Stardew Valley Connection Failed — Here’s How to Fix It

Ariel Mu
4 min readOct 14, 2020

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Stardew Valley is a fantastic simulation role-playing video game released by Microsoft Windows in 2016. It is an open-ended country-life character game that allows players to participate in various activities like growing crops, raising livestock, etc.

Sometimes, however, the game throws some issues such as Stardew Valley won’t launch and the one discussed here. When attempting to enter a multiplayer game, you may encounter the Stardew Valley connection failed issue.

The problem can be caused by many factors such as antivirus programs and internet connection. Prior to proceeding with the following troubleshooting methods, you can try restarting your system and network equipment. Besides, you can use the invite code to join the game.

Fix 1. Disable the Antivirus Programs or Add Exceptions for the Game

Sometimes the antivirus programs may interfere with your game, which can trigger the Stardew Valley multiplayer connection failed. If you have installed any third-party antivirus software, you can try uninstalling it temporarily. Also, disabling the Windows Defender firewall temporarily may help you fix the issue.

In addition, you can add the game to the exceptions list of your Windows Defender. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1. Type firewall in the search box and then select the Windows Defender Firewall from the context menu.

Step 2. Click on Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall from the left pane.

Step 3. Tick the checkbox for the executable file of Stardew Valley and click OK to save the change.

Now, relaunch the game and see if the connection failed Stardew Valley error still persists.

Fix 2. Disable the VPN Connection

Some users reported that they encountered the Stardew Valley LAN connection failed issue when playing it through a VPN connection. In this case, disabling you VPN connection may resolve the issue. Here’s how:

Step 1. Exit the game and Steam client first, and then end all its related processes in Task Manager.

Step 2. Double click the Internet icon at the notification menu, and then select the VPN network and click on Disconnect.

Once the VPN is disconnected, you can try entering the multiplayer game and see if the Stardew Valley multiplayer connection failed issue still persists.

Fix 3. Use the Wired Internet

As mentioned above, the internet connection issue is responsible for Stardew Valley connection failed. To get a stable internet connection, we recommend you switch to the wired internet through the Ethernet cable. Here’s how to connect a wired internet.

Step 1. Exit the game and Steam client first, and then end all its related processes in Task Manager.

Step 2. Disconnect the Wi-Fi network from your computer.

Step 3. Connect your computer to the wired network. After that, you can launch Steam client and check if the Stardew Valley connection failed issue is fixed or not.

Fix 4. Join the Game Through the Steam Client

Stardew Valley has a known bug that users can’t join the game through its game interface, which could be the causes of the Stardew Valley multiplayer connection issues. To troubleshoot the problem, you can join the game through the Steam client. For that:

Step 1. Exit the game, and then launch the Steam client and navigate to your friends’ list.

Step 2. Click on the friend who is hosting the Stardew Valley game.

Step 3. Select the game and click on Join Game from the context menu. After that, you should join the game.

Originally published at https://www.partitionwizard.com on October 14, 2020.

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