While I don't expect anything to come out of it, Viivavantii64 insisted I should file a support ticket with Epic Games to get the issue resolved. It was a last resort, even if the expected result was going to be another dead end (the last time I attempted to create a support ticket with Epic Games regarding the frozen Recent Players list, they closed the ticket after 2 months of waiting for a response & told me to create a ticket on their support forums), I did so just to see if anything would come of it... I filed a ticket with the following details:
I have been unable to log into the Epic Games launcher since the 10/28/2020 update (and apparently I'm not the only one based on comments I have gotten on the various online publications regarding this matter), the launcher appears to be unable to connect to the your servers after that update. I have attached a screenshot of the error I am getting after attempting to log into the launcher (there is also a video version I can link if necessary). I have attempted to reinstall & even uninstall then reinstall, which has been unsuccessful; the newest installer downloaded from your site can't even connect to your servers to finish the installation of the launcher, but an older installer I had from 2 years ago (downloaded when FortniteLauncher.exe was crashing directly after clicking on Launch in the launcher, this issue continuing for 3 weeks & prevented me from getting the Rat King AR from the event store until the next birthday event) can connect to servers to "update", only resulting in the same issue you see in the screenshot after it updates. I can still log into my account through Firefox & other web browsers, but the launcher appears to not even attempt to connect to servers after the update.
After filing the ticket, I got a javascript popup stating that there would be an email with more details. I waited several minutes for the email while going over other emails & getting a few other things done around the house, it didn't look like the email was coming, so I decided it was time to start updating the boycott against Epic Games with further details. It was only after refreshing the support page that I noticed the following:
It looked like the support ticket had been auto-closed (as I stated to Viivavantii64 before when I was in his channel earlier today discussing this matter) without receiving a follow-up email... I took a screenshot of it to be added to the boycott page on my personal site.
As I was prepping to have this new information added to the boycott on my personal site, I got an email from Epic Games requesting the log files for the launcher:
Hello,
Thanks for contacting the Epic Games Player Support! My name is Mike Charlie and I'll be your Support Agent today.
I understand you've been facing connection issues at the Epic Games Launcher and I'll be glad to help you with that!
To diagnose and best assist you with your issue, we need information about your computer. Please provide the requested file below, depending on your computer type.
After you generate the requested files, please zip and attach the files in your reply to this email. We’ll review your issue and get back to you with next steps.
NOTE: Only attach a zip file with the requested files.
For Windows PC
Please provide the following file listed below. See the linked FAQ for detailed steps on how to get it.
--Launcher Logs - https://www.epicgames.com/help/en-US/epic-games-store-c73/launcher-troubleshooting-c82/epic-games-launcher-debug-logs-a3513
For Mac
Please provide the following file listed below. See the linked FAQ for detailed steps on how to get it.
--Launcher Logs - https://www.epicgames.com/help/en-US/epic-games-store-c73/launcher-troubleshooting-c82/epic-games-launcher-debug-logs-a3513
Once you reply, I'll be more than happy to continue assisting you.
Regards,
Mike Charlie
I did as stated in the email respone (although the support ticket still remains closed when I look at it on their support site), we'll see what comes of this...
UPDATE: As I was still getting the information together to publish this post, I got another response stating that the zipped files needed to be in TXT format:
Hello there,
Thanks for gathering the requested information!
In order for us to check your files properly, please send them as .txt files.
Once you reply, I'll be more than happy to continue assisting you.
Regards,
Mike Charlie
I find it ironic that he couldn't just do this himself, it would have been quicker & more simple that just contacting me back telling me to do it & resend them over another email response. At the very least the fact that I got a new response does tell me that they are looking at it (despite the indication on their site stating that the ticket is closed), so something is still being done about it, I'm just not going to hold my breath on it, can't wait forever for them to fix a problem that is preventing me from getting my stuff in Dauntless & Fortnite (Save the World) done (I'll already be at least 3 days behind on it even if it does get fixed today, that's not including time it's going to take to redownload the games once I'm able to connect again).
UPDATE: After sending the second set of logs & getting ready to publish this post, I decided to refresh the page with the message stating that my ticket was closed to see if the status had changed, it now reads Open:
Well I guess this is a positive sign that maybe something will be done, but I still have my doubts... We'll wait & see if anything gets done about this any time soon, I stand by my decision to continue boycotting Epic Games if this issue causes me to miss my change to get another thing in my armory that I would have been restricted to getting otherwise.
UPDATE: And once again it dropped to the Closed status after refreshing the page again. Either their status reporting on support tickets is extremely buggy on their site or they can't decide whether they are actually going to make an effort to correct this problem...
UPDATE: It became clear that the person attempting to help (if that's even accurate) doesn't know how to read the logs I'm sending him, as I received another email again asking for another form of the logs:
Hello again!
Mike Charlie
I've been through the logs many times (mostly to update names on video evidence of why I have people on my Epic Games block list, those videos originally being used as video evidence in report against those individuals for various violations in games, which no longer serves that purpose in Fortnite after they removed functional reporting from Save the World) & I knew which one they needed, so I just sent them the most recent log with debugging information. Not long after I sent them the singular log (after changing the extension on the file from LOG to TXT), I found that the issue had been transferred to another support rep. (hopefully one that knew what they were doing this time).
Unfortunately I ended up getting the response that I knew I would eventually be getting, that was that they were going to make the statement that the issue was on my side:
Hello there,
Thank you for reaching out. My name is Alfa Tango and I'll be assisting you today.
I understand that you're having trouble signing in to Epic Games Launcher. As a fellow player, I understand how frustrating this can be. No worries, I'm here to help you out!
We appreciate you're patience in reinstalling the Launcher and for sending us your Launcher log. It seems that there's a connection issue with the Launcher. Kindly follow the troubleshooting steps in this link to fix connection issues in the Epic Games Launcher.
If you continue to experience the problem, kindly let em know.
Should you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to reach back. We're always here to help. Have a great day!
Regards,
Alfa Tango
While I knew that the issue was with the latest update & not on my side, I attempted steps on the page that I had not attempted previously, even though I knew that I would not be able to fix this issue through my own means (as I wasn't able to fix the issue when the Rat King AR was in the event store). Additionally, I attempted another step that was not suggested, which was using the ipconfig /flushdns command to see if I could get a connection afterwards (could be possible I still need to reboot my computer after using that command, but that's not always the case, so I doubt this made any difference).
I decided it was time to make a new video showing troubleshooting I have been attempting to do to get this matter resolved:
I already knew there was a high probability that I would not be able to fix this issue on my own side even after clearing out all files, folders & registery keys on my system related to the Epic Games launcher, but I expected that if I could get it on video that the older installer was at least able to connect to their servers to download the update (unfortunately to a version that can't connect to their servers), it might expedite a fix to the Epic Games launcher (unfortunately it's pretty clear that that update will only be possible through a manual download & reinstall of the launcher, hopefully not requiring a full uninstallation of the launcher & forcing a redownload of every game that was previously downloaded when it gets uninstalled).
With this video being uploaded, I am now ready to contact back their support reps again to use it as evidence in differences between installers (specifically, the fact that the new launcher is not able to even connect to their servers to download the initial patch to complete installation, where the older installer can connect to servers to download & install the patch, but results in the same issue as if you had done a recent update from a working version of the launcher, which is my first encounter of this particular issue after the launcher patch on 10/28/2020).
UPDATE: I received a new response from them fairly quickly after sending them the reply with a link to the video, which was kind of surprising for the time of night that I sent the email & received a response:
Hi there,
Thank you so much for the clarification! You are awesome!
Now, as the next step, our Team is going to investigate your issue further and will contact you when our research is completed, or if we need more information.
Thank you for your patience in advance! It really means a lot to our Team!
We will get back to you as soon as possible!
Regards,
Echo Victor
Now it's more of a matter of seeing where this goes. At the very least, it seems they are aware that the problem is not related to my system when the older installer can at least connect to do initial patching, but we'll still have to see how long it takes to have a resolution to the issue.
UPDATE: I received another email from yet another support rep which gave the indication that they still are expecting the issue is on my side:
Hey there,
This is Yankee Sierra and I will be assisting you today.
I am very sorry to hear that you are having connection issues.
Some network issues can be resolved by simply flushing your DNS. To do this please do following:
1. Click ‘Start’ button and type “cmd”
2. Right-click on ‘Command Prompt’ and select ‘Run as administrator.’ The ‘Command Prompt’ window opens with a black screen.
3. Type “netsh winsock reset” and press the Enter key.
4. Restart your computer.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to re-open the ‘Command Prompt’ window.
6. Type “ipconfig /flushdns” and press the Enter key.
7. Then, type “ipconfig/release” and press the Enter key.
8. Then, type “ipconfig /renew” and press the Enter key.
Please also make sure to restart the router you are using for your internet connections.
If there is anything else I can assist you with or these steps do not resolve this issue, do not hesitate to reach out again. I would gladly help you further.
Kind regards,
Yankee Sierra
It became clear that they aren't looking at their software to get the issue resolved on their side yet, so we're looking at a longer time to actually see a fix for the issue...
In my response, I got very technical, showing just how much I knew about computers, giving nearly every step I had attempted in troubleshooting this issue:
ipconfig /flushdns is a command I was already aware of & have already tried (this is actually one I have saved in my run dialog for regular use when being unable to access certain sites, sometimes it works, but most of the time it doesn't make a difference). As for the /release & /renew parameters on the ipconfig command, they always throw the "The operation failed as no adapter is in the state permissible for this operation." error when I try to use them. As for the "netsh winsock reset" command, it's not one I've tried, however attempting it still makes no difference in the connection issue of the Epic Games launcher (at least not the latest version of the launcher, this particular issue was never a problem prior to the latest launcher patch on 10/28/2020).
As for retarting the router & modem, this is something I attempted when I first started running into this problem (as well as disabling both software & hardware firewalls), nothing I have attempted or have been suggested so far has resolved this issue.
The video I provided a link to in the last email response shows that the newest version of the launcher is unable to connect even during the initial installation when attempting to patch, while an installer from 2 years ago is at least able to connect to download the patches & give a login screen after patching, but is unable to connect to servers once updated to the latest version. If an older installer is able to connect (until it's updated to the latest version anyways), this does not explain why the newest version would not be able to connect to even download a patch to finish initial installation (unless you're attempting to direct the login & download requests to another web address, which would only be a DNS issue on my side if the DNS routing was recently mapped).
I've gone through the logs I provided prior & it appears that the HTML requests are not receiving the expected response from servers (or not receiving a response at all), therefore not allowing the login to complete or patches to download with the latest version of the launcher.
I have 3 DNS servers manually assigned to my network adapter, the first one calling for the DNS server assigned to my router by using 192.168.1.1, the last 2 being Google DNS servers (8.8.8.8 & 8.8.4.4).
If necessary, I can enable a process monitor to log what the launcher is doing to determine where HTML requests are being sent to, those logs are an extreme hassle to go through however, not something I really want to deal with, but I can if necessary (I was able to determine the cause of an issue with black videos on the Unreal Engine 4 for an indie developer on Steam using this method by monitoring invalid file name requests on the game's startup, which apparently they sent to you to get fixed).
I don't have much hope in seeing a fix for this any time soon unless I do the legwork myself & use a process monitor to grab logs of where HTML requests are being sent (not that I expect Epic Games will even use them), unfortunately this is a normal trend with companies that think they have more knowledge then a customer could, but it's still painfully obvious they lack the troubleshooting skills to be providing support (even on their own software)...
UPDATE: I got another email from yet another support rep apparently taking me up on my offer to get domain logs through my process monitor
Hello there,
Thank you for the detailed update.
We will really appreciate if you can get us those logs where we can see where the HTML requests are being sent to. As you have said, it might take an extra effort, but you will really help us if you can get that information.
Please let me know if you have any other doubts or concerns. I'll be waiting for your kind reply.
Regards,
Lima Alpha
Of course I didn't expect they would know what to do with them once I had them if they couldn't even do simple troubleshooting when the video shows it's a problem with the new launcher, not with older ones (until it patches up to the current version).
Almost immediately after sending that email, I got another contact from yet another support rep (or possibly 2 when you look at the greeting, going back to wanting me to provide the debug logs from the launcher again:
Hi there,
Thank you for getting back. Romeo here and I will be taking over your case today!
I udnerstand that you're having difficulties connecting to Epic Games server, allow me to look into this for you. Upon investigation, I'm unable to view the compressed file you provided due to file format restriction on my end. We are unable to browse compressed files using the format .rar. In order for me to investigate the files, please send me a .zip instead.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Regards,
Romeo Delta
I'd bet money the next response states they can't read the logs again...
UPDATE: Another response going back to old steps they've already given me:
Hi there,
Thank you for providing me with those files.
If you haven't tried yet, please try to unblock all of the following ports 80, 433, 443, 3478, 3479, 5060, 5062, 5222, 6250, and 12000-65000.
To do this, follow the steps indicated on this link: https://www.epicgames.com/help/en-US/epic-games-store-c73/launcher-support-c82/how-to-unblock-ports-to-connect-to-the-epic-games-launcher-and-fortnite-a4656
If you're still getting the same result, please let me know so that I can continue assisting you!
Regards,
Romeo Delta
It's clear they are going to just keep repeating steps & wasting time rather than looking at their own software or traffic logs to find the actual problem...
UPDATE: Another contact from another rep, at least they are asking for something new this time:
Hi there,
Thanks for getting back.
We appreciate that you are providing the information that we need to investigate the issue. Currently, we still need more information to provide you the best troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue.
We need the MSInfo file - https://www.epicgames.com/help/en-US/technical-support-c90/general-support-c91/what-is-a-system-information-msinfo32-file-and-how-to-generate-one-a3654
I will be waiting for your response.
Regards,
Alpha Zulu
After sending them that info, I went to bed to get some sleep.
UPDATE: By morning, they sent me a new email, starting to get into steps that are difficult even for normal people, much people that have disabilities & can't even drive like myself:
Hello there,
My name is India Mike and it is really nice to meet you. I hope you are having a good day!
I
will be assisting you further with this case and I am sorry to hear
that you are still experiencing the same issue as you are unable to
successfully start and login into Epic Games launcher.
Upon
checking the provided information, it does seem like there is a
connection issue that is not allowing you to successfully start the
launcher and log into your Epic Games account. I see that you mentioned
that you have already tried all the provided solution from the official
FAQ page and that you have made sure that firewall and antivirus
software's are disabled and that correct ports are not blocked.
I
would kindly ask you to try redownloading and installing Epic Games
launcher using a different network if this is a possible option. If
possible, could you please try maybe even connecting to the mobile data
and trying to download and install Epic Games launcher to see if the
same issue will occur or you will be able to successfully download,
install and login into Epic Games launcher.
Once
you have tried this please reach back to me with some additional
information and results so I could see if this allowed you to start Epic
Games launcher or if you are still having the same issue and launcher
is being stuck at certain point.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and for being a part of our awesome community!
I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Regards,
India Mike
Originally, I just wanted to chew them out & say it wasn't possible, but I tried a few others things prior to leaving a response, one being attempting to install the launcher for the first time on my secondary (guest) computer & laptop. Both of those computers resulted in the same problem as the main computer, at which point I called my father to see if he'd be willing to let me bring my laptop over & attempt to connect through his wifi.
Later in the day, I managed to get to my parent's house to test the launcher over their internet using my laptop; as expected, I got the same result as before. It was at this point I asked my father if I could install the software on his computer to see if this would allow connection to servers through his PC; this test came out positive, which showed that the issue was an OS issue, the newest version not being able to connect if installed on older OSs. This new information was sent to Epic Games support reps over another email, pointing out that while I could connect to servers through the launcher on my father's Windows 10 computer, all my computers were Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit & that would likely explain why some of us were getting blocked by this issue. They responded again & wanted me to do something that wasn't within my ability:
Hi there,
Thank you for your response. This is Charlie, and I will be the one who will assist you from now on. I hope you're staying safe.
I'm sorry to hear that you're unable to run Epic Games Launcher properly on your own devices, and I really appreciate you letting us know what happened after you tried using your father's device and network to access the launcher.
Moving on, I would like you to please try to update your OS to Windows 7 to Windows 10 if possible. Doing so will let us know if the issue is with the OS.
Once done, please let me know if the issue persists so I can assist you further.
I'll be looking forward to your response.
Regards,
Charlie November
This response just pissed me off, at this point going off at them about the boycott I had already put in place because of this technical issue that was preventing me from accessing what I had already legally purchased:
That upgrade would be money I don't have, so changing to Windows 10 would not be an option in my case. I will wait for an update to the installer that will make it compatible with my OS again. In the meantime, I will be avoiding any new purchases of any Epic Games software, definitely any more games over your platform, any other games that are designed with your technology (i.e. Unreal Engine) or any other products promoting your franchises and go back to playing/streaming to Twitch games from other platforms, as well as advising against purchases of software over the Epic Games platform until resolved. It is unlikely with this current situation that I will be able to obtain Clip in Fortnite and I do not expect the issue to be resolved before the event is over, so unless I am able to obtain her during the next birthday event (as was the case with the Rat King AR when I couldn't get the game to run), consider this boycott permanent.
I really wasn't expecting a response after that & it took them some time before they eventually did response, but again they're trying to find a way to fix (or at least stall a public boycott, not realizing I already have one published with the same details I just gave them) the launcher as it is, where it's not going to be possible to fix without a new installer to get people past the current OS restriction imposed (perhaps unintentionally) on 10/28/2020:
Hi there,
Thank you for your response.
I understand that you're unable to update your OS for now. Let me further assist you with this by giving additional troubleshooting steps.
First, I would like you to please use your own device to open the Epic Games launcher. After that, Clear your launcher's web cache by following the steps below:
1. Exit the Epic Games Launcher by right-clicking on the system tray icon in the bottom-right corner, and then click Exit.
2. Press Windows key + R and type “%localappdata%” to open a File Explorer window.
3. Open the Epic Games Launcher folder.
4. Open the Saved folder.
5. Click the webcache folder, and then delete it.
6. Restart your computer and start the Epic Games Launcher.
If you're still getting the same error after clearing your launcher's web cache, please let me know right away so I can further assist you.
I'll be waiting for your response.
Regards,
Charlie November
This was something I already tried when I cleared all the files & registry keys from my main computer prior to reinstalling (which was also mentioned in the last video recorded, prior to the uninstall & reinstalls displayed in the video). Despite knowing this wouldn't work, I tried it regardless, only to run into the same problem as before...
I responded back to point out that I had already tried that & this was mentioned in the last video I linked to them (which gives a pretty good indication that they probably never looked at it). I also pointed out that regardless of doing it 2 days ago (prior to recording that video), I still attempted it, only giving me the expected result. On that note, I explained this is an OS issue that has been caused by the launcher update on 10/28/2020 & the only way it's going to be fixed is if they provide a new installer to be downloaded from their site (seeing as the launcher can not connect to servers as it is now on older OSs) & reinstall a compatible launcher for their OS from a new installer (the current version won't ever update otherwise).
UPDATE: This appears to be the final response I'm going to get from them, looking like they are ready to throw in the towel, but more putting blame on me for making the decision to end contact on this matter:
Hi there,
Thank you for your quick response.
I appreciate you letting me know that you're done performing the troubleshooting steps, and I'm sorry that it didn't work on your end. I do know how important for you to have this issue fixed, and I apologize for the inconvenience this issue has caused.
Since we've already tried all of the possible troubleshooting steps that we can perform for this issue, the last thing we can do for now is to wait for the next update for the Epic Games Launcher.
Thank you for your kind consideration and understanding, as well as your patience and cooperation, as we assist you with this.
For anything else you may need or if you have any other issues, feel free to contact us again.
Stay safe.
Regards,
Charlie November
I never actually said that I was done troubleshooting, but I do know that it's not going to matter how much troubleshooting I do, this issue will not be fixed unless I'm willing to upgrade to Windows 10, that is a bigger step than I'm willing to take at this point (especially when the costs of Windows operating systems have a history of costing upwards of $200, that's money I don't have). Ultimately, the best thing I can do at this point is just to watch for an update to the installer so I can attempt to reinstall the launcher again & hope that it will be compatible with my OS in the next version. Until resolved, I'll stand by my boycott against Epic Games with the restrictions published here. If this negates me of too many things in Fortnite that I am not able to make up for because of the technical issues introduced on 10/28/2020, that boycott may never end (depending on whether there is another birthday event & whether I'm able to make up for what I lost the opportunity to gain during that time that doesn't get filled out in my armory).
At this point I will be looking to play (and perhaps stream on Twitch) other games from other platforms. Normally I provide information about the games I am streaming in the Now Playing section on my channel, however if it ends up being a game that has something to do with Epic Games (developed/published by Epic Games or developed using the Unreal Engine), I will make sure to remove pages that could result in a purchase of those games prior to streaming them. Additionally, I've replaced the !epic command on my bot used on my Twitch channel with one that details the problem with logging into their launcher & provides a link to the playlist of videos related to this particular problem, that won't be changed back to the command that gives my Epic Games display name until I'm able to access my account in a launcher compatible with my own PC again. Additionally, auto-hosting will remain off, only manual hosts will be done & only if I can verify that a game is not being run over the Epic Games platform (likely lurking those channels as well to make sure that the host gets cut if they switch to a game that fits under those guidelines, really no different than other boycotts of game companies that have been in effect for years to decades already).
