and Internet issues, e502 l3 is often server-side and can't be fixed by users. Again, it simply means there's too much traffic on Steam at the moment, keeping you from effectively communicating with Steam.

Typically, the issue appears when trying to access a game page or your shopping cart. You'll receive a message, such as "There was an error trying to load your shopping cart". Specifically, it kept cropping up for me when trying to access the Sons of the Forest Steam page, add the game to my cart, and then when trying to complete my purchase. 

Is There a Fix for Steam Error Code e502 l3? – Answered

The only fix for error e502 l3 and others like it is to wait it out. There’s really nothing else that can be done, unfortunately. That’s not great advice when you want to play the latest game or grab a title that’s on sale now, but waiting for other users to complete their transactions and relieve the load on Steam’s servers is the best (aggravating) option.

You could try resetting your router and Internet connection just to be safe. You could also close Steam and open it again. And you could also try resetting your computer. But almost 100% of the time, error e502 l3 will fix itself once Steam's servers become more stable and traffic to the app dies down. And really, there's no need to reinstall Steam. 

It’s worth pointing out that if you run into error e502 l3 in the middle of a transaction, Steam will log that transaction even if an error page appears or your session times out. It won’t allow you to make multiple purchases, and it will sometimes show an item in your cart, but refresh to show it in your library.

It’s also worth mentioning that Steam refreshes every day at 1 p.m. EST, and this is when the storefront will see an influx of users during a big release or sale, so it’s best to wait 30 minutes to an hour before hopping on the store – if you can wait. 

But that’s that on how to “fix” Steam error e502 l3. I wish there was a better answer or solution, but it's simply a matter of patience. Let some time pass, then try again. Hopefully, you’ll get past it soon enough! 

Featured image by GameSkinny.