Server Won't Connect: Diagnosing Connection Issues

Overview

This guide provides a systematic diagnostic procedure for connection failures between FICSIT.monitor and your Satisfactory server. Work through the steps in order to isolate the root cause.

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Quick Diagnostic Flowchart

Is the server container running?
  └── No → docker start satisfactory-server, wait 2 min
  └── Yes ↓

Does HealthCheck respond?
  └── No → Port 7777 is blocked or server crashed → Step 1
  └── Yes ↓

Does PasswordLogin succeed?
  └── No (wrong_password) → Admin password is wrong → Step 2
  └── Yes ↓

Does FRM respond?
  └── No → Port 8080 blocked or FRM not installed → Step 3
  └── Yes ↓

All checks pass → contact support

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Step 1: Verify Server is Running and Port 7777 is Open

Check Docker container

docker ps | grep satisfactory

Expected: shows Up X hours or Up X minutes.

If not running:

docker start satisfactory-server
docker logs -f satisfactory-server | grep "InProgress"
# Wait for "LogGameState: Match State Changed from WaitingToStart to InProgress"

Check port 7777 is listening

On the server:

ss -tulnp | grep 7777

Expected output:

tcp  LISTEN  0  100  0.0.0.0:7777  0.0.0.0:*  users:(("FactoryServer",pid=xxx,fd=x))
udp  UNCONN  0  0    0.0.0.0:7777  0.0.0.0:*  users:(("FactoryServer",pid=xxx,fd=x))

If nothing appears, the game server process is not running. Check Docker logs for errors.

Check UFW allows port 7777

sudo ufw status | grep 7777

Expected:

7777/tcp  ALLOW Anywhere
7777/udp  ALLOW Anywhere

If missing:

sudo ufw allow 7777/tcp
sudo ufw allow 7777/udp
sudo ufw reload

Test the vanilla API (from an external machine)

Run this from your local PC (not from the server itself):

curl -k -X POST https://YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:7777/api/v1 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"function":"HealthCheck","data":{}}'

• ✅ {"data":{"health":"healthy"}} — Port 7777 is accessible externally. Proceed to Step 2.
• ❌ Connection refused — The game server is not running or port 7777 is blocked externally.
• ❌ Connection timed out — Port 7777 is blocked by a firewall (cloud security group or VPS provider firewall).
• ❌ SSL: certificate verify failed — Normal. Add -k flag to ignore the self-signed certificate.

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Step 2: Verify the Admin Password

curl -k -X POST https://YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:7777/api/v1 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "function": "PasswordLogin",
    "data": {
      "minimumPrivilegeLevel": "Administrator",
      "password": "YourAdminPassword"
    }
  }'

• ✅ {"data":{"authenticationToken":"..."}} — Password is correct. Proceed to Step 3.
• ❌ {"errorCode":"wrong_password"} — Incorrect password.

Fix for wrong password:

1. Connect from game client
2. Go to Escape → Server Settings → Administration
3. Reset the admin password
4. Update the password in FICSIT.monitor

If you’ve forgotten the admin password and cannot connect from the game client:

1. Stop the container: docker stop satisfactory-server
2. Open ./data/config/GameUserSettings.ini
3. Find AdminPassword= and reset it
4. Start the container: docker start satisfactory-server

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Step 3: Verify FRM is Running

curl http://YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:8080/getPower

• ✅ JSON array (may be empty []) — FRM is running. If [], no session is active yet (start a game).
• ❌ Connection refused — FRM is not running or port 8080 is blocked.
• ❌ Connection timed out — Port 8080 is blocked by the cloud firewall.

Fix for FRM not accessible:

1. Open port 8080 in UFW:

   sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp
   sudo ufw allow 8081/tcp
   sudo ufw reload
   

2. If using a cloud provider, open ports 8080 and 8081 TCP in the cloud firewall / security group.

3. Verify FRM is installed. From outside the game, you can check via the vanilla API:

   curl -k -X POST https://YOUR_PUBLIC_IP:7777/api/v1 \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
     -d '{"function":"frm","endpoint":"getPower"}'
   

If FRM is installed but port 8080 is blocked, this alternative endpoint still works.

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Step 4: Cloud Provider Firewall Checks

If UFW is configured correctly but external connections still fail, your cloud provider may have a separate firewall that overrides UFW.

Hetzner Cloud:

• Go to Cloud Console → Firewalls
• Verify your server’s firewall includes inbound rules for TCP 7777, UDP 7777, TCP 8888, TCP 8080, TCP 8081

DigitalOcean:

• Go to Networking → Firewalls
• Verify the Droplet’s firewall allows the required ports

AWS:

• Go to EC2 → Security Groups
• Verify inbound rules include TCP 7777, UDP 7777, TCP 8888, TCP 8080, TCP 8081 from 0.0.0.0/0

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Step 5: Verify the IP is Public

FICSIT.monitor’s servers connect to your server from the internet. Common mistake: using a private or local IP.

# Check your server's public IP
curl ifconfig.me
# or
curl api.ipify.org

The public IP shown here is what you should enter in FICSIT.monitor — not localhost, not 192.168.x.x, not 10.x.x.x.

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Still Not Working?

Gather this diagnostic information before seeking support:

1. Output of docker ps | grep satisfactory
2. Output of curl -k -X POST https://YOUR_IP:7777/api/v1 -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"function":"HealthCheck","data":{}}'
3. Output of curl http://YOUR_IP:8080/getPower
4. Output of sudo ufw status
5. The exact error code shown in FICSIT.monitor (422, 502, or 500)