Can't play multiplayer games on Steam

[NiallM8]

Tried to play a number of multiplayer games on Steam over the last 18 months or so and lots of them just do not work?

Civilization, The Forest, Raft, PlateUp just to name a few.

They're all P2P style games and for some reason I just cannot connect, I always get an issue connecting to the host and they can't connect to me either.

I'm playing on PC, happens on both ethernet and WiFi connections. I'm connected to the WiFi via a third party router (TP-Link Deco), but I don't see why that would make a difference as all the settings are default.

Could it be a port forwarding issue? DNS? I've got no idea, one of the people I was playing with is with Virgin as well and he had no problems at all.

I've posted about this issue before and didn't receive any help so would really appreciate some if possible.

[legacy1]

VM have not made the router mode NAT game friendly.

[NiallM8]

Yeah I can tell, I have friends who connect with seemingly no issues who are also on virgin media so I don't see why I cannot do the same? Also bring unfriendly to gaming is one thing but not allowing it all together is ridiculous, so there must be a configuration that would facilitate it?

[legacy1]

Dose your friend have the same hub and firmware as you?

[NiallM8]

I don't know, I have the Hub 3.0, firmware I have no idea, I'd have to check

[Reece_MH]

Hi NiallM8,

Thanks for continuing to speak with our Community in an attempt to get this resolved. I'm sorry you're still experiencing problems even without 3rd-Party equipment connected.

Just to confirm, are you using any software such as CloudFlare's WARP service? Are you able to connect to larger Multiplayer services that connect directly to a server, rather than a Host's device? Do you see any specific error messages, or does anything specific happen when attempting to connect? Do you also have any additional settings active, such as Child Safe?

Thanks, 

[NiallM8]

I do have a VPN, however I only connect to it when I need to, and I specifically turn it off when I'm gaming to avoid issues.

I am able to play games that connect to large dedicated servers, it's only when it's a game that requires one of the players to host, then I cannot connect. Most games don't offer an error when failing to connect, the closest thing I get is the game may say "failed to connect to host" or something along those lines, but as I said, that doesn't happen with every game.

[NiallM8]

Saying it now, I believe WebSafe may be on, would that affect it possibly?

[Kath_F]

Hi NiallM8, 

Thanks for coming back and sticking with us on this one. 

Looking at your update it looks as though you missed out some of Reece's post. Can you confirm, are you using any software such as CloudFlare's WARP service? 

Can you also let us know if you are running any software in the back ground whilst gaming? 

Finally, you've mentioned above that you were using a 3rd party router, is this unplugged and turned off? We just need to be sure both the hub and router aren't broadcasting simultaneously as this could cause issues too. 

Keep us posted. 

Thanks, 

[NiallM8]

I'm not using CloudFlares WARP service, and yes there will be other programs running whilst gaming, but nothing that affects the network state, the only programs will be my web browser and Discord.

The 3rd party router is no longer broadcasting a signal either.

[Robp282]

I'm having this exact same issue since switching to VM.

I play the F1 games, can't connect to the online servers every time I try to start the game.

No extra equipment for me, just the Hub 4.

I switched to using my phone as a hotspot to check if it was my equipment. It connected first time, I switch back to my Virgin Wifi. Can't connect again.

Not had much help to get this issue resolved and I'm past the 14 day period. So i'm stuck with internet that's useless for my needs.