The Escape from Tarkov servers are officially listed as Operational, but many players are still experiencing residual instability following the major outage yesterday.
Current Status: recovering / Partially Unstable
Official Status: Stable (according to the launcher).
User Reports: There is a spike in reports of “Backend Errors” and long matching times (10+ minutes) as of this morning. This is likely a hangover from the data center outages that occurred on Jan 9.
Known Issues Right Now
If you are trying to play, you might encounter these specific errors:
“228/Backend Error” moving items: The inventory servers are lagging. If you move loot and get an error, do not close the game immediately. Wait for the menu to flash; otherwise, you might lose the item.
Long Matching: Scav queues on Streets of Tarkov and Lighthouse are currently averaging 12–15 minutes. PMC queues are faster (3–5 minutes).
Authentication/Login Issues: If the launcher spins endlessly, it is a regional routing issue with the auth server.
Troubleshooting Checklist
Since the servers are technically “up,” try these steps to force a better connection:
Clear Cache: In the BSG Launcher, click the arrow under your name > Clear Cache. This is critical after a server hiccup.
Select Servers Manually: Uncheck “Auto USA” (or your region). Manually select the 2–3 servers with the lowest ping (e.g., “NA East” or “NA Central”). This avoids the “dead” nodes that Auto-Select sometimes picks.
Disable IPv6: As mentioned before, if you get disconnected after a raid, disabling IPv6 in your Windows network adapter settings is the best fix for the current backend instability.
Tarkov Black Screen After Raid
This is a known technical issue in Escape from Tarkov, often caused by the game failing to “handshake” with the backend server after a raid ends. The game client has disconnected from the match server but hasn’t received the “Okay” from the main menu server yet.
Here is a prioritized list of fixes, starting with the most critical “in-the-moment” advice.
1. If You Are Stuck on the Black Screen RIGHT NOW
DO NOT Alt+F4 immediately.
The Reality: The game is likely still transmitting your loot data to the backend. If you force close it too quickly, the server may not save your extraction status, and you could lose your gear (or get an “AWOL” status).
The Fix: Wait at least 5–10 minutes.
Many users report that the menu eventually loads if you just let it sit.
If you hear ambient wind or UI sounds, the game is still active.
Only Alt+F4 if you have waited 10+ minutes and nothing has changed.
2. The “MIP Streaming” Fix (Most Common Cause)
For many players, this specific graphics setting causes the post-raid crash.
Go to Settings > Graphics.
Find “MIP Streaming” at the bottom.
Uncheck it (Turn it OFF).
Why: This feature tries to stream textures from your drive to VRAM dynamically. It is notoriously buggy during the transition from “Raid” to “Menu.”
3. The “Mapped Network Drive” Fix (Weird but Effective)
If you have any network drives mapped in Windows (e.g., a work server or NAS connected to your PC as a “Z:” drive), Tarkov hates them.
Disconnect them: Open “This PC” in Windows Explorer, right-click your network drive, and select Disconnect.
Why: The game scans your drives upon extraction. If it hits a network drive that is sleeping or slow to respond, the entire game hangs while waiting for it.
4. Clear the Game Cache
Corrupted temporary files often cause this handshake failure.
Open the BSG Launcher.
Click the arrow next to your profile name (top right) > Settings.
Click “Clean Temp Folder” (or “Clear Cache”).
Restart the game.
5. Disable IPv6
Tarkov’s backend servers struggle with IPv6 connections, leading to timeouts after raids.
Right-click your Network Icon in the taskbar > Network and Internet settings.
Go to Change adapter options.
Right-click your active connection (Ethernet/Wi-Fi) > Properties.
Uncheck “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)”.
Click OK.
Be the first to comment