Record the error and distinguish connecting, queuing and returning to the menu, then compare another server before considering a reinstall.
01 Symptom: distinguish queues from failures
The September 29 update describes a connecting state after Join and a queue position when applicable. Observe a visible queue before treating it as a failure. Record the exact error if you return to the menu.
02 Step 1: check the client and notices
Finish Steam updates, restart the game and compare official maintenance times with your time zone. The September 10 launch hotfix addressed joining failures, unexpected kicks and long queues; that historical fix does not establish the cause of a new failure.
03 Step 2: compare one server with others
Try another server in the same region on the same network and note the result. Contact the administrator for an isolated server failure. For failures across servers, record region, time and errors, and check whether other online services are affected. Keep queue, maintenance, server and local-network checks separate.
04 Step 3: report the message, not a guessed cause
Keep the full message if it mentions a kick or ban and contact the relevant administrator. A disconnect alone does not prove a ban. Include client version, server name, connection stage and checks tried. Keep credentials and personal information out of public reports.
Still failing? Prepare a useful report
- Exact error and the action immediately before it
- Game version, system version, time and time zone
- Server name, region and whether another server works
- Checks already tried and their individual results
Sources and scope
Official announcements support the dated changes described above. The diagnostic sequence is this site's editorial advice; no live outage, machine-specific cause or successful fix has been verified here. Check the latest notice before treating an earlier maintenance window as current.
September 10: launch stability hotfix ↗September 29: connection and queue UI update ↗October 1: maintenance notice ↗