You set up the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator in the Steam Mobile App: add the authenticator, verify your phone number and save the recovery code. Once it’s on, you confirm every trade and Market listing from your phone. For Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) skins there’s no trade hold to wait out anymore. Every CS2 item you receive is trade-protected for 7 days instead.
Before you change your Steam account security
Choose the Steam account you intend to use for CS2 skin trades, and make sure you can sign in with its existing credentials. Set up the authenticator on that account before you arrange a trade, rather than changing its security settings while a trade is pending.
Phone and app needed for setup
You need a phone that can run the Steam mobile app and a phone number that can receive Steam’s SMS verification code. Keep the phone available through setup: you will use it to verify the number and save a separate recovery code.
Install the Steam mobile app
Install the Steam mobile app from the Google Play Store on Android or the App Store on iOS. Email-based Steam Guard can verify a sign-in, but it does not replace the mobile app needed for the Mobile Authenticator.
Sign in to the Steam account you want to protect
Sign in to the app with the Steam account you chose for trading. Steam’s setup instructions start with this sign-in.
Steam Guard adds a verification step beyond your username and password. If Steam asks for an existing email or app-based code while you sign in, complete that check; it is not the same step as adding the Mobile Authenticator to this account.
Enable the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator
- Open the Steam Guard tab after signing in and select Add authenticator.
- If the app opens elsewhere, tap the Menu icon (☰) and find Steam Guard. You can also swipe left to open the menu that contains it.
- Follow the app’s prompts to continue setup.
Once enabled, the authenticator generates time-sensitive Steam sign-in codes that refresh every 30 seconds. Those codes are for signing in; approving a trade is a separate action.
Verify the phone number linked to your account
If you need to add a number first, sign in on the Steam website, select your profile name in the top-right corner, then open Account Details. Look under Contact Info for the option to add a phone number.
Steam sends an SMS code to the number you are associating with the account. Enter that code in the app to verify it. The linked number can help with account recovery if you lose access to the app; it is not the recovery code you save next.
Save your Steam Guard recovery code
- Save the recovery code Steam generates after you enable the Mobile Authenticator. Keep it somewhere you can reach if you lose your phone or the app.
- While you still have app access, check where to find it again: open Steam Guard, tap the gear icon, and select Recovery Code.
The recovery code starts with an R followed by five digits (e.g. R12345). It removes the authenticator if you lose your phone; you can’t sign in with it. Never share it. Valve will never ask for it.
Confirm a trade in the mobile app
| Action | What you do in the app |
|---|---|
| Sign in to Steam | Use a time-sensitive login code when signing in on a new device or after logging out. |
| Trade or list an item | Confirm the trade or market listing as the account holder. This is not the sign-in code. |
A mobile confirmation approves the action you are taking. It does not, by itself, mean the items can move immediately; a trade hold may still apply.
CS2 trades: Trade Protection, not trade holds
CS2 items don’t go on trade hold. A CS2 trade completes immediately, and every item you receive is trade-protected for 7 days: you can’t trade, sell, modify or store it until the timer ends. If your account is compromised, you can reverse your trades from those 7 days, but it undoes all of them and puts a 30-day trading and Market restriction on your account.
Trade holds of up to 15 days still apply to other Steam items when you trade without the mobile authenticator, or after recent account changes such as a password reset. If you don’t have Steam Guard at all, you can’t trade or use the Community Market until it has been active for 15 days.
Check the item’s tradable date before your next trade
- Inspect the item in your Steam inventory. Check its tradable date before trying to send it. An item bought on the Steam Market may still be restricted even when your authenticator is active.
- Identify the delay shown. A Market Hold delays the release or sale of a Steam Community Market listing; a Market Purchase Cooldown restricts when a purchased item becomes tradable. Neither is the trade hold between accounts.
- Check for the yellow Trade Protected shield. Items you received in a CS2 trade within the last 7 days can’t be traded again until the shield disappears.
Once the item’s tradable date has arrived and any applicable hold has expired, it is ready for the next trade attempt. Changing the authenticator will not bring either date forward.
If setup or access does not go to plan
“Add authenticator” is missing
Check that you signed in to the intended Steam account and opened the Steam Guard tab, rather than stopping at a sign-in verification screen. If the app opens on another page, use the Menu icon (☰) or swipe left to find Steam Guard, then look for Add authenticator there.
My item can’t be traded yet
For CS2 items, this is almost always Trade Protection or a Market purchase cooldown, not a trade hold. Open the item in your inventory and check its “Tradable After” date. Changing your authenticator won’t bring that date forward. For non-CS2 items, check for a recent password, email or authenticator change.
You lost access to the authenticator
Use the recovery code you saved during setup to start regaining access. If you do not have it, contact Steam Support; you may need account-ownership details such as transaction history or previously used email addresses. The phone number verified during setup is another account-recovery measure, not a substitute for saving the code.
You are moving to a new phone
Start by installing the Steam mobile app on the new phone and signing in, as Steam’s device-move instructions describe. Keep access to your existing recovery details while you make the move. Changing an authenticator can affect trade holds, so do not assume a pending trade will be unaffected.
Ready to Trade
Set up the authenticator now rather than right before a trade. Account changes can restrict trading for a while, so it’s better to have them out of the way. Once it’s active and your recovery code is saved, you can swap skins with Skinvault’s trading bots and confirm each offer in the Steam app.
