Cannot start the Launcher - "Connection error(s) detected. Retrying...

[Wrymn.9253]

Okay I am kinda stuck here, I get:
 
"Connection error(s) detected. Retrying..."

any time opening the Launcher. I have been playing the game for the past several months at my home, this comes out of nowhere just now.
 
 
- I uninstalled the game, only to figure out installing it also requires the launcher, which again gives me this error

- no windows update between my last session when it was working

- tried disabling firewall completely, nothing

- of course, official help did not solve the issue either: https://appuals.com/connection-error-detected-in-guild-wars-2/

- tried restarting the router, restarting PC, nothing

- executing "ipconfig -flushdns" commands, no help

- did not edit "hosts" file at first (not present on my machine)

- did edit "hosts" file, adding arena net IPs using some other thread, nothing again

 

Anybody got the same issue and managed to solve it? 😄 Only when I run via VPN, it works, but connection is extra slow and is just a temp solution.

Edited September 12, 2021 by Wrymn.9253

[Healix.5819]

The error means it can't connect to the patch server (http://assetcdn.101.arenanetworks.com/latest64/101).

If you want to do the hosts edit, note the IP changes every few days, so you can't use an IP from an old post, and when it changes, it'll cause this problem. The current IP is: 54.80.122.236

A more general option, assuming a DNS problem, is changing DNS providers, such as Google or Cloudflare.

[Wrymn.9253]

thank you @Healix.5819 for the response.

 

I do have the newest IP:

54.80.122.236 assetcdn.101.arenanetworks.com

since I retrieved it using a cmd command.

 

I also changed DNS to Google already, as written in my original post, still nothing though

 

[Healix.5819]

If you can access http://assetcdn.101.arenanetworks.com/latest64/101 in your browser, other software is preventing GW2 from accessing it. Ensure it simply isn't being blocked by a firewall, anti-virus, proxy or other software that can interfere with your network traffic.

~

You can reset your network protocols by opening a command prompt as an administrator and entering the following, then rebooting:

netsh int ip reset

netsh winsock reset

[Hellx Enforcerx.3657]

I've been having this same problem since the most recent patch went live on September 8. I've tried just about everything I can.

• Flushed DNS
• Rebooted PC and router
• Used Google's DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4)
• Edited my /etc/hosts/ file with the current IP for the assetcdn
• Went through every troubleshooting step in the link provided by OP
• Used the "netsh int ip reset" and "netsh winsock reset" commands
• Spent 7 hours with my ISP to see if it was a problem on their end
• Ensured ports 80, 443, and 6112 were open and unblocked
• Disabled all non-Windows related services/programs on startup
• Disabled any firewall and anti-virus software that could get in the way
• Tried connection with a VPN in place but had same error
• Cleared all temp folders

The most frustrating thing is that I attempted to download and install the game on another PC that is wired to the same switch and router in my house and it worked without issue on that PC. This doesn't seem like an overarching network issue with my connection, but more of a problem ever since the newest patch went live. I was actively playing the game when the patch went live, logged out to update and since then I am unable to get back in.

I've had a support ticket open with ANet for the last 5 days, but all they seem to be able to do is pull the first basic troubleshooting tip they can find off a google search and have me do it, and then I wait a day for them to reply when I say it doesn't work. I'm at a loss and judging by the replies I've gotten in my support ticket, ANet doesn't seem willing to help at all.

Edit: To also add, I tried the same thing as OP to uninstall and reinstall the game. Got hit with the same problem so now I can't even get the game back on my PC.

Edited September 13, 2021 by Hellx Enforcerx.3657
More information

[Peacekid.1463]

same thing here, this errors appear i cant get in game...idk y this havent been fix yet, pls do u a favor pls fix this 

[bloocow.1542]

posted on wrong topic, shifted my reply to

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by bloocow.1542
error

[Healix.5819]

16 hours ago, Hellx Enforcerx.3657 said:

The most frustrating thing is that I attempted to download and install the game on another PC that is wired to the same switch and router in my house and it worked without issue on that PC.

If you can access the patch server in your browser (it's a simple text page with only numbers), you'll know that something is specifically interfering with GW2's traffic. It could be something obvious, like security software, or something you might not expect, like other games with always-on anti-cheat software.

If you need to install GW2, here is Gw2-64.exe direct from the primary patch server (link is only valid until the next build). For testing purposes, make a folder on your desktop and place it there temporarily.

There could be a problem with IPv4 / IPv6. Open the control panel > network > adapters > right click your adapter > properties. IPv4 should be checked, uncheck IPv6, and uncheck QoS packet scheduler. OK, reboot, verify you still have internet access, then test GW2.

If you have a "gaming" network adapter that came packaged with additional software or driver options that claimed to lower your ping / make it faster / etc, uninstall it and disable those features. That has been a problem in the past; I vaguely remember it being called Killer.

Since disabling services/startup and resetting the protocols/adapter didn't help, it's something deep in your system, or a problem with your drivers. You could try booting into safe mode with networking enabled (use msconfig) to test it there. Note some firewalls/etc will prevent you from using the internet under safe mode, so first verify you can access the internet. If it's still not working, you're basically going to have to pretend you have malware.

Note that disabling security software sometimes isn't good enough, as that doesn't actually stop it from watching. If you're using something other than the basic Windows Firewall/Defender, you may need to uninstall it. McAfee for example was a problem years ago and would crash GW2.

As a potential workaround, you could try using Gw2Launcher, which can run its own patch server. At the very least, it'll either show what GW2 is downloading or show nothing because GW2 can't connect at all (blocked).

 

 

[Hellx Enforcerx.3657]

6 hours ago, Healix.5819 said:

If you need to install GW2, here is Gw2-64.exe direct from the primary patch server (link is only valid until the next build). For testing purposes, make a folder on your desktop and place it there temporarily

Healix, I don't know if you work for ArenaNet support or not, but if you don't, you should. This solution here looks to be working for me. The game is currently installing onto my PC as I type this, which is already further than I was getting with any other troubleshooting I was trying to do previously. My only concern now is when the game updates again if I will run into this same problem.

I will update again if I am able to successfully login into the game or if I encounter any other issues post-install. Thanks for your help!

[Hellx Enforcerx.3657]

9 hours ago, Healix.5819 said:

If you need to install GW2, here is Gw2-64.exe direct from the primary patch server (link is only valid until the next build). For testing purposes, make a folder on your desktop and place it there temporarily.

So to follow up, I was able to download and install the game using this link. Once completed, I was able to log into the game. Yay, right? I wanted to make sure that this issue was fixed, so I logged out and attempted to log back in. "Connection error detected. Retrying..." immediately comes back up, preventing me from logging back in.
 

9 hours ago, Healix.5819 said:

As a potential workaround, you could try using Gw2Launcher, which can run its own patch server. At the very least, it'll either show what GW2 is downloading or show nothing because GW2 can't connect at all (blocked).

This is where I'm at now. I've setup Gw2Launcher and set up the patch server to monitor what GW2 is downloading. It looks like its completely dead. No activity at all. Tried to override  the DNS setting to force it use port 80, but still no information is popping up.
 

9 hours ago, Healix.5819 said:

Note that disabling security software sometimes isn't good enough, as that doesn't actually stop it from watching. If you're using something other than the basic Windows Firewall/Defender, you may need to uninstall it. McAfee for example was a problem years ago and would crash GW2.

I don't particularly see this as a problem, as the other PC I tried to log into (successfully, I might add) is running the same anti-virus, configured identically to my PC.
 

9 hours ago, Healix.5819 said:

If you can access the patch server in your browser (it's a simple text page with only numbers), you'll know that something is specifically interfering with GW2's traffic.

When opening this link to the patch server, I got a return of a string of numbers. I'm assuming this proves the issue something on my PC? I will attempt to launch in safe mode, but I find it so odd that this is only a problem for me after the latest patch.

[Healix.5819]

5 hours ago, Hellx Enforcerx.3657 said:

So to follow up, I was able to download and install the game using this link. Once completed, I was able to log into the game. Yay, right? I wanted to make sure that this issue was fixed, so I logged out and attempted to log back in. "Connection error detected. Retrying..." immediately comes back up, preventing me from logging back in.

That is commonly caused by anti-virus/firewall software that tries to detect malware based on a program's behavior - a program can run at least once before it can be detected. Depending on how it's being blocked, you may get it working again (temporarily) by changing its path (rename it), making a copy of the executable (with a different name), downloading it again to the same folder (without overwriting the existing one), or downloading it again to a new folder and moving Gw2.dat into it.

If you can't get it working by specifically whitelisting GW2 and its bin64 folder / CoherentUI, confirm by uninstalling the anti-virus/firewall software. Note you may need to figure out how to unblock it first, otherwise the block may remain even if whitelisted; alternatively, download GW2 and whitelist it before it's blocked.

5 hours ago, Hellx Enforcerx.3657 said:

This is where I'm at now. I've setup Gw2Launcher and set up the patch server to monitor what GW2 is downloading. It looks like its completely dead. No activity at all. Tried to override  the DNS setting to force it use port 80, but still no information is popping up.

If you access the patch server in your browser while the server is active and you've selected to record requests, it should show something. Note the option to override the DNS and run on port 80 is required, and while overridden, you'll only be able to access the patch server while the server is active (so disable the override when not in use). If you can confirm it's working and GW2 shows nothing, you've confirmed GW2 is specifically being blocked.

Edited September 15, 2021 by Healix.5819

[Wrymn.9253]

I have been on a vacation for the week, after I did return the problem no longer appears? No idea what was wrong. I hope the above replies may help other people in the future.