WARDOGS connection fixes

Is it the service, one server, or your PC?

Do one comparison before reinstalling anything. It can narrow the problem without changing your setup.

Please note: This guide does not run a live uptime probe. Historical fixes below are dated so that a resolved September incident is not presented as today’s outage.

1147405308: authentication fails before the browser

Read the words beside the code. An explicit ban needs support; an authentication failure alone does not identify a ban. For a non-ban authentication error, work through these checks in order.

1. Finish any pending WARDOGS download in Steam. Exit the game completely, then launch once and check whether you reach the server browser.
2. Verify the installation: Steam → Library → right-click WARDOGS → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files. Wait for completion, let Steam replace any files, then try again. Team17 prescribed this for a player kicked from a match who then received 1147405308.
3. If verification changes nothing, optionally try the same PC and account briefly on a trusted mobile hotspot. Limit the test to login if mobile data is expensive. If it works there but fails on home internet, the home connection or route deserves investigation; it is not proof that changing game files will help.
4. If both connections fail, stop cycling through reinstalls. Record both results and send the support details below. Success for this branch means reaching the server browser; a later Join error belongs to the next branch.

Please note: One September player regained access after their home public IP changed. That is a case result, not a guaranteed repair or a recommendation to bypass a restriction.

The message explicitly says banned or access restricted

Team17 acknowledged incorrect bans on September 10–11 and applied backend changes. Its instruction was to launch and log in again, then contact support with a Steam ID if access was still blocked. That historical incident does not establish that every later ban is incorrect.

1. Try one fresh login after any stated fix. If access returns, no further action is needed.
2. If the restriction remains, send the full message and Steam ID privately to Team17. For a ban limited to a community server, contact that server’s administrators. Changing networks or verifying files does not appeal a ban.

1628505091: the browser works, but joining times out

Team17’s join-error response points to servers that are full, struggling or changing state. Season 02 also added visible ping limits and browser filters.

1. Check the selected server’s population and ping-limit tag. Choose a server in a suitable region with space available and a limit your connection can meet.
2. Try that other server once. If it works, use it: the first server’s failure is not a reason to reinstall the game.
3. If every suitable server fails, close and reopen the game once. Record whether you fail immediately, during loading or after entering the match; include both server names and the full error in a support request.

Please note: 1628505091 is a join timeout. Preserve 1147405308 and 1147405300 exactly if either appears instead; similar-looking codes are not interchangeable.

Which queue are you waiting in?

Update 0.1.2 added connecting and queue-position feedback after Join. During the September launch incident, a hotfix put updated clients back through a login queue with batch admission. Neither source establishes a universal maximum waiting time.

Game closes at launch: files, GPU selection, then driver

For a startup crash, Team17’s September support thread gives a more useful sequence than repeatedly pressing Play. A player in that thread later reported that updating drivers resolved their crash; that is one reported outcome, not a fix verified on every PC.

1. Verify files once: Steam → Library → right-click WARDOGS → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files. Retry after it finishes.
2. On a PC with integrated and dedicated graphics, check which GPU runs the game. Team17’s NVIDIA route is NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings → select or add WARDOGS → choose the high-performance NVIDIA processor → Apply, then restart the PC. This selector is not present on every system.
3. Check your GPU vendor’s official driver application or website for an update for your exact GPU and Windows version. Install through that official route, restart and retry. Do not use a random driver-download site.
4. If the crash remains, save its exact message and prepare a DxDiag: press Windows + R, type dxdiag, press Enter, wait for collection, then choose Save All Information. Review the text and send it through the private Team17 ticket, not a public comment.

Still blocked? Send a report that avoids another round of questions

Use this as your ticket outline. Fill in the results you actually observed; “not tested” is useful when a step was unavailable.

• Failure stage: before menu / selecting server / loading / in match / desktop crash. Exact message and code: …
• First happened: date, local time and time zone. Game build: … Server name and region, if applicable: …
• File verification: replaced files / no change / not tested. Retry outcome: …
• Other suitable server: worked / same error / browser unavailable. Optional second network: worked / same error / not tested.
• Crash only: GPU, driver version, Windows version, exact crash text and private DxDiag attachment.