Fortnite is unarguably one of the most popular battle royale games that are currently available. But what happens when you encounter a Fortnite Anti-Cheat error?
As with virtually all online multiplayer games, there will, sadly, always exist a number of players who will attempt to cheat to gain themselves an advantage. To combat this, Epic Games has introduced something called Easy Anti-Cheat. This is a piece of software that Epic requires you to install, in order to play Fortnite. This is an attempt to stop cheats from working, and in theory, if it detects a problem, it can ban you from playing the game online.
However, much like the Fortnite Unexpected Error, players are now also encountering the Easy Anti-Cheat error when they aren't trying to bypass the system. But what can you do to overcome it? We'll have a look to see what the possibilities are and help you get back into action as quickly as possible.
How to fix the Fortnite Anti-Cheat Error
To start off your journey in fixing the Fortnite Anti-Cheat Error, make sure that Fortnite is closed. Also, check that the Epic Games launcher isn't running in the background. Then, if you need to test any of these fixes, make sure you use the official launcher. If you have created a custom shortcut, consider getting rid of it, to minimise the chances of future errors.
The next thing to do is to make sure that your computer is connecting to the Easy Anti-Cheat network properly. To do this, start by following these links:
- https://download.eac-cdn.com/
- https://download-alt.easyanticheat.net/
- You should see the message: '200 - HTTP OK'
- If neither of the links displays the expected message, make sure that nothing is blocking your Internet connection. At this stage, it might be worth restarting your computer and/or your router, to see if that remedies the issue. If necessary, add Easy Anti-Cheat and the game folder to your firewall exception list or temporarily disable your firewall. Sometimes, connection issues are caused by incorrect network router settings.
Update Windows and your game software
- Make sure that Windows has all the latest updates.
- Secondly, install the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables. https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads
- Lastly, run the following command with Administrator rights to repair corrupted system files.
- If you aren't sure how to go about using Administrator rights, Easy Anti-Cheat provides a guide here.
It's also a possibility that the Easy Anti-Cheat installation has become corrupted. Usually, it is automatically installed alongside Fortnite. It is automatically uninstalled when the last game that uses it is removed from the system. So you can consider uninstalling and then reinstalling Fortnite if this is the only software that needs Easy Anti-Cheat. Or, alternatively, to repair a corrupted install:
- Navigate to the EasyAntiCheat folder inside the game's installation folder and locate EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe. Launch it as administrator and choose Repair
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Close all other programs
This probably seems incredibly obvious. But closing down any unnecessary programs can prevent them from interfering with the Easy Anti-Cheat software. So it is definitely worth giving this a try, in case something else on your computer is causing the issue.
Anti-Virus Software
It's a common theme that anti-virus software can often be a little overzealous, and cause errors in games by blocking fundamental components. It is certainly a possibility in this case that your anti-virus might be stopping Easy Anti-Cheat from running. There are a couple of things to try here:
Make sure that the Easy Anti-Cheat installation folder is added to the exception list, so the anti-virus stops blocking it. If this doesn't work, then you might consider temporarily uninstalling your antivirus package, and see if you can launch the game successfully.
If you can, it certainly points to the anti-virus software being the problem. While most anti-virus software should work with Easy Anti-Cheat, older versions might cause problems, so deleting or updating them may be your only option.
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And finally...
If none of these solutions works, then Easy Anti-Cheat has a list of other, very specific errors, and how to fix them, here. But if your error isn't listed, they recommend one of two options:
- Firstly, reinstalling Windows. This would be most appropriate if your computer has been experiencing crashes that are unrelated to the game, which could indicate corrupted software.
- If this isn't applicable, you can send them a request for technical support, which in the case of Fortnite, is done here.
Hopefully, these fixes will resolve your Easy Anti-Cheat error issues, and get you back into battle nice and quickly.
What causes the anti-cheat error on Fortnite?
It goes without saying, if you've been booted out of Fortnite by Easy Anti-Cheat because you've been cheating, then shame on you. We can't really help you here, other than suggest you take a long hard look at yourself and your life choices up to this point. But for people who are innocently affected, there are a few possibilities.
It's important to note that you cannot play Fortnite online without allowing Easy Anti-Cheat to run in the background, so it may be as simple as making sure that you haven't uninstalled it, or disabled it. But there are a few other possible causes:
- Launching from an unofficial shortcut.
- Missing essential system files.
- A corrupted installation.
- Other programs on your computer interfering with Easy Anti-Cheat.
- Anti-Virus software.
Hopefully, the above fixes help you return to Fortnite and avoid this Anti-Cheat error in the future.