Packet loss and network delay on North American servers lately

[MickySux]

Who else is dealing with this/witnessing it? I play on Aether and I swear every single pf I join there are ping issues. People will be lagging or disconnecting at the same time so its obviously not just a me issue, and my Internet is completely fine. It's only FFXIV. We'll wipe to mechanics in an ultimate because 3 people will freeze at the same time and show the disconnect icon for a moment or so. All my friends that play on Aether are having the same things happening. I'll be in voice chat playing with them and several of us will say we're lagging at the same time. There is no specific time these ping spikes start, it just seems to be going on all day. It's been going on for quite a bit now so I'm very surprised Square Enix hasn't made a post about it like they did last time when AT&T customers were having issues. Not posting this looking for tech advice, this post is simply for other people to post if they are having issues as well in hopes SE comments on it. I live in New Jersey and my ISP is Verizon.

[DAMOTA]

I am having the same issues, ISP is Verizon as well and I am in NYC area.

[Zel_Zackarias]

Currently having this issue. Every single day, around peak hours, there's a California SE node that experiences extreme issues. Tracing the route leads to this one server node that must be on fire every day during peak hours. It causes mine and my boyfriend's ping to fluctuate wildly causing major lag. The problem persists for hours. Sometimes only a couple, but most often for the entire night starting around 5-7pmEDT until very early the following morning (around 3 to 5amEDT). We live on the East Coast of the US in the NYC area. It's not our internet, it's 100% this SE server node causing problems. It makes it impossible to play when this happens. We're getting tired of paying a sub every month and having a bulk of our playtime become unplayable because of this issue.

We've been experiencing this issue for the past month and a half. Normal ping for us is 69 to 72. When this California node starts acting up it goes anywhere from 69 to upwards of 250.

[Phen]

Same issue, East Coast local ISP. Last few weeks, lots of freezes but its gotten worse. Fine on midday weekends but prime time is unplayable- had to drag my static to Materia for the night since the 4 of us in the same state have the issue. Materia lag was consistent at least.

[Qzthlxfpwm]

Good morning! Thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

We apologize for any inconvenience experienced when trying to play Final Fantasy XIV. For us to better assist you, please respond with the following information:

- Platform (PC, PS4, Mac)
- Any error codes or messages you receive upon disconnect (if any)
- Type of connection (wired or wireless)
- Other programs running while the game is playing (if any)
- Frequency at which error occurs

Wired or WIFI connection?
When the disconnect occurs/How often?
Does the disconnection happen to one character or multiple characters?
Is a VPN being used when this occurs?
Where in game do you get disconnected?

We hope we can be of assistance in helping you enjoy the exciting world of Final Fantasy XIV!

[spiraling]

I am having the same issue. US east coast, ISP is Verizon. My internet is fine and overall connection stays stable, it's only XIV which is having problems. The game is unplayable when this is going on. This started about 1-2 weeks ago for me and has been consistently happening.

My static has 3 east coast players (including me) and we all lag/rubberband/disconnect at the same time. It happens multiple times every raid night from about 7:30pm - 10pm eastern time, super frustrating as we have had to cancel/end early several times now. We have tried traveling to a different DC (Aether, Dynamis, Primal) and have the same issue on each one.

Here is the info asked for in post #5:

- Platform (PC, PS4, Mac) -> PC
- Any error codes or messages you receive upon disconnect (if any) -> usually I don't fully disconnect (rubberbanding and lag). 90002 when I do disconnect.
- Type of connection (wired or wireless) -> wired
- Other programs running while the game is playing (if any) -> Discord, OBS
- Frequency at which error occurs -> multiple times each hour

Wired or WIFI connection? -> wired
When the disconnect occurs/How often? -> between 7:30pm and 10pm eastern time, several times an hour
Does the disconnection happen to one character or multiple characters? -> all 3 east coast players in my raid group lag/rubberband/dc at the same time. The non-east coast players do not have any issues.
Is a VPN being used when this occurs? -> I have tried both with and without, didn't seem to make a difference.
Where in game do you get disconnected? -> in duty instance for The Omega Protocol

[DAMOTA]

- Platform (PC, PS4, Mac) - PC
- Any error codes or messages you receive upon disconnect (if any) - Usually does not fully disconnect just intense lag but if it does it is 90002
- Type of connection (wired or wireless) - Wired, 1GB internet
- Other programs running while the game is playing (if any) - Discord (This has never been an issue in the past)
- Frequency at which error occurs - It will happen multiple times a day sporadically

Wired or WIFI connection? - Wired
When the disconnect occurs/How often? - All times throughout the day
Does the disconnection happen to one character or multiple characters? - It has happened on all characters I have played on, multiple different NA data centers (Aether, Primal)
Is a VPN being used when this occurs? - No VPN, never had to use one in the past.
Where in game do you get disconnected? - Multiple places (Dragonsong Reprise, Pilgrims Traverse, Overworld, Roulettes)

[Zel_Zackarias]

- Platform: PC
- Any error codes or messages you receive upon disconnect (if any): Usually no disconnect, just extreme lag and high ping, if it does disconnect it's a 90002 error.
- Type of connection: Wired
- Other programs running while the game is playing (if any): Discord
- Frequency at which error occurs: Every single night during peak hours (about 5pmEDT to 4amEDT)

Wired or WIFI connection?
- Wired
When the disconnect occurs/How often?
- Every single night during peak hours (about 5pmEDT to 4amEDT)
Does the disconnection happen to one character or multiple characters?
- This happens on all of my characters.
Is a VPN being used when this occurs?
- No
Where in game do you get disconnected?
- Disconnects don't usually happen. But when it does occur it can be anywhere: my house, a main city, the Wolves' Den Pier, inside an instance (like a Deep Dungeon or regular dungeon/trial/raid).

[Honisixacodow]

Good morning fellow adventurers and thank you all for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

We apologize for any inconvenience experienced when trying to play Final Fantasy XIV. For us to better assist you, please respond with the following information:

Open the control panel of the PC and go to ‘Network and Internet’. Once there select ‘Internet Options’
- Under the "General" tab, please delete ALL browser history.
- Under the "Security" tab, please move the slider to the lowest possible settings or no higher than "Medium"
- Under the "Privacy" tab, click “Advanced” and select ‘Accept’ under both First Party and Third Party Cookies.
- Under the "Advanced" tab, please make sure that "Allow software to run or install even if signature is invalid" is CHECKED.
- Make sure that all SSL and TLS (EXCEPT SSL 3.0) are CHECKED. [SSL 3.0 should be UNCHECKED]
- Hit "Apply" to save the settings, and then "OK, to close the Internet Options menu.
- Right-Click on the FFXIV launcher icon and select "Properties"
- Hit "Apply", then "OK" to save the changes.
- Please RESTART your PC now. Once your PC has been restarted, Right-Click the FFXIV launcher icon once more and select "Run as Administrator"
*Make sure your fire wall or antivirus program is not interfering with the game

Check to see if the following port ranges are opened on your router. You can contact your ISP and request they open them for you:
▼TCP
54992 through 54994,
55006 through 55007,
55021 through 55040

- Try disabling background applications and do a clean boot by opening the task manager and selecting the “Start up” tab. Disable everything and then restart the PC.
- Flush DNS: Within the "Command Prompt" of the device, please type the command "ipconfig /flushdns".
- Reset TCP/IP: Also within the Command Prompt, type the command "netsh int ip reset" and then restart the computer.
- Delete the Patch Folder: Navigate to the folder using this path This PC > Docs > My Games> FFXIV ARR > Downloads > FFXIV patch (Use for either the version update error or cannot download patch files error)
Then either rename or remove the folder, the next time FINAL FANTASY XIV is launched, the client will repair the folder.
- Change local DNS: Please try changing the local DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
- Delete local files with corrupted character data, please note this will not delete the associated characters.

Thank you once again for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!