[FFXI-4002] Connection Lost Every Three Minutes

[Chilloa]

Problem solved! Solution below!

So I've been playing this game since '04 and I thought I've seen every error code, all in which I have fixed, but this one just stumps me. I had no problem playing yesterday, last week, or even last month but today after three minutes of playing I get the red Disconnecting Icon followed by the error code FFXI-4002, sometimes 4001, and then POL-0250, the usual Disconnection error. I've tried resetting the router (D-Link, DIR-615), my PC, and for the off chance that it may have been Playonline I tried uninstalling / reinstalling that. Has anyone figured out how to solve this and could help me get it working again? I've even Googled what others have tried but most threads end in failure.

I would call SE Customer Service but it's Friday and I'm pretty sure they're closed for the weekend. (Could anyone verify this? I'm going off of when I last called support in '06 and I can't seem to find a number or email address.)

Thanks in advanced for any help you can give me, freaking out cause I have a LS event on Sunday and can't figure out what's wrong lol. I'll be happy to provide any additional information!


My Solution

Problem solved! Thanks to a lot of help from Hempknight, yes the Cheese Sandwich creator, I solved the problem. For those of you with this problem this is what I did, no guarantee that it'll work for anyone else :

Temp. fixes:
A) Unplug your router and hook up your computer straight into your Modem. Yes, this will disable WiFi for everyone else who's using the router you unplugged but at least you'll be able to play for the time being! Note: If this doesn't work, then the problem lies either with SE or your ISP.

B) In your Routers config settings, enable DMZ hosting. Setting the IP address of your computer. Note: This is dangerous and would not make it your first option. For more information google what exactly DMZ hosting is.

Permanent fix: (Again this just worked for me, I'm not saying this is the only solution because I didn't have to explore other permanent options)
*Buy another router. My old one was a cheap piece of crap that needed to be replaced and it was the reason why I was getting this particular error.

So those were my fixes, I'm going to close this thread in the coming days. I'll wait to see if anyone has anything else to add besides my suggestions or SEs advice. Hope this will help a few other people having this issue, I know I couldn't find anything online pertaining to this with a solution.

[Kaelii]

Same here.. this has been happening for the last three days, since September 6.

I log in just fine, but after three to five minutes I get the red disconnect symbol of death, and then the Error: FFXI-4002 message that the connection has timed out. I have tried everything including cycling the modem, and nothing seems to work.

Please help!

[Chilloa]

Unfortunately I missed my LS event today and I still haven't got this figured out. I called my Internet Provider and had them reset my modem, along with doing a hard reset of it myself. Then I double checked that my firewall isn't blocking it at FFXI at all and it wasn't. So I'm pretty much convinced that the problem isn't on my side. I'll try to contact SE tomorrow with hopes that they know of a way to fix this. I'll let you know what they tell me Kaelii.

[Chilloa]

I can't seem to find the customer service phone number or web chat. Anyone have a direct link to those? I can find the link to emailing them, and I did email them, but I would prefer trying to contact them directly.

[Feynman]

I have yet to find the magic combination of things that actually lets the web chat be and option in the contact information. I recently used the following number to get in touch with SE. Ancient from my old PS2 FFXI users manual! But it still works. 858-790-7529. Sorry I can't link to it as I only have it on paper. But I'm not pranking you I swear!

[SE_James]

Chilloa,

We can offer a few suggestions if you are experiencing any of the following:
• Have difficulty connecting to or staying connected to the PlayOnline Viewer or FINAL FANTASY XI
• Crash, receive a black screen error, or get stuck at the downloading data screen upon clicking your character handle or character select button
• See your the lag meter turn red
• Encounter increased lag or connection problems near crowed areas
• Have trouble accessing specific zone(s)
• Have trouble logging in with specific character(s)
• Receive any of these errors: 3113, 3100, 4001, 1160

Suggestions:
1. Check to make sure you have properly configured or turned off any of the following: Routers, Proxy Servers, NAT Servers, Internet Connection Sharing services.
2. If you are using any kind of software/hardware Internet Sharing service/device the following ports need INCOMING access to your PC: TCP 1024 - 65535, UDP 53, and 50000 - 65535. Also, check to make sure that the ports mentioned are not blocked by your ISP for INCOMING access. Proper configuration of any of the above items mentioned should be done by following the instructions in the software/hardware manual or calling the manufacturer's technical support.
3. If you are using a router, and have configured that router for port forwarding, temporarily bypass that router and connect directly to the modem.

Please take note of the following:
• Proxy servers, and satellite connections are not supported and do not work correctly with FINAL FANTASY XI.
• Your router may require that you use a PC to configure your network settings. For more information about how to configure your network settings, please refer to the instruction manual that came with your router or contact the manufacturer directly.
• If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) specifies a DNS server, you need to make sure to configure your settings to allow packets to pass through UDP Port 53 as well. For more information, please refer to the instruction manual for your router or the information provided by your ISP.

[Chilloa]

So I did all that was suggested in SE_James post, and I still get the 4002/1 error.

Thanks for the number btw Feynman! PS2 Manual FTW! I'll give them a call tomorrow and see if they say the same thing that was posted here. Otherwise I'm gonna go out and buy another Router to see if that's the problem, I've been having problems with my current one since day one anyway.

[Feynman]

Yeah, if only you knew how long I had to look for the stupid thing!

[Chilloa]

Alright so today I've narrowed down the problem a little bit. I unplugged my router from my modem and plugged one of my PCs in directly to the modem using a cable. This has gotten rid of the error code and I can continue playing. Of course now the rest of the house doesn't get WiFi but at least I can get on FFXI for the time being. :o

So now I know that the problem doesn't have anything to do with, obviously, SE or my ISP. I'll purchase a new router in the following days when I get paid and see if that completely fixes it. /fingers crossed

[Chilloa]

I fixed my problem with this error code, with help from a friend in game. I put my solution in the first post. Hope it helps others, if only one other person! Will close the topic in a few days, others can post any other suggestions.

[oliveira]

Another suggestion:

Refrain from purchasing D-Link products.

I recomend LinkSys (Cisco's office/home brand/trademark for consumer equipment.)

[Ariaki]

So I recently moved to a new Province (I'm Canadian), got internet set up at the new place with the same company I had before. I bought a D-Link Wireless Router because that's what I was using in my previous home, with no issues. And now I get the FFXI-4002 error code after setting up the Router. I can't bypass the router because I can't prevent others from having access to the internet, which isn't fair. I need to know how to fix this problem without throwing more money out the window for a router when I know the brandname isn't a problem, and without preventing the rest of the house from having internet access.

[Wolfe]

I can pretty much gurantee that this is strictly a wifi D-Link router error message. I didn\\'t have this issue when using my Belkin router (before it fried). We\\'re using the old D-Link POS, and I can\\'t connect. I\\'m on my 360 and I constantly get the 4002 error after logging in to my character. It happens after about 30 seconds, every time.

It sure would be nice if SE would post what each of these error messages mean and explain, IN DEPTH, how to fix every single one! Instead of having to open up a new thread asking for help, or searching numerous Google results to see if you can patch together your own results.

Yes, it may be a huge pain in the ass for SE, but guess what? That\\'s called running a business. You tke care of all the legwork so your consumers don\\'t have to.

Furthermore, why are we getting these damned time out errors anyway? How many players will leave their system on overnight to bazaar something because the AH system sucks? They don\\'t time out, timing out should never be an issue. A good majority of time out issues are because SE doesn\\'t want anyone to have any hiccups in their connection. And if you have a hiccup, you MUST be cheating.

Here\\'s a nice solution. SE, contact D-Link and tell them that you are going to encourage all users to stop using their products because of a very common flaw found in it that prevents users from being able to play easily. Guess what will happen, one of two things. D-Link will admit they have crap and tell you to go ahead or they will fix the issue!

Come on SE, step up your game.

Squaresoft was good. Enix was good. Why does SquareEnix suck?

[RAIST]

A lot of times it winds up being the default settings in the router's security (SPI Firewall, etc), or NAT settings (WAN settings, things like Secured/Open NAT, SIP Filtering, etc.--features will vary by brand and design). That's why the patent response is usually along the lines of enable port forwarding and such. Basically, they're telling you that you may need to punch holes in your router's security measures for the game to work.

FFXI relies heavily on backgournd DNS and UDP traffic--this is usually what is getting blocked when people get knocked off. Check the logs, check your manuals, and adjust the configuration as appropriate.

[Vladislav]

Problem solved! Solution below!

So I've been playing this game since '04 and I thought I've seen every error code, all in which I have fixed, but this one just stumps me. I had no problem playing yesterday, last week, or even last month but today after three minutes of playing I get the red Disconnecting Icon followed by the error code FFXI-4002, sometimes 4001, and then POL-0250, the usual Disconnection error.
Hello everyone. You see Chilloa you was no have problems before but having it now, same here for me i played 2 years w/o any disconnect problems . I usually using 2 different modems on my PC's . So this 3xxx~4xxx problems started for me since apr. 25~26 , i started getting disconnect every 5min~2hour . So i think maybe problems is not in pur Modem/router , but in game cause as i can see in topics this 3xxx~4xxx started not far ago for many players .

[RAIST]

There was actually a HUGE problem with the link exchanges with two companies over seas. Tons of people using BE and O2 were unable to access certain servers in the cluster.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/22550-POL-Error-Code-0011-3001.-WTF?p=308584&viewfull=1#post308584

Often times (not always, but most the time) it is an issue between your game and SE--be that your security, router, ISP, or some other network segment in between. After verifying it isn't your local hardware/software causing an issue, need to trace your routing back to SE to see if there is a failure in between you and SE, and if you find a stall, report it to your ISP. That is ultimately what got the UK routing issues resolved.

Oh, and it is possible that after 2 years your hardware could be having issues. Especially if the device is left on 24/7. Home use equipment isn't always designed for longterm use(why we get them so cheap compared to commercial grade equipment). I had one router start going AWOL in roughly a year ($40 Belkin)--swapped in a new Netgear and the problems disappeared. Capacitors can simply dry out over time, voltage regulation gets skewed, overheating can happen during summer months and such--it all addds up to wearing the components down over time.

[bungiefanNA]

The connection problem is because one of the ports the game needs was blocked. A router by default acts as a firewall, blocking incoming traffic unless requested from your side. You have to tell it to forward incoming traffic on specific ports to specific computers. Think of it like a Post Office full of PO Boxes, and nobody has rented them yet, so the mail goes nowhere. You can send mail without a PO Box, but receiving it without an address can be a problem.

What the DMZ does is tell the router that when a port doesn't have a forwarding rule, send all incoming data to the target machine. IE, if nobody owns the PO Box, send it to this one person. Unplugging the router and direct connecting makes your machine publicly visible and removes the firewall.

Opening ports or using the DMZ is only useful if your computer has a static IP address. If you let the router assign one, it can assign a different address every time the machine connects.

The disconnection happens because the game uses one port as a keep-alive command that says you are still sending data to your character. You send the data on another port. So just that one port being blocked, 3 minutes of inactivity will force you to log out of the server.

Opening just the ports you need is preferable to the DMZ, unless you are on a read-only system like a game console. Otherwise it gives your system a larger attack area from the internet where someone that knows the IP address of your connection can try to send commands and see what responds.