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Enshrouded: "server is full or unavailable" (fix)

Enshrouded server status →

Written by

IsThisGameDown

Last checked

September 23, 2026

GitHub — mornedhels/enshrouded-server issue #125 ↗

Trying to join a dedicated Enshrouded server fails with the dialog "The server is full or unavailable," even though the server isn't actually full and was reachable moments earlier.

Also appears as: server is full or unavailable, the server is full or unavailable, enshrouded server is full or unavailable, session failed for peer #0 with error 4, enshrouded error 4

Despite the wording, this almost never means the server hit its player cap. Server-side logs from affected hosts show the real error underneath: "[online] Session failed for peer #0 with error 4" — a failure in the connection handshake between Steam's networking layer and the dedicated server, not a capacity check. Players and server operators have traced it to Steam's own network routing or how Keen Games' server binary handles that handshake, rather than anything wrong with the specific world or server configuration. It shows up intermittently across different hardware and hosts, which is consistent with a networking-layer bug rather than a local misconfiguration.

Operational

No problems reported in the last 15 minutes.

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What to try

  1. 01

    Back up your save, then stop and restart the server

    If you're the one hosting or renting the dedicated server, back up your save, then stop and restart the server process — several operators report this clears the error, at least temporarily.

    Reported
  2. 02

    Change your Steam download region and back

    Try changing your Steam download region (Settings > Downloads) and back, even though this looks unrelated to joining a server — multiple players report this resolves the handshake failure, which points at Steam's networking layer rather than the game itself.

    Reported
  3. 03

    Launch enshrouded_server.exe directly as administrator

    If you run the server yourself, launch enshrouded_server.exe directly from its install folder as administrator instead of through Steam's interface, then connect via Steam's Game Servers list — this bypasses a permissions path some players say triggers the error.

    Reported
  4. 04

    Check if enshrouded_server.json needs reinstalling

    If the server was working previously and you're returning after a break, check whether enshrouded_server.json needs reinstalling — some operators report Steam doesn't always auto-update this file, and a stale copy causes join failures that look identical to this error.

    Unconfirmed

Did this fix it for you?

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What people are saying

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  • Nothing reported here yet.
← STEAM-CLIENT-NOT-RUNNINGSERVER-VERSION-MISMATCH →

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