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  1. #1

    Agent in Distress! Mike-01 Initial Connection Errors / wtfast / Help Questions

    I've been struggling to connect for the five weeks that I've owned the game. I run DSL. I get the Mike-01 connection error that relates to never having connected before. I've decided to start a new thread here, because my posts in a support forum thread aren't getting any attention or help anymore, and my Ubisoft case has gone into "Escalated" status, which seems to be akin to what happened to the Ark at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

    Reluctantly because of what I heard about it, but with nothing to lose, I recently downloaded wtfast to see what it could do. I was stunned to see that it somehow got me connected. Knowing that, I was able to scratch off a lot of troubleshooting boxes. But wtfast isn't a solution for me. I want to play the game as it was intended, not with wtfast (which eventually would cost money), or a VPN (which doesn't work for me), so I still need to figure out what the problem is, because once I try to connect again without wtfast, I still get the Mike-01 error.

    Does anyone know why I'd be able to connect through wtfast, but not without it? What do you think might be happening connecting through wtfast that isn't happening when connecting directly without it, or vice versa? Is there maybe some hint there that could be the answer to my problems?

    Ubisoft has not been forth coming in regards to what servers we connect to, so I have to rely on time consuming trial and error. For those people who successfully connect normally without anything like wtfast or a VPN, can some of you help me by running Resource Monitor and noting the TD2-connected IPs once you are at the main menu, then post those IPs here for me please? If I can get at least one person from Montreal and/or Toronto Canada, that would help even more. Then I can compare IPs and the amount of them to see the differences. With any luck, I might see something or a pattern that I'm not getting when I connect.

    On main menu connection, what I've been getting on most test runs are two host IPs starting with 23 that I don't get when I get the Mike-01 connection failure. I can ping those IPs, though, so it might be a problem with something that is along the road to connecting to those, or specifically related to those. I just don't know. There have been a few test runs where 23 wasn't connected to, so I'm aware that there might be a variety of servers and IPs. The important thing is that I have something to compare with. Of course, a solution is the most important thing that I'm after, so if any of you have that, by all means, let's hear it.

    Also, Upc.exe seems to connect to a 23 number as well. For all I know, it, and how it interacts, could be the problem, not TD2. Again, having to rely on trial and error makes determining all this difficult.

    I'm somewhat in the dark here without Ubisoft's help, so I'm just trying to brainstorm as much as I can in hopes that someone might be able to help figure this out. Since I've been trying to troubleshoot this for so long (too long actually) on my own (and with some help from my ISP tech), I need all the help I can get as I feel that I'm running out of rope. I would prefer to get this resolved long before the release of The Division 3.

    If need be, you can find more info in the other thread about what I've already done. My posts begin at post #19: https://forums.ubi.com/showthread.ph...1#post14112607

    Thanks ..

    Mongol Horde - Agent in Distress
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  2. #2
    Kwoung's Avatar Senior Member
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    I just looked at wtfast, and basically it functions the same as a VPN, but focused on gaming. There is a high chance that your DSL connection has its IP addresses registered to someplace far away from you, so the game is trying to connect to a server to which you cannot get a stable connection. There is also the chance that Massive has some bad IP address matching in their tables.

    Bottom line, unless Ubi/Massive gives you a way to force connection to a particular server, like a VPN or wtfast does, you are outta luck.
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  3. #3
    Just a quick skim of that thread, I would lean towards the ISP blocking traffic or the DSL router not supporting uPnp (or supporting it poorly, e.g. bugs).

    If it works over wtfast connection, that is basically a VPN but one which discriminates game vs. non-game traffic and only tunnels the gaming traffic. Playing over other VPN services may not work because Ubisoft would have their IP ranges blocked because people tend to use VPN in order to buy a game in country X even though they live in country y.

    I personally use a Pfsense firewall and one of the reasons is I've never seen a consumer grade wireless router that works well for gaming. I've used DD-WRT on consumer grade hardware with decent results, but running OEM firmware tends to be buggy and often extremely unsecure.
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  4. #4
    @Kwoung: It just might be possible. I watched a video of how something like wtfast works, and I remember the graphic showing something like the GPN finds more of a "as the crow flies" route, whereas, without it, you might be at the mercy of more hops or poor hops, and even taking routes that move you far away to return back to the closer destination. Kind of like driving from Munich to Paris, but having to go all the way through Lisbon first instead. I hope that isn't the case. If it is, it would be good to know how to "force a connection".

    also, what did you mean by "Massive has some bad IP address matching in their tables"? Is that something they can (and should) address from their end? By your wording, I would think "yes", since it's "their" tables.

    @tcarlisle2012: Techs at my ISP have confirmed a couple of times that they don't block IPs or ports. They are 3rd party, so if Bell here in Canada does, that's a different story. My router is an older 2Wire that has uPnp disabled by default, and it can't be activated.

    So I was thinking. Once I logged through wtfast, all those ports were still being used, as I could see in Resource Monitor (and TCPview), so my assumption was that my rig, my router, my port forwarding, and my uPnp being disabled, were no longer on the table as an issue. Am I wrong to think that? So are you thinking that it still could be router related regardless?

    I'd still like to see some connected IPs if people could do that as mentioned in my OP.

    Keep the hits comin' ....
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  5. #5
    Hey, I'm still looking for help with people posting their IPs that you get when you connect to The Division 2's main menu. For those who aren't sure how to do it, at your start menu (not sure how it is on Win 10), at the search box, type in Resource Monitor, then click on the result to open it. In the TCP Connections section, you'll see the The Division 2's connections. Just copy down or screen shot (and edit out your other info to keep it all private) all those TD2 IPs in the Remote Address section, and then add them here. Remember, I'm looking for straight through connections, not through VPN or wtfast or anything like it.

    Thanks!
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  6. #6
    RedSaberSam's Avatar Senior Member
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    Have you tried using the traceroute command to see the path your ISP uses to connect you to the internet?
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  7. #7
    @RedSaberSam:

    I have done more tracerts than I can count. The problem here is that without Ubisoft's involvement, I don't know if I'm doing tracerts to (or troubleshooting in) the right places.

    As part of the initial troublehsooting steps, Ubisoft asked to tracert ubisoft.com, and they asked to use tcpview to note the remotes addresses that uplay connects to, but the main problem lies in not being able to connect to the main menu of The Divison 2. I found this very curious that they weren't asking to try to connect to TD2 IPs at all, which would be more realistic. If I'm having trouble getting to the airport on the outskirts of the city, why ask me if I can reach the airline HQ downtown?

    So this is why I need help from you guys to give me some connection IP info, so that I can start comparing what I'm not connecting to as opposed to what you guys who connect successfully are connecting to. It would only take you guys a few minutes to load up Resource Monitor and log those IPs once TD2 is loaded. The more people that can provide this, the better it should be. It's trial and error and just another thing in the long list of things that I'm trying to do to troubleshoot and hopefully resolve this issue.

    Ultimately, if Ubisoft were able to step in and say "at this point, you connect to these IPs, so you're getting this far in the process, but at this stage, you should be connecting to this IP or these IPs, which you are not, so therein might lie the clue or the actual problem that results in the Mike-01 error." Then maybe it can be determined whether or not it is something that they can remedy or I can .. or not. I'm hoping it's the former as opposed to the latter, because I've never been unable to connect to other Ubisoft games before, including GRW which I have put a ton of hours into.


    I hope that made sense.
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  8. #8
    Kwoung's Avatar Senior Member
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    While sitting on the character login screen, I am located near San Francisco, CA.

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  9. #9
    traceroute can't be relied upon to troubleshoot things like this because it is not abnormal for ICMP traffic to be blocked.
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  10. #10
    Thanks @Kwoung. That's the idea!

    104.199.53.88 is an exact IP that I had when I connected through wtfast during one of my test runs (posted in the other thread). In my case, I only got that IP, IIRC, after continuing past the main screen.

    @tcarlisle2012: I agree, especially after what I've learned over the last month or so trying to figure this out. Hence why I'm trying to see patterns or lack of them in hopes that something will jump out.

    Connected IPs change each session or each day, but the more IP posts people can give, the better. One so far. Any others?

    If I don't end up seeing patterns, I'll probably have to move on to examining those IP connections that Resource Monitor shows at the top that don't have the left column "Image" name associated, but all the data is there. Again, the easiest thing would be having Ubisoft's involvement since they know what goes where (and when) already.

    Cheers!
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