"Can't join party" when searching for matches, & it shows that it's my party it's trying to join.

[BLT]

I'm connecting through an ethernet cable connected to a Deco mesh system, as the main router is upstairs & running a 100ft ethernet cable is no longer a possibility. I've always had the ping map show myself on the map as a peer symbol, but recently on Black Ops 6, I've been getting an error notification that basically says I can't join the party, even though I'm searching for a match. When I check whose party it's trying to join, it's me & my own network. So basically, as it searches for games, it has been seeing my own network as a party to join. I've manually denied it multiple times, hoping that would stop the issue, but it still happens, & both auto-ping & manual show that it's the connection I've denied, because I obviously named it before denying it. I'm using a static IP for my PC & for the xr1000, & I've tried letting the ISP select the DNS server, used the 1.1.1.1 Cloudfare DNS, the 8.8.8.8 Google DNS servers, but the error persists. I have gone through the process of factory resetting the xr1000 & going through the entire setup process at least 5 times, but it continues to happen. I am able to get into lobbies, but about 50% of the time that I'm searching for matches, I get the error instead, & it starts the searching process all over, so I'm only actually playing the game about half the time that I should be, due to the "can't connect to party" error. Is there anything that I can do to prevent this from happening? I've tried getting the IP addresses dynamically through the ISP option with no success, as well as creating static IPs for the network & PC, turning on IPV6 & having that setup properly, but nothing seems to work. I just want to be able to play matches normally, & not wasting half of the searches for a match, because it results in this error. It doesn't happen when I connect the PC directly to the Mesh device, but then I lose the Geo-Filter & all DumaOS capabilities, which is why I got the router to begin with. I even submitted a report a few days ago, by hitting report instead of allow or deny, but haven't heard back & don't want it to block my outgoing searches for matches. As you can see in the images, I've denied my network & named it ME (at the bottom of the allow/deny list), but I keep on showing up as the peer symbol instead of a blocked peer, which leads to the issue continuing.

 

[Netduma Fraser]

Presumably this is due to how you've set up your network but you'd need to allow 'yourself' if it is in face you, not deny it as that's probably what is causing the issue

[BLT]

I appreciate the quick response, thank you Fraser! When I've allowed myself, I would only get the "can't join party" notification & it wouldn't search for servers, basically making a redundant circle, so I ended up just taking myself off of the list altogether, & just dealing with it. Once I built up my allowed list up to 10+ servers, it was happening less, but still happening. It's just odd because connecting directly to the Mesh pod, I never have the issue, so I'm just trying to figure out what settings I might need to change on the DumaOS to prevent it. I turned on IPV6, & it did drop the ping to my usual allowed servers by 3-5ms, but that's all, still getting the error half the time. I may have to get the login info for the primary router connection upstairs & see if I need to put the mesh portals into AP mode, or see if that router has any obvious settings that might be causing it. I rent a basement apartment, & the owner upstairs would have no problem with me looking at his router settings that are pre-mesh, but I think that router is just the main Deco box, & the mesh portal downstairs is just an extension of the main router. He got rid of the old netgear router he had when we got the new internet setup. Are there any settings on the xr1000 that I might be able to adjust? I obviously considered having the XR1000 be the primary router, but that setup doesn't work with the Deco mesh pods, & gaming on WiFi instead of a wired connection just doesn't work. Most of the time now, it will do the initial 11 ping search, 26 ping search, & 39 ping search, then it simply throws me onto one of the servers in my polygons & I just have to wait for the lobby to populate. I did a factory reset the other day, so I think I'll just have to build up my "allowed" list back up to 10-15 servers, as it happened less frequently when my allowed list was pretty long. I wasn't having the issue with my XR300, but that router came with a load of other issues due to how old it is & that model no longer getting updates. If you do think of any DumaOS settings I can try out, I'd be very grateful, but if you can't, I'll just continue building the allowed list, since it happens less often the longer the allowed servers list becomes.

[Netduma Fraser]

Could you provide a diagram of your physical network setup? I think if I can understand that better I'll have a better idea about how we can improve the situation

[BLT]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to do this without using a drawing program. It's pretty simple:

Fiber Modem -> Deco Router(upstairs) -> Deco Mesh unit(downstairs) -> ethernet line to XR1000 router -> ethernet line to PC.

Does that work?

[Netduma Fraser]

That's good thank you, is that fiber modem a pure modem i.e. no WiFi? Put the XR1000 WAN IP (found on the System Information page) in the DMZ in your Deco router and also set that as static/reserved on the deco, then reboot the XR from the interface, wait 4 minutes then see if you get the same issue please

[BLT]

Yeah, just a pure modem with no WiFi. I'll get the Deco login info & try that out as soon as I can get it. Thanks!

[BLT]

Would that not make everything connected to the XR1000 vulnerable? I've always put consoles in the DMZ, because there's no personal information or anything sensitive on them, but if that means my PC, laptop, iPhone, etc. are connected through the DMZ, isn't that a pretty big security risk? Things may have changed since I was on console a few years ago, but I was always told not to put a PC in the DMZ because it bypasses the firewall, allowing easy access to everything on it (which was never an issue with console, as they never had anything of value on them). Will the XR1000 firewall still work if it's in the primary router's DMZ? Just want to make sure before trying it out, better safe than sorry. Also, the reboot through the interface won't cause me to need to set everything up again like it does after a factory reset, will it? Because after going through that process 5+ times in 3 weeks, doing it again would fry my brain! 😄

[Netduma Fraser]

It's absolutely fine to do so, you're just applying the DMZ to the XR1000 and then the XR firewall will protect all the devices connected to it. You are absolutely right in that you shouldn't put your PC in the DMZ. No a reboot through the interface will keep all your settings intact. 

[BLT]

On 4/8/2025 at 5:02 PM, Netduma Fraser said:

It's absolutely fine to do so, you're just applying the DMZ to the XR1000 and then the XR firewall will protect all the devices connected to it. You are absolutely right in that you shouldn't put your PC in the DMZ. No a reboot through the interface will keep all your settings intact. 

I did this, but now instead of trying to connect to my party, it tries to connect to random players on my Activision friends list that haven't played COD since BO3 lol. I built up my allowed list, & was able to draw a line between my location, & the SLC server location, so it's not in my set zones using strict mode. I can't figure out what the deal is for the life of me, but the changes I made have helped a ton - I've only had it happen 2 times in 8 hours of playing, which is something I can easily deal with. I appreciate all of your help, Fraser! Hope you have a great weekend!

Never forget, 👐 Wu Tang is for the Children 👐

[BLT]

I tried all the suggested options, & even have my xr1000 in the DMZ of the primary router, but it still happens. In fact, it literally just happened about 2 minutes ago, here are picture of what's happening. After adding more approved servers to my list, it doesn't happen half the time like it did before, but maybe 20% of the time, & almost always after a match finishes & it's searching for a new one. 

[BLT]

Maybe I spoke too soon, it happened the very next search. I'm having to back all the out & select multiplayer each time, now.

[Netduma Fraser]

Can you provide a full uncropped screenshot of your Geo-Filter page showing what you see when this happens please - if possible

[BLT]

The part taken out of Utah is where I'm located, so it doesn't show up, but I still get SLC servers.

[Netduma Fraser]

If you use the radius mode and cover a few more servers, just say the entire West coast do you get the same issues?

[BLT]

Yeah, that's why I switched to polygon mode. LA servers are fast, but lots of jackets, so I got rid of that box. I did start with the circle covering the west l entire West coast to start with, though, & it did the same thing. 

[BLT]

hackers, not jackets

[Netduma Fraser]

Okay just to clarify after re-reading a bit:

1. You don't have an issue connecting to a server with your normal radius when searching matchmaking is that right?
2. It only seems to occur when you've finished one match and let it automatically try and put you into another match, is that right?

[BLT]

It happens in both scenarios, it's just more noticeable when I just finished a match. Happened on my first two attempts to find matches this morning, actually.

[Netduma Fraser]

When you've finished a match makes more sense if the server switches to one outside your radius, it will always do that if that happens, best to always re-search when using the Geo-Filter.

If you use the radius instead of the polygon (so you'll have to include at least one more server to cover them) does it still occur?

[BLT]

It does. I've been playing with friends that are the hosts, so I've been turning off filtering mode lately anyway. I'll keep you updated if anything changes.

[Netduma Fraser]

Look for a server that gets blocked when this happens, it may be the same one every time and may actually be an authentication server that we need to whitelist. Add it to your allow list, see if it stops the issue and still connects you to the servers you want

[BLT]

Here is a screenshot of the domain name, id, etc., & it's been this one every time. It's close to where I am here in Utah & says it's a Peer, so I've been assuming that it's my own info, because it always shows that it's trying to connect to my party, even though it's just me playing solo matches. That would make sense if it's an authentication server that hasn't been whitelisted yet, it's always popping up on the map, even when I'm on a Dallas or SF server. It will show the server location, & the peer symbol where it's at in the image, so I figured that was just showing both ends of the connection, & the peer symbol was meant to show my location. The ID is the same every time, I wrote it down when this started happening more, so that I could check & see if they matched. The last two portions of the IP address before the Domain Name have changed a few times, but everything else is identical. The only Blocked Server symbols I ever see are in Oklahoma & a few other on the Eastern side of the country, like NY, Detroit, & somewhere around Florida/Georgia, I don't remember the exact location. Those only show up when I have the game loaded up, but I'm not searching for matches, though, they've never shown up during a search for a match.

 

Thanks

[BLT]

Here is another screenshot that I just took. The peer symbol will go from small to big, then the auto ping pulls up this info for about 5-10 seconds & drop, then repeatedly does the same thing. The peer symbol looks like it's pulsing when it drops, goes small, then becomes the larger version again. It's always the same ping info as far as the Host Type/ID/Domain Name, that part never changes.

[BLT]

Here's a video I just took, I wasn't sure if my explanation in the last post was very clear. Not sure if the video will work, but I can email it to you if it doesn't.