NeoGamr.net is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More

Fixed: Modern Warfare Unable To Access Online Services

unable to access online services modern warfare

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the first Call of Duty title, which was built from the ground up instead of recycling stuff from previous titles like with Call of Duty titles before Modern Warfare.

The gameplay was improved, gunplay also felt more natural, and the launch was stable and pretty decent.

However, the game had a lot of issues related to performance. Many users reported crashes and frame drop problems.

The game was received positively by the gaming community. Many praised the new gameplay felt better, and Infinity Ward did a great job with the game. There is one big issue with the game, however.

The game on release was riddled with crashes and bugs. Pretty normal for any triple-A game released these days.

The problem with Modern Warfare, after almost more than one year of release, the game is still full of irritating crashes and bugs that make the decent multiplayer experience frustrating.

You might or might not face crashes while playing Call of Duty. It does not matter if you have a high-budget PC or a medium or low-budget PC.

If you are lucky, you might face a few crashes here and there once in a blue moon.

The popular issues that you might face after playing Call of Duty are the notorious dev error and having issues accessing the online services.

I have faced this issue numerous times myself, and it is not something that occurs frequently, unlike dev error 6068.

You can fix the unable to access online services issue with a couple of reliable workarounds that I have mentioned and discussed in this article.

It happens due to bad or frequent internet disconnections, server overload, or even server down for maintenance.

How To Fix “Modern Warfare Unable To Access Online Services”?

The annoying “cannot connect to online services” error usually appears when something is related to the connection between the Activision servers and the game installed on your system.

Several factors can affect the connection between the game and Activision servers. The significant factors that are the causes behind the error are overcapacity, maintenance, poor internet connection or frequent internet connections, bad sectors in hard drive.

image connection failed error of mw in pc

Server overcapacity occurs when a lot of players log in and try to play the game at the same time, exceeding the server capacity. In scenarios like these, you will most likely face the “Cannot connect to online services error” after launching Modern Warfare.

Sometimes the servers are under maintenance cause the service to deteriorate, thus decreasing the servers’ capacity to handle the number of players.

If the number of players fills the server capacity, the extra players will be prevented from joining the server and hence facing the unable to access online services error.

You likely have a poor internet connection that is causing the Call of Duty Modern Warfare unable to access online services error.

Popular issues related to network connection include modem or router issues, slow or unstable internet, frequent disconnections, and more.

There are few other issues as well, which we will not be getting into much detail of. Let us instead get to the article where you will be able to resolve the connection issue in no time.

#1- Check The Status Of The Servers

This method is not exactly a fix, but it will give a general idea that the issue is not at the user side but is at the Activision side.

By checking the status of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare server, you will know what to do instead of trying different fixes without knowing the root of the problem.

If the problem is at Activision’s side, any fix you will try will be a time-waster.

So, trying any fix will only waste your precious time. To save yourself from wasting time, you can check the status of the servers by:

  • Open your browser and head over to the following website without quotations:
    https://support.activision.com/onlineservices
  • On the main page of the website, under the “Select Game:” select either “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” or “Call of Duty: Warzone,” depends on which game you want to play.image how to check activision games online services
  • After selecting any game, the page will automatically refresh.
  • Now, after the page refreshes, the website will show the status of servers on each platform.
  • Under the “Online Systems”, you will be able to check the status of the servers.Showing how to check online services status of modern warfare
  • If the servers are down for some technical reason. There will be a red circle with a cross in the middle, and the “ONLINE” will be “OFFLINE”.

If the servers are “ONLINE,” as in the image above, you can try other workarounds mentioned in the article.

#2- Check Call of Duty Official Twitter

Like with server status, this is another method that will help in diagnosing the main problem. The Call of Duty official Twitter account posts updates regarding Call of Duty titles, even the server statuses.

If you are on Twitter, you can follow the Call of Duty official Twitter account for updates.

If due to server maintenance, the servers are down, the Twitter account will post the update to let the players know beforehand, and you will know that you will not be able to play for some time.

That will save you some time, and you can do other stuff meanwhile. You can follow the official Twitter of Call of Duty from the link mentioned down below:

https://twitter.com/CallofDuty

The servers do go under maintenance once in a while, but not for longer durations. Chances are you might never see any updated regarding servers down due to maintenance.

However, if you are experiencing the Modern Warfare unable to access online services error, try checking Twitter first before trying different workarounds to fix the issue.

You might find the server under maintenance Tweet.

#3- Check The Activision Customer Support Page

Now, after checking the server status website, you know servers are online on the Activision server status page and cannot find any Tweet about “server down due to maintenance”, try visiting the Activision customer support page for potential fixes.

The Activision customer support page will help you identify your problem first, and then it will tell you to follow a specific webpage featuring some article that has the solution to your problem. In our case, it is a connection problem with the server.

Here is how you can navigate your issue on the website:

  • Head over to the main page of Activision customer support page:
    https://support.activision.com/options
  • Under the “Game | Select your game” section, select “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” or “Call of Duty: Warzone”.
    image of selecting game
  • Then under the “Platform | Select Your Platform”, select “Window”.
    image of selecting platform
  • Now, under the “Topic | OK, got it. Now pick a topic.” select “Multiplayer”.
    image of selecting multiplayer
  • Then, under the “Issue | What’s your issue?”, select “I can’t connect online”.
    image of cant connect to online
  • Then the page will suggest you with recommended troubleshooting.
    image of solution popup

You can try the recommended troubleshooting by Activision to check if you are able to resolve the issue or not.

Pro tip: you can use this method to try to find the solution to other Call of Duty: Modern Warfare related issues.

#4- Check Your Internet Connection

Having a bad internet connection can make one’s life hard. If you have a strong internet connection with blazing-fast transfer speeds but keeps getting disconnected or the speed suddenly drops during usage.

These are all signs of a poor connection and can hinder the download and can corrupt data files if you are downloading any game or update.

There is a very high chance that due to internet connection issues, you might be facing modern warfare, unable to access online services errors.

Image of Nighthawk pro router with a controller

Make sure the internet connection from the router to your system is okay. After ensuring proper connection. Try browsing the internet or download anything from the internet to check if you are getting the speeds that your ISP promised you.

Now that you know your internet connection is okay, try running Call of Duty again. If you are still getting the connection error issue, it means something is wrong with either the game or the servers.

Try restarting your computer and modem or router to check if the poor internet connection is resolved or not. If the internet still acts up, try resetting your modem or router. It might be the solution that you are looking for.

You can reset your modem or router by pressing the reset button on the back for a couple of seconds. If you are not familiar with resetting your modem or router, Google your modem or router’s model and follow a detailed guide about how you can reset it.

If, after resetting the router or modem your internet is not working as intended, contact your ISP to resolve the issue ASAP so that you can get back into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Warzone.

#5- Confirm Firmware Updates For The Console

Outdated software is not something you should have on your system. The same goes for consoles. Make sure that the console that you are using is up-to-date with the latest firmware.

What is firmware? You might wonder, if you are not a tech guy, it is pretty normal to have this question.

Firmware is like PC Bios which is installed in the permanent memory of the consoles. And old firmware version can prevent the console to properly connect to Activision, although it sounds weird, you can never rule out the possibility.

Tech experts also recommend updating the firmware and OS of your digital devices and gadgets to the latest versions as soon as a new version of the software is available.

Related: How To Fix “PS4 Update File Cannot Be Used” (CE-34788-0)

Here is how you can check for firmware update on your respective consoles:

How to check for system updates on PS4

  • Start your PS4 and go to settings.
  • From the settings, find and select “System Software Update”.showing the system update of ps4
  • After clicking, the console will check for updates related to the system. If there exists any updated file, download and install it on your system.
  • Wait for the console to complete the download and installation.
  • If your PS4 is updated to the latest version, you will see something like
  • Press “OK” and restart your console if necessary.
  • Try running Call of Duty to check if you are able to connect to online services.

How to check for system updates on Xbox One

Here is how you can check for system updates on Xbox One:

  • Turn on your Xbox One and press the Xbox button to open the guide.
  • Then select “Profile & System” and then go to “Settings”.where to find the xbox one update option
  • Next, select “System”, then select “Updates & Downloads,” and then select “Update console”.
  • If you see a “No console update available,” it means your console is already up-to-date.
  • If you will see “Update console”, download and install the system update for your Xbox One.

#6- Check Your Security Software

Some Antivirus software can detect some files of a game as false positives and delete them. This issue rarely happens. There is another issue that users reported that they experience when they use security software on their systems.

Some security software has built-in firewalls, which sometimes block the games from accessing the internet. Your antivirus software might have blocked Modern Warfare which could be the culprit behind the issue.

image of Vector design of a shield protecting a pc

You can try disabling any security software installed on your system temporarily and then try playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Warzone to check if you can connect to the online services.

VPN, on the other hand, can conflict, or it can override your network settings. If you have VPN software, try temporarily disabling it to see if it resolves the Modern Warfare unable to access online services error.

Open VPN or Antivirus software on your PC, and from their settings, disable them for a few minutes. You can also close the programs from Task Manager.

You can do that by opening the task manager by right-clicking the taskbar and selecting “Task Manager”. From the task manager, find VPN or the antivirus software, right-click and select “End Task”. Using End Task will forcefully close the program.

In this case, you will manually have to open the programs again. Otherwise, they will remain closed till you restart your computer.

#7- Try Re-Login Later

After many efforts, you still cannot make it to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare servers. Try re-login at a later time.

It is a possibility that the servers might be online on the server status website, but due to some technical issues, it might not be possible to establish a connection between Call of Duty and the servers.

Such types of issues are hard to find, and you might not even notice them. In these cases, you cannot do anything to resolve the issue other than waiting patiently for the fix.

If you are unable to establish a connection between your game and the server, try logging in at a later time.

If a technical issue is happening at the back without your knowledge, it will be fixed but will take time. So after a couple of hours, try hopping back in Modern Warfare to check if you can play the game or not.

#8- Switch To Another Region (PC only)

If you are launching the Call of Duty with the Europe region, try shifting to other regions like Asia or the Americas. And if you are in Asia or the Americas, try changing your region. You can change your region by following the steps mentioned down below:

Note: This fix is explicitly for PC only.

  • Start the Battle.net client from your desktop or the Start menu.
  • Click the globe icon right under the “GAME VERSION”.
  • Select your region to “Americas” or “Asia” if you are on “Europe” and vice versa.
    image of selecting region
  • Click the “Play” button to launch Call of Duty. Check if you are able to hop into Modern Warfare after changing your region.
  • If changing one region still has the same issue, try shifting to other regions.

In short, try launching Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Warzone will all available regions to check if this issue is a global issue or is it affecting only you.

#9- Try Another Game & Restart Your Network Connection

After exhausting all of your possible options and Modern Warfare, just refuses to let you play the game in peace. If you have another multiplayer game, try that.

We are doing this to rule out the possibility that it is not a Call of Duty issue, but the internet connection is the main culprit.

If you can play other games, then voilà this is not your internet that is causing the trouble. Something is not right with Call of Duty servers. If that is not the case, try restarting your internet connection.

Try other games after restarting your internet. If you are still unable to play any game after restarting, you should call your ISP for the issues and ask them to resolve them if the fix is beyond you.

You can try flushing and changing your DNS settings. How you can do that? The workaround is discussed down below.

#10- Delete Saved Game Data

If you have been gaming for many years, you might have come across during all these years of gaming are save data files corruptions. This issue is one of the most widespread and common issues that gamers still face today.

Since saving data corruption can happen due to multiple reasons, it is a possibility that your saved game data of Call of Duty might be corrupted and is preventing you from joining the multiplayer lobbies, or it might not even go past the main menu.

You can find the saved game data files from the location mentioned down below:

C:\Users\”Your Username”\Documents\Call of Duty Modern Warfare\players

After locating the saved game files, delete them and try logging back into the game. It will ask you to create a new save file since the game will not be able to find the old save file.

Image of player folder location of modern warfare

Create a new save game file and check if you can access the online services in modern warfare.

Suggested reading: How To Access And Change Steam Screenshot Folder

#11- Change Your DNS

There is a chance that might be the reason you are experiencing the Modern Warfare unable to access online services error due issues with the DNS server.

DNS is the bridge between the computer and the internet, without this bridge, the computer cannot connect to the internet. What DNS does is, it converts the domain names of the websites to IP addresses that are easier for the computer to understand.

Computer connected to the internet are recognized by their IP addresses, which are provided by the DNS server. Just like in real life, without any contact information or address, there is no possible way to locate your house.

You can try changing the DNS address to check if it resolved the Modern Warfare unable to access online services issues.

There are multiple DNS addresses, available for the public to use. Out of these DNS addresses, Google and Cloudflare DNS addresses are the most popular. Here is how you can change your DNS address:

  • Open the Windows Control Panel from the Run utility or by searching for “Control Panel” inside the search box, located on the Taskbar.
  • After Control Panel opens, find and click the “Network and Sharing Center” category.
    image of Network and Sharing Center option in control panel
  • On the left window panel, click the “Change adapter settings”  link to open a new window.showing the change adapter option in windows
  • It will show multiple network connections that are used by your system. Select the network adapter, that you wish to change the DNS settings for. Right-click the network connection (like Wi-Fi in the image below) and click “Properties”.Image of how to find network properties
  • From the new window, double click the left mouse button on “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” or “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)” to open Properties.
  • Then click the “Advanced” button, and then select the “DNS” tab.
    image of ipv
  • Note down every address, if you wish to revert back the changes, click the “OK” button when done.
  • Now, select the “Use the following DNS server addresses:” section.
  • Replace the addresses with the following:
      • FOR IPV4: Use 8.8.8.8 for “Preferred DNS server” and use 8.8.4.4 for the “Alternate DNS server” section.
    image of ipv4  • FOR IPV6: Use 2001:4860:4860::8888 for “Preferred DNS server” and use 2001:4860:4860::8844 for the “Alternate DNS server” section. Click the “OK” button when done. 
    image of ipv6
  • The settings are now applied and your DNS address has been changed. This is the tutorial for using the Google DNS server. If you wish to use the Cloudflare DNS follow the steps above but instead change the values to the following:
    FOR IPV4: Use 1.1.1.1 for “Preferred DNS server” and use 1.0.0.0 for the “Alternate DNS server” section.
    FOR IPV6: Use 2606:4700:4700::1111 for “Preferred DNS server” and use 2606:4700:4700::1001 for the “Alternate DNS server” section.
  • Restart your system if necessary.

#12- Port Forwarding

One of the old methods that gamers used to do to reduce ping in a multiplayer game in the early 2010s when the internet was getting easier to access is the port forwarding method.

However, this method keeps getting obsolete as people started to get access to stable and faster internet connections.

Port forwarding is used for redirecting communication requests from one port number and one address to another. This method also allowed remote computers on the internet to connect to a specific computer or a service within a LAN setup.

Due to the nature of port forwarding, people used this method extensively to reduce their pings in multiplayer games.

You can try using this method to try accessing the online services in Call of Duty Modern Warfare. Make sure to try other fixes before trying this method. As it might make matters worse if anything goes wrong.

Here is how you can use port forwarding:

On your PC, open your browser and type in the router’s IP address. Enter your credentials provided by your ISP or chosen by you during your router setup.

After logging in, find your port forwarding settings. These settings should be under the advanced settings, but due to different numbers or routers, they can differ from router to router.

If you see anything like “NAT forwarding” or just “NAT” or even “Port triggering”. These are the settings you are looking for.

Now set each port forwarding for each platform mentioned down below:

PC

  • TCP: 3074,27014-27050
  • UDP: 3074,3478,4379-4380,27000-27031,27036

PS4

  • TCP: 1935,3478-3480
  • UDP: 3074,3478-3479

Xbox One

  • TCP: 3074
  • UDP: 88,500,3074-3075,3544,4500

If you are not familiar with how to use these ports, you can refer to your router’s manual or Google search your router’s model and detailed guide about how to use ports with your respective router.

My Final Verdict:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a decent FPS game released by Activision developed from the ground up by Infinity Ward. Like any triple-A title, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launch was riddled with bugs and crashes.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was released almost two years since the game for PC and consoles, and Infinity Ward has released a lot of updates to fix common and popular bugs, but to this day, people face crashes, bugs, and other issues that prevent the player from playing the game.

Modern Warfare is unable to access online services is one of the common and widespread issues that you will come across while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or even Warzone. Besides the notorious dev errors is the

The issue appears if the connection between the game and the game server is intervened due to some technical issues.

One of the popular issues that cause this issue is due to a slow and unstable internet connection, server maintenance, power outage, server overcapacity, and other technical issues.

If you are facing the issue when you launch Call of Duty from your PC or consoles, the quickest fix that you can try to resolve the issue is by restarting your internet.

If that does not work, you can check out how you can use Port Forwarding or changing your DNS address. With the help of this article, you can resolve the issue in no time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: How do you fix the online services in modern warfare?

The issue can be caused by a couple of reasons. It can happen due to poor internet connection, servers down for maintenance, servers down due to other technical issues. There are not many fixes that you can try.

Before trying any fix, make sure to check out the server status to check if the issue is on your side or is it from Activision’s side.

The quickest fix that you can try is by restarting your router or modem. If restarting your internet connection does not help, try flushing and changing your DNS router.

Question 2: How do I fix connection failed unable to access online services?

Before trying to connect to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare servers, make sure that you have a stable internet connection.

An unstable internet connection will most likely prevent you from joining the multiplayer and from accessing online services.

If you have a stable internet connection, you can try changing your region on the Battle.net client (for PC only). You can also try using port forwarding.

Question 3: Why does modern warfare keep saying connection failed?

You will experience this issue if the connection between the Call of Duty servers and your router has trouble connecting.

It could be due to a couple of reasons. The most common reasons behind this issue are either server overcapacity or poor internet connection issues.

Server overcapacity means when a lot of players try to play the game at the same time, exceeding the capacity limit that the servers can handle. In such cases, the servers will most likely throw this error.

Question 4: Why my network is not working?

Your internet might not work because of a lot of reasons, like corrupted DNS cache, power outrages faced by your ISP, or it could be even a faulty Ethernet cable if you use Ethernet. A faulty network driver will also prevent you from accessing the internet.

The quickest fix that you can try to get your network working again is by restarting your modem or router. If this does not help, try changing your DNS address.

Question 5: What does “error code 262146” mean?

One of the annoying issues that you will come across while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare error code 262146.

This error appears when there a connection issue between the user’s PC and Call of Duty Modern Warfare servers.

Many people have reported that they faced the error core 262146 while playing Modern Warfare multiplayer or Warzone.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is plagued with bugs and crashes. Although Activision has released many updates and patches to fix these issues, they still exist to this day.

Question 6: What does error code Goldflake mean?

The error “status: GOLDFLAKE” is experienced by players who play the game on consoles. The error states:

ERROR
A required network status has failed.
status: GOLDFLAKE

This error prevents the game from connecting to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare servers. This issue can be easily fixed by performing a reboot of your respective console.

Share your love
Bobby Segura

Bobby Segura

A gaming enthusiast who enjoys everything from the Vagrant Story to Assassin’s Creed. His interest in gaming soon transformed into passion, and he started working as an author of NeoGamr. I keep an eye on all the latest gaming trends and cover them asap.

My expertise is in Software and Application, Internet Research, Console Gaming, Video Games and Gaming, and Gaming & Games.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *