Nothing loads in SU4. Not the terrain, the aircraft, or anything that requires a server connection. It was exactly like this for me during the SU4 Beta, and going back to SU3 fixed it. I cannot play the game, and I know it is not my ISP, because SU3 worked just fine (using different DNS servers and VPNs don’t fix anything either). I get the Low Bandwidth popup in game, but I have a stable, high speed fiber connection. Again, SU3 was just fine.
Resetting a lot of network settings along with the recommended commands to try did nothing either. Deleting/resizing my rolling cache file hasn’t improved anything. I have not used the FS map enhancement application in the past. Please, if anyone knows anything. I cannot play the sim otherwise!
Then, occasionally, things will load after a sim restart. Panning around the world map, the terrain will actually stream (thinking I’ve resolved the issue). However, 5 minutes after loading in, I receive the same “Bandwidth low” warning, and then everything stops loading again.
Bandwidth speed and low latency don’t mean much if something’s blocking your access to the underlying Sim Services which are primarily hosted out of Microsoft Azure. Here’s something relatively easy to try - install a VPN and then get it up and running. Try the sim again. If the VPN works and everything is being served up, chances are your ISP is bottlenecking or blocking one or more of the sim services (which come from different parts of Azure, XBox Gaming (even for PC) and Playfab) - like the Map Streaming - which would explain your defect above.
Thank you for the quick and detailed response! However, the issue still persists even with a VPN running. I’ve tried Cloudflare Warp (that many suggest), along with other services such as NordVPN in multiple locations and sadly it’s the same. Seems as if only this is affected, and only started happening during SU4 (beta and public release). Reinstalling does not help either. Hope this helps with some additional information!
Hello, I believe I mentioned in my original post that I somehow do not have a hosts file. If not, then here it is! Thanks for the help! I’ve tried recreating the file, but doesn’t seem to fix anything.
You have a hosts file, since every Windows PC has one. But it is stored in a hidden directory, so it is a challenge to find and edit it.
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Make sure the required localhosts entries are available, but anything else from your map tools has to be deleted. That is for sure the reason for your problems.
Don’t go on a wild goose chase on the authority of a random person. I’m on 500Mbit and I get the messages. They’ve changed the message which reads something like “MSFS servers are having trouble delivering” to “YOUR bandwidth is too low”.
The servers aren’t going to behave for some days, and the MSFS 2020 and the 2024 launch are something to go by.
There is one problem with your statement: the servers aren’t from Microsoft. They are from Akamai, and one of their strategies is, to host their servers in the Backbone of the ISPs. So the error message is right in at least 95% of the cases. In the rest it is a peering problem of your ISP.
Nevertheless in this thread it is a problem of the hosts file.
I’m a rather technical person, and this is through multiple sources, including Microsoft’s official recommendations for this issue. Again, this issue did NOT occur in SU3. 2020 works fine, SU3 worked fine, (SU4 beta did not, SU4 public release is not). I don’t believe this is a server issue, since others have this issue, but not everyone. Thanks for the reply
Yes, it could be, but even when using different VPNs (and different DNS servers), the issue still occurs. Which leads me to think it’s a bug in the latest update that doesn’t go well with some, but works for the majority. This issue did NOT occur in SU3. 2020 works fine, SU3 worked fine, (SU4 beta did not, SU4 public release is not). Even attempting this on different ISPs, and through a mobile hotspot, the issue continues. Restoring/changing the hosts file does not seem to visibly change anything. The file IS visible, but any change doesn’t seem to have an effect. I have also never used a map enhancement mod, so that’s another thing
