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Rust "EAC Authentication Timeout": how to fix it

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IsThisGameDown

Last checked

September 25, 2026

Facepunch Help Center: EAC Authentication Timeout (official) ↗

Rust shows an Easy Anti-Cheat "Authentication Timeout" error when you try to connect to a server.

Also appears as: EAC Authentication Timeout, Disconnected: EAC: Authentication Timeout, rust eac authentication timeout, rust authentication timeout, rust eac timeout, eac authentication timed out rust

Facepunch's own Help Center says this means Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) was unable to authenticate your connection, and it lists fixes you can try on your own PC. Two Steam Discussions threads show it hitting several players at the same time: on October 20, 2025 one player wrote that "lots of things are dead" (26 comments), and on December 24, 2025 another wrote that EAC was down across multiple games and that they couldn't connect to any server (4 comments). No Facepunch acknowledgement of either date was found, so if it starts for everyone at the same moment, the steps below are unlikely to help and it is worth checking the live status page at /rust/ first.

What to try

  1. 01Start Rust only from your Steam library. Facepunch says other launch methods mean EAC doesn't start, which causes errors like this one.Confirmed
  2. 02Close Rust and wait up to 10 minutes. Facepunch says this lets EAC refresh its cache, which may resolve the problem.Confirmed
  3. 03Verify your game files: in Steam, right-click Rust, choose Properties, open Local Files and click "Verify integrity of game files".Confirmed
  4. 04Repair EAC: right-click Rust in Steam, choose Manage, then Browse local files, and open the EasyAntiCheat folder. Click the Explorer address bar, type `EasyAntiCheat_EOS_Setup.exe repair` and press Enter, then allow the administrator prompt. Facepunch notes a small console window flashes briefly and there is no visible interface, but the repair still runs.Confirmed
  5. 05Restart your PC, and turn your router or modem off and on again.Confirmed
  6. 06Install any pending Windows updates.Confirmed
  7. 07Update your antivirus, and see whether temporarily disabling it changes anything, as Facepunch's article suggests.Confirmed
  8. 08Delete `RustClient.exe.eac` from the EasyAntiCheat folder inside your Rust install (`...\Steam\steamapps\common\Rust\EasyAntiCheat`) if it exists.Confirmed
  9. 09Open `output_log.txt` in your Rust folder and check near the bottom for programs EAC marked as "forbidden"; close any it names from Task Manager.Confirmed
  10. 10If nothing above works, do a fresh install: delete the whole Rust folder, then reinstall from Steam. Facepunch's article lists this as the last resort.Confirmed
  11. 11If it began for you on every server at the same time other players started posting the same error, check /rust/ and the latest devblog for an outage note before spending time on the reinstall.Unconfirmed

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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.

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