AOE3 Forums

Right guys,(and gals i suppose :-) ) Ive been having this "Failed to Join" problem for a while now but i have finally cracked it.

You will probably have heard someone tell you to enable UPnP (Universal Plug n Play). This is what you have to do on you router, but you also have to do it on windows aswell!!

Follow these steps and you will have no issues, well i dont. Good luck.

1) Make sure you have not used the port forward tool. This will conflict wit UPnP.
2) Go to your router settings (192.168.x.x), and enable UPnP (usually in advanced)

After you have done this, you have to allow UPnP through Windows aswell.

3) Go to control panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Add or Remove windows components
4) Then go to networking services, and make sure the box is ticked.
5) Click details and then put a tick box in UPnP
6) Click next, then finish.

On your toolbar, near the clock, an icon should flash up with a balloon bearing the message "New UPnP device discovered on the network". This is your router!! :D

DONE!! Restart your comp, then join all the games your heart desires lol.

This worked for me, so please dont flame if it doesnt work for you.

Please read - You may need the Widnows XP disc to complete step 6, as some files are needed from the setup file. If you dont have this, unfortunately you wont be able to alter Windows components.

Everybody's "Failed to Join" issue is different.  That may be the solution to your problem - and maybe a few other people - but it's not the solution to everybody (in fact - probably not for most people).  Good job on figuring out that solution - but keep in mind it's not the same for everybody.

Mods you might include this in FAQ or something like that - but don't delete the other fixes.

I've had the failed to join problem for awhile now & was getting really jack of it, tried your solution & havent had a failure since, but now my pc seems to take forever to boot up properly & connecting to internet seems to take forever, but once connected everything appears ok, any ideas ?

Dou you have procedure for W Vista? I tried to activate UPnP, but no new UPnP device was discoveder ....

MAN i LOVE U ... UR THE BEST MAn ... i respect u U FIXED MY PROBLEM.....saved me 120 bucks of pure aoe gaming....60 for aoe 30 and 30 for expansion...

dang^^^ i paid 70 for aoe, and 40 for expansions lol

O.k wtf maybe i was wrong i joined 2 games one after tha other

one 5/6 one3/4 then i discovered nothing had changed and failed TO JOIN WAS STILL THERE.. wtf.. just slowed down my connection.. 

We haven't had a sticky thread on the Failed To Join Game error that some of our players are experiencing online.  I'm going to sticky a thread up here at top of the forum to let players know.

 The "Cannot Connect to ESO, please check your internet connection" comes from when you first install The Warchiefs and have not patched it.  To solve this problem, download the patch from our website here:  http://www.agecommunity.com/gameUpdates_xp.aspx

 
The "Failed to Join Game" error can be caused by a lot of things, but the most likely scenario is either your windows firewall is not configured to allow incoming connections or does not have AOE3 or its expansions on the firewall exception list.  Also, if you have DSL, a Cable modem or another kind of broadband connection, or connect over Wireless, it is likely that the router you are using has a firewall or configuration settings on it that are preventing you from connecting to game.

For more information on how to configure your specific brand of router, or your firewall, a great website to check out is http://portforward.com/.
 

In order to have the best connection setup, we have posted in our FAQ:
 

Q. I am encountering general connectivity issues; such as the error messages "Invalid IP Address", "Host Canceled/rejected" or "failed to join game"; what can I do?
If you encounter any of the above error messages then most likely there is a conflict with age3 and a router setting.

• Power Cycle your network hardware: Turn off your modem, router, and computer.
  Wait a few minutes then turn them back on one at a time in the listed order.
  Some routers need to be power cycled to except new versions of software such as Age of Empires 3
• If you connect wirelessly, connect with a wired connection.
• Verify your Firewall or internet security software is allowing Age3 (age3.exe) and TWC (age3x.exe) to pass through
• Disable your Firewall or internet security software temporarily while you test connecting to the game.
• Upgrade your firmware on your router and your network card
• Toggle UPnP (If you have UPnP on, try turning it off and if you have UPnP off, try turning it on.
• Test with the DMZ setting both on and off
• Port forward UDP and TCP/IP ports 2300-2310 to your machine. If that range does not work try expanding it to cover ports 2300-2340, or try using the OverridePort command listed below.
• Some routers have a Gaming Mode. Be sure to enable that option if your router supports this feature.
• If your router has logging turned on make sure to clean off your logs or restart logging before playing Age of Empires 3
• Change your computers IP on your router. Example: if your computer sits at 192.168.0.100 change it to 192.168.0.200

 

I would like to point out that PortForward web site is trying to sell people a product that all it does is SET UP the port forwarding for you automatically.

 

Players can set up the portforwarding manually for AOE3 so they don’t really need to go to this web site.

 

To set Port Forwarding for AOE3 follow these instructions:

 

Find your Actual IP Address 

From your Desktop, click on START then RUN, type CMD and press the Enter key, and then execute IPCONFIG.

Check what your current IP address is

 

How to set Port Forwarding

Open you internet explorer and type 192.168.1.1 (or whatever is your Router’s IP address).

Go to “Applications & Gaming” and open the “Port Range Forward” screen.

 

Under application type: AoE3III

Port Range Start: 2300

Port Range End: 2340

Protocol: Both

IP Address: 192.168.1.101 (according to your actual IP address)

Enabled: Check

 

If Port Forwarding doesn’t work for you then try to connect your modem directly to the internet (bypassing the router) and see if you can join more games this way.

If you can, then something may be wrong with your router setup (port forwarding or some other set up).

 

If you still CANNOT join most games, then the problem may be with the modem itself.

You would then need to find out if your modem has a built in router.

Many internet providers supply their customers with a modem that has a built in router.

If that is the case then you will need to open the ports in the built in router.

If that doesn’t work then you may want to buy another modem (without the built in router), and see if that solves the problem.

 

"Failed to Join"  happens even when same 4 players that previously joined and played a game finish that game then try to start a second game with the exact same players and settings, without even relogging in.

That's not any sort of player pc or player connection problem.

Mosheveli your explanations are really good but I have tried everything that you sugguested. router settings gaming and aplications i have forward the ports 2300 to 2400 under AOEIII application... and still my router can not connect. I should also point out that when i connect directly to my modern I am able to connect to almost everygame... Also I have a different IP address when i connect directly to modern than if i connect thrue my router...my firewall is off and AOE3 is the first on the exception list. So I dont really know what else to do about it