Graphics Issue Fortnite

Fortnite Keeps Freezing on Connecting Screen - Complete Fix Guide

📅 Published: 2026-02-05 🔄 Updated: 2026-02-05 👥 Reports: 2 ⚡ Severity: 🟢 Low

🎯 Quick Answer

The primary fix is to perform a clean boot to eliminate software conflicts, then verify the integrity of the game files through the Epic Games Launcher.

SECTION 1: OVERVIEW

The "Fortnite Keeps Freezing on Connecting Screen" error is a complete application hang that occurs during the initial network handshake phase. This game-breaking error manifests as an unresponsive client stuck at the "Connecting..." prompt post-launch, requiring a forced system restart. The issue primarily affects the Windows PC version of Fortnite, though similar connectivity hangs have been documented on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S platforms. It occurs across multiple game client versions, particularly following major content updates or system driver revisions. This is a common error with high severity, as it prevents application access entirely. No specific error code is typically displayed; the failure is characterized by a frozen graphical interface and system input lockup, indicating a critical failure in the process thread responsible for server communication or anti-cheat initialization.

SECTION 2: SYMPTOMS

The application launches and proceeds to the initial loading screen. Upon reaching the "Connecting..." status message, the process enters a non-responsive state. The graphical frame freezes completely, and the application ceases to accept any input from keyboard, mouse, or controller. The Windows operating system may flag the process as "Not Responding" in the Task Manager. The system often becomes partially unresponsive, with other applications slowing or failing to render. This state persists indefinitely until the Fortnite process is terminated via Task Manager or a system restart is forced. No crash report dialog or error message is generated by the Epic Games Launcher.

SECTION 3: COMMON CAUSES

Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: Third-party application services, particularly those with overlay or injection capabilities (e.g., Discord Overlay, MSI Afterburner, RGB controller software), conflict with the Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) or BattlEye service initialization. Why this causes the problem: The anti-cheat system performs integrity checks on loaded modules during the connecting phase. Conflicting DLL injections cause a security violation check to hang, freezing the process. Category: Network Problem Specific technical explanation: Router or Windows Firewall rules incorrectly block or filter the UDP ports 5222, 5795, 7777, 7787, 8700-8999, or 9030-9049 required for Fortnite and Epic Games services. Why this causes the problem: The game client attempts to establish a connection to the Epic backend servers. A silent packet drop or connection timeout at the firewall level causes the network thread to hang indefinitely instead of failing gracefully. Category: Game Bug / Configuration Error Specific technical explanation: Corrupted or invalid local game configuration files, specifically GameUserSettings.ini or ClientSettings.sav, contain settings the current game version cannot parse. Why this causes the problem: The game attempts to load user preferences and saved credentials during the launch sequence. A malformed file causes an unhandled exception in the loading thread, halting progression. Category: Hardware Issue Specific technical explanation: Outdated or faulty GPU drivers, particularly NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Driver versions 531.xx or AMD Adrenalin Edition 23.2.1, contain known issues with Unreal Engine 5's temporal upscaling. Why this causes the problem: The rendering engine initializes during the connecting screen. A driver-level fault during shader compilation or texture streaming triggers a GPU timeout, freezing the display output. Category: Software Conflict Specific technical explanation: Corrupted or outdated installation of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables (2015-2022) or .NET Framework components required by the Epic Games Launcher subprocess. Why this causes the problem: The launcher injects dependencies into the Fortnite process. Missing function calls or broken runtime libraries cause the process to stall when attempting to access essential system APIs.

SECTION 4: SOLUTIONS

Solution 1: Perform a Clean Boot and Verify Game Files

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 15 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Administrator access to Windows. Steps:

Press Windows Key + R, type msconfig, and press Enter to open System Configuration.
Navigate to the Services tab. Check the box labeled Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all.
Navigate to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager. Disable every startup item listed.
Close Task Manager, click OK in System Configuration, and restart the computer when prompted.
After reboot, open the Epic Games Launcher. Navigate to your Library.
Click the three dots under the Fortnite tile and select Manage.
Click the Verify button. The launcher will scan and repair any corrupted or missing game files.
Launch Fortnite from the freshly booted system.

Technical Explanation: A clean boot eliminates software conflicts by preventing non-Microsoft services and startup applications from loading. This isolates the game's processes. Verifying files replaces corrupted local data with a fresh copy from Epic's content delivery network (CDN). Verification: The game progresses past the "Connecting..." screen and reaches the lobby or login prompt without freezing. System responsiveness remains normal.

Solution 2: Update or Reinstall Graphics Drivers

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Internet connection for driver download. Steps:

Identify your GPU model by pressing Windows Key + R, typing dxdiag, and checking the Display tab.
For NVIDIA GPUs: Visit NVIDIA's driver site. For AMD GPUs: Visit AMD's driver site. Download the latest stable Game Ready or Adrenalin Edition driver.
Before installation, download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) from Guru3D.
Boot Windows in Safe Mode. Run DDU, select your GPU vendor (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel), and choose Clean and restart.
After the restart into normal Windows, install the previously downloaded driver package using the Custom (Advanced) installation option.
Select Perform a clean installation during the setup wizard.
Restart the system after installation completes.

Technical Explanation: A clean driver installation removes all previous driver files and registry entries, eliminating conflicts, corrupted shader caches, and faulty power management profiles that cause GPU process hangs during engine initialization. Verification: Check driver version in dxdiag matches the newly installed version. The game's rendering during the connecting screen is smooth and does not hang.

Solution 3: Configure Firewall and Network Permissions

Difficulty: Advanced Time Required: 10 minutes Success Rate: Medium Prerequisites: Administrator access, basic knowledge of network settings. Steps:

Press Windows Key, type Windows Defender Firewall, and select Allow an app through Windows Firewall.
Click Change settings. Locate and remove any existing entries for Fortnite or Epic Games Launcher.
Click Allow another app..., browse to C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe, and add it. Ensure both Private and Public boxes are checked.
Repeat step 3 for the Epic Games Launcher executable, typically at C:\Program Files (x86)\Epic Games\Launcher\Portal\Binaries\Win64\EpicGamesLauncher.exe.
Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Execute the following commands in order:

netsh winsock reset netsh int ip reset ipconfig /flushdns

Restart the computer.

Technical Explanation: This resets the Windows network socket catalog and TCP/IP stack to default, clears corrupted DNS cache, and ensures explicit firewall rules exist for the game's executables, preventing silent connection blocks. Verification: Network-dependent services in other applications function normally. The game client either connects successfully or provides a specific network error instead of freezing.

Solution 4: Delete Local Configuration and Cache Files

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Medium Steps:

Ensure the Epic Games Launcher and Fortnite are fully closed. Check Task Manager for any remaining processes.
Press Windows Key + R, type %localappdata%, and press Enter. This opens the C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local folder.
Locate and delete the entire FortniteGame folder.
Navigate back to AppData\Local. Delete the EpicGamesLauncher folder.
Press Windows Key + R, type %appdata%, and press Enter. This opens the C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming folder.
Locate and delete the Epic Games folder (if present).
Restart the Epic Games Launcher. It will regenerate necessary files. Launch Fortnite.

Technical Explanation: This removes corrupted local settings, invalid cached login tokens, and broken preference files that are read during the initial launch sequence, forcing the game to create fresh, default configurations. Verification: The game launches with default video and audio settings. The user must re-enter login credentials. The connecting screen proceeds without reading corrupted local data.

Solution 5: Repair Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) Installation

Difficulty: Medium Time Required: 7 minutes Success Rate: High Prerequisites: Fortnite installed via Epic Games Launcher. Steps:

Navigate to the Fortnite Easy Anti-Cheat directory: C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\EasyAntiCheat.
Locate and run the EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe file as Administrator.
In the setup window, ensure the dropdown menu is set to Fortnite.
Click the Repair Service button. Wait for the process to complete.
Close the setup window.
Navigate to C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64.
Right-click on FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping_EAC.exe, select Properties, go to the Compatibility tab.
Check Run this program as an administrator. Click Apply and OK.
Restart the computer.

Technical Explanation: The repair function reinstalls the EAC kernel driver and service, fixing corrupted installations or incorrect permissions that cause the anti-cheat to hang during its pre-connection integrity check. Verification: The EAC splash screen appears and disappears normally during launch. The game process does not hang during the initial security check phase.

Solution 6: Adjust Windows Performance and Compatibility Settings

Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 5 minutes Success Rate: Low Steps:

Navigate to the main Fortnite executable: C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite\FortniteGame\Binaries\Win64\FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe.
Right-click the file, select Properties, and navigate to the Compatibility tab.
Check the box for Disable fullscreen optimizations.
Click Change high DPI settings. At the bottom of the new window, check Override high DPI scaling behavior and set the dropdown to Application.
Click OK to close all property windows.
Press Windows Key, type "Graphics settings", and open it.
Under Custom options for apps, click Browse. Navigate to and select the FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe file.
Click Options and set the Graphics preference to High performance.
Restart the computer.

Technical Explanation: Disabling fullscreen optimizations bypasses Windows 10/11's Fullscreen Exclusive Mode (FSE) handling, which can cause rendering thread conflicts. Forcing high-performance GPU ensures the discrete GPU is used, avoiding driver timeouts from integrated graphics. Verification: The game launches in exclusive fullscreen mode without Windows-level composition interference. GPU utilization is observed in Task Manager upon launch.

SECTION 5: PREVENTION

Maintain a regular schedule for updating GPU drivers, prioritizing stable releases over beta versions. Configure Windows Update to install monthly security patches but defer major feature updates for 30 days to avoid system-level conflicts. After each Fortnite update, perform a single verification of game files via the Epic Games Launcher to ensure data integrity. Establish a baseline system configuration using the clean boot state, then re-enable third-party services one at a time, testing game launch after each, to identify specific software conflicts. Monitor the C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\FortniteGame\Saved\Logs directory for warning entries in FortniteGame.log after each successful launch.

SECTION 6: WHEN TO CONTACT SUPPORT

Contact Epic Games Support if all solutions fail and the issue persists across multiple Windows user accounts on the same system. Required diagnostic information includes the full FortniteGame.log and Launch.log files from C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\FortniteGame\Saved\Logs, a DXDiag report, and the output from the Epic Games Launcher's diagnostic tool. Provide the specific make and model of your GPU, CPU, and motherboard. Official support channels are accessed via the Epic Games Help Center website. Escalation is necessary when the error indicates a hardware fault