The server is online, but the name is not in anyone's search results or the join is refused. For an Enshrouded server this is nearly always one of the causes below. Work down the list in order.
1. The server is on a different build from the game
Players update through Steam automatically. The server updates when it restarts. In between, the two are on different versions and the server is not joinable. Keen's changelogs say when a patch needs a server update — most do — and there is no error message on the player's side.
Fix: restart the server from the Overview tab. On every start it checks Steam for the current build, so the restart is the update. Wait for [Session] 'HostOnline' (up)! in the console, then search again.
Straight after a game patch, if a restart still leaves players unable to join, wait a while and restart again.
2. Wrong password, or the wrong role's password
There is no single server password. Each role (Keen's user groups) has its own, and the password a player enters decides their role. Your server ships with an Admin role and a Friend role, each with a generated password.
Fix: open the Server Settings tab, confirm which role's password you sent, and send the right one by paste. If you changed a password, restart — passwords are read at start. Roles are explained in Roles and passwords.
3. The server has not finished starting
Between Start and the HostOnline line the server is updating from Steam and loading the world. Searches during that window find nothing.
Fix: watch the console; tell players to search once HostOnline has appeared.
4. A setting was changed without a restart
The server reads enshrouded_server.json once, at start. A new server name or password saved on the Server Settings tab is not live until the next restart — the server is still announcing the old name and accepting the old password.
Fix: restart, then search for the new name.
5. They are searching the wrong name
Players search the server name from the Server Settings tab. A name typed from memory, or the name from before a rename, finds nothing.
Fix: copy the exact name from the Server Settings tab and send it to players to paste.
6. The server is full, or the role has no slots
Player slots on the Server Settings tab is 1 to 16, and each role can hold reserved slots for its own members. If one role's players are refused while another's get in, check the reserved slots.
Fix: raise Player slots toward your plan's cap (8 on Ember, the full 16 on Flame and Inferno), or adjust the reserved slots per role. Nothing raises the cap above the game's 16.
7. One player, everyone else fine
If exactly one person cannot join while the rest are in, it is their side: their game build (section 1 — has their Steam client actually updated?), their connection, or the password they typed. Have them restart Steam so the update applies, then paste the password rather than typing it.
What is not the cause
- Ports. Your server's two UDP ports are assigned at checkout and open; there is nothing to forward on your side. Players search the server name and enter their role's password.
- IPv6. Keen's FAQ says the server does not work over IPv6. Our servers are reachable over IPv4, so this does not apply here.
- Other platforms. A Connect Enshrouded server is a PC server: players join from the Steam version of the game. Keen's own dedicated-server pages describe the Steam game and name no other platform, so a player without the Steam version being unable to join is expected, not a fault we can fix.
Still stuck?
Open a ticket from your dashboard with: the exact text the player searched, which role's password they used, whether the console shows HostOnline, and whether anyone at all can join. Those four answers usually let us solve it in one reply. And if the server simply turns out to be far from where your group plays, say so in the ticket — we can move it to another region.
Related
- First-run walkthrough: Getting started
- Every field on the tab: Server Settings