If you’re a fan of the Company of Heroes series, you’ve probably encountered the message “Unable to connect to Relic servers” when trying to join an online game or campaign.
Thankfully, there are a few solutions to this problem that can help you get back into the game. In this post, we’ll cover the most common causes why you’re unable to connect to Relic servers and how to fix it quickly.
Company of Heroes 2 Unable to Connect to Relic Servers: 4 Effective Fixes
Fix #1: Check Your Firewall and Antivirus Software
The first step to resolving this Relic server error is to make sure that your firewall and antivirus software is not blocking the game from connecting to the internet.
Some firewalls and antivirus programs can block certain applications from accessing the internet, so make sure that Company of Heroes 2 is not being blocked.
Fix #2: Make Sure You Open the Correct Ports on Your Router
Another common cause of this is that the router is not properly configured. If your router is blocking the ports needed for Company of Heroes 2, then you will not be able to connect to the game’s servers.
To fix this issue, you need to make sure that the correct ports are open on your router [1]. Once you have opened the correct ports, try connecting to the game’s servers again to see if the issue is resolved.
Fix #3: Use the Steam Diagnostic Tools to Revalidate the Game
The Steam Diagnostic Tools are a great way to troubleshoot any issues you might be having with your games. These tools can be used to revalidate Company of Heroes 2, giving you a chance to fix any corrupt files that may be causing the error.
To use the Steam Diagnostic Tools, open the Steam client, and navigate to the “Help” tool tab, This will scan your game files and replace any corrupted files that may be causing the issue.
Fix #4: Reinstall Company of Heroes 2
If none of the above solutions work, then you may need to reinstall Company of Heroes 2. This can be a long and tedious process, but it may be the remaining solution for you.
To reinstall the game, you will need to uninstall the game from your computer, then download and run the game using the Steam client.
Once the game is reinstalled, try connecting to the game’s servers again to see if the issue is resolved.
Conclusion
If you’re getting the “Unable to connect to Relic servers” can be fixed by making sure that your firewall and antivirus software are not blocking the game from connecting to the internet.
Then, make sure that you have opened the correct ports on your router. Finally, you can use the Steam Diagnostic Tools to revalidate the game or reinstall the game if all else fails.
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Cant connect to relic servers (Error code -4) HELP!
I have Company of Heroes 2 on my mac and have not opened it in a while, but now every Time i open it and enter the Game it says it can’t connect to Relic servers (error code -4). I am pretty sure i have updated it to the newest version and I have also a stable internet connection, plus when the game launcher Window opens it says my account is connected…
Pls help!!!
This is the second time I have gotten this message in the past week. My internet it running smoothly, my firewall settings have not changed (I’ve even turned it off to test), I’ve restarted my comp, other multiplayer games work; I’ve done everything to try to figure this out.
For some reason, in the morning I can’t play coh2 online, then it mysteriously fixes itself hours later when I try to connect again. I asked some friends to launch coh2 and tell me if they had the same problem. One or two of them had it, but most could play just fine.
What’s goin’ on here? Who else has this issue? I’m in New York, if that means anything.
Thanks for linking that thread. I’m happy that I’m not the only one.
This solution didn’t work for me. but this did:
It was my modem’s firewall. I went to my modem settings (by putting my ip address into my internet brower, get your ip by using ipconfig in the command prompt). I had to uncheck firewall protection and port scan detection. After I took those two things off, everything works 100%.
you have another firewall still up i hope. 
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Are their servers down or something? I started playing this game for the first time the other day and yesterday I went to play an online match for the first time and i get an error message saying that I cannot connect to the relic servers. Or if i do manage to find a game, I will play for about 30 seconds and then I get a message saying that the connection to the relic server was lost.
So I haven’t been able to play an online match yet, any suggestions as to what is wrong? My connection is fine and I’m able to play other games online smoothly.
Any help appreciated.
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Instructions to resolve Company Of Heroes 2 Sync-Error for Proton (Tested on 5.0-10)
Instructions to resolve Company Of Heroes 2 Sync-Error for Proton (Tested on 5.0-10 and 6.3-2)
In support of this comment on Proton’s CoH2 issues thread: Company of Heroes 2 (231430) #3875
Based on original solution by @Cytomax55 in the same thread.
Edit Feb 2023: this may also work for CoH3 (the paths are different of course). I haven’t tested this for CoH 3 yet and hope either Proton / Relic will make this fix unnecessary.
See also @sfxworks’s comment.
Instructions for automatic fix with a script by TechT10n
- You may want to disable cloud-sync for CoH2 on steam as it can cause issues. Thanks @Commando-Brando
- Open your terminal, and run*:
curl https://gist.githubusercontent.com/TechT10n/79b853003f2e9841a18e8b6decd0fd3e/raw/coh2_multiplayer_fix.sh | bash
If this doesn’t work (because for example your Steam path is different from the default), you may have to copy the script from that link and alter the part where the path is specified, and then run it locally (see also this comment).
If that still doesn’t work for some reason, you can follow the manual steps below:
*Note that this runs a remote shell script directly; it is always a good idea to check the script’s contents before running it (just open the URL to the gist in a browser) to make sure it doesn’t do anything weird. I don’t have any malicious intent and I have no reason to think TechT10n has either, but it is good practice regardless.
Fallback instructions to perform the workaround manually
Note: some users have reported that reinstalling and clearing the Steam cache is unnecessary; you can try to skip step 1 to 4 and start at step 5, but your mileage may vary.
Additionally, this fix does not always seem to work; I have no clue as to why it does work for some and doesn’t for others, or why it seems to stop working sometimes even with the same system/config. It should be deterministic 🤷♂️.
-
You may want to disable cloud-sync for CoH2 on steam as it can cause issues. Thanks @Commando-Brando
-
Uninstall/delete CoH2:
- (1a) Uninstall CoH 2 on steam.
- (1b) Delete remaining files here:
rm -rf "~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Company of Heroes 2" - (1c) Delete compatibility data for CoH2:
rm -rf ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/231430/
-
Clear download cache in Steam -> settings -> «downloads» tab (requires Steam login afterwards;
⚠️make sure you know your Steam credentials beforehand!⚠️. -
Reinstall CoH2 on Steam.
-
Launch CoH 2 -> at this stage game would still give ‘Sync Error’ in multiplayer games either immediately
after loading the map or when first enemy is encountered with proton 5.0-10, 5.13-6, 6.3-6, experimental,
6.14-GE-2. -
Download vc_redist.x64.exe
at ✅https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145from the microsoft website.
Note that
another link, namely ❌https://aka.ms/vs/16/release/vc_redist.x64.exedid NOT WORK, as it was
missing the
required DLL at the time this report was submitted. -
make separate directory to extract
vc_redist.x64.exeto. E.g.mkdir /tmp/vcredist && cp /PATH/TO/DOWNLOAD/vc_redist.x64.exe /tmp/vcredist/vc_redist.x64.exe. -
cd to the download directory and extract
vc_redist.x64.exeusingcabextractto the directory you
chose as such:cabextract vc_redist.x64.exe -d /tmp/vcredist. If this did not result inucrtbase.dllbeing extracted, use cabextract again to extracta10specifically. -
Copy or move ONLY
ucrtbase.dll
to~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/231430/pfx/drive_c/windows/system32/(cp /tmp/vcredist/ucrtbase.dll ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/231430/pfx/drive_c/windows/system32/)
. May require sudo privileges. -
Launch Company of Heroes 2 in Steam using Proton 5.0-10. I have only played 1 match, but given that the
sync-error would occur immediately or on the first enemy sighting before, I suspect this resolved the
sync-error issue. Not yet tested on 6.3-2.
Another note: tested on Steam native client, Manjaro w/ kernel 5.10.59