ARC Raiders error AREX0003: connection to game server lost (fix)
A "Connection to Game Server Lost" dialog appears with the code AREX0003, usually a few matches into a play session rather than immediately on launch.
Also appears as: arex0003, arc raiders error arex0003, connection to game server lost, arc raiders disconnect error
AREX0003 is in the same in-raid disconnect family as AREX0001, but the reports on it lean more toward local network causes than AREX0001's post-patch pattern. Players on Steam Discussions describe it after only a handful of matches on a fresh install, and the community-suggested fix sequence — renewing your IP and flushing DNS, restarting the game, power cycling your router, and disabling any VPN — targets a stale or conflicting local connection rather than a server-wide event. No developer post specifically addresses this code, so treat it as an unconfirmed, likely-local issue rather than a confirmed outage.
Fix it, step by step
Renew your IP and flush DNS, then restart your PC
Renew your IP and flush DNS: run
ipconfig /release,ipconfig /renew, andipconfig /flushdnsin an administrator Command Prompt, then restart your PC — the top community-suggested fix on the Steam Discussions thread for this exact code.Fully close and restart ARC Raiders
Fully close and restart ARC Raiders rather than just returning to the title screen, to refresh a possibly stale connection to Embark's authentication servers.
Power cycle your router and disable any VPN
Power cycle your router (unplug 30 seconds, plug back in) and disable any VPN before relaunching — VPN use is specifically called out on the same thread as a trigger for this error.
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What people are saying
Notes from players who've hit this one — no time limit, an answer from months ago is still an answer.
- Nothing reported here yet.
From isthisgamedownMatched on ""
From isthisgamedownMatched on ""
From isthisgamedownMatched on ""
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