Common Blizzard Application Connection Issues

Caterpepi · July 30, 2019, 8:31pm

Greetings all,

We’ve been working to improve some of the available troubleshooting resources for our games. Since connectivity problems are a common problem in gaming, we wanted to provide some information on what causes connection problems and what to do to resolve issues when you’re having them.

Table of Contents

Caterpepi · July 30, 2019, 8:32pm

Connection Troubleshooting Resources

Most connection issues have similar causes, but the steps which are most helpful for your specific problem will vary based on what you’re experiencing and when the problem happens. If you receive an error code when you are disconnected, you can search for the error code here. This may provide more relevant troubleshooting for your individual problem.

If you don’t find a resource for your error at the above link, the links below can help resolve most other issues.

Caterpepi · July 30, 2019, 8:36pm

Disconnections from the Blizzard App

The steps below resolve the majority of issues that cause disconnections from the Blizzard application. Before trying any of the following steps check the BlizzardCS Twitter for any service interruptions. If you receive a blue error code when you disconnect, click the blue code for more specific instructions.

Follow the steps below if the specific steps do not resolve your issue.

Reset your network devices to make sure your router hasn’t become flooded with data.
Release and renew your IP and flush your DNS to resolve any network conflicts.
Update your operating system and all drivers to resolve any compatibility issues.
If you’re using a wireless connection, optimize your internet connection to rule out a connection issue.
Try closing background applications to resolve any software conflicts.

There is also some more advanced troubleshooting. Before proceeding with these steps, we recommend trying the steps above.

Check your network configuration to find any issues with your firewall, router, or port settings.
If you’re using a VPN, try removing it.
Disable any proxies that may interfere with your connection to the application.
Run a security scan to remove any viruses or malware infections.
Disable or temporarily uninstall any security programs, which may mistakenly identify the application as a security threat.
If none of these steps solves the issue, uninstall and reinstall the Blizzard Application.

Caterpepi · July 30, 2019, 8:40pm

Unable to Connect to the Blizzard Application

Most of the troubleshooting for this problem is identical to the Disconnections from the Blizzard Application post.

In addition to the troubleshooting at this link, you can try these steps:

Ensure that you are using the correct email, password, authenticator combination.
Check the region and account on the Blizzard Application.
To do this, look at the drop down menu above the play button. Make sure you have the correct region and account selected.
If there are parental controls on your account, check to make sure that you are not exceeding your play time limits. If you are, you will be unable to connect.
There may be modifications to your Windows Hosts File which can prevent login to the Blizzard Application. If you do find modifications to this file and you did not make the changes yourself, run virus and malware scans on your computer.
Account permission problems can cause you to be unable to log in to the application. Try creating and logging in to a new Administrator account.
If this works, it means your old account’s permissions are broken. You can contact Microsoft for assistance repairing the old account or move your files to the new account.

Caterpepi · July 30, 2019, 9:00pm

FAQ

Why am I only having connection problems with the Blizzard Application and Blizzard Games?

There are a lot of potential causes for this. Bad data in your game files can cause both connection problems and crashes. Certain programs may fight with the application for control of your network drivers, or eat up so much bandwidth that the connection to our servers may be slowed or disconnect.

To add to all of this, everything else that you connect to across the internet is in a different physical location. Even two different data centers in the same city may use different peering partners to connect. It’s very likely that you take a different path through the internet to connect to our servers, and so comparing two games or services is not relevant.

If there are any problems between your house and our servers, you’ll need to reach out to your ISP to get them resolved. Which is why connection tests are requested, when you’re having particularly stubborn connection issues.

There is always the possibility that there is a server issue, but we try to post about these problems on the Breaking News bar on the Blizzard Application, and update our BlizzardCS Twitter as soon as we can. If you suspect this is the issue, check those locations first before trying troubleshooting.

Why do you suggest that I disable security software like antiviruses and firewalls as a troubleshooting fix when they were working with the application previously?

This has to do with how often both our application and security programs are updated. We release lots of patches to fix bugs and add more content and functions for the application. Antiviruses and firewalls also like to release lots of definitions updates to keep your computer more secure from the latest threats.

The problem happens for one of two reasons.

Our updates cause the security to mistakenly think our application or games are a threat.
A particular build of our application will get mistakenly added to the security’s list of ‘bad’ programs.

This may mean that you just accidentally clicked ‘no’ to a security prompt to allow our application to connect, or that the antivirus just flagged our application incorrectly as a malicious program. Updating your security programs and disabling or uninstalling them when that fails can help rule this out as a possibility.

Why do I need to swap to Ethernet when my WiFi works for other things?

WiFi is by nature less stable than a wired Ethernet connection. Many things can interfere with WiFi, from physical barriers (walls, glass, etc) to other types of waves (microwaves, etc), to computer power issues.

WiFi and USB WiFi hardware are also more prone to failure over time than an Ethernet cable is in most cases. Unless you physically damage an Ethernet cable or Ethernet port, usually they will work well for the lifetime of your PC/Router.

A WiFi transmitter or receiver is more complex and may degrade over time. The easiest way to see if your WiFi devices are the problem is connecting directly to your modem or router via Ethernet.

If it resolves your issue, there are other troubleshooting steps you can try. Note that we do not directly support wireless connections, so you may want to ask the community at this forum for help optimizing a wireless connection if you find your WiFi is at fault.

Why is my entire internet crashing when I disconnect from the Blizzard Application?

This usually indicates a local network issue. When your internet goes down, it most frequently means that your network drivers or firmware crashed, or a piece of hardware was overloaded with information.

If you have this sort of problem, the things you want to focus on first are hardware related. These steps are covered in more detail on this post. You may need to contact your ISP for more help, if the problem continues.

Caterpepi · July 30, 2019, 9:04pm

What to do if you need more help

Connection issues can be very frustrating to try to diagnose on your own. Fortunately we have both a helpful community and support staff who can help locate the problem with you. If you prefer to troubleshoot with the community and see if anybody else is having connection issues, start a thread with this information:

Some WinMTR tests to the game you are having problems connecting to.
Run these tests while the problem is actively happening. If you catch a disconnection with the test, it will make it easier for us to find the problem.
The information from a Looking Glass Test from our servers.
Run this while the problem is actively happening as well.
A list of any troubleshooting you’ve performed already.
A description of what you’re doing when the connection problems happen, any error messages received, and what it ‘looks like’ to you when it happens.

Note, that not all threads may receive a reply from support staff or MVPs.

If you need immediate one on one help from a Game Master, you can submit a ticket, live chat, or callback request. When submitting the ticket, make sure to include all of the above information as well as a copy of an MSInfo file for the quickest help.

Please do not attach full MSInfo files to your forum posts.