Playing MP Steam games from same network

[major masingil]

My wife and I are trying to play a co-op Borderlands 2 on Steam.  The problem seems to be that the game servers disconnect whichever one of us is joining the other's game after about 10 seconds. We get a "disconnected from network" error everytime. I'm thinking the steam servers see us both as 1 player because we are behind the same router.  Is there a thread here which would help with this situation?  

 

Incidentally, one of the fixes I tried was to go into settings on the R1 and uncheck upnp, and then my intent was to turn it back on again and do a soft reset.  However, when I unchecked it and then clicked apply, my browser page never fully refreshed.  It just continually acts like its going to refresh but never does.  

[Netduma Admin]

Hi Major - it should be fine even if you are on the same router. Is your Geo-Filter enabled, because it's possible you are blocking each other?

 

I would recommend keeping UPNP enabled so please check that. 

 

After doing these things please retry. I assume you have different accounts as well, i.e. it's not Steam blocking you for not paying for the game twice?

[major masingil]

Hi Major - it should be fine even if you are on the same router. Is your Geo-Filter enabled, because it's possible you are blocking each other?

 

I would recommend keeping UPNP enabled so please check that. 

 

After doing these things please retry. I assume you have different accounts as well, i.e. it's not Steam blocking you for not paying for the game twice?

Hi, Thanks for the input.  Please see my response

 

We both have Steam accounts and copies of the game. I don't have the Geofilter enabled.  I always have UPnP enabled.  I just thought I'd try disabling and re-enabling just to shake things up a bit.  The issue is very consistent no matter who is trying to join each other's game

[Netduma Admin]

Do you have another router or can one of you connect into the modem? This feels like it could an issues with the game rather than the router, so would be good to isolate it

[major masingil]

Do you have another router or can one of you connect into the modem? This feels like it could an issues with the game rather than the router, so would be good to isolate it

It is looking like it may be time for an XR500...  I'm going to mess around with it this weekend.  Going to try setting up a LAN game and see what happens.  Thanks for your help so far

[Netduma Admin]

Ok, thanks. Do you have the problem with any other game or is it just Borderlands?

[major masingil]

Ok, thanks. Do you have the problem with any other game or is it just Borderlands?

We haven't tried any other games yet, but here's what fixed the issue:

 

I left UPnP for the R1 "On," and set up a static IP for my PC. Then I set some port forwarding rules for it based off a Steam Knowledge Base Web page below:

 

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8571-GLVN-8711

 

AAAAANNND Voila - Wallah!!    It worked perfectly for us and even cleared up some audio/chat issues we were having.  The audio from our chat would actually slow down, like if you were going to switch a record album from 45 rpm to 33 rpm. The longer we spoke through the mic the slower it was.  

 

I suspect this will clear up any Steam related MP gaming issues we would have had moving forward.  

 

Thanks for the assistance!

[Netduma Admin]

Fantastic. Well done for figuring it out! Thanks for letting us know too.

[major masingil]

Fantastic. Well done for figuring it out! Thanks for letting us know too.

So I thought I had figured something out, but this weekend I was experiencing the same problem as what initiated this post. I had the same ports opened as described in the Steam article above.  I kept getting network disconnects.  When I check my UPnP table, no ports show up.  I clicked on the "?" on the UPnP page to see if I was missing something, but the link didn't open anything.  I'm on firmware version .6i  Did I miss any updates?

 

I know the older versions of the firmware listed which ports were open. UPnP was not something that ever presented itself as a problem before with my R1. Seeing as I had created a bunch of Port Forwarding rules, I would think that all of those ports should have shown up on the UPnP table. I don't have another router to swap out with to test the issue, and we haven't tried any other games.  It seems weird that it would work great 2 weeks ago then be a problem now.  I didn't change any other settings on either PC or the R1.

[Netduma Admin]

That's odd. I've not heard of this not populating before (unless it was disabled) if it has been opening ports. 

 

Could you take an image of your port forwarding page. It's possible that you added all the ports you needed to open so UPNP has nothing extra to open for you.

 

Also, when you are playing a game, double check this UPNP table to see if ports are being opened then.

 

You are on the latest version, so no need to upgrade from here.

[major masingil]

Attached are some images for review. The first image is the one you requested. Then, I disabled the port forwarding rules, clicked apply, and turned on my XB1.  Teredo Port 3074 UDP was open as usual.  Then I enabled the port forwarding rules, clicked apply, left the XB1 on, and opened up Steam and took an image, 2nd image.  Interestingly, while I was uploading the URLs I saw an image I had taken of my UPnP page in 2015. I was using my work computer, a micro-cell signal booster (which is IP based), and skype for business at the time and there were 7 ports opened. Right now anytime I look at UPnP there is nothing open unless the XB is on. I do have the XB1 with a static IP and in Hyper-traffic. I leave hyper-traffic on all the time.

 

I also checked the IP of my PC to make sure I assigned the static IP correctly, and it was .194 as I expected it to be.  No problem there.

 

***EDIT 9:02 A.M. EST: My UPnP tab on the web interface is bugged /broken.  I tried to disable UPnP so that I could re-enable it.  When I disabled, and clicked "apply," it worked no problem, but when I enabled it and clicked apply the page never refreshed.  I let it run for 5 min, and it just kept cycling

 

 

Image of port forwarding page with port rules enabled

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image of UPnP with XB1 on and port forwarding rules enabled w/ Steam active:

 

[Netduma Admin]

Thanks for the images. UPnP appears to be working correctly - it's 'real-time' so will just show you the ports it is currently forwarding based on the devices that are actively switched on.

 

So if you are still having the Borderlands issue, I don't think it's because of anything wrong with UPNP. Could you just confirm if you are still having this problem as it's a bit tricky reading through the thread history to tell if the issue is still there or not.

 

If it is, could you try playing with UPNP enabled and see if it solves your problem.

 

Finally - the browser probably just got confused with all the changes. If you hard refresh the page (ctrl + F5), are you able to toggle UPNP as you wish to?

[major masingil]

Hi Thanks for working with me on this. It is really appreciated.  

 

Yes I am having the same problem getting network disconnects when we try to play the game together from the same network. It happens no matter who is trying to join the other's game.

 

I don't think UPnP is working correctly because the only port that is ever shown is 3076. When UPnP is enabled, with 3 computers running, a game open on Steam, A Steam Chat opened between my wife an I,  XB1 on, and a skype call in process there should be more than 1 port open, correct?  At the very least, there would need to be more that 1 port open with the XB on and a skype call active on my PC.  

 

When the Steam Client port forwarding rules I created are in effect, would UPnP show those ports as open while I was playing a Steam game?

 

This whole thread was created because I suspected UPNP was NOT opening the ports necessary to for my wife and I to play a game together. It was the logical place to look. For some reason it worked when I created the port forwarding rules for my PC. So I had UPnP enabled and some forwarding rules applied at the same time.  It worked for 2 gaming sessions which were separated by a week, and then the same problem reappeared. I suppose it may not be UPnP, but logically that's where we would look, right?

 

The UPnP tab on the R1 GUI NEVER EVER reloads after "Apply" is pressed. It's the only tab on the GUI that acts that way.  Sure, sometimes the refresh on the CC tab takes a little longer, but UPnP doesn't ever fully refresh.  It does not matter how long I wait. It's no matter if I ctrl + F5, no matter if I am enabling or disabling, no matter if I just Disable or Enable 1 rule or 7 rules on Port Forwarding.  As soon as I click on "Apply" it continuously cycles.  I have screenshots from 2015 which show several ports opened on UPnP for similar circumstances as I am trying to describe to you now, but these days the only port that ever shows as opened is 3076 when the XB is on.  I know you guys are experts, but there is something fishy going on here.

 

I guess I should re-flash the firmware, or go back to .06h?

 

I'm trying to find a work around for 1 issue.  I realize the UPnP must be mostly working because I can still do all the things I normally do except play a game of Borderlands 2 with my wife. However, all the examination of the issue has clearly shown that some ports are not being opened when they need to be. It has shown that all the ports that are open are not showing up on the UPnP GUI. It has also shown that the GUI doesn't fully refresh.  The tone of this email may sound cranky, but I am just trying to give you the details in a clear way.  (and I'm a little cranky, but it's the situation, not you)

[Netduma Jack]

Is this causing other issues with your game not connecting to games or voice chat problems, or is the issue solely to do with the interface not correctly displaying / loading? If you aren't encountering any issues with your game etc then it's likely that UPnP is actually working, but there's a graphical error. If that's the case then I wouldn't worry too much about this.

 

It's also worth bearing in mind that if you've manually opened any ports, those ports will never appear in the UPnP table.

[major masingil]

Is this causing other issues with your game not connecting to games or voice chat problems, or is the issue solely to do with the interface not correctly displaying / loading? If you aren't encountering any issues with your game etc then it's likely that UPnP is actually working, but there's a graphical error. If that's the case then I wouldn't worry too much about this.

 

It's also worth bearing in mind that if you've manually opened any ports, those ports will never appear in the UPnP table.

Hi Jack,

 

The only technical problem we've experienced is not being able to play a game together from our home network. We were successful joining the same game when I opened the Steam Client ports on my pc. For some reason it stopped wirking when we tried a week later. So I started looking at UPnP. Thats when I noticed the only port that I ever saw open was 3076 and the upnp tab on the GUI wouldnt ever finish refreshing after I clicked apply to enable or disable. I have Wi-Fi calls, Skype calls, xb1 on, computers connected to Steam etc. There should be more than 1 port opened on my network at these times. I have been intentionally trying to do thing which would open ports, so i could see them on the UPnP. tab. The only one that shows up is port 3076.

 

Yes we are having voice chat problems. I described them during the initial troubleshoot session I was having with Admin. As the person's sentence progresses the sound of the persons voice would slow down. It sounded like it was 0.5x speed. It would get worse and worse if the person was trying to say more than a couple of words

 

I dont have any issues on XB. My wife doesnt play multiplayer games. The only reason this issue came up was because we couldn't play a stupid game of borderlands 2 together.

[Netduma Jack]

Hi Jack,

 

The only technical problem we've experienced is not being able to play a game together from our home network. We were successful joining the same game when I opened the Steam Client ports on my pc. For some reason it stopped wirking when we tried a week later. So I started looking at UPnP. Thats when I noticed the only port that I ever saw open was 3076 and the upnp tab on the GUI wouldnt ever finish refreshing after I clicked apply to enable or disable. I have Wi-Fi calls, Skype calls, xb1 on, computers connected to Steam etc. There should be more than 1 port opened on my network at these times. I have been intentionally trying to do thing which would open ports, so i could see them on the UPnP. tab. The only one that shows up is port 3076.

 

Yes we are having voice chat problems. I described them during the initial troubleshoot session I was having with Admin. As the person's sentence progresses the sound of the persons voice would slow down. It sounded like it was 0.5x speed. It would get worse and worse if the person was trying to say more than a couple of words

 

I dont have any issues on XB. My wife doesnt play multiplayer games. The only reason this issue came up was because we couldn't play a stupid game of borderlands 2 together.

 

A game of Borderlands 2 is never stupid! I'm not sure whether that voice chat issue can be put down to a specific port not being open. If you disabled UPnP and manually port forwarded everything you require that would really rule out these issues - there's bound to be a voice chat port for Steam that you could manually forward. What happens when you do manually port forward everything?

 

Just in my experience, I've never seen voice chat slowing down or glitching out in that way due to ports. If the port isn't open for voice chat, you won't be able to use it in the first place as far as I know - you wouldn't be connected to the voice chat server, so the service wouldn't work at all. That's why I'm sceptical about whether ports could be causing that issue.

 

I remember having issues playing Borderlands 2 with my partner locally as well... Have you tried port forwarding for that as well?

[major masingil]

For anyone who may be interested...There was a problem with UPnP on the R1.  The only port it would ever show on the UPnP table was 3076 no matter what was happening on my network.  ie...Skype calls, wifi calls, steam games etc etc.  I did not re-flash the firmware on it. The UPnP table may not have been the issue I was having, but I swapped out the R1 with an EdgeRouter X. I then port forwarded the recommended Host Borderlands 2 ports, and my wife and I were both able to join each other's games without issue.

 

Thanks Jack and Netduma Admin for your time