IP-address change causes game lockouts

fred4 · November 2024

When the player's public IP-address changes, this causes a disconnect and inability to log back in for several minutes. There is no technical reason why ESO can't allow immediate reconnect or why it couldn't even handle this transparently like many applications do, such as Discord. For example, it is possible to verify, via cryptographic means, that the same user from the same machine, with a still-running game client, is trying to reconnect to the same session they just lost. Instead we get the message "Booted from server" for several minutes (in the middle of a trial, keeping 11 other players waiting if you are a tank or healer). Please fix.

fred4 · December 2024

Seriously, why isn't this fixed?

fred4 · December 2024

May I just add how rude the message "Booted from server" is? You could at least add an explanation what we've done wrong and why we would deserve such a thing. If it's not the player's fault, then fix the logon issue!

Ena · January 5

i'm experiencing the same issue since a couple of months now as well. I get booted exactly every 30min. It makes it unplayable.

LootAllTheStuff · January 5

What kind of internet service are you using where your IP address can change while you are actively using your connection? That seems very strange to me. Have you checked that your router/modem/gateway is OK?

joergino · January 6

There are ISPs that disconnect you after 24 hours or at a specific point in time when their "new day" begins. My ISP has been doing this for decades.

LootAllTheStuff · January 7

Wow. I guess some ISPs really don't like their customers. While I do grumble about mine occasionally, it's generally solid and reliable, and doesn't repeatedly drop my DHCP lease.

fred4 · January 14

I am on 4G+ at present. Long story. At one point I had no fixed public IP-address at all. Every single TCP connection was made from a pool of public IP-addresses, e.g. always a different one. ESO cannot deal with that. If the IP-address of the lobby connection differs from the one you connect to a game server with, having selected your character, it bombs straight back out. The only solution, at that time, was a VPN. This is no longer the case, but my IP-address tends to change once a day or just randomly from time to time. Could be cell tower renegotiation. A lot of copper DSL connections were like that in the past as well. I can't speak for fibre / cable.

Honestly, I believe ISPs also have to do this for another reason. The IPv4 address space is limited and running out. That probably means they have to shuffle customers to different public addresses from time to time. There is really no excuse for why ESO can't handle it transparently, like every other service, notably Discord.