Running a Satisfactory dedicated server is mostly painless, but a handful of issues come up often enough that it is worth having a single page to send people to. This guide covers the ones we see most regularly on LOW.MS, in the order they tend to bite.
Cannot connect / server not found
The most reported issue, with several distinct causes worth checking in order.
You are using "Join Game" instead of the Server Manager. Satisfactory dedicated servers must be added through the in-game Server Manager (from the main menu), not the "Join Game" menu. Open Server Manager, click Add Server, enter the IP and port, and connect from there. If you go via Join Game you will hit a generic error and possibly the encryption-token error described below.
The server is still starting up. Cold starts can take 1–3 minutes, especially for larger save files. Open Web Console in the LOW.MS panel sidebar (or Log Viewer for a longer view) and wait until you see the world finish loading before attempting to connect.
Game version mismatch. The server and your game client must be on the same Satisfactory version. After a Steam/Epic update, restart your server through the LOW.MS panel so it picks up the matching build — or use Switch to/Update Latest Release in the sidebar to force the build.
Firewall or restricted network. LOW.MS handles server-side ports for you, so this is rarely a server issue. If you are connecting from a corporate, university, or hotel network, outbound traffic to the game port (default 7777) and the reliable messaging port (default 8888) may be blocked. Try a different network — or a phone hotspot — to confirm.
Stuck on the loading screen
If the connection succeeds but you (or a player) get stuck on the loading screen:
- Wait two or three minutes before assuming it is hung. Large save files take real time to transfer to a new client on first connect. The loading screen does not always look like it is making progress.
- Check Network Quality on the player's client. This is the same issue as the rubber-banding section below — set it to Ultra.
- Mod version mismatch. If the server runs mods, the player's mod set must match the server's exactly, including versions. Mismatched mods are one of the more common causes of loading-screen hangs that look like a connection issue. See the mods guide.
- Restart the server. If a single player is repeatedly getting stuck, a restart from the LOW.MS panel often clears it.
Encryption token missing
If a player sees an "Encryption token missing" error joining the server, the cause is almost always that they tried to connect through "Join Game" or a direct connect, rather than through the Server Manager. The fix is to add the server through Server Manager (main menu → Server Manager → Add Server) and connect from there.
We have a short dedicated guide if you want to walk a friend through it: Encryption token missing.
Rubber-banding and desync
Players snapping back to previous positions, belts visibly stuttering, vehicles teleporting — almost always one cause:
Network Quality is set to Low. This is the single most common "bad host" complaint and almost always a setting problem rather than a hosting problem. Set Network Quality to Ultra on the server and on every connecting player's client. Both ends matter — if even one player is still on Low, they will personally see rubber-banding even if everyone else is fine. There is no benefit to gradually easing up to Ultra; just start there.
If Network Quality is already Ultra everywhere and rubber-banding is still happening, the next most likely culprit is the server running out of RAM and being forced to swap. A server in swap produces symptoms identical to a network problem and is much more likely on a healthy managed host than an actual network fault. Check your RAM usage on the service overview page (live meter) or the Current Activity & Stats sidebar entry (trends over time).
After that, check server tick rate. If TPS has dropped well below 30, the simulation itself is struggling — usually because the factory has outgrown the current resources. The performance tuning guide covers what to do about it.
A small bonus for players on flakey connections: bumping InitialConnectTimeout and ConnectionTimeout to 60.0 in Engine.ini gives them more grace when their network has a brief hiccup. Note that LOW.MS ships some additional Game.ini tuning by default to head off these issues — you usually do not need to touch the config to get a smooth experience. See the server settings guide for the exact Engine.ini block.
Server crashes / out of memory
Satisfactory's server uses more RAM as your factory grows, and it uses extra RAM during autosaves while it serialises the world. The combination is responsible for most "the server keeps crashing" reports.
Signs you are RAM-bound:
- Crashes that consistently happen during autosaves.
- Performance that is fine right after a restart and degrades over the day.
- The service overview's Memory meter consistently above 80% of allocation.
What to do, in order:
- Schedule a daily restart from the LOW.MS panel. This is the highest-leverage thing you can do. The in-game Server Manager does not have a built-in scheduled restart, so use Scheduled Tasks in the panel sidebar instead. A daily restart clears accumulated runtime memory and keeps things stable.
- Push the autosave interval out. If your save is large, a longer interval reduces how often the memory spike happens. The performance tuning guide covers reasonable values.
- Upgrade your RAM through the LOW.MS panel if the above is not enough. RAM is the most common useful upgrade for Satisfactory.
Autosave lag spikes
If your server stutters on a regular cycle — every five minutes on the default settings — that is the autosave hitting. During an autosave the server briefly pauses to write the save file to disk. The bigger your factory, the more obvious it is.
Two fixes:
- Increase the autosave interval through the in-game Server Manager. Going from 300 seconds to 600 or 900 noticeably reduces how often you feel the hitch.
- Keep multiple autosave slots. Increasing the autosave count gives you a longer history to fall back on, which matters far more than how recent your most recent autosave is.
A scheduled daily restart helps here too, indirectly — it keeps the save file size from growing pathologically over multi-day uptimes.
Mod conflicts after updates
Game updates are the most common cause of mod issues. When Satisfactory updates, mods built against the previous version frequently break.
After a game update:
- Stop your server.
- Use Switch to/Update Latest Release (or Switch to/Update Latest Experimental if you are on the experimental branch) in the panel sidebar to apply the matching server build.
- Open [NEW] SML Fiscit Mod Manager in the panel sidebar. The version selector at the top will offer the SML version that matches the new game version — install it.
- Update each mod from the catalogue below the version selector.
- If a mod has not been updated yet, disable it temporarily — a single incompatible mod can prevent the entire server from starting.
It is good practice to wait a day or two after a major game update before forcing your server to update, giving mod authors time to release compatible versions.
For more detail on the mod workflow, see the mods guide.
Save file corruption
Rare, but it does happen — usually after a forced shutdown or a power loss during a save operation.
LOW.MS automatically backs up your server on a regular schedule. To restore a previous save:
- Open the LOW.MS panel and go to Service Management → Game Services, then click Manage on your Satisfactory server.
- Open Cloud Restore in the sidebar (or Backup Manager to browse and download backups first).
- Pick a backup from before the corruption.
- Restore it and start your server.
If you need to manage saves manually, the published guides on uploading and downloading saves and locating local save files cover both directions.
Prevention basics:
- Do not force-stop the server while an autosave is in progress.
- Keep daily scheduled restarts on so the server is regularly shutting down gracefully.
- Keep enough rotating autosave slots that you have at least an hour of history to recover from.
Game version mismatch between server and client
If a Steam or Epic update has just rolled out, the most likely cause of "I cannot connect today" is a version mismatch.
- Update your game through Steam or Epic.
- Restart your server from the LOW.MS panel so it picks up the matching build (or use Switch to/Update Latest Release in the sidebar to force it).
- If you are intentionally staying on an older version (waiting for a mod update, for example), make sure every player on your server stays on the same older version.
Related guides
- Getting started with Satisfactory — initial setup and first connection.
- Server settings guide — configuration file reference.
- Performance tuning — preventing the issues on this page.
- Mods guide — installing and updating mods.
- Multiplayer connection guide — detailed connection help.