The Arc Raiders ARMR0002 error is a matchmaking failure that prevents your game client from connecting to Embark Studios’ servers, blocking you from joining raids or grouping with friends on PC, PS5, and Xbox. To fix it, try restarting the game, power cycling your router, verifying game files, syncing your system clock, changing your DNS to Google (8.8.8.8), reinstalling Easy Anti-Cheat, or disabling your firewall temporarily. If none of these work, the issue is likely server-side, and you should wait for Embark Studios to resolve it.
| Fix | Difficulty | Platform | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restart the Game | Easy | All | Medium |
| Power Cycle Router/Modem | Easy | All | Medium-High |
| Wait 10–15 Minutes | Easy | All | High (if server-side) |
| Verify Game Files | Easy | PC | Medium |
| Sync System Clock | Easy | PC | Medium-High |
| Change DNS Settings | Moderate | PC/Console | High |
| Reinstall Easy Anti-Cheat | Moderate | PC | Medium |
| Disable Firewall/Antivirus | Moderate | PC | Medium |
| Disable Crossplay | Easy | All | Low-Medium |
| Reinstall Arc Raiders | Hard | All | Last Resort |
If you have been trying to jump into Arc Raiders only to get slapped with the dreaded “Matchmaking has failed — ARMR0002” message, I totally feel your frustration. This error has been haunting players since the early playtests of the game and has unfortunately persisted well into the full release, even after the Arc Raiders 1.15.0 update. Whether you are on PC, PS5, or Xbox, this guide covers every single working fix that the community and I have found so far to get you back into the fight against those mechanical ARC enemies.
I have spent a lot of time digging through Reddit threads, Steam Community discussions, the official Arc Raiders Discord, and multiple community forums to compile the most comprehensive list of solutions for this error. So bookmark this page — you will want to come back to it whenever ARMR0002 rears its ugly head again.
Before I jump into the fixes, it helps to understand what you are actually dealing with. The ARMR0002 error in Arc Raiders is a matchmaking and connectivity failure. In simple terms, your game client is unable to establish a stable connection with Embark Studios’ matchmaking servers. When this happens, the game displays the “Matchmaking has failed” message and kicks you back to the menu.
This error does not mean you are banned, your account is penalized, or your save data is corrupted. It is purely a network handshake issue between your machine and the game’s backend servers.
Here is what typically happens when you encounter ARMR0002:
The error affects all platforms equally — PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox players have all reported the same behavior. On launch day specifically, Xbox players seemed to experience it at a higher rate, which suggested backend issues on Embark’s end rather than individual player problems.
Understanding the root cause helps you pick the right fix. Based on community reports, developer communications, and my own research, the ARMR0002 error can occur due to several reasons:
Server-Side Causes (Out of Your Control):
Client-Side Causes (Things You Can Fix):
Now that you know what might be causing the problem, let me walk you through every fix that has worked for players in the community.
I have ordered these fixes from the simplest and quickest to the most involved. I recommend you try them in order and stop as soon as the error goes away. There is no point doing a full reinstall if a simple router restart was all you needed.
This sounds almost too simple, but a full restart clears any stuck matchmaking sessions and cached network states that may be causing the error. Many players have reported that ARMR0002 went away after just closing and reopening the game.
Here is what you should do:
After closing the game, wait about 30 seconds before relaunching it. This brief pause ensures that any lingering network sessions fully expire before you try to reconnect.
I know this is not the answer anyone wants to hear, but it is genuinely one of the most effective “fixes” for the ARMR0002 error. If the issue is server-side, which it often is, no amount of troubleshooting on your end will help. The servers simply need time to catch up with demand.
This is especially true during these situations:
If multiple people in your friend group are getting the same error at the same time, that is a very strong indicator that the problem is on Embark’s side. Give it 10 to 15 minutes and try again. In the meantime, you can check if servers are having issues (more on that later in this article).
Since ARMR0002 is fundamentally a network error, refreshing your internet connection is one of the best things you can try. Power cycling your router clears its DNS cache, resets your IP lease, and eliminates any routing glitches that might be interfering with the game.
Here is how to do a proper power cycle:
Pro Tip: If you are currently playing on Wi-Fi, try switching to a wired Ethernet connection. Wi-Fi is inherently less stable than Ethernet, and even brief signal drops can cause the matchmaking handshake to fail. I have seen multiple Reddit users report that simply plugging in an Ethernet cable was enough to completely eliminate the ARMR0002 error for them.
Corrupted or missing game files are a surprisingly common cause of the ARMR0002 error. If even a single file related to networking or matchmaking is damaged, the game will fail to connect to the servers. Fortunately, both Steam and Epic Games have built-in tools to scan and repair your game files.
For Steam Users:
For Epic Games Users:
Once the process finishes, restart the game and try matchmaking again. If corrupted files were the culprit, this should fix the ARMR0002 error immediately.
This fix might sound bizarre and unrelated, but it is actually one of the most effective solutions for the ARMR0002 error. Here is why it works: Arc Raiders uses time-based authentication tokens for its matchmaking services. If your system clock is even slightly out of sync with the server’s clock, the authentication handshake fails, and you get hit with ARMR0002.
A Reddit user named Manifest Boogaloo was one of the first to discover this fix, and it has since been confirmed by many other players.
How to sync your clock on Windows:
Important note: If you had previously set your time manually for any reason, that could be the exact cause of the problem. The key here is to let Windows handle the time automatically so it stays synced with internet time servers.
For PS5 and Xbox: Console clocks are typically synced automatically when connected to the internet, but if you have manually changed the time zone or date on your console, make sure to set it back to automatic.
Many internet service providers use slow or unreliable DNS servers. If your ISP’s DNS takes too long to resolve the Arc Raiders server addresses, the connection times out and throws the ARMR0002 error. Switching to a faster, more reliable DNS provider like Google DNS or Cloudflare DNS can make a significant difference.
How to change DNS on Windows PC:
Alternative DNS options you can try:
| DNS Provider | Primary DNS | Secondary DNS |
|---|---|---|
| Google DNS | 8.8.8.8 | 8.8.4.4 |
| Cloudflare DNS | 1.1.1.1 | 1.0.0.1 |
| OpenDNS | 208.67.222.222 | 208.67.220.220 |
How to change DNS on PS5:
How to change DNS on Xbox:
This fix addresses a root cause that many players overlook, and it has been one of the most consistently successful solutions for ARMR0002 across all platforms.
Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) is the anti-cheat software that Arc Raiders uses, and sometimes a corrupted or outdated EAC installation can interfere with the game’s ability to connect to the matchmaking servers. Reinstalling it has fixed the ARMR0002 error for several players. This fix was originally shared by Reddit user Calibal94.
Important: This fix involves navigating your game’s installation files. Proceed carefully and only if you are comfortable doing so.
For Steam Users:
For Epic Games Users:
This effectively uninstalls and reinstalls EAC, ensuring that the anti-cheat service has a fresh, clean installation that can properly authenticate your connection.
Your firewall or third-party antivirus software might be blocking Arc Raiders’ network traffic without you realizing it. Security software can sometimes flag game traffic as suspicious and silently prevent it from reaching the matchmaking servers.
How to test if this is the issue:
If disabling security software fixes the error:
Windows Defender Firewall steps:
This one is interesting. Several players on Steam Community discussions have reported that turning off crossplay helped resolve or reduce the frequency of the ARMR0002 error. While this is not an official fix, it appears to lighten the matchmaking load and sometimes helps the connection go through more reliably.
How to disable crossplay in Arc Raiders:
You can verify that crossplay is disabled by checking the status below the “Play” button — it should read “Crossplay: Off.”
Keep in mind: Disabling crossplay will limit you to players on the same platform, which can increase matchmaking times depending on your region and time of day. It also means you will not be able to party up with friends on different platforms.
If you are a PS5 player experiencing the ARMR0002 error, license verification issues can sometimes block your online access. Restoring your licenses forces PlayStation to re-verify your ownership of the game and its online services.
Steps:
If absolutely nothing else has worked, a full reinstall might be necessary. A corrupted or incomplete installation can sometimes cause persistent matchmaking failures that even file verification cannot catch.
Before reinstalling:
Steps:
I recommend this only as a last resort after you have exhausted all other options.
Before spending time troubleshooting your own setup, it is worth checking whether the problem is even on your end. Here is how to quickly determine if Arc Raiders servers are experiencing issues:
Official Channels:
Community and Third-Party Tools:
Quick Rule of Thumb: If multiple people in your party or region are all getting ARMR0002 at the same time, and if community forums are lighting up with similar reports, it is almost certainly a server-side issue. In that case, save yourself the troubleshooting time and just wait it out.
While the fixes above apply broadly, here is a focused breakdown for each platform:
ipconfig /flushdns. This clears any stale DNS entries that might be pointing to wrong server addresses.I have seen a lot of players make these mistakes while trying to fix this error. Save yourself some headache by avoiding these:
While you cannot completely prevent server-side issues, here are some proactive steps that can minimize how often you encounter ARMR0002:
Arc Raiders has a few different error codes, and they can sometimes look similar. Here is a quick comparison so you know exactly what you are dealing with:
| Error Code | Meaning | Likely Cause |
|---|---|---|
| ARMR0002 | Matchmaking has failed | Network/server connectivity issue |
| ARMR0100 | Connection error | General server connection failure |
| ART00004 | Network timeout | Network timeout during connection |
| Online services unavailable | Server outage | Embark Studios servers are down |
If you are seeing ARMR0100 alongside ARMR0002, the fixes in this guide apply to both errors since they share the same root cause — a failed connection between your client and the game’s servers.
If you have tried every fix in this guide and the ARMR0002 error still persists while other players in your region are able to play normally, it might be time to contact Embark Studios directly.
How to reach support:
When contacting support, include these details for the fastest response:
No, absolutely not. ARMR0002 is strictly a matchmaking and connectivity error. It has nothing to do with bans, suspensions, or account penalties. Your account is perfectly fine — the game simply cannot connect to the matchmaking servers.
The error occurs before you load into a match, so you will not lose any items or progress. It prevents you from entering a raid in the first place, meaning your inventory and character are completely safe.
Major updates bring a surge of players back to the game, which puts heavy load on the matchmaking servers. Additionally, new patches can sometimes introduce temporary backend instabilities. These usually resolve within a few hours to a day after the update.
In some rare cases, using a VPN to connect through a different region can help if the issue is related to routing problems between your ISP and the game servers. However, VPNs can also increase latency and sometimes make things worse. I would try the other fixes in this guide first before resorting to a VPN.
Yes, the error is platform-agnostic and affects PC, PS5, and Xbox players equally. The underlying cause is the same across all platforms — a failed connection between your game client and Embark Studios’ servers. However, some platform-specific fixes (like restoring licenses on PS5 or reinstalling EAC on PC) only apply to their respective platforms.
I would suggest waiting 15 to 30 minutes before trying again. If community forums show widespread reports, it might take longer — sometimes a couple of hours during major outages. Keep an eye on the official Arc Raiders Discord for real-time updates from the developers.
It is not a guaranteed fix, but some players have found that disabling crossplay reduces the frequency of the error. The theory is that it simplifies the matchmaking process by limiting it to a single platform pool, which can make the connection more stable. It is worth trying if other fixes have not worked.
Embark Studios has been actively working on improving server stability and matchmaking reliability since launch. While the error may never be completely eliminated (as it can be triggered by temporary server load), each major patch has generally improved the situation. Keep your game updated to benefit from these ongoing improvements.
That covers everything I know about fixing the Arc Raiders ARMR0002 error. I hope one of these solutions gets you back into the fight. If you discover any new fixes that work, drop a comment below so we can help other Raiders out. Bookmark this page and check back regularly — I will keep it updated as new patches and fixes are discovered.
