POL Error 4001 [PLEASE] POL Error 2050

[Thebombdotcom]

I'm experiencing a POL ERROR 4001 exactly every 30 minutes after logging onto Asura server for the entire month of September. The message along with the error notifies me that there is No response from the Final Fantasy XI server and that my connection has timed out. Along with the Error code: 2050 telling me i have no response from the server and that I should check my network connections ect.

I had the Techs from my Internet Provider over today to see if they could figure out if the issue is on my end but there seems to be no issue on my end. I've run internet speed tests as well while my character begins to red dot averaging about 245 downloading and 45 uploading so I am fairly sure that the problem is not my internet at this point. I did notice that SE had mentioned something about DDoS attacks around the 4th and am curious if they think the problems I am experiencing are a result of those.

Someone on the FFXIAH.com forums mentioned that he had been experiencing the same issues although less frequent than my every 30 minutes issue. This person mentioned that after he had turned off his routers firewall that it stopped for him..
My windows firewall is already turned off so I can play 11, am I expected to turn everything off so that I can play the game as I normally have in the past?

I haven't been able to do anything with my linkshell because of this issue and I can't even do solo Salvages because at the 30 minute mark I dc and when I log back in I am jettisoned from the battlefield.

[Sirmarki]

I read someone having a similar issue, and resolved it by resetting their TCP/IP stack.

[Thebombdotcom]

I read someone having a similar issue, and resolved it by resetting their TCP/IP stack.

appears not to be the case. or the only case. I tried by your suggestion and this time I did dc differently though. Instead of my character getting Red Balled for a solid minute before my R/S started falling. This time no Red Ball at all as the R/S started to fall. Same POL Error 4001 -_-
I haven't been able to play for a solid 2 months that I paid for while not active and I can't even play my beautiful well geared character that I worked so hard and long to get to near perfect. I am so sad.

[Thebombdotcom]

All of these Errors when I dc say the same thing D: I have timed out for the first error and for the second it says my network issues but I hhave internet even as I start to DC. Still wondering if disabling my modem's firewall will actually stop this but then if I do that then that leaves my entire network vulnerable doesn't it? I plan to play for several hours during the game.. This has always been my go to game.

I got a brand new PC July before last and played 11 almost a full year on it so far, when I moved the only thing different than what it was several months ago when it worked is that my internet provider changed. But the guys at Mediacom have been out here twice to check from the street to my modem inside and they tell me there's nothing wrong with the internet here.

I've reset and renewed by IP so far just really want to get this resolved I appreciate the assist!

[Dzspdref]

I had that problem once before: I would log on and about 1/2hr into playing my character got the "red dot of doom" to appear and i d'ced and COULD log back in, after i reset modem and computer, but would happen again faster. Had the Comcast people out here and on the telephone poles and checking everything. Final discovery: birds or squirrels had been using the wire from my house to the pole so much that their nails and claws had punctured the wire and then any amount of air or moisture compromised the signal being received after wire heated up enough to open the claw rips/punctures on the wire. They replaced the wire from my house to the pole; added some sort of thing to the coating to deter them from walking along it; problem hasn't happened since. See if that might be it?

[Thebombdotcom]

Just wanted to report that this PROBLEM is ongoing. It has been nearly two months, one month since I posted looking for help, and still no fix or resolution. Does anyone at Square Enix care or am I just SOL? Ive tried disabling my firewall, reset my TCP/IP stack, Ive had my internet provider's tech people come out 2x to look at everything from the street to the inside and I still am disconnecting every 30 minutes like clockwork. I notice that there are new threads everyday made by multiple people having the same issue. Am I just to assume that because this game isn't getting any new content that they have stopped resolving technical issues from here on out as well? I've been paying my subscription fees since July and have not been able to play a single day without constant interuption since JULY, going on 4 months now guys. Pardon me but WTF is going on please, help

[Sirmarki]

Just wanted to report that this PROBLEM is ongoing. It has been nearly two months, one month since I posted looking for help, and still no fix or resolution. Does anyone at Square Enix care or am I just SOL? Ive tried disabling my firewall, reset my TCP/IP stack, Ive had my internet provider's tech people come out 2x to look at everything from the street to the inside and I still am disconnecting every 30 minutes like clockwork. I notice that there are new threads everyday made by multiple people having the same issue. Am I just to assume that because this game isn't getting any new content that they have stopped resolving technical issues from here on out as well? I've been paying my subscription fees since July and have not been able to play a single day without constant interuption since JULY, going on 4 months now guys. Pardon me but WTF is going on please, help

Are you able to try and alternative connection, maybe a tether through a phone or something? That way you can ultimately eliminate any ISP issues.

The other thing I would suggest is to use the Tech support template, as those that don't usually get overlooked.

[Thebombdotcom]

Example:
Thread Title: Connection to game server times out every 30 minutes.
Error Code: FFXI-4001. No response from Final Fantasy XI server. Connection
timed out.

Details:
I've been experiencing these time outs every time I log into the game since the beginning of July, 2018. I am able to connect to the server but time out without fail every 30 minutes after logging in, every time without fail. I usually try to log right back in but the same thing occurs no matter what I do every 30 minutes. I've had my ISP come to the house and check the lines to and from the house, as well as the inside connection. I've tried to reset my TCP/IP stack with no resolve yet either.

Steps:
Experiencing a consistent connection time out every 30 minutes after logging into the game.
==============================
FFXI-4001
No response from server.
Connection timed out.
Press OK to shut down.
==============================
Given 20+ tries but the result was the same.
After restarting both cable modem and router, made another attempt to log back in to the game but the result was the same.
Date & Time: July through November (present)
Frequency: Always
Platform: PC
PC Manufacturer & Model Number: CybertronPC Intel(R)Core(TM) i7-770
OS: Windows 10 Home
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
ISP: Mediacom
Type of Internet Connection: 200mb Cable Internet

[Dzspdref]

Just to try an additional help, in case it has somehow affected your PC:
In the Menu Configurations there is a timer that shuts down your game after 30 minutes of inactivity/input UNLESS you have turned that off. Is that turned back on somehow, or affecting your playtime? Because if it is and you go AFK bazaaring or just chatting, it will d/c off your character. Exactly at 30 minutes. I know it's weird and you may have turned it off or are not afk, but couldn't hurt to check.

[Sirmarki]

In the Menu Configurations there is a timer that shuts down your game after 30 minutes of inactivity/input UNLESS you have turned that off.

Worth suggesting but I doubt that is the case, as it wouldn't produce a 4001 error which is normally caused by a connection issue.

[Thebombdotcom]

Come on now I'm not a basic b@&%h i know about the inactivity setting.. its not that, that gets disabled everytime I get the game setup on any new pc. Its been disabled since I bought this pc and loaded FFXI onto it a year ago. Who d@#& do I need to s@*#$ to get a professional up on these forums

[Thebombdotcom]

Really apologize about being snarky but this is going on almost 6 months that I have been paying for FFXI and I haven't been able to do anything because of these errors. This pretty serious issue for me because I have been playing ffxi off and on since it came out on Playstation when they released it with HDD. So yes the auto disconnect/inactivity button is checked, always.
Recently while playing I've tried to finish Salvage runs solo within the 30 minutes I have before the error message starts to disconnect me but can never manage to unless I forgo a big chunk of alexandrite farming. As for Omen I imagine that with only 30minutes I couldnt be certain it'd be worth it cause even if I had logged in just before a group enters I wouldnt be sure I'd get all the cards to make it having been worth it.
Is this not happening to anyone else? Did they fix it for the previous posters? Whatever became of those DDoS attacks did they resolve that issue? I'm looking into tethering my phone's internet today..have to go see Verizon about getting a USB cord, that will cost me 60 more dollars, to make that happen. Otherwise I will just go and test and see if its the internet by going over to my brothers house and using his internet for a hour.
Even if it is the internet here at my new place what would I tell my internet provider about this problem that I haven't already told them the two other times they were here

[Thebombdotcom]

Ok so I logged in to make sure that the auto disconnect/inactivity button was "OFF" it was but just to be sure it wasn't something faulty with that I set it to 60 mins disconnect. I still got my error at 32min mark. So pretty sure its not that.

[Sirmarki]

Ok so I logged in to make sure that the auto disconnect/inactivity button was "OFF" it was but just to be sure it wasn't something faulty with that I set it to 60 mins disconnect. I still got my error at 32min mark. So pretty sure its not that.

Assuming its not against SE's policies. Have you tried logging in via a VPN? and seeing how you get along with that? You can get free editions like Windscribe (or you can opt for paid membership). FFXI doesn't use much bandwidth as far as I'm aware so I doubt you'll even go near the limits with just the game.

[Nyarlko]

This may be a long shot, but can you verify in your OS Advanced Power Settings that your network card is not set to power down after 30min of inactivity?

To get there in Win10:
Control Panel > Power Options > pick a power plan > Change plan settings
(on Edit Plan Settings screen) click "Change advanced power settings"
(on Power Options screen) expand the entry for "Wireless Adapter Settings" > "Power Saving Mode" > change all entries to "Maximum Performance"

Should look similar to this:
https://i.imgur.com/tEQh9K5.png

If the Power Saving Mode is set to anything but Maximum Performance, then the network card will power itself down after a certain amount of time "idle" in an effort to save electricity, and oddly enough, FFXI traffic may not qualify as "active" enough for it to stay at full power.

Let me know if this helps. :D

If you are on a laptop, there will be two entries for plugged in or not. I recommend changing both of them.
If a desktop, then should be only one, but I work tech support and have run into desktops that think they are tablets and have both, so it's worth double checking either way.

If you want to test if this might be the case without changing systems settings first, try to login all the way into the game for ~20min, then /logout and log back in. If you don't DC after ~10min, and then DO DC closer to 30min after the 2nd login, then it is extremely likely to be related to your power settings for your network card.
============
Another possibility: There's been a lot of major network issues/failures in the past month or so, including Mediacom specifically: https://whnt.com/2018/11/12/internet-outage-affects-1000s-across-north-alabama/.

[Thebombdotcom]

This may be a long shot, but can you verify in your OS Advanced Power Settings that your network card is not set to power down after 30min of inactivity?

To get there in Win10:
Control Panel > Power Options > pick a power plan > Change plan settings
(on Edit Plan Settings screen) click "Change advanced power settings"
(on Power Options screen) expand the entry for "Wireless Adapter Settings" > "Power Saving Mode" > change all entries to "Maximum Performance"

Should look similar to this:
https://i.imgur.com/tEQh9K5.png

If the Power Saving Mode is set to anything but Maximum Performance, then the network card will power itself down after a certain amount of time "idle" in an effort to save electricity, and oddly enough, FFXI traffic may not qualify as "active" enough for it to stay at full power.

Let me know if this helps. :D

If you are on a laptop, there will be two entries for plugged in or not. I recommend changing both of them.
If a desktop, then should be only one, but I work tech support and have run into desktops that think they are tablets and have both, so it's worth double checking either way.

If you want to test if this might be the case without changing systems settings first, try to login all the way into the game for ~20min, then /logout and log back in. If you don't DC after ~10min, and then DO DC closer to 30min after the 2nd login, then it is extremely likely to be related to your power settings for your network card.
============
Another possibility: There's been a lot of major network issues/failures in the past month or so, including Mediacom specifically: https://whnt.com/2018/11/12/internet-outage-affects-1000s-across-north-alabama/.

I tried changing my power setttings all to Maximum Performance and also logged in waited 20 minutes then logged completely off the server and onto POL, then logged right back in and I disconnected in within 10 minutes. So what does that tell you? **Also** headed over to my brother's, who has Comcast, to test it on his internet later today.

[Nyarlko]

I tried changing my power setttings all to Maximum Performance and also logged in waited 20 minutes then logged completely off the server and onto POL, then logged right back in and I disconnected in within 10 minutes. So what does that tell you? **Also** headed over to my brother's, who has Comcast, to test it on his internet later today.

Given the preciseness of 30min intervals, now that we've ruled out power settings as a cause, I'm leaning towards it being a DCHP issue. Please try the following, when you are on your home network:

1. Hit Windows key > type: cmd
2. Right-click "Command Prompt" in the search results and select "Run as Administrator"
3. In the command prompt screen, type: ipconfig /all

You should be seeing something similar to this below. (I censored out my own info, but you should get the picture.)

https://i.imgur.com/ob7gJS9.png

The only parts we care about right now are the dates/times listed for "Lease Optained" and "Lease Expires". I suspect that when you check, they will be set for exactly 30min apart. If this is true, then unless you are comfortable with the idea of mucking about in your router's firmware, you will probably need to contact your ISP and have them increase the lease duration to at least 24hrs. Please let me know the results of your tests. ^^

(In my case, I have it set to the maximum that my router will allow, which is over 3 months, but the maximum number of devices on my network is always the same 3 devices. If you have tons of devices connecting to your network, don't set it anywhere near this high.)

[Thebombdotcom]

Just to update! Its the day before Thanksgiving here in the US I am going to attempt the above mentioned method in hopes that is a potential resolve.
I wanted to say that the day I was going to take my desktop over to my brother's place to test the game on his internet connection I had already made an appointment with Mediacom to come over to turn on all of our premium channels, so while they were here they went about trying to assist with this problem again. This time we got a tech who also in his spare time plays FF14 as well as Elder Scrolls Online so I thought for sure he would understand my frustration and perhaps have some hidden knowledge that the others before him hadn't discovered.
Sadly he was here for 7 hours that day, trying to troubleshoot. I let him encounter the problem himself by logging into the game and witnessing it himself every 30 minutes of those 7 hours so he could by trial and error try and figure out if it was something physically here at the house. He tried multiple things from changing out splitters in the attic to making sure the cables were all the new cables they normally require for well functioning signals. He examined the outside multiple times, he had the call center for Mediacom recallibrate our modem from their end. I think he stayed here well after nightfall when he had arrived sometime around 1pm. The only thing he thinks it could be if nothing else would be either the speed of the internet (we have the 200 mbs deal which for anyone else would be enough for gaming/streaming) or it could be our modem - which although the modem was brand new upon moving in out here could possibly be faulty in some way. He had me try to plug my current ethernet cord into the modem using all the different ports, once that didn't work he gave me a totally brand new ethernet cord that I've likewise plugged into all the ports. Which really only leaves me with 2 options remaining at this point which is to replace completely this brand new modem or upgrade to the 500 mbs deal. He says that usually the 200 mbps would work for gaming and streaming but perhaps because we live in a relatively secluded location, 20 minutes from a big city out in the woods, that perhaps for whatever reason we don't have enough speed to keep a good and consistent connection. We're going to buy a modem he specifically suggested in hopes that will be a resolution on black friday. I am going to try the above just now to see if that does anything. Otherwise I just want to let anyone happening upon this post in the future know that we have thoroughly gone through all other possible identifying possibilities here at the house and beyond the two avenues left to us by the last tech we are really running out of options. I just want to thank everyone who has been involved and tried to help thus far, I wish it didn't have to be this difficult to figure out what the problem here is but very soon there will be little doubt that it has nothing to do with my internet provider. By the way Happy Thanksgiving/Holiday everyone!

[Thebombdotcom]

Given the preciseness of 30min intervals, now that we've ruled out power settings as a cause, I'm leaning towards it being a DCHP issue. Please try the following, when you are on your home network:

1. Hit Windows key > type: cmd
2. Right-click "Command Prompt" in the search results and select "Run as Administrator"
3. In the command prompt screen, type: ipconfig /all

You should be seeing something similar to this below. (I censored out my own info, but you should get the picture.)

https://i.imgur.com/ob7gJS9.png

The only parts we care about right now are the dates/times listed for "Lease Optained" and "Lease Expires". I suspect that when you check, they will be set for exactly 30min apart. If this is true, then unless you are comfortable with the idea of mucking about in your router's firmware, you will probably need to contact your ISP and have them increase the lease duration to at least 24hrs. Please let me know the results of your tests. ^^

(In my case, I have it set to the maximum that my router will allow, which is over 3 months, but the maximum number of devices on my network is always the same 3 devices. If you have tons of devices connecting to your network, don't set it anywhere near this high.)

So I tried the ipconfig/all command.. my results were: Lease Obtained..... Saturday, November 17, 2018 4:40:40pm
Lease Expires...... Monday, November 26, 2018 11:23:38pm

[Nyarlko]

So I tried the ipconfig/all command.. my results were: Lease Obtained..... Saturday, November 17, 2018 4:40:40pm
Lease Expires...... Monday, November 26, 2018 11:23:38pm

XD Well, that would match up with the reset done by your very dedicated tech. I was hoping to get the original settings, but if you are still having the problem with the new settings, then that would rule out DCHP settings at least.

The only thing that I can think of at this point is a very dusty memory of having to do "something" when I first started playing this game way back at PS2 launch because I had a similar problem (but was on *gasp* dial-up back then.) It had something to do with the type of connections the game makes and the fact that their server was in Japan. Kinda sorta think it was needing a static IP and think my ISP might've done something to my account when I called them... mighta been a port issue too? But this was a PS2 on dial-up before cable internet existed...

Unfortunately, my brain is a jerk and is refusing to tell me any details about a 16yo memory. ._. If I manage to dredge up anything helpful, I'll let you know.

Some Google results that may be worth reading:
http://support.eu.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?id=455&la=2&kid=61288&ret=faqtop&c=5&sc=0
http://support.na.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=11865&id=447&la=1&ret=faq&pv=20&page=8&c=0&sc=0&so=0
https://portforward.com/final-fantasy-xi/
https://www.ffxiah.com/forum/topic/35988/port-forwarding/

[Jezey]

I'm having the same error code recently and it is on going. Sometimes I hit the 30 minute mark then sometimes I dc in a matter of less then 10 min. I honestly think its square enix. All my other games work perfectly fine with my connection and computer. I play a lot of Fortnite and I don't have issues like this.

[kegfreak]

I'm having the same issues, I think it may have to do with SE. FFXI wasn't designed for this high speed internet. I have Mediacom with 100 Mbs download speeds and it started doing when the modems got upgraded. Right now I have to play tethered to my iPhone and was streaming the game until these newer model modems came out. I installed the game on my laptop and I can't even do the initial update without it going down. SE really needs to do something about this.

[Sirmarki]

I'm having the same issues, I think it may have to do with SE. FFXI wasn't designed for this high speed internet. I have Mediacom with 100 Mbs download speeds and it started doing when the modems got upgraded. Right now I have to play tethered to my iPhone and was streaming the game until these newer model modems came out. I installed the game on my laptop and I can't even do the initial update without it going down. SE really needs to do something about this.

Sounds like its more an issue with your ISP, to be honest.

[VoiceMemo]

Reading some old threads say that this may be because of playonline itself, not ffxi. The test to show this was just to login to playonline but NOT into FFXI. If you get a dc message then it is the "alive" connection that playonline tests.

So just login to playonline and test if you error at the 30 min mark.

[Nyarlko]

@kegfreak: Have you tried any of the troubleshooting tests that I suggested to the OP? Especially since your situation involves a new modem, it's quite possible that the default settings are messing things up for FFXI (since it doesn't work quite the same as modern network based games.)

[kegfreak]

When I get home I will check those out.

[kegfreak]

Reading some old threads say that this may be because of playonline itself, not ffxi. The test to show this was just to login to playonline but NOT into FFXI. If you get a dc message then it is the "alive" connection that playonline tests.

So just login to playonline and test if you error at the 30 min mark.

Checking that now

[kegfreak]

@kegfreak: Have you tried any of the troubleshooting tests that I suggested to the OP? Especially since your situation involves a new modem, it's quite possible that the default settings are messing things up for FFXI (since it doesn't work quite the same as modern network based games.)

1. Tower PC but I check the power anyway, its at max

2. Check the lease, it set at 24 hours.

[kegfreak]

Reading some old threads say that this may be because of playonline itself, not ffxi. The test to show this was just to login to playonline but NOT into FFXI. If you get a dc message then it is the "alive" connection that playonline tests.

So just login to playonline and test if you error at the 30 min mark.

I just got a POL-0250 Error from POL.

[kegfreak]

with enough google a solution was found in two simple steps

step 1. before logging in click on network Connection on the main POL screen

https://imgur.com/FNAKM8D

step 2. Change Disable (which is default) to Enable

https://imgur.com/7UY8dBZ

I've been online for about an hour now.

[VoiceMemo]

So it was POL that was issue, not game.

[Sirmarki]

So it was POL that was issue, not game.

Aren't they both essentially, the same thing?

[kegfreak]

I just hope Thebombdotcom sees this fix.

[VoiceMemo]

Aren't they both essentially, the same thing?

Both are required to run ffxi yes, BUT identifying what was causing issue helped to determine fix.

[Thebombdotcom]

WoW a year after I started this thread I am hopeful that this is the fix I've been waiting for!

[BST]

WoW a year after I started this thread I am hopeful that this is the fix I've been waiting for!
Did it work?

[Karppa]

I have been experienced same problem..only thing what changed.. was faster mobile network from my isp which is now 300 mbps..previous was 150 mbps.. need to contact to my isp dont know what is going on..tried almost everything..

[VoiceMemo]

Did you try the fix on the bottom of page 3? turning off the keep connection alive in POL?

[Karppa]

Yea it is now enabled will see if it helps

[Karppa]

Nope still get pol error msg it happens much quicker if char is afk..gonna call my ISP provider..

[VoiceMemo]

Er you're supposed to DISABLE the keep alive check, it is enabled by default.

And you said it occurs when idle, did you turn off the autologoff timer in config/global?

[Alhanelem]

Er you're supposed to DISABLE the keep alive check, it is enabled by default.

And you said it occurs when idle, did you turn off the autologoff timer in config/global?
The disable setting says (Reccomended). I don't recall it being set to Enable by default.

[Karppa]

Umm why my connection works fine with VPN? no response from server msg 4001 anymore..I guess it is router thing?

[VoiceMemo]

We had that issue before with certain ISPs. It was when the the DNS was being updated by certain ISP, so this is likely your ISP. It usually resolves itself in a few days once DNS is fully propagated across your network.

[Karppa]

Ok I hope so :D

[Poran]

if it was a DNS problem wouldn't it be more likely to not be able to connect to the servers at all instead of losing connection frequently?

ISP says everything is fine on their end and i kinda believe them cause FFXI is the only service that has issues with disconnects.

do players on free trail get lower priority and get kicked first when the server is under stress? is anyone affected that has a subscription running?

*edit* just had another 4001 and followed by a 3100 error code in game while i was disconnecting i also wasn't able to send the edit of this post. looks like its some issue with SEs servers.

[Karppa]

Well If so how come I don't dc when I use VPN?