Fix: FFXIV ‘Final Fantasy XIV’ Error 2002

Final Fantasy XIV is one hell of an RPG and a part of a long and successful franchise which has given birth to many fantastic games. However, users playing on consoles and PCs alike have started to experience a weird Error 2002.

The error appears among the “”The lobby server connection has encountered an error” line and it prevents users from connecting to the game. The error is usually network-connectivity related and steps to get it sorted out differ between consoles and PC. Follow the methods we have prepared in order to solve the problem easily!

What Causes the FFXIV Error 2002?

The most common cause for this error to appear definitely has to be the fact that some firewalls, including the Windows Defender Firewall, tend to block the game from connecting to the Internet. If you are a console user, you might notice that even the router’s own firewall tends to block the game from connecting to the Internet.

Besides that, you can solve the exact problem by adding your console to DMZ or the demilitarized zone where it can connect freely. A tool called WTFast is also linked to the FFXIV error 2002 and uninstalling this tool might also solve the problem.

Solution 1: Allow FFXIV through PC and Router Firewalls

Allowing FFXIV through your regular firewall might not be enough as most routers have their own firewalls whose security can also be altered easily. This is especially good to know if you are a console player who struggles with the FFXIV error 2002 constantly.

If you have a third-party firewall installed, visit the manufacturer’s website in order to find out more about how to allow an app through it. We will show you how to allow FFXIV through Windows Defender Firewall. These steps are for PC users:

1. Start up Control Panel by searching for the utility in the Start button or by clicking the Search button or the Cortana button at the left part of your taskbar (bottom left part of your screeN9
2. After Control Panel opens, change the view to Large or Small icons and navigate to the bottom in order to open the Windows Defender Firewall option.

3. Click on Windows Defender Firewall and click on the Allow and app or feature through Windows Firewall option from the left side list of options. A list of installed apps should open. Navigate to where you installed FFXIV and choose its main executable.

   

4. Click OK and restart your computer before retrying the updating process to see if the FFXIV error 2002 still appears!

If you are a console user or if you are a PC user who didn’t manage to solve the problem by following the steps above, here are the instructions on how to disable the firewall in your router to see if the game can connect freely!

1. Open a Web browser you normally, type your Default Gateway number (IP address) into the address bar, and press Enter.
2. In order to find out your Default Gateway number, make sure you open a Command Prompt by searching for “cmd” or “Command Prompt” in the Start menu or the Search bar next to it. Right-click on the Command Prompt entry and choose the Run as administrator option.

3. Type in the command which will be displayed below and make sure you scroll down towards the network adapter which corresponds with the type of connection you are currently using to connect to the Internet and take note of Default Gateway entry, especially the entry looking like xxx.xxx.x.x where ‘x’ letters correspond to numbers.

ipconfig /all

4. Enter your username and password to access your router’s interface. The default username and password should be listed in your router’s documentation, on a sticker on the side of your router, or on the Port Forward website.
5. First of all, locate the Firewall option from the navigation menu. Sometimes this option is hidden under the Connection tab. Either way, open the Firewall settings and try setting it to Off or to Minimal Security.

   

6. After you have done that, save the changes and restart your PC or your console to take effect.

Solution 2: Uninstall WTFast

WTFast is a tool which should help you improve your Internet connection but sometimes it causes plenty of errors such as the FFXIV error 2002. Uninstalling this program is recommended if you are experiencing this error on your PC so please do so and check if the problem is resolved!

1. First of all, make sure you have logged in with an admin account as you won’t be able to uninstall programs using any other account privileges.
2. You shouldn’t worry too much about your Internet connection as no program can fix it if it’s really bad.
3. Click on the Start menu and open Control Panel by searching for it. Alternatively, you can click on the gear icon in order to open settings if you are using Windows 10.
4. In Control Panel, select to View as: Category at the top right corner and click on Uninstall a Program under the Programs section.

5. If you are using the Settings app, clicking on Apps should immediately open a list of all installed programs on your PC.
6. Locate the WTFast entry on the list and click on it once. Click on the Uninstall button above the list and confirm any dialog boxes which may appear. Follow the instructions on-screen in order to uninstall WTFast and restart your computer afterwards.

Solution 3: Add Your Console to the DMZ

DMZ is the demilitarized zone in your router. This means that you can select a certain IP address and allow all traffic trying to connect to that IP address or to connect somewhere else. This is pretty unsafe if your don’t know what you are doing but after assigning your console a static IP address, you can rest assured knowing that the traffic is related only to PS4 or your Xbox One.

First of all, you should follow all steps in Solution 2 of this article where you can find just how to assign a static IP address to your console. It shouldn’t take long! After that, write down the IP address and it’s time to add it to the DMZ in your router!

1. Open a Web browser, type your Default Gateway number (IP address) into the address bar, and press Enter. The default gateway is almost always 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 so make sure you type this in.

2. Locate the DMZ option in the Settings tab of your router. The option is always in a different location but it will most likely show up under the Security tab or something similar.
3. Choose the DMZ option and enter the static IP address you assigned to your console. If everything goes right, your console should now have rights to connect pretty much how it desires. After you have confirmed these changes, make sure you turn off your router and your console and wait for a couple of minutes.

4. Turn the console on, launch FFXIV and check to see if the error 2002 still appears.