FIXED: A Connection Error Occurred Elden Ring [2023]

Are you among those who are consistently receiving the “A Connection Error Occurred Elden Ring” error prompt? This issue has riled up quite a portion of the title’s player base and there’s no wonder why, considering that you cannot experience the game online. 

What is the “A Connection Error Occurred Elden Ring” Issue? 

Like many titles hoping for a smooth launch but ending up in quite the opposite way, Elden Ring has had its fair share of release problems, although mostly multiplayer-centric. For instance, the Elden Ring Anti-Cheat Error has been barring players from indulging in cooperative play and ultimately ruining their promised experience.

The next issue in line leaving concerned gamers in a like-minded situation is “A Connection Error Occurred Elden Ring” or the “Connection error returning to your world,” surfacing whenever you’re trying to connect to another player in a PvP setting. Now, the problem at hand can arise both ways. If someone tries to use your summon sign and join your session, you’ll eventually be shown the error prompt and reduced to playing offline.

Other than that scenario, if you try joining someone else in the hopes of invading or helping them out with a boss fight, you might also receive the Elden Ring Connection Error When Summoned issue when you’re promptly returned to your own game world. Now, according to reports pouring in from players and community forums, issues such as these are ubiquitously widespread in the current state of Elden Ring.

• Also Read: Elden Ring Network Status Failed.

How To Fix Connection Error Occurred 

The following is our round-up of the best potential fixes out there that can possibly resolve the “Connection Error Occurred” issue for you. Be sure to follow the enlisted instructions meticulously for the best results.   

Forward the Relevant Ports for Better Connectivity

One of the first potential fixes that will help you find your way with the “Connection error returning to your world” issue in Elden Ring revolves around forwarding some of your internet router’s ports. Out of all the other fixes that people have tried, this one does really set things in motion. However, you don’t have to forward all of your router’s ports to get the game’s multiplayer to start working again. 

Instead, we’ve managed to pick up a handful of these that you need to tend to specifically for Elden Ring. Thanks to Redditor DavidHogins for sharing this fix online. The following ports need to be checked and properly opened so they can relay the relevant information to the appropriate server, all to develop effective communication between the two networking ends: 

• UDP: 27015, 27031, 27032, 27033, 27034, 27035, 27036.
• TCP: 27015, 27036.

As for the process itself, port forwarding can get fairly challenging if you’re new to this domain. It’s worth watching a dedicated video for the purpose at hand for the best results. The following guide, for instance, can help you get started with the operation. 

You can also check whether the aforementioned ports on your device have already been forwarded or not with the help of a specialized website called You Get Signal. Simply enter your IP address there followed by the port number that you want to check and that’ll be it. 

Once you’ve taken care of all that, it’s also worth getting into the Windows side of things as well. That is to say, you have to confirm whether this collection of ports isn’t being treated as a threat of some sort by Windows Firewall. This probably makes the Connection Error Occurred In Elden Ring issue manifest more than any other pertinent problem. 

You have to get into your Windows Firewall settings and prevent the security-oriented software from blocking the forwarded ports. In addition to that, it’s worth setting new outbound rules for these ports in particular and getting them to operate at full flight. The following steps are going to explain how to get this done exactly. 

1. Begin the process by searching for “Windows Defender Firewall” in the Windows Start menu. Click on the relevant application as denoted in the screenshot below to get to the next step. 

2. Continue by clicking on “Advanced settings” in the sidebar to the left of the Windows Defender Firewall window. Doing so should take you to the next step. 

3. The “Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security” window will appear as soon as you click on “Advanced settings.” From here, select “Outbound Rules” from the sidebar to the left and then proceed to click on “New Rule…” on the right-hand side of the screen. 

4. Another window will surface yet again after clicking on the “New Rule…” button. This will be a 5-step wizard aiming to take you through the rule-setting process. Get started with the operation by selecting “Port” and then clicking on “Next.” 

5. Continue by selecting the protocol of port that you’d like to specify this outbound rule for. From here on out, it totally boils down to you regarding what port you’d like to get started with. As a reminder, the following are the ports that you need to forward and subsequently specify in this section as well of your Windows PC. 

• UDP: 27015, 27031, 27032, 27033, 27034, 27035, 27036.
• TCP: 27015, 27036.

You might as well start with the UDP ports and then repeat the process one more time with TCP. Enter the names of the ports in the dedicated section below and separate each port number with a comma for quick and favorable results. Bear in mind that if you’re setting an outbound rule for TCP ports first, you will have to come back to this stage for specifying UDP ports as well. The operation works both ways. When you’re done with all ports, click on “Next” to proceed. 

6. Simply click on the toggle beside “Allow the connection” and then select “Next” in this step to move forward.  

7. Apply the rule to all three profile types to get to the next step. Click on “Next” when you’ve checked all boxes. 

8. In the final step, simply set a name for the outbound rule, add a description if you want, and finalize the whole measure by clicking on “Finish.”  

That’s all about it for specifying outbound rules and making Elden Ring’s multiplayer work again. Make sure to repeat the process above for both TCP and UDP ports for the best results. Moreover, don’t forget to forward your ports in the first place either. 

Avoid Cross-Platform Multiplayer

This may seem off-putting, but more people have had success in connecting to Elden Ring’s multiplayer when all of them were on the same hardware. Currently, the developing heads behind the title are hard at work, trying to iron out the last of the pertinent issues with the game and make the RPG experience as enjoyable as any. 

Until then, you have to put up with some of these undesirable occurrences, especially when it’s needed to avoid cross-platform multiplayer. Try playing with friends who are on the same platform for the best results. Users in the Elden Ring community seem to affirm that getting on the same hardware usually resolves most of the issues with the game’s multiplayer, but this is only one facet of the whole error-fixing scenario. 

If you’re just trying to play with random users and not known acquaintances, then this potential solution might not relate to you at all. Keep on reading to find out about more possible fixes that can help you wreck things up in the game’s multiplayer. 

Try a Different Internet Connection 

Despite people having a gigabit internet connection set up in their area of dwelling, it’s definitely worth a shot trying an alternative internet connection to see if would work or not. That’s because you never know what type of ports are currently blocked or prevented on your internet router.

The possibilities can span from many factors, so you’re just better off confirming whether it’s your specific internet router that’s causing the “A Connection Error Occurred” or it is entirely something else. After going said method though, confirm if the problem has been resolved in some way. 

If you continue to experience the same troubled affair, keep on reading to try more solutions. We’ve got plenty of more left to go. 

Modify Your DNS Setting on Windows 

Domain Name System or DNS is one of the most integral parts of our networking system that allow us to communicate with servers and other devices on the go. It’s effective in gaming as well, especially when there’s the situation of playing titles online. 

Now, the default DNS setting on a Windows 10 PC is favorable for the most part, but it can sometimes become quite the trouble-mongerer. In cases like these, we have to modify our working DNS and alter it in a way so that it performs more optimally in our favor.

This, therefore, is another potential fix that has worked for many concerned Elden Ring players. It’s actually possible to change your DNS server address and alternate it with something other than the default arrangement. Whenever the Error issue surfaces, you cannot help but try everything in your power to get back to playing online.  

However, it bears noticing that there’s no guarantee that this fix will work. Similar to other potential solutions present on this list, you might as well give it a go and see what results it brings. For now, though the following steps are going to walk you through the process of changing your DNS server address, so let’s get started.  

1. Begint the process by opening the “Settings” system app on your Windows PC. The Windows Start menu can help you do this easily or you can launch the program from the Taskbar as well if you have it pinned there.

2. After opening the “Settings” app, you’ll be faced with multiple options. Click on “Network and Internet” next to continue. The following screenshot illustrates where to click. 

3. You now will be transported straight to the internet connection settings of the Windows PC. Here, it will be possible to click on “Change adapter options” present right under the “Advanced network settings” region in the “Status” section. The image below helps describe what this step looks like in a visual manner.  

4. Clicking on “Change adapter options” will trigger a window to open on your end. You’ll now be inside the “Network Connections” region and there are going to be four types of different options to choose from. The idea here is to pick the connection type that you’re currently using on your Windows PC.

If you’re using a wired Ethernet connection, you’ll have to go with it to continue this process. The same goes for the rest of the options, so do assess your connectively meticulously. For now, however, we’ll choose “Wi-Fi” since that’s what are currently using. Double-click on the apparent option and then select “Properties” to get to the step ahead.

5. Another window, although much smaller in size this time, will now surface on the screen right after you select “Properties.” This is where you’ll be getting to alternate the DNS address on your Windows PC. Scroll down the list of the items you see and choose “Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4).” From there, select the “Properties” option to proceed.

6. After the last step, one more window will make landfall on your end of the screen, specifically when you click on “Properties.” This is where you’ll finally be putting in the alternate DNS settings in the hope of fixing the “Connection error returning to your world” issue.

Click on the “Use the following DNS server addresses” option as shown in the image below and enter “8.8.8.8” in “Preferred DNS server.” You’ll then have to enter “8.8.4.4” in the specified area for “Alternate DNS server.” As soon as you’re done with all that, don’t forget to check the box beside “Validate settings upon exit” to save your progress. Once you’ve done all that, finalize the procedure by clicking on “OK.” 

That’s about it for changing your DNS server address on Windows 10. The process above has guided you on how to slap on a different preference for your DNS, so you just might be able to play Elden Ring online. This measure isn’t too challenging to replicate on your end, so we hope that you’ve followed the guidelines carefully in this regard. 

Try launching Elden Ring and playing the game how you would to confirm whether the issue has been resolved. If you’re still unable to resolve the issue, keep on reading to try out some of the other ways present on the list. 

Try Toggling the In-Game Voice Chat Off

This might sound pretty ridiculous, but at this point, we’re willing to go through everything that resolves the “Connection Error Occurred” issue in Elden Ring. It turns out that some players have been able to start playing more reliably online by simply turning off their in-game voice chat. We’re not sure what that does exactly, but whatever the magic incorporated here, we can’t help but dive right into it. 

To get started, head over to the “Settings” section of the game and navigate to the “Network” tab. This is where you’ll observe a dedicated feature “Voice Chat.” Do bear it in mind that you have to access this area while you’re inside the game and connected online. Otherwise, you won’t see the Voice Chat option. 

Disable the feature and try joining another player from the next summon sign that you see in the game world. Again, this has only seemed to work for some players, and we cannot testify that it’ll work for you. Give it a go and let us know down in the comments section if it worked for you too or not.  

If doing this didn’t pay off either, keep on reading to try more potential solutions.

Use a VPN 

What we have here is purely an internet-centric issue that surfaces when a stable connection to the game’s internet surfaces cannot be established. The issue could link with your pertinent IP address and the locality you reside in. Therefore, in cases such as these, it’s definitely worth taking up the service of a Virtual Protocol Network, or better yet, a VPN, and confirming whether doing so helps resolves this problem or not. 

You can find a swath of VPN software out on the internet, both paid and free. If you don’t have a premium program for this purpose already, it would be fitting to nudge you toward ProtonVPN—a high-quality and free-to-use VPN that switches up your IP address and lets you browse with anonymity.

After you finally establish a link to any foreign country with your VPN, try playing the title’s multiplayer like you normally would to see if the Elden Ring Error problem still exists, especially during invasions and other PvP settings. If you still haven’t lucked out, there are a couple of more fixes to shoot at that’ll possibly sort you out with this endeavor. 

Provide Admin Privileges to the Anti-Cheat File and the Steam App

This next potential solution comes straight from the Elden Ring community on Reddit. A certain individual—LorenorSulo—has managed to dig out a trick that will drastically pin your disconnections down and keep them to a bare minimum. 

All you need to do is provide administrator privileges to two distinct files on your Windows PC and you’ll be good to go. Quite obviously, one of these major files relates to Elden Ring while the other one is the Steam desktop client. We’re not sure how exactly this plays out to be but what we do know is that this potential fix has proved to be effective for several, so there’s no reason not to give it a shot. 

The first Elden Ring file is named “EasyAntiCheat_EOS.exe” and if you’ve been storing Elden Ring’s files in the default installation folder, you’ll find this essential game component along the following pathway. 

C:\Program Files (x86)\EasyAntiCheat_EOS

If not, simply open the “File Explorer” system utility and look for the file in question individually. It’s sure to pop up somewhere on your PC. Therefore, when it actually appears, double-click on the file and select “Properties.” A small-scale window will launch afterward and allow you to tweak the many different settings associated with this game file. 

After clicking on the “Properties” button, hover over to the “Compatibility” area and select “Run this program as an administrator” in the subsequently appearing window. 

That should do the trick for the first part of this potential error fix. To continue, locate the executable Steam application on your PC and repeat the process. Double-click on the Steam app file, select “Properties,” choose the “Compatibility” tab, and check “Run this program as an administrator.” 

Make Sure Your NAT Type is Open

If you’re not on PC and are playing on any one of the PlayStation or Xbox consoles, your foremost goal should be to turn toward your NAT type whenever Elden Ring multiplayer disconnects start getting frequent. NAT is short for Network Address Translation and is basically the key protocol that gaming consoles employ for establishing stable connections in multiplayer titles. 

There are three distinct NAT types with each of them representing your capacity to play online: 

• Open: With an Open NAT, you can connect to players with all three NAT types.
• Moderate: With a Moderate NAT, you can connect to players with Moderate and Strict NAT types.
• Strict: With a Strict NAT, you can only connect to players with a Strict NAT type themselves. 

Go into the “Network” settings of your respective console and ascertain that your NAT type is Open for the best results when playing Elden Ring online. A Moderate or Strict NAT type, especially the latter, isn’t ideal for multiplayer titles and definitely not Elden Ring where multiplayer issues already plague the game to a bothersome extent. 

A wide assortment of measures can be taken to improve your console’s NAT. One of the easier approaches, in this case, includes logging into your router’s sign-in page and enabling UPnP. If that doesn’t help, you might have to contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for this issue. In other scenarios, the following can also help you get an Open NAT on your gaming console.  

Try a Wired Connection

A wired connection is leaps and bounds above a wireless one and there are a plethora of reasons supporting this statement. Wi-Fi setups can come off as fairly inconsistent from time to time whereas an Ethernet connection is so much more robust and paves the way to a stable multiplayer experience most of the time.

Gigabit routers, in particular, are much faster than even the latest iteration of Wi-Fi, which is Wi-Fi 6, and boast consolidated security. Lesser traffic interruptions, more dedicated bandwidth, and little to no network outages are some of the defining features of an Ethernet connection.

Set up a wired connection with your console or PC and fire up the game. Try summoning a player before a boss fight to see if you can go through the whole affair without a disconnection. Many players have reported that they experience a significant bump in multiplayer connectivity after slapping on an Ethernet connection. Here’s hoping that you can say the same by the time you’re done switching your wireless connection on your end. 

Use a Multiplayer Password

If you aren’t doing this already, then we highly recommend using a multiplayer password to alleviate the connection errors in Elden Ring. This is one of the many ingrained game mechanics of Elden Ring that promotes cooperative play and allows you to easily find your friend(s) to connect with in the bustling world of the Lands Between.  

To set a multiplayer password, access the in-game menu of the game and select the “Multiplayer” option. Doing that will get you to another menu. 

Once done, you will be able to access the “Multiplayer Password” section by pressing either the “Y” or the “Triangle” button on your respective console. 

You can now set a multiplayer password for your session in Elden Ring. Choose something easy and simple so your friends can use it on their end painlessly. 

After setting the multiplayer password, send it to your friends so they can join you more effectively. Doing this will help you incline your multiplayer connection to select players. This step has worked for quite a number of players, so here’s hoping that it pays off for you as well. 

Use a Different Character 

Reports are pouring in on some Elden Ring forums that the reason players are not able to play titles online concerns their character build. This is quite obnoxious, to say the least, considering that gamers cannot even upgrade their Tarnished warrior to take on the terrors of the Lands Between with an ally or two.

Some users have said that storing different save points in your game and rolling back to them whenever the Error Occurred issue starts getting frequent seems to resolve the issue. However, if you start leveling up your character again with better equipment and more attributes, you will start experiencing disconnections again.

The only way that seems plausible in this scenario is to start using the Respec feature in the game, obtained only after defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. You can basically employ this unique, never-seen-before-in-the-series game mechanic to reset the statistics of your character and start all over again. This is useful for substituting the build that you have with another one in order to experience a different class in Elden Ring. 

In our case, the benefits will be two-fold. You’ll get to restart your journey as a brand-new Tarnished warrior—as ironic as that sounds—and hopefully resolve the connection error problem that’s putting so many off. Try it in on your end and let us know how it goes. If using a different character doesn’t pay off either, keep on reading to try some other solutions. 

Invade Someone to Test Server Downtime 

From what we can gather from this whole ordeal, the “A Connection Error Occurred In Elden Ring” debacle manifests when you’re trying to summon someone to help you with a boss fight or joining another player’s world as an ally. It doesn’t surface that often when you’re pulling in an invader in your world or invading someone else.

That is to say, the PvP portion of Elden Ring’s multiplayer somehow manages to hold its ground better than its friendly-neighborhood counterpart. What you can do, in this regard, to test whether there’s server downtime preventing you from summoning random Tarnished warriors or friends is use a Small Red Effigy.

This distinct multiplayer item appears like red-hued signs that you can leave all over Elden Ring for other players in their respective worlds to interact with. The idea here is to immerse in an invasion—whether you’re at the business end of it or you’re fending off to kill other Tarnished. 

Submit a Ticket  

If absolutely nothing is working for you and everything has been tried and tested already, then it appears that the only measure left to take is submitting a ticket. The official Bandai Namco support page on the website lets you raise an issue with the developers so they can focus on whatever’s impeding you from playing Elden Ring. Use the aforementioned link to submit a ticket with details regarding your specific issue. 

That is surely bound to get the developers to concentrate on the Error hassle and get back to you with favorable results. People have been doing the same left and right since this isn’t just you that’s having one devil of a time connecting with other players—it’s more or less half the Elden Ring community. 

We’ve now exhausted every trick in the book available at our disposal for resolving this connection error hassle. Here’s hoping that some of the mentioned solutions have enabled the title’s multiplayer to work again on your end.  

• Before You Go, use the Best Elden Ring Settings to avoid such errors.