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“Unturned is not logged in” usually means the dedicated-server process has not authenticated with Steam, or that it authenticated and then lost its Steam backend connection. The message is only a status, not a complete diagnosis. Read the surrounding console lines first: Steam distinguishes a client that is not logged on, a server that lost its connection, a general connection error, a timeout, and validation that has stalled. Match that state to the relevant server, network, or player-session fix below.

What the error actually means

Unturned relies on Steam services for server authentication and master-server communication. When the server cannot complete that exchange, the console may report that it is not logged in. The same wording can appear after several different failures, so restarting repeatedly without reading the complete log often wastes time.

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Valve’s Steamworks denial results describe the main server-side states as follows:

Log or API state Meaning Likely area to investigate
k_EDenyNotLoggedOn The client is not logged on. Steam session or authentication on the affected process
k_EDenySteamConnectionLost The server lost its connection to Steam. Internet path, firewall, hosting network, or a temporary Steam interruption
k_EDenySteamConnectionError The server had a general error connecting to Steam. Connectivity and Steam service reachability
k_EDenySteamResponseTimedOut The server timed out connecting to Steam. Blocked, slow, or unstable network path
Validation stalled Steam validation did not finish promptly. Authentication exchange, service availability, or transport problems
Logged in elsewhere An account session is active in another location. Player account session rather than the dedicated server

Do not treat every row as the same problem. The exact line immediately before and after the Unturned message is more useful than the headline alone.

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First, determine whether the server or a player is affected

Server-wide symptom

Investigate the host when the dedicated-server console shows the message, the server disappears from the browser, or multiple players fail to connect at once. This points to Steam authentication, the host’s network path, or a blocked configured port.

One-player symptom

Investigate the player’s Steam session when the server remains available to others and only one person sees a not-logged-in message. A player can be offline, have an expired session, be logged in elsewhere, or be required to reauthenticate while the dedicated server is healthy.

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Observation Scope Start here
Console reports the error and everyone is affected Server-side Read Steam result, test host connectivity, then check ports and firewall rules
Only one player is rejected Player-side Bring Steam online, reauthenticate, and close other active sessions
Error appears after the server was previously working Usually a lost connection Check the host route and Steam availability, then restart the server process
Error is accompanied by an IPv6 UDP test failure Transport path, not proven cause Test IPv4 and IPv6 separately before changing protocol settings

Use the complete console log as your decision tree

  1. Stop at the first specific Steam result. Search the full startup and connection log for phrases such as not logged on, connection lost, connection error, timed out, validation stalled, or logged in elsewhere.
  2. Record when it occurs. A failure during startup suggests authentication or reachability. A failure after hours of uptime is more consistent with a lost backend connection or an unstable route.
  3. Compare server and player reports. If the server console is healthy but one user is rejected, do not change server ports or firewall rules first.
  4. Keep the surrounding lines. An IPv6 test failure, a timeout, or an account-session message changes the next step.

Steam’s result names are diagnostic clues, not commands to run. They tell you which category to test next.

Fix a dedicated server that cannot authenticate with Steam

1. Confirm that the host has working internet access

From the machine running the dedicated server, verify that normal outbound internet access works. Check the host’s interface, gateway, DNS resolution, and any security product that may have started blocking the process. A server can still appear online locally while being unable to reach Steam’s backend.

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Also check whether Steam is experiencing an outage or maintenance event. If the service or the host route is unavailable, local configuration changes cannot complete authentication. Once connectivity returns, restart the Unturned server process so it can run the authentication sequence again. A restart is an operational retry, not a guaranteed fix.

2. Check the configured Steam ports

Steam’s dedicated-server documentation lists 8766 as the default Steam authentication port and 27016 as the default Steam master-server updater port. Unturned can use customized values supplied on the command line or in settings.ini under the network heading.

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Function Documented default What to verify
Steam authentication 8766 The actual value in the launch configuration or settings.ini, plus host and upstream firewall rules
Steam master-server updater 27016 The actual configured value and whether traffic is allowed through the same network layers

Do not open only the documented defaults if your server was customized. Check the command line, then the network section of settings.ini, and make the firewall, router, security software, and hosting-provider rules agree with those values.

3. Check every firewall layer

  • Operating-system firewall: allow the dedicated-server executable and the configured Steam traffic.
  • Router or NAT: confirm that forwarding and filtering match the ports actually configured on the server.
  • Endpoint security: inspect application-control or network-protection logs for a blocked Unturned or Steam process.
  • Hosting provider: check external firewall or security-group rules; a local allow rule cannot override an upstream denial.

Change one layer at a time and record the result. If a timeout changes to a successful connection, the last network change is a useful clue; if the message remains identical, return to the specific Steam result in the log.

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4. Confirm that Steam considers the server connected

Facepunch’s SteamServer documentation exposes callbacks named OnSteamServersConnected, OnSteamServersDisconnected, OnSteamServerConnectFailure, and LoggedOn. The successful state is described this way: “This means the server now is logged on and has a working connection to the Steam master server.”

Use the equivalent success or failure information in your server output. A connected callback followed later by a disconnect points to a lost connection, while a connect failure during startup points to authentication or reachability. If your log never reaches the connected state, focus on outbound access, ports, and Steam availability rather than player settings.

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Fix a player-side “not logged in” message

If other players can join, keep the dedicated-server configuration unchanged and repair the affected Steam session:

  1. Bring the Steam client online rather than using an offline or expired session.
  2. Reauthenticate if Steam requests a password, guard code, or other account check.
  3. Close Steam on other computers or sessions using the same account, then sign in again on the intended device.
  4. Retry the connection after the client reports that it is fully online.

Valve documents separate outcomes for k_EResultNotLoggedOn, k_EResultLoggedInElsewhere, k_EResultPasswordRequiredToKickSession, and account-login-denied conditions. Those outcomes explain why a player can fail while the server itself remains connected. A “logged in elsewhere” result is not fixed by changing the server’s Steam ports.

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Handle IPv4 and IPv6 evidence correctly

A community report shows the exact wording Unturned is not logged in (...) beside an IPv6 UDP connectivity-test failure. That report is useful for matching a symptom, but it is anecdotal and does not establish IPv6 as the root cause for every installation.

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Test the two paths independently:

  • Check whether the host has a usable IPv4 route to the required Steam services.
  • Check whether the host’s IPv6 address, gateway, firewall, and upstream provider support the same traffic.
  • Compare the server log when each protocol is available.
  • Only after isolating a failing path should you consider changing address-family preference or disabling a protocol.

Disabling IPv6 immediately can hide a routing or firewall defect and may create a different connectivity problem. Treat the UDP test line as evidence about one path, not proof that the authentication system itself is broken.

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Default ports versus customized ports

Port mismatches are common after a server is moved, cloned, or started with a new launch script. The important comparison is not “default or non-default”; it is whether every component agrees.

Configuration point Question Failure when it disagrees
Launch command Does it override the Steam port values? The process listens or advertises a value different from the one you opened
settings.ini network section Does it contain customized values? Firewall rules based on defaults no longer match
Host firewall Are the configured values allowed for the server process? Steam traffic is blocked locally
Router or provider firewall Are the same values permitted upstream? Packets never reach the host or replies are filtered

After correcting a mismatch, restart the server process and inspect the fresh startup log. Do not assume that editing a file changes a process that is already running.

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Symptoms, causes, and the safest next test

Symptom Most useful interpretation Next test
k_EDenyNotLoggedOn at startup The process has not completed a Steam login Check host internet access, Steam availability, and the authentication port
k_EDenySteamConnectionLost after normal operation An existing Steam connection was dropped Check route stability and provider/firewall events, then retry after service recovery
k_EDenySteamConnectionError A general connection failure Inspect outbound filtering and the configured Steam ports
k_EDenySteamResponseTimedOut Steam did not answer within the expected interval Test latency, packet filtering, and upstream availability
Validation stalled The authentication or validation exchange is not completing Keep the complete log, check Steam status and transport, then restart once connectivity is restored
Only one player reports the message Likely a client account-session issue Bring Steam online and end other sessions before touching server configuration
IPv6 UDP failure appears beside the message One community-documented transport symptom Compare IPv4 and IPv6 reachability; do not infer causation from the line alone

When a restart helps—and when it does not

Restarting is reasonable after an outage, route recovery, or a corrected firewall rule because it forces a new authentication attempt. It will not repair a consistently blocked port, an account logged in elsewhere, or an incorrect custom value in the launch configuration. If the same specific Steam result returns after one clean restart, stop cycling the process and investigate the matching category.

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Keep a short record of the timestamp, exact Steam result, configured port values, whether IPv4 or IPv6 was used, and whether the failure affected every player. That record prevents server-side and player-side fixes from being mixed together and gives a hosting provider enough context to check its network controls.

What to provide when escalating the issue

  • The complete console excerpt around the first “not logged in” line.
  • The exact Steam result, such as not logged on, connection lost, timeout, or validation stalled.
  • Whether the server ever reached a connected state.
  • The values configured in the launch command and the network section of settings.ini.
  • Whether the host can reach Steam over IPv4, IPv6, or both.
  • Whether every player is affected or only one account.
  • The time of the failure and any simultaneous provider, firewall, or Steam maintenance event.

This evidence lets support distinguish an authentication-session problem from a transport problem without asking you to make unrelated changes.

Bottom line

“Not logged in” is a Steam authentication or backend-connection state, not a universal Unturned fix. Identify the precise log result, decide whether the scope is the dedicated server or one player, verify the configured Steam ports and every firewall layer, and test IPv4 and IPv6 separately when the log mentions either path. Then retry authentication once the underlying connection or session issue is corrected.

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